In Brief
This case involved appellants convicted of arson (Section 436 IPC) arising from an election dispute over a Deputy Sarpanch position in February 2000. The trial court had acquitted them on the arson charge, but the High Court reversed this, finding the prosecution's eyewitness testimony credible despite weak corroboration. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction but modified the sentence. Finding the original three-year term disproportionate given the 18-year delay and time already served (ranging from 31 days to over three months), the Court reduced the sentence to the period already undergone by each appellant.
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