JUDGMENT K.N. Seth, J. - Smt. Amna and her mother Smt. Bano have appealed against the order of the learned 1st Temporary Civil and Sessions Judge, Aligarh, convicting and sentencing them to imprisonment for life u/s 302/34 IPC, two years' rigorous imprisonment u/s 318/31 IPC and five years' rigorous imprisonment u/s 201/34 IPC. 2. A female illegitimate child was born to Smt. Amna at about 11.00 a.m. on 7-2-1968 in the latrine of the outhouses of Hamid Manzil, police station Civil Lines, Aligarh. She was living in one of the quarters of the outhouses with her parents, younger brothers, uncle and grand-father. Smt. Ram Devi, a sweeperess residing in one of the quarters of the outhouses, during her round of duty, came to know about the birth of the child. She conveyed this information to her mother. When her father Shiam Lal came back from his duty at about 7.00 p.m., he was informed by his wife about the birth of the child to Smt. Amna. Shiam Lal lodged a report at the police station at about 7.15 p.m. the same evening. It was alleged in the report that an illegitimate child had been born to Smt. Amna at about noon and the child had been concealed by Smt. Amna and her mother Smt. Bano. 3. The Sub-Inspector, Sri Shant Prakash Tewari (PW 5), immediately left the police station for Hamid Manzil In the way he picked up two Rickshaw pullers, Prabhu and Narain Singh (PW4). He went to the quarter of the accused and found Smt. Amna lying on a cot in a verandah and Smt. Bano squating by her side on the ground. On being questioned, Smt. Bano volunteered to point out the concealed body of the infant child. The dead body of the child was recovered from inside a room of the quarter under a table, placed in a cycle basket which was wrapped and covered by clothes. A blood stained Salwar belonging to Smt. Amna was also found at the same place and was taken into possession and sealed. From the latrine blood stained and plain earth were also taken and a recovery memo prepared. The Investigating Officer, performed the inquest and prepared the panchyatnama. The dead body was then sent for post mortem examination 4. Dr. Jaswant Singh, Medical Officer, District Hospital, Aligarh, conducted the post mortem examination at 1.30 p.m. on 8-2-1968. From the latrine blood stained and plain earth were also taken and a recovery memo prepared. The Investigating Officer, performed the inquest and prepared the panchyatnama. The dead body was then sent for post mortem examination 4. Dr. Jaswant Singh, Medical Officer, District Hospital, Aligarh, conducted the post mortem examination at 1.30 p.m. on 8-2-1968. The tissue, larynx, trachea and bronchi were found deeply congested. In the opinion of the Doctor death was due to asphyxia as a result of throttling. Smt. Amna was also sent for medical examination the next day. 5. The articles recovered from the quarter of Smt. Bano were sent to the Chemical Examiner and Serologist. Their reports indicate that all the items, except the earth, were stained with human blood. The blood stains in the earth had disintegrated and their origin could not be determined. 6. The accused pleaded not guilty and alleged to have been falsely implicated. The birth of a female child at about noon on 7-2-1968 was admitted but it was asserted that Amna's Niqah had been performed prior to the child birth. It was denied that the child was illegitimate. It was also admitted that the blood stained Salwar belonged to Smt. Amna which she was wearing at the time of the child birth. As regards the recovery of the child, it was asserted by Smt. Amna that she was unconscious and did not know wherefrom the police brought the dead body of a female child. It was also asserted that Smt. Bano was not present at the time of the child birth. Smt. Bano specifically pleaded alibi and denied her presence at the time of the child birth and at the time of the alleged recovery. She asserted that she had gone that day with Begum Saheb of Hamid Manzil to the exhibition and returned late. No witness was produced by the accused in defence. 7. There are certain facta which admit of no doubt in the present case. It is fully established that a child was born alive to Smt. Amna. The evidence of Smt. Ram Devi (PW 1), supported by the medical evidence, leaves no room for doubt that a child was born to Smt. Amna on 7-2-1968 at noon time. 7. There are certain facta which admit of no doubt in the present case. It is fully established that a child was born alive to Smt. Amna. The evidence of Smt. Ram Devi (PW 1), supported by the medical evidence, leaves no room for doubt that a child was born to Smt. Amna on 7-2-1968 at noon time. It is also established beyond doubt that the body of a dead child was Recovered from the quarter of the accused at about 8-00 p.m. the same night by Shanti Prakash Tewari (PW 5). The statement of Sri Tewari in this regard is amply supported by Narain Singh (PW 4) and we have no hesitation in accepting the prosecution case that a dead body of an infant child was recovered from the quarter of the accused at about 8-00 p.m. 8. Smt. Ram Devi (PW 1) was the principal witness produced by the prosecution in support of its case. She resided in one of the quarter of the outhouses of Hamid Manzil. The accused also lived in one of the quarters of outhouses. She stated that on 7-2-1968 while she was on her duty a female child was born to Smt. Amna in the latrine and that she had noticed that the child was born live. She then stated that in the evening at about 4-00 or 5-00 p.m. she made enquiries from Smt. Bano about the child but Smt. Bano kept mum and she did not notice the child any where. She conveyed this information to her mother and later the information was conveyed to her father Shiam Lal, who lodged the report about the incident. Smt. Malloo (PW 2) was examined to prove that Smt. Amna was unmarried when she gave birth to a female child. Shiam Lal (PW 3) claimed that when he came back to his quarter in Hamid Manzil at about 7-00 p.m., his wife informed him that Smt. Amna had given birth to a female child and that the child had been concealed somewhere either dead or alive. On receipt of this information he went to the police station and lodged the report. Thereafter the Investigation Officer reached the spot and on his enquiry Smt. Bano took out the dead body of the infant placed in a cycle basket from under a table kept in a corner of the room. On receipt of this information he went to the police station and lodged the report. Thereafter the Investigation Officer reached the spot and on his enquiry Smt. Bano took out the dead body of the infant placed in a cycle basket from under a table kept in a corner of the room. The fact that the dead body of the infant was found kept in a cycle basket covered with the clothes and Smt. Bano produced it is also established from the testimony of Narain Singh (PW 4). Thus there remain no doubt that a child was born to Smt. Amna on 7-2-1968 and the dead body of the infant was recovered the same evening from the quarter in which she resided with her parents and other members of the family. 9. The question, however, remains whether the prosecution has succeeded in establishing the charge of murder against the Appellants. There is no direct evidence against any one of the accused and the case has to be decided on circumstantial evidence alone. 10. The learned trial Judge relied on a number of circumstances which, in his opinion, conclusively established the guilt of the accused. The first circumstance taken into consideration was that the child was illegitimate and reliance was placed on the testimony of Smt. Ram Devi and her mother Smt. Malloo who stated that Smt. Amna was not married when she gave birth to an infant female child on 7-2-1968. The next circumstance relied on was that the dead body of the child was recovered from the quarter occupied by both the Appellants at the pointing out of Smt. Bano, which fact was established from the testimony of Narain Singh (PW 4) and Shanti Prakash Tewari (PW 5). They could which according to the learned trial Judge, pointed towards the guilt of the accused, was the callous ignorance exhibited by the two ladies about the whereabouts of the newly born child and their criminality was further indicated by the plea of alibi taken by Smt. Bano. Reliance was again placed on the testimony of Smt. Ram Devi and her mother Smt. Malloo to the effect that Smt. Bano was present both at the time of the birth of the child and also when the dead body of the child was recovered at about 8.00 p.m. The relationship between the accused was also taken as an incriminating circumstance. The next circumstance relied on was that the child was born at about 11.00 a.m. and when Smt. Ram Devi enquired about the child from Smt. Bano at about 4.00 or 5.00 p.m. she kept mum. The fact that none of the male members of the family was present either at the time of the child birth or at the time of the recovery was also a circumstance, in the opinion of the learned Judge, which led to the only inference that the two accused had committed the crime. 11. We have carefully considered the circumstances on which reliance had been placed by the learned Judge in recording conviction on the charge of murder against the two Appellants. It was no doubt true that Smt. Amna gave birth to an illegitimate child and there was, therefore, a strong motive to do away with the child. It has, however, to be borne in mind that this motive was not confined to the two Appellants. Every member of the family must have felt the shame which Smt. Amna's indiscretion had brought upon the family and they must have shared the same strong motive to do away with the illegitimate child, It is clear from the statement of Smt. Ram Devi that, apart from the Appellants, Latif (father) and Gafoor (Grandfather) of Smt. Amna resided in the same quarter. Shabir, a brother of Latif, also resided there. Besides these adult members; there were younger brothers of Latif who lived in the same quarter with the Appellants. Latif was working as a bearer in the Aligarh University and Shabir plied a Rickshaw in Aligarh. The time gap between the birth of the child and the recovery of her dead body was about eight or nine hours. The possibility of the adult male members of the family visiting the house during this period and murdering the child could not be ruled out. In a case where the same motive is shared by several members of the family, apart from the accused and where others had an opportunity of committing the crime, the circumstance that the accused had a strong motive could not safely be relied upon to fasten the guilt on the accused. In a case where the same motive is shared by several members of the family, apart from the accused and where others had an opportunity of committing the crime, the circumstance that the accused had a strong motive could not safely be relied upon to fasten the guilt on the accused. The fact that at the time of the birth of the child and at the time of the recovery of the dea4 body no male members were present in the house could not lead to the inference that the crime must have been committed by those who were present on those two occasions, which happened after a long interval during which other members of the family must have, in all probability, visited the house and could have had an opportunity to commit the murder. 12. The circumstance that the two accused were related as mother and daughter would not lead to a legitimate inference that they must have conspired and shared a common intention to liquidate the illegitimate child. In fact after giving birth to the child Smt. Amna may not have been even fully conscious or ware of what was going on around her (sic) mother and others in the family should have taken all possible precautions (sic) conceal their intention from her and (sic) her in dark about their designs. 13. There was no material on the record to implicate Smt. Amna in the time, No witness has deposed that any inquiry was ever made from her as to the whereabouts of the child. Smt. Ram Devi confined her enquiry to Smt. Bano only. When the police party arrived for search, Smt. Amna was lying on a cot. The Investigating Officer did not put any question to her. Moreover, if any person could be said to have any sympathy with the unfortunate child, it could be Smt. Amna alone who had punished her and uffered all sorts of inconveniences for line months and then undergone the (sic) inherent in child birth. There was absolutely no evidence to indicate that he shared with any body the intention of jutting an end to that child There was also no evidence that she knew about the (sic) of the child. There was absolutely no evidence to indicate that he shared with any body the intention of jutting an end to that child There was also no evidence that she knew about the (sic) of the child. Neither Smt. Ram Devi for the Investigating Officer had stated that Smt. Amna was aware of the fact that the dead body of the child had been concealed in a corner of the room. She cannot, therefore, be held guilty of any of the charges levelled against her. 14. As regards Smt. Bano, we are not inclined to agree with the learned Judge that she was guilty of the charge u/s 302/34 IPC. As pointed out earlier, the circumstances relied upon by the learned Judge were equally applicable to other inmates of the house who admittedly resided along with Smt. Bano in the same quarter. Reliance was placed by the State on the observations of the Supreme Court in Kalua Vs. The State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1958 SC 180 . In that case the circumstances established against the Appellant were that; (a) he had a strong motive for the murder; (b) he had uttered a threat few days before the murder (c) a cartridge was found near the cot of the deceased; (d) he was arrested at a distance of fourteen miles from the village of incident; (e) a pistol was produced by the accused from his house showing that he alone could have known of its existence there and (f) the evidence of the Ballistics Expert. The various circumstances, including the recovery of pistol at the instance of the accused, pointed towards the guilt of the accused alone and the matter was clinched by the report of the Ballistics Expert that the cartridge found near the cot of the deceased was fired from the pistol which was recovered at the pointing of the accused. It was in these circumstances that the conviction of Kalua was upheld by the Supreme Court. Reliance was next placed on Pershadi Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1957 SC 211 wherein it was laid down that where in a murder charge, the accused falsely denied several relevant facts which had been conclusively established, the Court would be justified in drawing an adverse inferences from this against the accused. Reliance was next placed on Pershadi Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1957 SC 211 wherein it was laid down that where in a murder charge, the accused falsely denied several relevant facts which had been conclusively established, the Court would be justified in drawing an adverse inferences from this against the accused. It was urged that in the present case the plea taken by Smt. Bano that she was not present at the time of the child birth and also when the dead body of the child was recovered from the quarter was a circumstance which conclusively established the guilt of this accused. This may be a circumstance which could be taken into consideration provided the other circumstances were equally strong to establish the criminality of this accused. As we have observed earlier, the various circumstances relied on by the learned trial Judge were equally applicable to others who were pot present before the court. The fact that Smt. Bano took up a false plea regarding her presence at the relevant time would not be sufficient to come to the conclusion that she was responsible for the murder of the child. 15. In cases where the evidence is only of circumstantial nature it is well settled, as observed by Shelat, J. in the recent case of Rahman v. The State of U.P. AIR 1972 SC 110 : ...that the circumstances forming that evidence must be conclusively established and even when so established, they must form such a complete chain that it is not only consistent with his guilt but is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of his innocence." In that case Rahman and his wife Zaibun were convicted of charges, amongst others, of murdering by strangulation Jasoda, a three years' old child. The High Court set aside the conviction of Zaibun and maintained that of Rahman. The Supreme Court, after taking into consideration the various circumstances came to the conclusion that it was difficult to maintain the conviction of Rahman. Dealing with the circumstance that the Appellant was concealing himself for nearly a month, it was observed that "absconding by itself is not conclusive either of guilt or of a guilty conscience. The Supreme Court, after taking into consideration the various circumstances came to the conclusion that it was difficult to maintain the conviction of Rahman. Dealing with the circumstance that the Appellant was concealing himself for nearly a month, it was observed that "absconding by itself is not conclusive either of guilt or of a guilty conscience. For, a person may abscond on account of fear of being involved in the offence or for any other allied reason." In the case before us the mere fact that Smt. Bano gave out that she was not present at the time of the birth of the child or at the time of recovering the dead body would not be sufficient ground to hold that because of a false defence the case was conclusively proved against her. We are unable to hold that the circumstances forming the evidence against Smt. Bano regarding the offence of murder are such that they are consistent only with her guilt and inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of her innocence. It is possible that one of the male members of the family visited the house between 11.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. and committed the murder of the child. This possibility could not be ruled out. In these circumstances Smt. Bano was entitled to the benefit of doubt that with regard to the charge of murder. 16. As regards the conviction of Smt. Bano Under Sections 318/34 and 201/34 IPC it is fully established from the testimony of Sri Shanti Prakash Tewari (PW 5) and Narain Singh (PW 4) that the dead body of the child was recovered from inside the quarter by Smt. Bano when the police arrived there and interrogated her. Earlier when she was questioned by Smt. Ram Devi at about 4.00 or 5.00 p.m. about the whereabouts of the child, this lady had kept mum which also indicated that she was aware of the fate of the child. She was present in the house right from the moment the child was born till the discovery of its dead body by the police at 8.00 p.m. In normal course she must have attended on her daughter and was the fittest person to conceal the dead body of the child with a view to disposing it of when a suitable opportunity present itself arid thus committed an offence punishable Under Sections 318 and 201 IPC. 17. 17. Smt. Bano was charged Under Sections 318 and 201 read with Section 34 IPC. She, can, however, be safely convicted Under Sections 318 and 201 IPC simpliciter. Having regard to the nature and language of the charges no prejudice has been caused to Smt. Bano on the ground that the charges under the aforesaid counts were framed with the and of Section 34 IPC. She was told in unambiguous terms the nature of the offence for which she was being tried the case against her was fully and fairly explained to her and she was afforded a full and fair opportunity to defend herself. We, however, feel that the sentence of five years' rigorous imprisonment u/s 201/34 would be a bit too severe and the ends of justice would be met if the sentence is reduced to three years' rigorous imprisonment. 18. In the result this appeal is partly allowed. The conviction and sentences of Smt. Amna are set aside and she is acquitted of all the charges levelled against her. She is on bail. She need not surrender. Her bail bond.' are discharged. The conviction and sentence awarded to Smt. Bano u/s 302/34 IPC are set aside and she is acquitted of that charge. Her conviction Under Sections 318/34 and 201/34 IPC are converted to those Under Sections 318 and 201 IPC simpliciter and she is awarded a sentence of two years' rigorous imprisonment u/s 31 IPC and three years' rigorous imprisonment u/s 201 IPC. The sentences shall run concurrently. She is on bail. She shall be taken into custody forthwith to serve out the sentences awarded to her.