3436.txt

The current document is an appeal by special leave against the conviction and sentence of death for the accused in a murder case. The accused was charged alongside two others, but they were acquitted by the High Court, leaving only the accused for trial. The sole witness, PW4, who is a leprosy patient, initially implicated the accused in the first information report, but later testified that two other accused, who were not present in court, were also involved in the murder. However, the High Court rejected the testimony of these other accused and acquitted them, finding that PW4 was compelled to implicate them due to the version given by other witnesses. The High Court found that PW4 had no motive to implicate the accused and gave a candid, natural, and truthful version at the earliest opportunity. The High Court also noted a history of a bitter feud between the accused and the deceased spanning over nearly a decade. The medical evidence showed that there were more than one assailant, but the witness initially only mentioned the accused as the assailant in the first information report. The witness also contradicted his earlier version in court, stating that he saw two other accused being chased by the deceased's brothers and Ramaswamy, but did not mention this in the first information report. The witness also did not mention the deceased chasing the accused in court, despite stating this in the first information report. The High Court found that the witness's testimony was unreliable and that the accused should not be convicted based solely on the witness's testimony. The appeal was allowed, and the accused was released from detention.