In Brief
In this 2018 judgment involving a violent incident in 1992 that killed three and injured five persons in Gujarat, the Supreme Court examined a criminal appeal after 17 accused were tried and some convicted for unlawful assembly, murder and grievous injury. The Court found that charges were defectively framed in violation of procedural law, distinct charges for each deceased were not formulated, and vicarious liability under Section 149 IPC was not properly invoked. While the High Court had upheld some convictions and acquittals, the Court held the entire trial was vitiated by procedural irregularities incompatible with Article 21. Rather than ordering a retrial 26 years later when witnesses had likely vanished and some accused had died, the Court awarded public law damages: Rs 25 lakh to each deceased's family and Rs 10 lakh to each injured person, illustrating systemic failure in criminal justice administration.
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