In Brief
Four men were convicted by a trial court and the High Court affirmed their conviction for involvement in a fatal mob attack on a Deputy Sarpanch in February 1997. The Supreme Court set aside their conviction on appeal. Although the appellants were named in court testimony as part of the unlawful assembly, they were not named in the original FIR, no specific criminal acts were attributed to them, and other eyewitnesses did not implicate them. The Court held that mere presence in a mob without clear evidence of participation does not establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and granted the appellants the benefit of the doubt, acquitting them of all charges.
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