JUDGMENT

Vinod Chandran, J.

The injurious destinies that befell, a group of young men, for reason of a wrong delivery of an SMS is the case projected herein; which resulted in the murder of one and incarceration of some others. A minor girl sent an innocuous message about her exams to a male friend, which was received by a stranger. There were exchanges between the sender and the stranger/recipient, querying about each others identity, which infuriated the friend of the sender. The friend hence repeatedly called the recipient and abused him over the mobile phone, upon which the recipient complained to his friends. The friends took up cudgels on behalf of the recipient and called back the person who abused him, when they were asked to come to a nearby toddy shop. At the toddy shop a scuffle ensued and one of the friends of the recipient was stabbed. He was taken to the hospital, in fact three hospitals, in the last of which, he succumbed to the injuries. Nine persons were arrayed as accused, out of which six were convicted and three acquitted. The convicted accused A1 to A4 and A5 & A8 are before us in separate appeals.

2. Before the Trial Court the prosecution examined 41 witnesses an