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In Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court set out the conditions for…

In Sharad Birdhichand Sarda, the Supreme Court required that the circumstances be fully established, be conclusive in nature and tendency, be consistent only with the guilt…

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In Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court set out the conditions for basing a conviction on circumstantial evidence. Which of these statements reflect those conditions?
1. Each circumstance relied on must be fully established.
2. The circumstances must be conclusive in nature and tendency.
3. The facts established must be consistent only with the guilt of the accused and not explainable on any other hypothesis.
4. It is enough if the circumstances leave open a reasonable possibility that someone other than the accused committed the crime.

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Answer and explanation

Correct answer C

In Sharad Birdhichand Sarda, the Supreme Court required that the circumstances be fully established, be conclusive in nature and tendency, be consistent only with the guilt of the accused, exclude every hypothesis except guilt, and form a complete chain. Statement 4 is the opposite of the rule, because the circumstances must rule out the guilt of anyone else. The answer is "1, 2 and 3 only".

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