Court caseAIR 1988 SC 1883

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead on 31 October 1984 at her residence by two of her security guards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh. Beant Singh was killed on the spot. Satwant Singh, Kehar Singh (a relative of Beant Singh's wife who worked in the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals) and Balbir Singh (another guard) were tried. Kehar Singh was charged with criminal conspiracy to murder: the evidence showed secret talks with Beant Singh on the roof of a house, a joint visit to the Golden Temple at Amritsar, and other circumstances suggesting that he had worked on Beant Singh's mind. The trial court and the High Court convicted all three and sentenced them to death.

The Supreme Court confirmed the conviction and death sentence of Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh and acquitted Balbir Singh. On conspiracy the Court held that the gist of the offence is the agreement to do an illegal act; conspiracies are hatched in secrecy and direct evidence is rarely available, so the agreement is usually inferred from the conduct of the parties and the surrounding circumstances. It is not necessary that every conspirator knows every detail of the plan or takes part in every act. Section 10 of the Evidence Act makes anything said, done or written by a conspirator in reference to the common intention relevant against the others, but only after there is reasonable ground to believe that the conspiracy existed, and only for things said or done while the conspiracy was on foot.