In Brief
In this 2020 Supreme Court judgment, the Court upheld convictions of 15 accused persons for the kidnapping, illegal confinement, murder and cremation of a former MLA M.K. Balan in 2001-2002. The case was built largely on accomplice evidence from two persons (PW10 and PW11) who were involved in providing the venue, vehicles, and facilities. The Court held that accomplice evidence, though it requires corroboration in material particulars relating to the crime and accused's identity, can sustain conviction when the witness proves reliable and independent corroboration is found. The Court applied the presumption that abductors/those confining a victim are presumed responsible for the victim's subsequent death absent explanation. It clarified that acquittal under Section 120B IPC (conspiracy) does not vitiate conviction under substantive offences committed by the accused's own acts or through abetment.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.