In Brief
On 31 January 2008, Ravindra Kale was beaten to death by twelve men armed with swords and iron pipes in a dispute-related attack in Maharashtra. The appellants were convicted of murder under IPC Sections 302 and 326 read with 149, and rioting offences. The High Court upheld the conviction. The Supreme Court dismissed their appeal, holding that credible eyewitness evidence (PW-5, PW-8, PW-12) corroborated by post-mortem findings established guilt beyond doubt. Minor discrepancies in witness accounts were immaterial. The absence of stomach contents did not undermine the prosecution's case, as digestion rates vary and cannot solely determine time of death where direct evidence is reliable.
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