'Mere presence at spot not unlawful assembly'

Mere presence at the scene does not render a person a member of an unlawful assembly unless it is established that he also shared its common object, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday as it laid down parameters for courts to safeguard innocent spectators or onlookers from being convicted only because of their presence.

- 

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan made the remarks while acquitting 12 convicts serving a life term for committing the offences of murder and unlawful assembly in a Bihar village in 1988.

The bench said where allegations are levelled against a large number of people, courts must carefully scrutinise the evidence, more so if the evidence on record is hazy.