The trial court relying on the eye-witness account that while the father, Bhagirath, held the legs of his blind son, Subram, his two nephews, Hanuman and Kheta, butchered the victim by cutting his throat, had sentenced all three accused to life imprisonment.

Though the high court confirmed the sentence on Hanuman and Kheta, it acquitted Bhagirath giving him benefit of doubt ``as a matter of abundant caution''.

A division bench of the apex court comprising Justices KT Thomas and DP Mohapatra, allowing an appeal by Haryana Government against the acquittal of Bhagirath, said the high court did not point out the area where there is such a doubt.

``Any restraint by way of abundant caution need not be entangled with the concept of benefit of doubt. The pristine doctrine of benefit of doubtcan be invoked when there is reasonable doubt regarding the guilt of the accused,'' it said.

The bench said, ``we have absolutely no doubt that prosecution has proved with reasonable certainty that Bhagirath was holding the legs of the deceased when his nephews cut Subhram's throat.''

Justice Thomas said, ``every father is the best protector of his own children - that is the order of human nature. But there had been freaks in the history of mankind when father became the killer of his own child.''

According to the prosecution, Subhram, who was born blind, was residing with his mother separately from his father Bhagirath due to some marital dispute. Bhagirath was residing with his brother Kanharam's two sons, Hanuman and Kheta.

Bhagirath and his brother together had 32 acres of ancestral property, of which in a family arrangement Subhram's share was fixed as one-sixth.

The other shareholders of the property, the prosecution said, might have thought that Subhram being blind would not marry and afterhim the property would accrue to them.

However, at the age of 32 Subhram was desirous of marriage and mortagaged his share of the property to one Prabhati for a sum of Rs 22,000.

When Prabhati tried to cultivate the mortgaged land, it was resisted and led to a criminal case against Bhagirath, Hanuman, Kheta as well as Subhram and Prabhati.

The relationship between the father and the blind son worsened when the latter filed a civil suit for partition of the property and on August 8, 1987, the father with the help of his two nephews butchered his own son.