STATE OF U.P. vs SHAMBHU NATH SINGH . — Crl.A. No. 392/2001

Summary: State of U.P. v. Shambhu Nath Singh (Crl.A. 392/2001) The Supreme Court allowed the State's appeal and set aside the Sessions Court's acquittal of nine respondents charged with murder and rioting, finding that a miscarriage of justice occurred due to the trial court's violation of Section 309 of the CrPC. The court held that the trial judge improperly closed prosecution evidence and acquitted the accused for "want of evidence" when eyewitnesses were available but repeatedly not examined due to unjustified adjournments granted over multiple dates between 1994-1996. The Court directed the trial court to resume examination of witnesses and complete the proceedings according to law, while issuing strong directives that trial courts must examine witnesses present on the day they appear and cannot grant adjournments without special recorded reasons when witnesses are in attendance. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.