India, Aug. 27 -- The Kerala high court on Wednesday set aside the conviction of four police officers for the death of a 28-year-old man picked up for questioning in a theft case in 2005.

A bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar acquitted the four officers, Jithakumar K, TK Haridas, T Ajithkumar and EK Sabu, ruling that the prosecution could not establish the charges against them beyond a reasonable doubt.

The high court also sharply criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), asserting that its probe in the case was "tainted" and "vitiated".

"We are compelled to hold that a flawed and tainted investigation has eventually led to the failure of the prosecution case involving the gruesome death of Udayakumar. ...