In a scathing takedown of law enforcement, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has acquitted a father and son previously sentenced to life in prison for murder—calling out the police for planting a star witness and demanding an internal probe into the entire investigation.
Rajendra, the man at the center of the case, disappeared in September 2021. Days later, his mutilated body was discovered, prompting the arrest of Nain Singh Dhruve and his son, Sandeep Kumar Dhruve. The alleged motive? Rajendra was reportedly in a relationship with Nain Singh’s daughter. In 2023, a Mandla trial court bought that story and sentenced the two men to life.
But when the case reached the High Court, the façade crumbled.
The Division Bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and Avanindra Kumar Singh didn’t just poke holes in the prosecution’s case—they tore it apart. Their sharpest rebuke? Directed squarely at the police for allegedly inventing an eyewitness and pushing a hollow case to trial.
Chain Singh, the so-called eyewitness, initially told the trial court he saw the father and son beating up Rajendra. But under cross-examination, the truth—or lack thereof—slipped out. He admitted he was in Kerala when the crime occurred and only learned about the incident after police dragged him back to Madhya Pradesh.
The Court wasn’t amused. “It is evident Chain Singh is not an eyewitness. He was planted by the police,” the Bench wrote, calling the act a “gross failure” not only of the investigators but also the public prosecutor who never bothered to re-examine him after his contradictory testimony.
And the absurdities didn’t end there.
According to the postmortem, Rajendra had been dead for 4-6 days when the autopsy was performed on September 25. Yet, prosecution witnesses insisted he was still in regular phone contact with Nain Singh’s daughter right up to that date.
“Science has yet not so developed to enable a deceased person to connect through mobile phone,” the Court dryly observed—possibly delivering one of the most sarcastic lines to come out of an Indian courtroom this year.
As if that wasn’t enough, the body was never confirmed through DNA testing, and the woman at the center of the alleged motive was never called to testify.
The Justices didn’t let it slide. They ordered the Director General of Police to launch a departmental inquiry into the conduct of the Investigating Officer and other officials involved. Guidelines for proper investigation practices are also to be issued.
The acquittal came swiftly: “The prosecution stooped down to implant witnesses… which erodes the presumption of Police carrying out investigation in good faith,” the Court said, nullifying the 2023 conviction and ordering the immediate release of the accused.
What began as a murder conviction ended as a damning indictment—not of the accused, but of the very system meant to protect justice.
