In Brief
A man was convicted of murder for killing Yashwant along with three co-accused. At trial, all three co-accused were acquitted while the appellant alone was convicted, based largely on eyewitness testimony (PW13). The appellant appealed, arguing that since the same witness's testimony was disbelieved regarding the co-accused, it should be rejected entirely. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, holding that courts may convict an accused even when co-accused are acquitted on similar evidence, if the residue—specific eyewitness identification, medical evidence that the assigned injury was self-sufficiently fatal, and weapon recovery—establishes guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The maxim falsus in uno falsus in omnibus is not mandatory in India.
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