While upholding the sentence against three in the sensational Gulbarga court premises murder case, the Supreme Court has held that the testimony of relatives and friends of a victim should not be discarded, saying that it is not credible.

A bench comprising Justices B N Agrawal and P P Naolekar said, “Merely because witnesses are related or interested, their evidence cannot be discarded if the same is otherwise found to be credible, specially when they support the prosecution case.”

The court upheld the life term awarded by the Karnataka High Court to three prime accused – Mallanna, Lalesa and Bhimanagouda. They had been convicted for killing Bhimanagouda Desai by attacking him with locally made weapons at 8.30 am in the court premises at Gulbarga on April 22, 1989.

The apex court acquitted Mahboobsab, Buddesab, Khasimsa, Appasab, Sharnappa, Bapugouda, Chandappa and Rajashekhar, who were sentenced to life imprisonment. The deceased, Mr Desai, had gone to the court with his bodyguard Mallappa, Bhima Reddy, Bhimaraya and Basavaraja (some of them are his close relatives) to attend a court case. While he was standing on the premises of the Civil Judge’s Court with his friends and relatives, a group of people attacked him with weapons and sticks.

The prosecution submitted before the trial court that old enmity was the reason of the fatal attack on Desai. Bhima Reddy, Bhimaraya and Basavaraja took Desai to the G G hospital, where he died after making an oral dying declaration. The court had observed, “We are of the view that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.”

The Sessions Court had acquitted all the accused as the Judge  did not appreciate the statements of the witnesses. However, the HC had reversed the order of the trial court and sentenced 11 of the accused to life imprisonment. The HC had acquitted rest of the accused, including Mallinatha Reddy, Basureddappa Channa Reddy and Sanna Chenna Reddy.