KATTAVELLAI @ DEVAKAR versus STATE OF TAMILNADU

Citation: [2025] 7 S.C.R. 984 · Decided: 15-07-2025 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: VIKRAM NATH · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

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Judgment (excerpt)

[2025] 7 S.C.R. 984 : 2025 INSC 845
Kattavellai @ Devakar 
v. 
State of Tamilnadu
(Criminal Appeal No. 1672 of 2019)
15 July 2025
[Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol* and Sandeep Mehta, JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
Issue arose as to the correctness of the order passed by the High 
Court upholding the order of the conviction and death sentence of 
the appellant for offence punishable u/ss.302, 376 and 397 IPC.
Headnotes†
Penal Code, 1860 – ss.302, 376, 397 – Evidence Act, 1872 – 
ss.27, 106 – Rape and Murder – Circumstantial Evidence – 
DNA evidence – Reliability – Prosecution case that victims-
young man and girl went to a tourist place, where allegedly, 
the appellant first came to the prosecution witness and his 
partner asking to part with her jewellery and then, approached 
the victims, and on their refusal to part with money and gold 
led to their killings – Trial court convicted the appellant and 
sentenced him to death – Upheld by the High Court considering 
the evidence on record-last seen theory, arrest, confession and 
recovery, TI Parade, DNA Test and motive – Interference with:
Held: None of the circumstances posited by the prosecution 
found to be conclusively proved against the appellant – Chain of 
circumstantial evidence in no way points to a singular hypothesis, 
that is the guilt of the accused, ruling out his innocence or 
involvement of none else in the crime – Circumstance of the 
arrival of the two victims at the scene of the crime was on their 
own – It cannot be understood how that is a circumstance that 
can be, ought to be and is proved as a circumstance against the 
appellant – Last seen theory is a weak piece of evidence and 
cannot be the sole basis of conviction – Arrest of the appellant itself 
is cast under serious doubt, since the circumstances leading to 
the same are missing from the record – There is an apparent lack 
of corroboration to any of the statements made by the appellant 
and as such, the confessions truly unreliable – Statement of the 
* Author
[2025] 7 S.C.R. 
985
Kattavellai @ Devakar v. State of Tamilnadu
appellant led to the recovery of certain articles, how any and/or 
all of these articles related to the alleged murder of two victims 
and rape of one of them is undemonstrated from the record – 
Objects recovered were not verified and tested, as such not 
sufficient to take the recovery of the objects as a circumstance 
against the appellant – Despite the presence of DNA evidence, the 
evidence to be discarded since proper methods and procedures 
not followed in the collection, sealing, storage, and employment 
of the evidence in the course of the appellant’s conviction – DNA 
evidence collected rendered unusable – Furthermore, it is difficult 
to ascribe any motive on the part of the appellant – Entire process 
was that of faulty investigation, identity of the accused could not 
be sufficiently protected leading to its disclosure well before the 
T.I.P. was conducted; nine-day delay in conducting T.I.P entirely 
unexplained; lack of coordination between investigating agencies, 
partner of star witness not arrayed as a witness; requisite care 
regarding the sensitive evidence-DNA not taken in the slightest, 
large amount of unexplained delay, chain of custody could not be 
established, possibility of contamination could not be ruled out; 
postmortem of the deceased persons conducted at the spot of the 
crime without due regard to the possibility of contamination, effect 
of such examination being conducted in the open, none of the 
courts below have found this to be objectionable, and possibility 
of ruling out the involvement of third party in the crime – Thus, 
the conviction of the appellant is vacated – Evidence Act, 1872 – 
s.106. [Paras 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 24, 26, 27, 35, 37, 39, 42, 43, 45]
Directions by Supreme Court – DNA evidence – DNA evidence 
collected being rendered unusable – No uniformity or common 
procedure followed by investigating authorities – Directions 
issued by this Court for all cases where DNA evidence is 
involved to ensure proper collection of DNA samples, its 
packaging, documentation, transportation, preservation of 
DNA and maintenance of Chain of Custody Register – Registry 
to send a copy of the judgment to all High Courts and also 
the Directors General of the Police of all States to ensure 
necessary compliance. [Para 44] 
Justice delivery system – Compensation – Clean acquittal of 
the accused after very long incarceration – Law Commissi

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