In Brief
During a Ganesh immersion procession, members of two rival political groups attacked with axes and sticks, resulting in the death of Rajaram Bhosale. The trial court convicted four accused under Section 302/149 IPC, but the High Court acquitted three of them (A1, A5, A7), citing insufficient evidence. The Supreme Court dismissed the State's and complainant's appeals, holding that the complainant's unexplained delay in reporting the death, combined with absence of corroborating eyewitness evidence, cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution's case. The acquittals were therefore justified.
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