4 min readRaipurMay 8, 2026 05:30 AM IST
The Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld the acquittal of all 10 accused in the 2010 Tadmetla ambush, when Maoists gunned down 76 security personnel and looted their weapons. The court cited a lack of direct evidence, incomplete circumstantial proof, procedural lapses in the investigation, and failure to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The incident took place on the third day of a four-day-long joint operation undertaken by the CRPF and local police in Dantewada district. In the morning of April 6, 2010, the 62nd Battalion of the CRPF, as well as local police personnel, were going towards the hilly forest of Chintalnar when they were ambushed in the forest of Tadmetla village, which is presently in Sukma district.
A total of 75 CRPF jawans and one policeman were killed, and their weapons were looted. Before fleeing, Maoists also planted tiffin bombs.
Of the 10 accused, two have died since the incident, including 19-year-old Barse Lakhma, who was the youngest accused in the case.
In 2013, a sessions court in Dantewada had acquitted all the accused of offences under IPC sections 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 396 (murder with dacoity), as well as sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act and sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Substance Act.
The court said that though the incident was “deeply painful”, the prosecution agencies have not been able to establish the identity of the real perpetrators.
The court noted five major issues. First, there was no direct evidence/eyewitness, and the prosecution’s case is based on circumstantial evidence. Second, the confessional statement was not corroborated with independent evidence. Third, seized explosive materials, including pipe bombs, grenades, and rifles, were recovered from the place of the incident and not from the possession of the accused.
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The fourth point was that there was no record of the prosecution sanction required under the Arms Act, and no TIP (Test Identification Parade) of the accused was conducted. The last point was that though statements of police witnesses and officers confirmed that the materials were seized, they cannot establish the accused’s involvement in planting, handling, or using explosives.
Dismissing the appeal filed by the state, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Agrawal said, “We are equally distressed to observe that a case of such a serious magnitude, involving mass casualties and grave consequences to national security, has ultimately been dealt with in a manner where no legally admissible and reliable evidence could be produced against the accused persons. As a result, the learned trial Court was constrained to acquit them.”
“While the loss of 76 lives is undeniably a matter of profound tragedy and national concern, it is equally well-settled in criminal jurisprudence that an appellate Court cannot sustain a conviction in the absence of clear, cogent, and legally admissible evidence establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” it added.
The court further directed the state to ensure that all future investigations of serious crimes, particularly those involving mass casualties or threats to national security, are conducted with utmost diligence and strict adherence to legal procedures.
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The court said, “The State must also implement training programmes for personnel to enhance investigative competence and periodically report on the steps taken to comply with these directions. Such measures are essential to prevent procedural lapses, secure justice for victims, uphold the presumption of innocence, and maintain public confidence in the criminal justice system.”
