Credible eyewitness evidence reinforced by forensic and medical proof can sustain murder convictions despite minor inconsistencies.

Credible eyewitness testimony can sustain a murder conviction when it is materially corroborated by medical and forensic evidence. The Supreme Court noted that a consistent account of the assault, supported by the site plan, photographs, post-mortem findings and forensic linkage between the recovered firearm and empty cartridges, outweighed the defence version and alleged discrepancies. Blackened injuries indicating close-range firing, prompt lodging of the FIR, and the admitted presence of one accused with a loaded gun further strengthened the prosecution case. Minor investigative inconsistencies and peripheral omissions were held insufficient to create reasonable doubt, and the convictions and sentences were affirmed.

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Issues: Whether the convictions for murder could be sustained on the basis of the eyewitness account and corroborative medical and forensic evidence, and whether the defence version and alleged discrepancies created reasonable doubt.

Analysis: The eyewitnesses gave a consistent account of the assault, and their version was supported by the site plan, photographs, post-mortem findings, and the forensic report linking the firearm recovered from one accused to the empty cartridges found at the scene. The injuries were blackened and indicative of close-range firing, which contradicted the defence suggestion of indiscriminate firing by the deceased from another location. The prompt lodging of the FIR, the admitted presence of one accused at the scene with a loaded gun, and the absence of any material infirmity in the prosecution case strengthened the direct evidence. The Court also held that peripheral matters and minor inconsistencies in the investigation did not undermine the core prosecution case.

Conclusion: The convictions were upheld and the appellants were found guilty.

Final Conclusion: The appeals failed, and the sentences imposed by the courts below were affirmed.

Ratio Decidendi: A conviction may safely rest on credible eyewitness testimony when it is materially corroborated by medical and forensic evidence, and minor discrepancies or collateral omissions do not displace such proof.

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