The judgment reaffirms that eyewitness testimony and dying declarations hold significant weight in establishing guilt, especially when corroborated by forensic evidence.

JUDGMENT :

RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V., J.

1. These Appeals have been preferred by the accused Nos. 2 to 8 in S.C.No.373 of 2017 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge-I Mavelikkara. Crl.A. No. 511 of 2020 has been preferred by accused Nos. 2 to 6, Crl.A. No. 554 of 2020 has been preferred by the 6th accused, Crl.A. No. 244 of 2020 has been preferred by the 7th accused, and Crl.A. No. 510 of 2020 has been preferred by the 8th accused. The 1st accused remained absconding all through, and hence did not face the trial.

2. By the judgment impugned, the appellants/accused, except the 7th accused, were found guilty and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.1 lakh each for the offence under Section 302 r/w. Section 149 of the IPC ; to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 5 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- each for the offence punishable under Section 449 of the IPC ; to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 6 months and to pay a fine of Rs.5000/- each for the offence punishable under Section 148 of the IPC ; to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 6 months and to pay a fine of Rs.5000/- each for the offence punishable under Section 149 of the IPC and to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 6 months and to pay a fine of Rs. 5000/- each for the offence punishable under Section 143 of the IPC, all with a default clause. The accused No. 7 was sentenced to undergo RI for 7 y ears and to pay a fine of Rs.50,000/- for the offence punishable under Section 307 of the IPC, with a default clause. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The accused Nos. 9 to 17 were acquitted of all charges.

Gist of the Prosecution Case:

3. The prosecution case, in essence, is that the accused persons harboured deep-seated animosity towards Jishnu (the deceased), under the belief that he had played an active role in the murder of their friend, Ullas. He had further aggravated their resentment by allegedly celebrating Ullas’s death by bursting crackers. Driven by a desire for vengeance, the appellants hatched a conspiracy to retaliate and do away with Jishu on the previous day of the incident.

3.1 Pursuant to the said criminal conspiracy, on 10.02.2017, accused Nos. 11, 14, 16, and 17 followed Jishnu and continuously relayed information regarding his movements to the other accused through mobile phone communication. On the basis of the inputs received from the rest of the accused, accused Nos. 1 to 10, 12, and 13, armed with dangerous weapons, pursued Jishnu on their motorbikes and scooters. At that time, Jishnu was travelling as a pillion rider on a motorbike bearing Registration No. KL-29/K-6921, ridden by PW1, his brother. PW2, a close friend of the deceased, was also accompanying them on another motorbike bearing Registration No. KL-29/K-7750.

3.2 At about 11:45 a.m., while Jishnu, PW1, and PW2 were waiting on their respective motorbikes at the Oottuparambu Railway Cross on their way home, accused Nos. 1 to 10, 12, and 13 chased them and shouted, to do away with him. Hearing this, Jishnu and PW1 attempted to flee on foot to save themselves, but accused Nos. 1 to 6 followed them, brand