The Supreme Court acquitted Arjun Jani @ Tuntun after he spent approximately 22 years in prison for a murder conviction. The case involved the deaths of three women, and the prosecution substantially relied upon the testimony of a single eyewitness. The accused had also alleged custodial torture and extraction of a confession, although such a confession was legally inadmissible. His jail appeal before the Orissa High Court was filed after a delay of 3,157 days and was dismissed without examination of the conviction’s merits. The Supreme Court adopted a liberal approach towards the delayed appeal, particularly considering the appellant’s prolonged incarceration. It found serious inconsistencies and improbabilities in the eyewitness evidence and concluded that the conviction could not safely stand. The Court criticized multiple institutional failures, including inadequate investigation, reliance on inadmissible material, insufficient evidentiary scrutiny and delayed appellate justice. The judgment emphasizes that procedural limitations should not defeat substantive justice, particularly where personal liberty is at stake.