Question:medium

The five Golden Principles with respect to Circumstantial Evidence were laid down in which Supreme Court Judgment?

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Whenever an examination question mentions "Five Golden Principles", "Panchsheel of Circumstantial Evidence", or "Chain of Circumstances", immediately think of Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra (1984).
Updated On: Jun 8, 2026
  • Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, 1984 AIR 1622
  • Vasa Chandrasekhar Rao v. Ponna Satyanarayana & Anr., 2000 AIR SC 2138
  • Dudh Nath Pandey v. State of U.P., 1981 SCC (2) 166
  • Dr. Sunil Clifford Daniel v. State of Punjab (2012) 11 SCC 205
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Read the question.
We must find the Supreme Court judgment that laid down the five Golden Principles for convictions based on circumstantial evidence.

Step 2: Understand circumstantial evidence.
Circumstantial evidence proves a fact indirectly through a chain of circumstances. There is no eyewitness who directly saw the crime. Because of this, courts demand a very high level of certainty before convicting on such evidence.

Step 3: Recall the landmark case.
The famous case of Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra (1984) laid down the five Golden Principles, also called the Panchsheel, that guide convictions based on circumstantial evidence.

Step 4: Note what the five principles say.
The circumstances must be fully proved. They must point only to the guilt of the accused. They must be of a conclusive nature. They must exclude every other reasonable explanation. And together they must form a complete chain leaving no room for the innocence of the accused.

Step 5: Check the other options.
Vasa Chandrasekhar Rao, Dudh Nath Pandey and Dr. Sunil Clifford Daniel are decisions on other points and are not the source of the five Golden Principles.

Step 6: Conclude.
So the correct answer is Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, 1984 AIR 1622.
\[ \boxed{\text{Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, 1984 AIR 1622}} \]
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