In Brief
On 11 March 1998, a Scheduled Caste man named Mohan Mehtar was shot and killed near a railway colony in Madhya Pradesh. Three eyewitnesses testified that they saw accused Harnam Singh fire a country-made pistol at Mohan's face from very close range, causing instant death, while co-accused Balvir Singh and Bhav Singh held the victim. The Supreme Court affirmed Harnam Singh's conviction for murder, rejecting arguments that minor inconsistencies in eyewitness accounts about distance and injury details undermined credibility. However, the Court acquitted Balvir Singh and Bhav Singh, finding no proof they shared a common intention to murder—they were unarmed and merely held the victim without evidence of pre-arranged planning.
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