In Brief
Three brothers (A3, A4, A5) were convicted of murder by the High Court after the trial court had acquitted them and seven others. The victim, allegedly involved with A5's wife, was attacked by multiple assailants near Nagaral village. The High Court relied on testimonies of an eyewitness (PW-3) and injured witness (PW-4), both family members of the victim. The Supreme Court reversed the conviction, holding the High Court erred in reversing acquittal without identifying illegality or perversity in the trial court's reasoning. The Court found material contradictions: injuries described as simple despite alleged axe blows causing 20-day unconsciousness, timing discrepancies between oral evidence and medical reports, and PW-3's artificial post-incident conduct. The Court reaffirmed that acquittal carries a reinforced presumption of innocence and can only be reversed when an equally plausible view favoring innocence does not exist.
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