Two men freed after 14 years over wrong forensic report

Two men were sent to jail for 14 years after being found guilty of hurting a man who later died.

A high court in Madhya Pradesh, a state in India, recently decided their punishment was based on big mistakes.

The first court used a laboratory report that actually belonged to a different case, with different people and different weapons.

The judges said they were surprised by this mistake.

Police also could not say who wrote the first report about the crime, and that person never gave evidence in court.

A doctor said the injured man was already dead when he reached the hospital.

The judges said it was unclear whether the man really made the complaint before he died, or whether someone else put his thumb print on it.

Because of these serious mistakes, the judges set aside the conviction and freed the two men.

This case shows why courts must check that evidence really belongs to the right case.