In Brief
Twenty persons were tried for the 2005 murder of Bhagwan Singh in Rajasthan; nine, including the appellants, were convicted by both trial court and High Court. The Supreme Court upheld the convictions, finding no legal infirmity. However, the Court critically noted serious procedural flaws: the trial had been adjourned for over four months after examining a key witness, and four family witnesses subsequently became hostile. The Court reaffirmed that Section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code mandates continuous day-to-day witness examination to prevent witnesses from being pressured into hostility. It directed trial courts to comply strictly with this mandate and ordered High Courts to issue appropriate directions ensuring prompt examination of eye-witnesses and compliance with procedural requirements.
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