JUDGMENT :

K. VINOD CHANDRAN, J.

1. Conspiracy, political enmity and mistaken identity together resulted in the murder of an innocent person, leaving his family rudderless. Equally rudderless was the investigation, accuse the defence of whom A1 to A4 were arraigned for their antecedents and A5 to A11 for their political affiliation. A8 died when the appeal was pending. The legal heirs of A8 is impleaded and they challenge the conviction.

2. On the night of 02.03.2014 at about 8.45 or 9.15 p.m. PW-1 and PW-2 along with the deceased were sitting in a heap of sand, in the property of PW-7, where a residential construction was going on. PW-3 joined them and while they were chatting, A1 to A5 arrived at the spot with lethal weapons. The assailants attacked the deceased, PW-1 and PW-2 resulting in the death of the former and grievous injury to PW-1 and PW-2. The prosecution case is that A1 to A4 are goondas, who were engaged by the rival political party, on a ‘quotation’ to murder PW-48, an active member of a political party. A5, an affiliate of the CPI (M) and a neighbour of PW-48, accompanied A1 to A4 to the scene of occurrence so as to identify him, an active member of BJP. At the scene