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Inder Singh & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal Nos. 493-495 of 2009)Decided 6 Jan 2015
Criminal Appeal Nos. 493-495 of 2009
Justice M.Y. Eqbal · Justice Shiva Kirti Singh

Background

Twenty-nine co-villagers in Rajasthan were charge-sheeted after a mob attack on 10 September 2001 that killed four people and seriously injured the informant. Twenty-four of the 29 accused were convicted by the trial court for murder and related offences under the theory of common unlawful assembly, and most convictions were upheld by the Rajasthan High Court. Several convicts filed separate appeals (eventually eight in total) to the Supreme Court, challenging their convictions mainly on the ground that the evidence did not sufficiently link each individual accused to the unlawful assembly.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the group's chasing and killing of four victims clearly showed a common object to commit a serious offence, satisfying the definition of "unlawful assembly" under Section 141 IPC, and that the lower courts rightly applied Section 149 IPC (vicarious liability for acts of the unlawful assembly). However, applying the established caution (from Masalti and Busi Koteswara Rao) that in large-mob cases a conviction should be supported by at least two or three consistent witnesses specifically naming each accused, the Court re-examined the evidence against each appellant individually. It found that five specific appellants, including Suresh Kumar and Ram Prasad, whose appeals were part of this very appeal number (493-495/2009), had been named by only one witness each, insufficient corroboration, and gave them the benefit of doubt, acquitting them. The appeals of the remaining sixteen appellants were dismissed, and their bail bonds (if on bail) were ordered cancelled so they could serve out their sentences.

Lesson Learnt

In mob-violence cases involving many accused, courts require corroboration by multiple independent witnesses naming each specific individual: merely being named once by a single witness, even where a broader unlawful assembly is proven, is not enough to sustain a conviction; benefit of doubt applies accused-by-accused, not just case-by-case.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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