"When persons come armed with deadly weapons to someone's house, it is a strong circumstance to indicate that they had come with deadly intentions," a bench of Justices Markandey Katju and P P Naolekar said.

The apex court gave this ruling on a petition of convicts Balwant Singh, Harbans Singh, Malkiat Singh and Balwinder Singh, all belonging to Bhatinda in Punjab, seeking acquittal in murder case on the ground that there were no direct evidence against them.

The accused were convicted by a sessions court for the murder of a relative Kuldeep Singh due to property disputes which were affirmed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Both the courts had recorded the order of conviction on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of the deceased's mother Amarjit Kaur.

The convicts, on July 17, 1998, were seen armed with kirpans and gandasas by Amarjit Kaur, mother of the victim, near her house when she left home on an errand.