In Brief
A Supreme Court bench upheld the conviction of two appellants (Harpal Singh @ Chhota and Sukhmeet Singh @ Deputy) for kidnapping for ransom, conspiracy, and arms violations. The victim had been abducted from Jalandhar and held captive for two days; large sums of cash, firearms, and the vehicle used in the crime were recovered based on the accused's disclosures. Although the victim initially omitted to name one appellant in police statements, identifying him only at trial, the Court held this omission was not fatal given the conspiracy charge and the appellant's subsequent courtroom identification. The Court rejected arguments regarding procedural defects (test identification parade, call details admissibility) and upheld convictions based on the totality of credible evidence proving the planned abduction and ransom demand.
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