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2020 DIGILAW 550 (RAJ)

Devi Singh v. State of Rajasthan

2020-06-29

PRABHA SHARMA, SANDEEP MEHTA

body2020
JUDGMENT Sandeep Mehta, J. - The accused-appellant Devi Singh has been convicted and sentenced as below vide judgment dated 11.12.2015 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Nathdwara in Sessions Case No.30/2012 :- S. No. Offcence for which convicted Sentence of imprisonment Fine imposed Sentence in case of default in payment of fine 1. 302 IPC Life imprisonment Rs.5000/- Six months' imprisonment 2. 454 IPC Seven years' rigorous imprisonment Rs.5000/- Six months' imprisonment 3. 397 IPC Ten years' rigorous imprisonment Rs.5000/- Six months' imprisonment 2. Being aggrieved of his conviction and the sentences awarded, the accused appellant has preferred the instant appeal under Section 374 CrPC. 3. Brief facts relevant and essential for disposal of the appeal are noted hereinbelow. 4. The first informant-complainant Dhannaram (P.W.1) lodged a written report (Ex.P/1) at the Police Station Khamnor, District Rajsamand on 29.07.2012 at 06.15 p.m. alleging inter alia that his mother Noji Bai used to work at the house of Shri Ameen, resident of Parawal and lived in a house just opposite to the house of Shri Ameen. The informant saw his mother filling water at about 8 o'clock in the morning and then he proceeded to his home. At about 11 to 12 o'clock, he received an information from his brother Roopa that some unknown assailant had chopped off their mother's feet and had looted the ornaments and her dead body was lying in the house. Upon this, the informant went to his mother's house and saw her dead body lying near the fireplace. Both her feet had been chopped off from near the ankles and her ornaments had been looted. 5. On the basis of the report aforesaid, an FIR No.173/2012 came to be registered at the Police Station Khamnor for the offence under section 460 IPC and the investigation was commenced. The investigation of the case was assigned to Shri Samiullah Khan (P.W.12), SHO, Police Station Khamnor. The usual investigation, viz. preparation of Panchayatnama Lash, site inspection etc. were undertaken by the Investigating Officer. While preparing the site inspection plan (Ex.P/4), foot prints and finger prints of the suspect were collected with the assistance of MOB team. The foot print impressions/moulds were collected vide memorandum Ex.P/9 and were sealed in a cloth bag. The MOB unit prepared the site inspection report, which was exhibited as Ex.P/34 at the trial. Photographs were collected by the team while preparing the report. The foot print impressions/moulds were collected vide memorandum Ex.P/9 and were sealed in a cloth bag. The MOB unit prepared the site inspection report, which was exhibited as Ex.P/34 at the trial. Photographs were collected by the team while preparing the report. 6. The dead body of Smt. Noji Bai was subjected to postmortem at the Primary Health Center, Khamnor by a medical board comprising of two doctors, namely, Dr. C.P. Surya (P.W.9) and Dr. Girdhari Lal Jat. The board issued the postmortem report Ex.P/14, wherein they opined that the cause of death was irreversible haemorrhagic shock due to chopping off of the feet of the deceased. The clothes of the deceased were collected and seized. 7. The finger of suspicion pointed towards the accused-appellant, who was arrested on 31.07.2012 vide arrest memo Ex.P/19. The accused was interrogated and he confessed to the murder of Noji Bai with the objective of looting of her ornaments. He gave an information to the Investigating Officer detailing the events ensuing the murder, concealment of the looted ornaments, the weapon of offence 'Dantli' and his own blood-stained clothes. This information recorded under Section 27 of the Evidence Act was taken down in the memorandum Ex.P/20. The accused gave another information to the Investigating officer regarding concealment of some more ornaments of the deceased somewhere in Padasali. This information was taken down in memorandum Ex.P/21. The accused also gave an information (Ex.P/22) to the Investigating Officer for identifying the place of incident. Acting in furtherance of the information Ex.P/20, the accused took the Investigating officer to his own residence and got recovered two silver Kadiyas, two silver ear-tops and a bor from inside his room. The articles so recovered were seized vide seizure memo Ex.P/10. This memorandum was attested by independent motibirs Shri Fateh Singh (P.W.8) and Ranjeet Singh. On the very same day, i.e. 02.08.2012, the accused got recovered the weapon of offence Dantli and his own pant and shirt allegedly worn by him at the time of the incident. These articles, which were recovered from the residential premises of the accused, were seized vide seizure memos Ex.P/11 and Ex.P/12. The MOB team was summoned to collect the specimen foot-moulds of the accused. They undertook the requisite procedure and prepared the foot-moulds vide memorandum Ex.P/24. These foot-mould impressions were sealed. 8. These articles, which were recovered from the residential premises of the accused, were seized vide seizure memos Ex.P/11 and Ex.P/12. The MOB team was summoned to collect the specimen foot-moulds of the accused. They undertook the requisite procedure and prepared the foot-moulds vide memorandum Ex.P/24. These foot-mould impressions were sealed. 8. The incriminating articles seized at the instance of the accused and those seized from the place of incident, viz. the blood-stained clothes of the deceased, blood-stained soil, bloodstained clothes of the accused, the chance foot print impressions collected from the place of incident and the specimen foot-mould impressions of the accused were forwarded to the FSL through Constable Laxmi Narayan (P.W.16), who deposited the same in self-same condition. The SHO filed an application for identification of the recovered articles before the CJM Rajsamand, who forwarded the application to the SDM, Nathdwra. The SDM, Nathdwara Shri Jitendra Kumar Pande (P.W.18) arranged for the articles, which were identical in nature and conducted the test identification proceedings. Dhannaram (P.W.1) was summoned to identify the ornaments of his mother and he succeeded in this exercise. The proceedings of identification were recorded in the memorandum Ex.P/46. The scientific reports pertaining to the blood-stained articles and the foot-moulds were procured. The serological report Ex.P/37 indicated that the blood-stained Karcha found at the spot, blood-stained Lehnga of the deceased, the Dantli, pant and shirt recovered from the house of the accused all tested positive for 'AB' group human blood. The FSL report pertaining to the foot-moulds was proved as Ex.P/35. A clear opinion has been expressed in this report that the chance foot impression mould marked B-3 and the specimen right foot impression mould marked A-4 of Devi Singh were found to be similar. The seizure memos were attested by Panch Witness Fateh Singh (P.W.8) who empathically established the factum of preparation of all these memorandums and proved the recovery proceedings in his sworn testimony, when he was examined as P.W.8. 9. After concluding the investigation, a charge-sheet came to be filed against the accused-appellant in the court concerned for the offences under Sections 454, 302, 397 IPC and Section 3 (2) (v) of the SC/ST Act. The case was committed to the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Nathdwara for trial. The charges were framed against the accused-appellant in the above terms. The accused-appellant pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. 10. The case was committed to the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Nathdwara for trial. The charges were framed against the accused-appellant in the above terms. The accused-appellant pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. 10. The prosecution examined as many as 18 witnesses and exhibited 46 documents to prove its case. The accused was confronted with the circumstances appearing against him in the prosecution evidence by being questioned under Section 313 Cr.P.C. He denied the allegations levelled against him by the prosecution and took a plea of alibi stating that he was at his matrimonial home on the day of the incident. However, no evidence was led in defence. After hearing the arguments advanced by the prosecution and the defence counsel and upon appreciating the evidence available on record, the learned trial court held that the prosecution succeeded in proving the circumstances appearing against the accused in the prosecution evidence beyond all manner of doubt. The chain of circumstances was complete in all aspects and pointed invariably towards the guilt of the accused and that there was no scope whatsoever for holding that anyone else was responsible for the crime. Concluding so, the learned trial court proceeded to convict and sentence the accused-appellant as above vide impugned judgment, which is assailed in this appeal. 11. Shri K.R. Bhati, Advocate, representing the appellant vehemently and fervently urged that the impugned judgment is bad in facts as well as in law. He put forth the following submissions for assailing the impugned judgment and sought acquittal for the accused:- 1. That the accused had no motive to commit the offence; 2. That the SHO Shri Samiullah Khan had no basis to arrest the accused-appellant and the entire investigation is tainted. The sole objective of the Investigating Officer was to somehow or the other, wash his hands off the matter by thrusting the blame upon the head of the accused; 3. That the informations allegedly supplied by the accused to the Investigating Officer under Section 27 of the Evidence Act were procured by threat and coercion and thus, cannot be treated to be voluntary. Further, the informations were not proved as per law. That the informations allegedly supplied by the accused to the Investigating Officer under Section 27 of the Evidence Act were procured by threat and coercion and thus, cannot be treated to be voluntary. Further, the informations were not proved as per law. There is no rhyme and reason as to why the accused would conceal a part of the allegedly looted ornaments in his own house and the remaining part at an open place accessible to all and sundry when he had ample opportunity to dispose of the same; 4. That it does not stand to reason as to why the accused would retain his worthless blood stained clothes after the incident rather than destroying the same and thereby providing an opportunity to the police to collect evidence against himself. 12. On these submissions, Shri Bhati implored the Court to accept the appeal, set aside the impugned judgment and acquit the accused of the charges attributed to him. 13. Per contra, Shri Farzand Ali, learned GA-cum-AAG assisted by Shri N.S. Bhati, learned Public Prosecutor vehemently and fervently opposed the submissions advanced by Shri Bhati and supported the impugned judgment to the hilt. they urged that the Investigating Officer had no cause to falsely implicate the accused for the alleged murder. While undertaking investigation in the blind murder associated with loot, the Investigating Officer got information that the accused was seen roaming around the place of incident coinciding with the time of the murder, upon which, he was summoned to the police station and was questioned. The accused broke down and confessed to the crime, whereafter, he was arrested. The ensuing investigation, led to the accused making voluntary revelations under Section 27 of the Evidence Act to the Investigating Officer, which led to the discovery of the incriminating articles. The time between the incident and recoveries was considerably less and thus, the presumption under Section 114 (a) of the Evidence Act is clearly available to the prosecution. The accused was, therefore, under an obligation to explain as to how he came into possession of the ornaments belonging to the deceased soon after the murder. Rather than offering any plausible explanation, the accused took a flimsy plea of alibi, which he could not substantiate. The accused was, therefore, under an obligation to explain as to how he came into possession of the ornaments belonging to the deceased soon after the murder. Rather than offering any plausible explanation, the accused took a flimsy plea of alibi, which he could not substantiate. Shri Farzand Ali, learned AAG submitted that the prosecution has proved its case by substantiating a complete chain of circumstances pointing invariably and irrevocably towards the guilt of the accused and inconsistent with his innocence. He, thus, implored the Court to dismiss the appeal. 14. We have given our sincere consideration to the submissions advanced at Bar and have threadbare re-appreciated the evidence available on record. 15. Suffice it to say that there is no dispute whatsoever in the fact that the death of Smt. Noji Bai was homicidal in nature. Her dead body with the feet chopped off at the ankles was found lying in a pool of blood inside her own house. The ornaments usually worn were by the deceased were missing from her person. The death of Smt. Noji Bai was on account of excessive hemorrhage which fact was proved by Shri C.P. Surya (P.W.9), who was a member of the board, which conducted autopsy and prepared the Postmortem Report Ex.P/14. The feet of the deceased were manifestly chopped off by a sharp weapon. The blood stained lehanga of the deceased was recovered by the Investigating Officer on the very day of the incident and was seized and sealed. Chance foot-prints of the suspect were also collected from the spot. The accused was arrested on 31.07.2012. Since the case is based purely on the circumstantial evidence, the testimony of the Investigating Officer Shri Samiullah Khan (P.W. 12) is most significant to unfold the crux of the matter. 16. We have carefully and minutely perused the statement of Shri Samiullah Khan. We find that the defence failed to even suggest foul play in the manner of investigation while conducting cross-examination. Thus, there is nothing on record, which can persuade the court to hold that the SHO had any occasion to falsely implicate the accused for the murder of Smt. Noji Bai. On the contrary, we find that not even a bald suggestion was given to the Investigating Officer during cross examination that he had falsely implicated the accused for the murder of Noji Bai. On the contrary, we find that not even a bald suggestion was given to the Investigating Officer during cross examination that he had falsely implicated the accused for the murder of Noji Bai. The Investigating Officer in his examination-in-chief proved the chain of circumstances pointing to the complicity of the accused in the crime. These circumstances have already been enumerated above and thus need not be repeated. The Investigating Officer arrested the accused vide arrest memo Ex.P/19. The accused is also a resident of the same village as that of the deceased. The disclosure statement of the accused Ex.P/20 was narrated in detail and was emphatically proved by the Investigating Officer in his examination-in-chief. In these disclosure statement the accused gave out that after murdering Smt. Noji Bai, he had looted her 'kadas' and ear tops (Silver) etc. and that these ornaments, the 'Dantli' used in the murder and the clothes worn by him at the time of the incident were all concealed in a room, which was located in the back side his house and that he could get recovered these articles. The accused gave another information to the Investigating Officer which was taken down in Memorandum Ex.P/21 wherein, a vague disclosure was made regarding other silver ornaments having been concealed somewhere in Padasali. However, as the information was vague, the Investigating Officer did not choose to pursue the same. In furtherance of the initial information under Section 27 of the Evidence Act (Ex.P/20), the accused took the Investigating Officer to his residential premises and got recovered the ornaments of the deceased, which were seized vide Memorandum Ex.P/10; the blood-stained 'Dantli' used in the murder, which was seized vide Memorandum Ex.P/11 and his own blood stained clothes (pant and shirt), which were seized vide seizure memo Ex.P/12. On noticing the foot prints of the suspect at the place of incident, the Investigating Officer sought assistance of the MOB team which collected the specimen foot print moulds vide seizure memo Ex.P/9 (marked B-3). These foot print mould impressions were sealed at the spot. The specimen foot print mould impressions of the accused were also collected and seized vide seizure memo Ex.P/24 (marked A-4). The SHO Shri Samiullah Khan duly proved the factum of seizure of all the incriminating articles from the place of incident as well as those recovered at the instance of the accused. The specimen foot print mould impressions of the accused were also collected and seized vide seizure memo Ex.P/24 (marked A-4). The SHO Shri Samiullah Khan duly proved the factum of seizure of all the incriminating articles from the place of incident as well as those recovered at the instance of the accused. These articles were safely deposited in the Malkhana of the Police Station. The Malkhana Incharge Heera Lal (P.W.11) proved the fact of deposition of the articles by the Investigating Officer and forwarding thereof to the FSL through the concerned constables. The carrier constables Kishan Singh (P.W.15) and Laxmi Narian (P.W.16) duly proved the factum of the safe transit of the articles to the respective destinations while deposing on oath. Thus, there is wholesome evidence on record regarding investigation having been conducted in a fair and transparent manner. The first informant Dhanna Ram (P.W.1) and his brother Roop Lal (P.W.2) stated that the ornaments of their mother were missing when they saw her dead body lying inside their house. The incident is of 29.07.2012. The accused was arrested just two days later i.e. on 31.07.2012 and soon thereafter he gave the voluntary informations under Section 27 of the Evidence Act to the Investigating Officer, which led to the incriminating recoveries. As per the FSL report Ex.P/37, the blood stained Lehanga of the deceased as well as the 'Dantli' and the blood stained clothes of the accused all tested positive for presence of 'AB' group human blood when serological examination was conducted. As per the FSL report Ex.P/35, the chance foot print impression, which was lifted from the spot and the specimen right foot mould impression of the accused were found to be similar upon comparison. The accused offered no explanation whatsoever as to how the ornaments of the deceased came to be in his house and as to why 'AB' group blood was found on his clothes. He also failed to give any explanation whatsoever as to how his foot print impression was found at the spot soon after the incident. These circumstances when linked together form a complete unbroken chain pointing invariably towards the guilt of the accused and are inconsistent with his innocence. 17. He also failed to give any explanation whatsoever as to how his foot print impression was found at the spot soon after the incident. These circumstances when linked together form a complete unbroken chain pointing invariably towards the guilt of the accused and are inconsistent with his innocence. 17. In light of the discussion made hereinabove, we are of the firm opinion that the trial court was absolutely justified in appreciating the evidence and coming to a conclusion that the prosecution has been able to prove the guilt of the accused of leading evidence beyond all manner of doubt. We find no reason to interfere in the impugned judgment dated 11.12.2015 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Nathdwara in Sessions Case No.30/2012, which is based on a thorough and apropos discussion of the evidence available on record. Accordingly, the same is affirmed. 18. The appeal is dismissed as being devoid of merit.