This case arose from a politically motivated attack on 07.08.1985 in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, where armed CPI(M) supporters intercepted a minibus carrying Congress workers, resulting in the deaths of Mahesh Basunia and Gorachand and injuries to several others. The trial court convicted 12 accused under Sections 302 and 324 read with Section 149 IPC, sentencing them to life imprisonment. On appeal before the Calcutta High Court, the appellants challenged their convictions on grounds including unreliable eyewitness testimony, investigative deficiencies, and absence of personal overt acts. The High Court upheld the convictions, finding that multiple consistent injured eyewitnesses were credible, medical evidence corroborated the homicidal deaths, and Section 149 IPC imposes vicarious liability on all members of an unlawful assembly sharing a common object regardless of whether they personally inflicted fatal blows. The court held that the appellants who surrounded the bus, blocked exits, threw stones, and prevented escape were equally liable as active members of the unlawful assembly.