In Brief
This case concerns a 1993 election-related communal violence in West Bengal where CPI(M) workers allegedly attacked IPF supporters, resulting in five deaths and 24 injuries. All accused were acquitted at trial and on High Court revision. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment and remitted the case for fresh consideration, holding that the courts had improperly rejected eyewitness testimony merely because some witnesses testified for the first time in court. The judgment clarifies that minor variations and embellishments in witness accounts do not warrant wholesale rejection of evidence, and that courts must separate grain from chaff. It reaffirmed that ocular testimony prevails over medical evidence when credible, and that material evidence on charges like unlawful assembly and house-burning must be properly considered by revisional courts.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.