India, June 11 -- The Supreme Court has underlined that a person loses the benefit of the presumption of innocence once convicted by a court of law, cautioning appellate courts against re-appreciating evidence and suspending life sentences unless there are compelling indications that the conviction may not ultimately survive scrutiny.

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan made the observation while setting aside Allahabad high court orders that had suspended the life sentences of three convicts in the 2017 murder of Meerut municipal councillor Aarif and his associate Shadab.

"Once the accused is held guilty the presumption of innocence no longer remains," held the bench in a recent order, emphasising that this principle mu...