Arguments made by the defence were not mentioned in the Supreme Court judgment, however the following arguments were advanced before the High Court: 1. The prosecution case solely relied on indirect and circumstantial evidence, lacking direct proof and not conclusively establishing the guilt of the accused 2. The defence claimed that the charge of kidnapping for ransom should not be attracted since the demand for ransom was not evidenced 3. The defence argued that 2 confessional statements of the accused were recorded at different times which should not be admissible. 4. The defence claimed the an alternative narrative was uninvestigated and that the conduct of an instrumental last-seen witness makes the witness unreliable 5. The statements of material witnesses were contradictory 7. Defence claimed that capital punishment for the accused is disproportionate considering that the other appellants were only given life imprisonment. aggravating and mitigating circumstances were not adequately considered.