In Brief
Two rival factions in Vellaluru village engaged in violent conflict. The accused allegedly attacked and killed two persons—Tirupathi Rao and Siva Sankara Rao—and injured a 12-year-old eyewitness with axes and knives on 10 October 2003. The Trial Court acquitted all accused, finding contradictions in eyewitness testimony and medical evidence to be inconsistent with the alleged weapons. The High Court reversed the acquittal and convicted several accused under Sections 302 and 149 IPC, sentencing them to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court, finding the Trial Court's reasoning perverse—the medical evidence actually supported the eyewitnesses' accounts, investigative lapses were inconsequential, and the evidence of the injured child witness was credible despite delay in recording his statement. The appeals were dismissed."
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