Summary
The Court upheld convictions arising from a fatal armed group attack, finding the eyewitness accounts credible and corroborated by medical evidence. Minor discrepancies and the absence of food particles at post-mortem did not undermine the proved occurrence. The evidence established an unlawful assembly with the common object of murder.
Issues
- Whether alleged inconsistencies between eyewitness evidence and post-mortem findings created reasonable doubt.
- Whether the eyewitness evidence established the appellants’ participation and common object.
Held
- Stomach or intestinal contents alone do not conclusively fix the time of death. Digestion depends on several factors, and here the exact time and quantity of the alleged meal were unproved. That circumstance could not displace credible direct evidence considered with the whole record. (¶ 7–12)
- The eyewitnesses’ presence and accounts were natural and trustworthy, supported by the injuries and medical findings. Minor discrepancies did not affect the prosecution’s foundation; the Supreme Court disagreed with the High Court’s rejection of two of those witnesses. (¶¶ 5–6, 13–15)
- The evidence established participation in an unlawful assembly with a common object to murder by use of fatal weapons. No material conflict with the medical evidence justified interference. (¶ 15–16)
Result
Appeals dismissed; convictions and sentences, including life imprisonment for murder with unlawful-assembly liability, upheld.