In Brief
Three appellants were convicted of murder and rioting under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 and 147-149, based on the early morning killing of a Shivsena official whose brother had married into the appellants' community. The sole eyewitness—the widow—identified the attackers. Although the High Court acquitted two co-accused, leaving only three convicted instead of the minimum five required for formal unlawful assembly, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction. It found the common intention to kill was clearly proved by eyewitness testimony and weapon recovery. The Court ruled that technical defects in proving unlawful assembly do not vitiate a conviction where overwhelming evidence establishes the accused's culpability for the homicidal death.
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