The bench consisting of justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Abhay Mantritherefore, three family members accused of killing a woman were acquitted while the conviction of a fourth family member was upheld.

The court found that the prosecution failed to prove the necessary elements of common intention under Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

This decision came after the Judge Judge in Pusad had convicted four family members (appeals) for the murder of a woman in 2019.

The Supreme Court stated in its judgment,

“As discussed above, the mere presence of the accused Nos. 2 to 4 at the spot or uttering the words to hit her as “mara mara” does not invoke the ingredients of Section 34 of the IPC to commit her murder.”

The court further noted that evidence did not reflect prior conspiracy on the part of the three accused to kill the deceased or knowledge of the convicted murderer’s intention to kill the deceased.

“On perusal of the evidence, it does not reflect that there was any previous concert, nor does the evidence indicate that accused Nos. 2 to 4 were aware of the fact that accused No. 1-Jayanand intended to kill the deceased,“, the court said.