JUDGEMENT

R.M. Lodha, J.—

Five persons were done to death in the intervening night of October 2 and 3, 2000 in village Thimmapur, District Warangal. The villagers suspected that deceased were practicing sorcery and due to that few deaths took place in the village. 77 persons were sent up for trial for the offences under Sections 148, 448, 307, 302, 120-B read with 109, IPC. The Court of 2nd Additional Sessions Judge at Warangal vide his judgment dated June 9, 2009 acquitted all of them. In the appeal preferred by the State of Andhra Pradesh, High Court confirmed the judgment of acquittal of 59 accused but convicted nineteen persons for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149, IPC and sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for life vide judgment dated October 4, 2007. Their acquittal for other offences was, however, confirmed. All these nineteen convicted persons preferred special leave petition in which leave has been granted and appeal has come up for hearing before us.

2. Few cattle died in the village Thimmapur in 1997. The death of these cattle were due to sudden ill-health. The villagers of Thimmapur suspected that their cattle died due to sorcery pract