In Brief
In this case, the Supreme Court reversed a High Court acquittal and restored a trial court conviction of three accused (Nos. 1-3) for murder and unlawful assembly under IPC Sections 302 and 148. The High Court had acquitted them citing alleged FIR interpolation and a 7-hour delay in registration. The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred by giving undue weight to minor, non-material contradictions in eyewitness testimony and discarding evidence from injured eyewitnesses. The Court reaffirmed that injured eyewitnesses have greater credibility and that a 7-hour delay in an FIR, when filed within the legal 24-hour requirement, is not fatal to the prosecution case. The judgment was restored with the accused directed to surrender within four weeks.
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