In Brief
Seven appellants challenged their conviction for murder under IPC Sections 147, 148, and 302/149 in a case involving the death of Govind Singh in a violent incident on 15 October 1998. The Supreme Court held that the prosecution proved the existence of an unlawful assembly with a common object of causing death. While the Court upheld the conviction of five appellants (Bharosaram, Duleshwar, Bhanjan Singh, Keshav Prasad, and Nand Kumar) based on corroborated eye-witness testimony and recovered blood-stained weapons, it acquitted two appellants (Khemuram and Lakhan) due to insufficient evidence linking them to the incident. The Court reiterated that when dealing with large criminal assemblies, courts should require consistent testimony from multiple witnesses to establish identity, though a single wholly reliable witness may suffice.
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