In Brief
A man was beaten to death during a group assault by members of an unlawful assembly armed with sticks. The trial court convicted all members under murder laws; the High Court downgraded it to culpable homicide, reasoning the fatal head injury was caused by one unknown assailant, not the common purpose. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that when multiple members of an armed group collectively assault a victim with numerous blows to vital areas, the intention to inflict deadly injury can be inferred from their combined conduct. Under group liability principles, identifying which individual struck the fatal blow is unnecessary once murder by the group is established.
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