R. S. SODHI, J. ( 1 ) CRIMINAL Appeal Nos. 741 of 2006, 411 of 2000 and 416 of 2000 seek to challenge judgment and order of Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, in sessions Case No. 121 of 1999, arising out of F.. R. No. 413 of 1997, Police station Krishna Nagar, whereby learned judge vide his judgment dated 14. 12. 1999 has held the appellants, namely, Anil Kumar, Nand Kishore and Tarun Kumar, guilty for the offence punishable under Section 302/34 IPC. Further vide his order dated 23. 12. 1999, he has awarded the sentence of life imprisonment together with fine of Rs. 5,000/- each and in default of payment of fine, further rigorous Imprisonment for three months each. ( 2 ) BRIEF facts of the case as have been noted by learned Additional sessions Judge in his judgment under challenge are as follows :- "complainant Jagdish Prasad Jain stayed in House No. 46/1, East Azad Nagar, Guru ram Dass Gali along with his wife Smt. Raj Kumari, son Sanjay, Sanjay's wife and daughter. Sanjay used to assemble deck plates at the second floor portion of this house. Some workers including one Sat Pal @ Lala, Nand Kishore and Kalu, etc. , worked with him. About 15-20 days back to 24/25. 09. 97, Sanjay expelled his old workers replacing them by others. The old workers used to threat the new employees. On 24. 09. 97 at about 10:30 p. m. , one of the old workers'/accused tarun calmly opened the entrance gate of the house and started going upstairs but was confronted by the complainant. The said worker told that he had come to collect the diary. Complainant's wife told the worker to come for the purpose only when Sanjay had come. Complainant's son Sanjay came at about 11 p. m. and was told about this incident where after Sanjay went out and came back after sometime and told that he had patched up the matter with the workers, and they have now left. Sanjay locked the main entrance of the house and went to his first floor room. At about 6 a. m. on the next day morning, three workers were seen having come down the staircase " one of them was named Kalu. Sanjay locked the main entrance of the house and went to his first floor room. At about 6 a. m. on the next day morning, three workers were seen having come down the staircase " one of them was named Kalu. On being asked, the complainant was told by them that they had joined the job and had prepared 20 plates and then asked the complainant to open the lock of the gate. The complainant's wife opened the lock and these persons left. Around 6:30 a. m. , a new worker came and informed that the upper floor had a lock on it. The complainant's wife went upstairs and found that even Sanjay's room had been locked. The lock of the upper floor entrance and room of Sanjay were opened by duplicate keys and it was noticed that Sanjay's mouth had been covered with a 'petticot' and he was not awakening. A neighbourer Tarsem was summoned who went to Sanjay's room and informed that Sanjay had been strangled and blood was coming from his testicles. The complainant wanted to make a phone call but found that the telephone wires had also been cut. Police was summoned which inspected the spot and found Sanjay's dead body lying on a double bed. It also found a plastic rope with some electric wires lying near the bed. The dead body had ligature marks around its neck, testicles were still bleeding. Complainant's statement was recorded and the same was sent to the police station for the registration of the case. Further investigation revealed that accused tarun, Anil, Nand Kishore and Sudhir @ Kalu (now an approver) were the sacked workers of the deceased and they had entered the complainant's house around 10:30 p. m. on 24. 09. 97, and when they were trying to climb the staircase stealthily, accused Tarun was noticed and questioned by the complainant, where after he left, however, the other three went upstairs unnoticed. Accused Tarun joined them subsequently by climbing to the roof and after staying on the roof- top, they came down on the first floor after bolting one night- worker inside the second floor working place/factory and then entered the room of the deceased and strangled him and also cut his testicles. Accused Nand Kishore @ Nandi was arrested on 9. 10. 97. Accused Anil was arrested on 23. 11. Accused Nand Kishore @ Nandi was arrested on 9. 10. 97. Accused Anil was arrested on 23. 11. 1997 and accused Tarun was brought from Central Jail, Jabalpur, who was then formally arrested in this case on 28. 11. 1997, and the fourth culprit (now as approver) was produced in the police station by his father on 21. 12. 97. Accused Nand Kishore led the police team to the recovery of a key from near garbage centre, Railway Station shahdara. Accused Sudhir was tendered pardon on condition of his making a true statement of the circumstances within his knowledge, which he accepted and was ordered to be detained in the Remand Home by the committal court. The postmortem report opined the cause of death as being asphyxia consequent to ligature construction of neck and sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. It is under these allegations that accused Nand Kishore @ nandi, Tarun Kumar, Anil Kumar and Sudhir Kumar were sent up for trial for offence under Section 302/34. P. C. Sudhir Kumar subsequently turned as an approver in this case earlier to which, as per information, a supplementary challan had been filed against him before the Children Court. " ( 3 ) IN order to establish its case Prosecution examined as many as 26 witnesses. Of these PW-1, Tarsem Lal, is the neighbourer, who upon being called by the father of the deceased, went upstairs and found Sanjay lying dead. PW-2, Jagdish Prasad Jain, is the father of the deceased and the complainant. PW-3, Virender Kumar Jain, is the elder brother of the deceased and is the witness of arrest of the appellant Anil Kumar. PW-4, Sukhmal Chand Jain, is the brother-in-law of the deceased and identified the body of the deceased on 25. 9. 1997. PW-5, Smt. Raj Kumari Jain, is the mother of the deceased and has testified in support of the Prosecution's case. She also identified the accused anil Kumar, Tarun Kumar and Sudhir (the approver) about:blank coming down the stairs of the house at 6 a. m. on the morning of 25. 9. 1997. PW-6, Ashok Somani, testifies to the disclosure statement made by Nand Kishore, Exhibit PW 6/a having been made in his presence. He is also witness to the recovery of the keys from the garbage at the instance of Nand Kishore. 9. 1997. PW-6, Ashok Somani, testifies to the disclosure statement made by Nand Kishore, Exhibit PW 6/a having been made in his presence. He is also witness to the recovery of the keys from the garbage at the instance of Nand Kishore. PW-7, Ashok @ Chimpoo, testifies to him being locked inside the factory on the evening of 24. 9. 1997 and the door was opened on 25. 9. 1997 by his co-worker, Panka. PW-8, Constable Rajesh Kumar, is a formal witness. PW-9, Manmohan Aggarwal, deposes to accused Nand Kishore, anil Kumar, Tarun Kumar and Sudhir (approver) having come to his place on 25. 9. 1997 in order to sell ICs. PW-10, Head Constable Gurtej Singh, deposes to the searching of the accused Nand Kishore as also the arrest of Anil Kumar. PW- 11, Constable Veerpal Singh, accompanied the Investigating Officer to the spot on 25. 9. 1997 as also took the rukka to the police station. PW-12, Gunjan, deposes to the pressure being exerted on him by the accused persons not to work with the deceased. PW-13, S.. Bhanu Pratap, deposes to the case property having been deposited with him. PW-14, Constable Shambu Singh, deposited the articles with the C. F. S. L. , Chandigarh, on 15. 12. 1997. PW-15, Constable surender Kundu, is a formal witness. PW-16 is Head Constable Joginder Singh, duty Officer, who recorded the F.. R. PW-17, Constable Sonu Kaushik, Assistant draftsman, visited the spot on 19. 12. 1997 and prepared a scaled site plan, exhibit PW 17/a. PW-18, S.. Gagandeep Singh, apprehended accused Nand Kishore and intimated the S. H. O. He is also witness to the recovery of the keys from the garbage at the instance of Nand Kishore. PW-19, Sanjeev Jain, Metropolitan magistrate, recorded the statement of accused/approver Sudhir Kumar @ Kalu under section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure. PW-20, Constable Shripal Singh and pw-21, Lady Constable Anju, are formal witnesses. PW-22, Sudhir, is the accused who turned approver. He has narrated the entire incident. PW-23 is Dr. Ashok jaiswal, who conducted the postmortem examination on the body of deceased Sanjay on 26. 9. 1997 and proved his report, Exhibit PW 23/a. PW-24, Head Constable vijaypal, is the MHCM with whom case exhibits were deposited on 25. 9. 1997, 26. 9. 1997 and 9. 10. 1997 and their having been sent to C. F. S. L. on 12. 12. 1997. 9. 1997 and proved his report, Exhibit PW 23/a. PW-24, Head Constable vijaypal, is the MHCM with whom case exhibits were deposited on 25. 9. 1997, 26. 9. 1997 and 9. 10. 1997 and their having been sent to C. F. S. L. on 12. 12. 1997. PW-25, Head Constable Satish Chand, brought accused Tarun Kumar from Jabalpur jail to Delhi on 28. 11. 1997. PW-26, A. C. P. Hari Bhushan, is the Investigating officer. ( 4 ) THE prime witnesses of this case, who unfolded the Prosecution's case are PW-2, Jagdish Prasad Jain, the complainant; PW-5, Smt. Raj Kumari Jain, wife of the complainant and mother of the deceased and PW-22, Sudhir, the approver. ( 5 ) PW-2, Jagdish Prasad Jain, in his deposition states that his son sanjay Kumar had a factory of assembling decks at the second floor of his house no. 46/1-B, East Azad Nagar, Guru Ramdas Gali, Delh. Six or seven boys were employed. The accused persons, in court, were amongst them. Sudhir, who was not present in court, was also employed. Fifteen days prior to the murder of his son, the accused persons had been dismissed from the job since it was not to the satisfaction of Sanjay. The accused persons, in court, used to threaten the new employees. On 24. 9. 1997 at about 10:30 p. m. , one of the dismissed employees, who was wearing a black shirt, opened the main gate of the house and tried to get into the factory. But the noise woke the witness, who challenged the intruder. He also requested his wife to enquire as to who was going upstairs. At that time, the witness had a wound on his leg. On enquiry made by the witness's wife, the accused told her that he was going upstairs to collect his diary. She suggested to the intruder that he should wait since Sanjay was not upstairs. The intruder's name was given as Tarun. Sanjay came to the house at about 11:00 p. m. when this incident was narrated to him. Sanjay left for the market in search of Tarun and others. He returned within half an hour and informed the witness's wife that the boys had met him in the market and that the differences were patched up. Thereafter, Sanjay went to sleep in his room on the first floor. On the morning of 25. 9. Sanjay left for the market in search of Tarun and others. He returned within half an hour and informed the witness's wife that the boys had met him in the market and that the differences were patched up. Thereafter, Sanjay went to sleep in his room on the first floor. On the morning of 25. 9. 1997 at about 6 a. m. , the witness saw tarun, Anil along with Sudhir coming down the stairs and they told him that the work has been completed as they had prepared twenty plates and requested him to open the exit door. The witness instructed his wife to open the door. At 6:30 a. m. , new workers came to attend the job but found the factory, at the second floor, locked. They came down and informed the witness, who then instructed his wife to open the door with the duplicate key. On opening the door, she found sanjay was lying with a blue cloth over his face which was blood stained. She came down and informed the witness who called his neighbour, Tarsem Lal (PW-1), and was informed by him that Sanjay has been strangulated and blood was oozing out of his testicles. The witness tried to inform the police over his telephone but found the same disconnected. Someone from the public informed the police, who reached there at about 9:30 a. m. His statement was recorded which is exhibit PW 2/a. The witness identified the dead body of his son. He further states that Sudhir Kumar was arrested in his presence and his personal search conducted vide memo Exhibit PW 2/b and disclosure statement was recorded which is Exhibit PW 2/c. Sudhir pointed out to the place where accused Nand Kishore threw two keys of the house of Sanjay. He also pointed out to the place where three IC packets were kept which were stolen from the factory as also pointed to the place where he had committed the murder of Sanjay. Articles were taken into possession by the police vide various memos which were exhibited by this witness. In cross-examination, the witness has merely reiterated his statement made in his examination-in-chief. ( 6 ) PW-5, Smt. Raj Kumari Jain, has fully supported the testimony of pw-2. Articles were taken into possession by the police vide various memos which were exhibited by this witness. In cross-examination, the witness has merely reiterated his statement made in his examination-in-chief. ( 6 ) PW-5, Smt. Raj Kumari Jain, has fully supported the testimony of pw-2. She identified accused Tarun, Sudhir and Anil as persons who came down the stairs at 6 a. m. in the morning to whom she opened the gate. In cross- examination, nothing material was elicited which could throw any doubt on the credibility of this witness. PW-6, Ashok Somani, identified Nand Kishore in court as being the person in police custody and the person who made a disclosure statement before the police in presence of this witness and thereafter led to the recovery of the keys of the premises of the deceased which were taken into possession vide memo Exhibit PW 6/b. PW-9, Manmohan Aggarwal, deposes to the effect that on 25. 9. 1997, accused Nand Kishore, Tarun, Sudhir and Anil came to his house in order to sell three packets of ICs. He identified the accused persons in court. PW-22, Sudhir, narrated the entire episode to the effect as to how they got into the house of the deceased and the manner in which the deceased was killed as also his testicles cut of. He ascribes the role to each of the accused in the act of murder of Sanjay. He also deposes to the recoveries effected. ( 7 ) LEARNED counsel for the appellants submit that the statement of pw-22, Sudhir, ought not to be taken to be a gospel truth and that the conviction based on the sole testimony of PW-22 cannot be sustained. They contend that there is every reason for PW-22 to falsely implicate other accused persons on account of him having been beaten by Nand Kishore earlier. ( 8 ) WE have heard learned counsel at great length and have, with their assistance, carefully gone through the record of the case. We find from the statements of PW-2, Jagdish Prasad Jain, as also from PW-5, Smt. Raj Kumari jain, that the accused persons, namely, Anil, Tarun and Sudhir (approver) were coming down the stairs at 6 a. m. and giving an explanation that they had completed the job of preparing twenty plates. We find from the statements of PW-2, Jagdish Prasad Jain, as also from PW-5, Smt. Raj Kumari jain, that the accused persons, namely, Anil, Tarun and Sudhir (approver) were coming down the stairs at 6 a. m. and giving an explanation that they had completed the job of preparing twenty plates. Soon thereafter at 6:30 a. m. , the dead body of Sanjay is discovered at the first floor and Chimpoo, who was locked in the factory on the second floor, was set free. There is no explanation as to why the aforesaid accused persons were present at 6'o clock at the house when they were no longer the employees of Sanjay. Along with this is the statement of PW-22, Sudhir, the approver, who gives a graphic picture of how Sanjay was done to death by all the accused persons including Nand Kishore. Coupled with this is the testimony of the recovery witnesses who testified to the recovery of the key of the room at the instance of Nand Kishore as also the attempt on the part of the accused persons to sell the stolen articles from the factory to PW- 9, Manmohan Aggarwal. ( 9 ) THE statement of the approver finds corroboration from the statement of PW-2, PW-5, PW-6 and PW-9 and, therefore, can be relied upon. Nothing has been brought out to show that the approver has any reason to implicate the accused persons falsely. On the contrary, there is evidence on record to show that all the accused persons jointly committed the murder of sanjay and thereafter tried to sell the stolen articles. Coupled with this is the recoveries effected at the instance of the accused persons as also the medical evidence which corroborates the manner of death testified by PW-22, sudhir. ( 10 ) WE have also carefully gone through the judgment under challenge and find that the learned trial judge has given adequate and cogent reasons for holding that the Prosecution has established its case beyond shadow of doubt. The reasoning of the learned judge cannot be faulted with. Consequently, we uphold the judgment of conviction dated 14. 12. 1999 and order on sentence dated 23. 12. 1999 under challenge and dismiss Criminal Appeal Nos. 741 of 2006, 411 of 2000 and 416 of 2000. The reasoning of the learned judge cannot be faulted with. Consequently, we uphold the judgment of conviction dated 14. 12. 1999 and order on sentence dated 23. 12. 1999 under challenge and dismiss Criminal Appeal Nos. 741 of 2006, 411 of 2000 and 416 of 2000. ( 11 ) BEFORE parting with this case, we find that the fees of the amicus was required to be settled at the hearing of the appeal. The work put in by the Amicus in presenting these appeals before us and analyzing the record justifies a fee of Rs. 10,000/- (rupees ten thousand) to Mr. V. K. Raina, advocate, in Criminal Appeal No. 411 of 2000 and Rs. 15,000/- (rupees fifteen thousand) to Mr. Sumeet Verma, Advocate, in Criminal Appeal Nos. 741 of 2006 and 416 of 2000.