PRAYAGRAJ, Sept. 24 -- The Allahabad high court has acquitted a mother and the uncle of her three children who were sentenced to death and life imprisonment, respectively, for their alleged role in the children's deaths, holding that the prosecution failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

A bench of Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Jai Krishna Upadhyay set aside the convictions of Priyanka and her alleged paramour, Ashish alias Daini. While Priyanka had been sentenced to death by the trial court, Ashish was sentenced to life imprisonment. The HC acquitted both and ordered their release forthwith, if not wanted in any other case.

The court found that the testimony of the surviving eight-year-old child witness suffere...