In Brief
A man was killed in a shooting incident on 25 December 1980. Six men, including the appellant Ramvir, were charged with murder (Section 302 IPC) and being members of an unlawful assembly (Sections 148/149 IPC). The trial court acquitted five co-accused of all charges and acquitted Ramvir of unlawful assembly charges, but convicted him of murder. The High Court upheld the murder conviction and added convictions under Sections 148/149 IPC. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, finding: (1) the acquittal under Sections 148/149 had attained finality as the State did not appeal; (2) with all co-accused acquitted and no unknown members alleged, Ramvir could not be convicted alone; and (3) there was no evidence proving Ramvir fired the fatal shot, and ballistic evidence contradicted this. The Court acquitted Ramvir of all charges.
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