In Brief
A group of accused attacked three men in a property dispute, with one victim dying from head injuries. The trial court convicted them of murder. The High Court reduced the conviction to causing death without murder intent, imposing sentences based solely on time each had already served, resulting in widely disparate sentences. The Supreme Court held this approach flawed. It ruled that when multiple accused are tried together for the same offence with common intention and no distinguishing roles, sentencing must reflect the gravity of the crime proportionately, not just custody time. The Court set uniform imprisonment of five years for similarly-culpable accused.
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