In Brief
A scheduled caste man was shot and killed by accused Harnam Singh at close range with a country-made pistol in front of three eyewitnesses in 1998. Harnam Singh and two others (Balvir Singh and Bhav Singh) were convicted of murder for life. On appeal, the Supreme Court upheld Harnam Singh's conviction based on consistent eyewitness testimony despite minor discrepancies with medical evidence and inconclusive ballistic testing. However, it acquitted Balvir Singh and Bhav Singh, finding insufficient evidence that they shared a common intention to murder—merely catching the victim without attacking him did not establish the pre-arranged plan required under Section 34 IPC.
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