In Brief
The deceased Shriram, leader of a defeated political faction, was assaulted and died from head injuries shortly after village panchayat elections. Respondent No. 2 Baliram and co-accused Khandusing were convicted of murder under Section 302 IPC read with Section 34. The High Court set aside the conviction, finding material discrepancies in related and partisan witnesses' evidence, substantial improvements over police statements, and medical evidence showing only non-fatal injuries when allegedly assaulted by 13 persons. This Court upheld acquittal, holding that respondent No. 2 inflicted only a non-fatal blow on the body (not the head), Section 34 IPC requires pre-arranged common intention (absent here), and the prosecution failed to establish the legal requisites for vicarious conviction.
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