A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a 28-year-old man accused of killing his brother-in-law in 2023, giving him the benefit of doubt after the prime witnesses in the case turned hostile, reported news agency PTI.

Although documents such as the postmortem report confirmed the death was due to hemorrhagic shock from a stab wound, the court noted this could not independently establish the guilt of the accused without substantive witness support.

The prosecution "miserably failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt," Additional Sessions Judge, Kalyan court, S G Inamdar said in the order on May 19, a copy of which was made available on Saturday, reported PTI.