Witnesses who say they saw the killings of an Australian missionary and his two sons have given contradictory accounts, a defence lawyer said in his closing arguments.
Graham Staines and his sons, Philip, 10, and Timothy, 8, were burned to death on January 23, 1999 as they slept inside their vehicle parked near a church in Manoharpur, a remote tribal village in Orissa state.
Fourteen men have been charged in the murder and face the death penalty if convicted. They have denied any wrongdoing.
"Nimai Hansda, a key prosecution eyewitness, had told the court that the attackers had first set fire to an empty vehicle, and then burned down Mr Staines' vehicle half an hour later ... other eyewitnesses said that both the vehicles were burned simultaneously," defence counsel Shyamananda Mohapatra told the court.
Mohapatra said witnesses also had conflicting versions on the identity of the attackers. "Rolia Soren had said he could not identify the accused as all of them had covered their faces while several other eyewitnesses in their deposition in the trial court said they had seen the accused committing the crime," he said.
Some of the prosecution eyewitnesses identified the accused in the dock.
The defence arguments would continue on Monday.