In Brief
Devraj was convicted of murder (Section 302 IPC) by the trial court, with the high court confirming the conviction. On appeal, Devraj challenged reliance on hostile witnesses (PW.13 and PW.16), arguing their evidence should be discarded. The Supreme Court held that hostile witness evidence remains admissible and can support conviction if corroborated by other reliable evidence and the core facts are maintained during both examination-in-chief and cross-examination. The court found the hostile witnesses' testimony regarding Devraj's assault on the deceased to be consistent, corroborated by another eyewitness and medical evidence, and the theory of accidental death to be implausible based on physical evidence. The appeal was dismissed, upholding the conviction.
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