In Brief
Gorusu Nagaraju was convicted by the trial court and the High Court for the murder of Desineedi Venkateswararao (Section 302 IPC) and tampering with evidence (Section 201 IPC), based on seven material circumstances: being last seen together, jointly purchasing whisky, recovery of the body with injuries, fingerprints on the bottle and glass, recovery of seized items at the accused's instance, motive (a grudge), and failure to explain. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, holding that while some witnesses turned hostile, others provided consistent evidence on these material facts. Minor inconsistencies in evidence cannot defeat material proof establishing an unbroken chain connecting the accused to the crime.
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