Talari Naresh v. State of Telangana 2026 INSC 486 - Postmortem Report -Hostile Witness Evidence
Criminal Trial - Hostile Witness Evidence -The evidence of a hostile witness can be used for convicting the accused, such evidence could indeed be applied and utilised also for the purpose of acquitting the accused, when what is testified by the hostile witness inspires credibility, when read with the other evidence on record, either ocular or documentary. The dictum would be that the testimony of a hostile witness or statement in the deposition of hostile witness could be properly employed to discredit the prosecution case and a conclusion of acquittal could well be supported through it and could be founded therein. (Para 9) Postmortem report - The postmortem report by itself cannot be treated as a piece of substantive evidence. It needs to be corroborated by other oral evidence. (Para 6)
Case Info
Basic Case Details
Case name: Talari Naresh v. The State of Telangana
Neutral citation: 2026 INSC 486
Coram:
- Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra
- Justice N.V. Anjaria (author of the judgment)
Judgment date: 13 May 2026 (New Delhi)
Case Law and Citations Referred
- Ghulam Hassan Beigh v. Mohammad Maqbool Magrey and Others, (2022) 12 SCC 657
- Masalti v. State of Uttar Pradesh, [1964] 8 SCR 133
- Bhaskarrao and Others v. State of Maharashtra, (2018) 6 SCC 591
- Khujji @ Surendra Tiwari v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (1991) 3 SCC 627
- Koli Lakhmanbhai Chanabhai v. State of Gujarat, (1999) 8 SCC 624
- Bhagwan Singh v. State of Haryana, (1976) 1 SCC 389
- Himanshu @ Chintu v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2011) 2 SCC 36
Statutes / Provisions Referred
- Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Section 302
- Section 323
- (Initially Section 324 in FIR, later altered to 302)
- Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
- Section 3(2)(v)
- Section 3(1)(x)
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
- Section 161 CrPC
- Indian Evidence Act, 1872
- Sections 145, 157, 159 (discussed in context of post‑mortem report and expert evidence)
Three‑Sentence Brief Summary
The appellant, Talari Naresh, had been convicted by the trial court and the Telangana High Court for the murder of Shiva Shankar and offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, allegedly arising out of a prior elopement between the deceased and the appellant’s sister and a village panchayat decision. The Supreme Court found serious inconsistencies and unexplained discrepancies in the medical evidence (post‑mortem report and timing), discredited the prosecution’s version through contradictions between the related witness (mother of the deceased) and hostile witnesses, and noted the absence of independent eyewitnesses despite the incident allegedly occurring on a busy public road. Holding that the prosecution failed to prove even the occurrence and genesis of the incident beyond reasonable doubt, the Court set aside the concurrent convictions and acquitted the appellant, directing his release.