Shillong: The Supreme Court has set aside the Meghalaya High Court’s conviction and life imprisonment sentence of Bernard Lyngdoh Phawa and Boni Lyngdoh Phawa in connection with the 2006 murder of 21-year-old Biplab Das, a mass communication student of St. Anthony’s College, Shillong.
Biplab Das had gone missing on February 18, 2006. Three days later, his body was recovered from a grave at Mawlai-Mawroh, following which police alleged that he had been kidnapped and murdered for ransom by his own friends. One of the accused was said to have led investigators to the burial site.
In March 2019, the trial court rejected the prosecution’s case, citing lack of credible evidence, and acquitted the accused. However, the Meghalaya High Court overturned the acquittal in September 2023, convicting the duo and sentencing them to life imprisonment, relying mainly on confessional statements.
Challenging the High Court verdict, Bernard Lyngdoh Phawa approached the Supreme Court.
In its judgment delivered on January 27, 2026, a division bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran ruled that confession alone cannot be the basis for conviction unless it is voluntary and supported by strong corroborative evidence. The bench observed that the prosecution failed to present reliable supporting proof.
The court also pointed out serious procedural lapses, including discrepancies in the recording of confessions and the failure to ask the accused whether they required legal assistance at the time of confession. These shortcomings rendered the confessional statements unreliable.
Consequently, the Supreme Court set aside the Meghalaya High Court verdict and ordered the release of the two accused.
The case, which once gripped public attention across the region, has now ended with lingering questions over the identity of Biplab Das’s killer. The prolonged legal journey—from trial court to High Court to Supreme Court—has highlighted serious concerns over investigation standards and evidentiary procedures.
