In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of four appellants for the murder of a mother (Messo) and her unmarried daughter (Raj Bala) committed in retaliation for the daughter's marriage proposal. The sole eye-witness was Guddi, a close relation who witnessed the attackers using a weapon (gandasa) to kill the victims and then disposing of their remains. The Court held that the eye-witness testimony, though from a relative, was credible and natural, corroborated by physical evidence including blood stains and recovered weapons. The Court rejected arguments that the absence of independent witnesses and lack of expert analysis on recovered bones undermined the case, finding sufficient circumstantial evidence to prove the appellants' guilt.
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