In Brief
This case involved 54 accused persons charged with the murder of three young people—Roshni, Vijendra, and Ram Kishan—in a village panchayat in 1991. Roshni, a Jat woman, had eloped with Vijendra, a Jatav man, defying caste norms. The panchayat subjected the three to prolonged torture and eventually executed them. The trial court convicted 39 accused; the High Court upheld most convictions but commuted eight death sentences to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld the convictions, holding that hostile eye-witnesses' evidence could still be relied upon if corroborated by other credible witnesses. Three accused were acquitted due to identity confusion. The Court rejected the State's appeal to reinstate the death sentences, finding the life imprisonment appropriate given age and other mitigating factors.
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