Summary
The Court reversed acquittals in a fatal shooting and house-burning case because the High Court relied on trivial discrepancies and misread evidence concerning identification and the FIR. The injured eyewitnesses’ accounts were credible and corroborated. Convictions of the surviving accused were restored, but death sentences were replaced with life imprisonment in the overall circumstances and passage of time.
Issues
- Whether the High Court’s reasons justified rejecting the injured eyewitnesses and acquitting the accused.
- What sentence was appropriate for the surviving accused after reversal.
Held
- The High Court misread the investigating officer’s lack of recollection about wall blackening as proof that the lantern had not burned. It ignored the witness’s explanation, close-range recognition, familiar voices and other evidence supporting identification. (¶ 24–32)
- The contemporaneous police and medical sequence supported prompt FIR registration. Ink differences in the inquest and minor inconsistencies did not undermine the prosecution’s core. Credible injured-witness evidence could not be discarded on those speculative grounds. (¶ 34–41)
- The prosecution proved the common-intention attack and deaths. Two accused had died during proceedings; as to the three survivors, the Court restored the convictions and other punishments but considered capital punishment inappropriate after the elapsed time and overall circumstances. (¶ 41–42)
Result
State appeal allowed; High Court acquittals set aside for the three surviving accused. Death punishment converted to life imprisonment, other trial punishments confirmed, and immediate custody directed.