Breaking SUPREME COURT REAFFIRMS PUBLIC DOMAIN PROTECTION FOR DIGITAL LAWS
New Delhi · Sunday, 20 September 2026 9888666310 | [email protected]
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Supreme Court of India 2017-01-09 partly_allowed

Baleshwar Mahto & Anr vs State of Bihar & Anr

Bench: 2 — A.K. Sikri

In Brief

A-1 and A-2 were convicted for murder and attempt to murder in a land dispute case in which they, along with an armed group, confronted the complainant's family ploughing a field and opened fire, killing the complainant's father and injuring the complainant and his brother. The appellants challenged their convictions, arguing contradictions between eye-witness testimony and medical evidence, and contending the incident was a spontaneous quarrel between disputing parties. The Supreme Court upheld convictions, holding that injured eye-witnesses like PW-7 are accorded special evidentiary status, minor variations with medical evidence do not discredit oral testimony, and the appellants' arrival armed with deadly weapons showed clear intent. A-1's life sentence was maintained; A-2's 7-year sentence was reduced to time already served considering his age (80) and the 34-year lapse since the incident.

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Criminal Law Evidence Murder and Attempt to Murder Firearms Act Land Disputes Injured Witness Medical Evidence vs Ocular Evidence

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