Kulvinder Singh & Anr vs State Of Haryana

Kulvinder Singh & Anr. ...Appellants

Versus

State of Haryana ...Respondent

J U D G M E N T

Dr. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.

1. This appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order

dated 31.8.2004 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at

Chandigarh in Criminal Appeal No. 167-DB of 1999, by which it has

affirmed the judgment and order of the Trial Court in Sessions Case No. 5

of 1998 dated 22.2.1999 convicting the appellants for the offence

punishable under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter

referred to as `IPC') and awarding the sentence of life imprisonment and

imposing a fine of Rs.2,000/- each.

2. FACTS:

(A) That on 9.10.1997, some labourers were working in the fields

of Ishwar Singh (PW.2) and his son Amardeep was also with them.

On that date at about 7.00 PM, Ishwar Singh (PW.2) started from his

house for his fields in order to keep watch on the crop, relieving

Amardeep from the fields. On his way, Ishwar Singh (PW.2) saw

Kulvinder Singh and Jasvinder Singh/appellants at the tubewell of

Singh Ram. Kulvinder Singh was sitting on a cot outside the

tubewell while Jasvinder Singh was inside the tubewell. On being

asked by Ishwar Singh (PW.2), Kulvinder Singh replied that they

were there in a routine manner as it was the tubewell of Singh Ram,

the father of Jasvinder Singh. Kulvinder Singh is the son of the

maternal uncle of Jasvinder Singh. After reaching his fields, Ishwar

Singh (PW.2) relieved his son Amardeep of his duties. The next

morning i.e., on 10.10.1997, at about 6.00 AM, the labourers of

Mange Ram, Sarpanch, (PW.11) of the same village came and told

him that a dead body was lying near the paddy field in the water

channel. Mange Ram (PW.11) reached the spot with his labourers.

By that time several other villagers had also collected there and they

identified the dead body as being that of Amardeep. They also

found a large number of wounds caused by a sharp-edged weapon on

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the body. They immediately called Ishwar Singh (PW.2), father of

the deceased to the spot.

(B) Mange Ram (PW.11) then started for Police Station Radaur to

make the report, however, he met Roop Chand SI/SHO, Police

Station Radaur (PW.14) on the way and informed him that

Amardeep had been murdered by some unknown person by

assaulting him with sharp edged weapons. Roop Chand, SI, (PW.14)

asked Mange Ram (PW.11) to go to the Police Station to lodge the

complaint formally. Thus, the FIR was lodged. Roop Chand, SI,

(PW.14) reached the place of occurrence and examined the dead

body as well as the place where it was lying. He prepared the

inquest report and sent the dead body of Amardeep for postmortem

examination. Roop Chand, SI, (PW.14) also got the spot

photographed, prepared a rough site plan of the place of occurrence

and recorded the statements of the witnesses in which Ishwar Singh

(PW.2) told him that about 8 to 10 days before the date of

occurrence, he saw Jasvinder Singh/appellant grappling with his son

Amardeep while they were playing kabaddi. He intervened and

asked the reason for the same and Jasvinder Singh had disclosed that

Amardeep was teasing his sister and wife. Ishwar Singh (PW.2)

reprimanded his son Amardeep for the alleged misconduct, however,

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Amardeep protested and told him that the accusation was false.

During the course of the investigation, Roop Chand, SI, (PW.14)

also came to know that on 9.10.1997 at about 7.30 PM, Ranbir Singh

(PW.3) had started for his fields and when he was by the side of

bund of the village, he heard shrieks from the place where the dead

body of Amardeep was found lying the next morning. He also saw

both the appellants running fast and they crossed him and on being

asked as to why they were running, they did not give any reason but

rather told him that they were running fast without any purpose.

However, Ranbir Singh (PW.3) came to know only next morning

that Amardeep had been murdered.

(C) On 13.10.1997, Phool Singh (PW.10) produced the accused

before Roop Chand, SI (PW.14) and told him that they had made

extra-judicial confession before him about the killing of Amardeep,

because the latter was teasing the wife and sister of Jasvinder Singh.

Both the appellants were arrested and interrogated. On their

disclosure, the clothes they had put on at the time of occurrence,

which had already been washed, were recovered. On disclosure of

Jasvinder Singh-appellant, the barchha used for committing the

crime was recovered on 14.10.1997. After conducting the

postmortem examination, Dr. Vijay Mohan Atreja (PW.9) gave a

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report stating that there were 22 injuries on the person of Amardeep

and the same could have been caused by a barchha. The barchha

recovered on the disclosure of the appellant-Jasvinder Singh had

blood stains on it at the time of recovery. Roop Chand, SI, (PW.14)

recovered the blood stained chappals and the blood stained earth

from the spot and sent all those items alongwith barchha and clothes

to the Forensic Science Laboratory. After completing the

investigation, a chargesheet was submitted against the appellants.

The court after completing the formalities committed the case to the

Sessions Court vide order dated 20.1.1998. They were charged

under Sections 302 read with 34 IPC vide order dated 20.2.1998 to

which the appellants pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

(D) The prosecution examined 14 witnesses at the trial including

Ishwar Singh, (PW.2); Ranbir Singh (PW.3), who saw the accused

running fast and crossing him on the evening of 9.10.1997 and

heard the shrieks from the place of occurrence; Dr. Vijay Mohan

Atreja (PW.9), who conducted the postmortem examination

alongwith Dr. Ashwani Bhatnagar on the dead body of Amardeep;

Phool Singh, (PW.10) before whom the extra-judicial confession

was made by the appellants; Mange Ram, Sarpanch, (PW.11)

complainant/informant in the case; Mam Chand (PW.12), witness to

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the recovery of barchha on the disclosure statement of the appellant

Jasvinder Singh; and Roop Chand (PW.14), the investigating officer.

The reports of the Serologist were tendered in evidence. On closure

of the prosecution case, the Trial Court examined the

appellants/accused under Section 313 of Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter called `Cr.P.C.'). Both the accused

denied their participation and pleading that they had been falsely

implicated.

(E) After considering the entire evidence on record, the Trial

Court vide judgment and order dated 22.2.1999 convicted both the

appellants for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC and

awarded the sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of Rs.2,000/-

each.

(F) Being aggrieved, the appellants preferred Criminal Appeal

No. 167-DB of 1999 which has been dismissed by the High Court

vide judgment and order dated 31.8.2004. Hence, this appeal.

3. Shri S.P. Laler, learned counsel appearing for the appellants,

submitted that it is a case of circumstantial evidence; that there was

no motive for committing the murder of Amardeep; that there had

been material contradictions in the evidence of the witnesses; the

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chain of circumstances could not be completed; in the facts of the

case the extra-judicial confession could not be relied upon by any

means; the theory of the deceased being last seen with the appellants

cannot be applied. Involvement of both the appellants in the

commission of the offence is doubtful as the injuries found on the

person of the deceased had been caused only by one weapon. The

courts below have erred in convicting the appellants and, therefore,

the judgments and orders of the courts below are liable to be set

aside.

4. Shri Rajeev Gaur "Naseem", learned counsel appearing for the

respondent-State, has opposed the appeal contending that both the

courts below have recorded concurrent findings of fact after

appreciating the entire evidence on record. Earlier there had been a

fight between Jasvinder Singh-appellant and Amardeep- deceased.

Jasvinder Singh-appellant had a grudge against Amardeep, as

Amardeep had teased his wife and sister and this fact had come to

the notice of Ishwar Singh (PW.2), father of the deceased. Thus,

motive stood fully established. Evidence of Phool Singh (PW.10)

regarding the extra-judicial confession is to be believed for the

reason that he was the Ex-Sarpanch of the village and the

appellants/accused had gone to him, so that he could produce them

before the police. In fact, the appellants/accused were produced by

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Phool Singh (PW.10) before the police and they had disclosed to him

that they had murdered Amardeep. Appellants were seen together

with the deceased just before the commission of the crime. Twenty

two injuries were found on the person of Amardeep-deceased, and

even if they had been caused by one weapon, it is not possible for a

single person to cause so many injuries, as the deceased was a young

man of 25 years and of 5 ft. 10 inch height, while the appellants were

at that time 19 and 23 years of age respectively. Even if there is any

contradiction in the statements of the witnesses, it is so trivial that it

cannot be taken note of. The appeal lacks merit and is liable to be

dismissed.

5. We have considered the rival submissions made by the learned

counsel for the parties and perused the record.

6. The courts below have examined the entire evidence on record

and reached the conclusion that chain of circumstances stood

completed and all the circumstances pointed towards the guilt of the

accused. Such findings stand fully substantiated by the depositions

of the witnesses in the court. The offence was committed in the

evening of 9.10.1997 and in respect of the same, an FIR was lodged

on 10.10.1997 and the extra-judicial confession has been made on

13.10.1997. Thus, for three days, the appellants remained wanted in

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the case. Ishwar Singh (PW.2), the father of Amardeep-deceased

deposed that about 8/10 days prior to the incident while he was

returning home with his son Kuldeep, he saw Jasvinder Singh,

appellant/accused playing Kabaddi with his son Amardeep-deceased

and suddenly they started quarrelling with each other and on being

asked Jasvinder Singh-accused had told him that Amardeep-

deceased was teasing his sister and wife though Amardeep-deceased

protested and told him that he was telling a lie. The statement of

Ishwar Singh (PW.2) in respect of motive also gets corroborated by

the statement of Saheb Singh (PW.13), an independent witness to the

extent that a month prior to the murder of Amardeep, Jasvinder

Singh-accused made a complaint to two-three persons about

Amardeep-deceased teasing his sister. The statement of Saheb Singh

(PW.13) has been scrutinised by both the courts below and had been

found trustworthy on the ground that he did not depose anything

about the incident of quarrel between Jasvinder Singh-accused and

Amardeep-deceased while playing Kabaddi. Thus, the Trial Court

had found that he was fair and did not depose falsely. Thus, it stood

established that Jasvinder Singh-accused had been harbouring in his

mind the suspicion that Amardeep-deceased was teasing his sister

and wife.

9 7. In State of Uttar Pradesh v. Kishanpal & Ors., (2008) 16

SCC 73, this Court examined the issue of motive in a case of

circumstantial evidence and observed that motive is a thing which is

primarily known to the accused themselves and it is not possible for

the prosecution to explain what actually prompted or excited them to

commit the particular crime and thus, motive may be considered as a

circumstance which is relevant for assessing the evidence and

becomes an issue of importance in a case of circumstantial evidence.

Thus, absence of motive in a case depending on circumstantial

evidence is a factor that weighs in favour of the accused. (See also:

Pannayar v. State of Tamil Nadu by Inspector of Police, (2009) 9

SCC 152; Babu v. State of Kerala, (2010) 9 SCC 189; and Bipin

Kumar Mondal v. State of West Bengal, AIR 2010 SC 3638).

8. If the finding recorded by the courts below on the issue of

motive is examined in the light of the law laid down by this Court in

the above cases, no fault can be found with the same.

9. On the issue of extra-judicial confession, Phool Singh

(PW.10) has deposed that he was the Ex-Sarpanch and both the

appellants/accused approached him on 13.10.1997 and disclosed that

they had committed the murder of Amardeep-deceased and he

should take them to the police. He deposed that both the accused

10

came to him at about 1.00 p.m. and he produced them before the

police at about 3.30/4.00 p.m. Undoubtedly, both the

appellants/accused had been arrested by the police only on

13.10.1997, as it is not the defence version that they had been

arrested earlier to 13.10.1997, neither have they challenged the

deposition of Phool Singh (PW.10) that he did not produce them

before the police, nor it had been their case that they had been

arrested from somewhere else. Phool Singh (PW.10) faced the

gruelling cross-examination but defence could not elucidate anything

to discredit him and the courts below have found that the deposition

of Phool Singh (PW.10) in respect of the extra-judicial confession

made to him by the accused remained a trustworthy piece of

evidence as rightly been relied upon.

Phool Singh (PW.10) in his statement recorded under

Section 161 Cr.P.C. has stated that the appellants had told him on

13.10.1997 that due to the fear of police they were running from the

pillar to post. He had a good understanding with the police being the

Ex-Sarpanch and thus, he should help and produce them before the

police.

11 10. In State of Rajasthan v. Raja Ram, (2003) 8 SCC 180, this

Court held as under:

"An extra-judicial confession, if voluntary and true and made in a fit state of mind, can be relied upon by the court. The confession will have to be proved like any other fact. The value of the evidence as to confession, like any other evidence, depends upon the veracity of the witness to whom it has been made. The value of the evidence as to the confession depends on the reliability of the witness who gives the evidence. It is not open to any court to start with a presumption that extra- judicial confession is a weak type of evidence. It would depend on the nature of the circumstances, the time when the confession was made and the credibility of the witnesses who speak to such a confession. Such a confession can be relied upon and conviction can be founded thereon if the evidence about the confession comes from the mouth of witnesses who appear to be unbiased, not even remotely inimical to the accused, and in respect of whom nothing is brought out which may tend to indicate that he may have a motive of attributing an untruthful statement to the accused, the words spoken to by the witness are clear, unambiguous and unmistakably convey that the accused is the perpetrator of the crime and nothing is omitted by the witness which may militate against it. After subjecting the evidence of the witness to a rigorous test on the touchstone of credibility, the extra-judicial confession can be accepted and can be the basis of a conviction if it passes the test of credibility."

11. After going through the evidence of Phool Singh (PW.10), we

reach the inescapable conclusion that Phool Singh (PW.10) is an

independent witness and by no means could be held to be biased or

inimical to the accused. There is nothing on record to indicate that he

had any motive to falsely implicate the accused or that there was any

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motive for attributing an untruthful statement to the accused. He had

made a crystal clear statement conveying that the accused had

disclosed to him that they had committed the murder of Amardeep-

deceased. Thus, we do not find any reason not to accept his

deposition in respect of the extra-judicial confession made by the

appellants as his deposition stands the test of credibility.

12. Not a single witness has deposed that the appellants/accused

were last seen with the deceased. However, the courts below have

found that the prosecution case has been very close to the

circumstances of the appellants and deceased being last seen

together. Ishwar Singh (PW.2) has deposed that the tubewell of

Singh Ram is on the passage connecting his fields with the abadi of

the village, where he saw both the appellants at about 7.00 p.m.

Immediately thereafter, his son, Amardeep started for the village

between 7.30 and 7.45 p.m. Ranbir Singh (PW.3) who heard the

cries from the place of occurrence and saw the appellants running

towards the village and the deceased was found to have an empty

stomach at the time of occurrence as per the post mortem report had

indicated that Amardeep had been murdered before he could take his

evening meal. The Trial Court has examined the statement of

Ranbir Singh (PW.3) minutely and rejected the defence version that

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in such a circumstance it was unnatural on the part of this witness

not to go to the source of shrieks, giving explanation that after

hearing the shrieks he stopped on his way to the village and

immediately thereafter he saw both the accused running fast and

crossing him. On being stopped and asked by Ranbir Singh (PW.3),

the appellants told him that they were running without any specific

purpose. Immediately thereafter, he could not hear any cry.

Therefore, he did not inspect the place from where the cries seem to

be coming. Thus, the Trial Court reached the conclusion that though

it was not a case where the accused had been last seen together with

the deceased, however, in a case when the accused had the

opportunity to commit the crime and they had the motive on their

part to do so, such a circumstance can also be taken note of.

13. In State of U.P. v. Satish, (2005) 3 SCC 114, this Court held

that the last seen theory comes into play where the time gap between

the point of time when the accused and deceased were last seen alive

and when the deceased is found dead is so small that possibility of

any person other than the accused being the author of the crime

becomes impossible. Similar view has been reiterated in Mohd.

Azad alias Samin v. State of West Bengal, (2008) 15 SCC 449.

14 14. The Trial Court has given cogent reasons for believing Ranbir

Singh (PW.3) observing that Ranbir Singh (PW.3) was an

independent witness and only 1-1/2 killa away from the tubewell of

Singh Ram wherefrom he heard the cries. He did not go to the place

wherefrom the shrieks had been coming assuming that the same had

been made by the accused and such a course could not be unnatural.

In spite of the fact that Shri Laler, learned counsel appearing for the

appellants has taken us through the evidence on record, we do not

find any cogent reason to interfere with such a finding of fact.

15. The barchha used as a weapon in the crime had been

recovered from the sugarcane field. It had blood stains on it and had

been thrown at a place where it was not visible to all. In the instant

case, as the motive stood proved distinctly, recovery of a blood

stained barchha from the sugarcane field at the disclosure of

Jasvinder Singh-accused is a circumstance which can safely be relied

upon for the conviction of the appellants-accused. As both the

appellants had been seen immediately before the occurrence at the

place of occurrence and the deceased had come there shortly

thereafter, they had an opportunity to kill Amardeep. After the

occurrence, they were seen running together from the place of

occurrence by Ranbir Singh (PW.3). Such a conduct, if examined,

15

with another circumstance i.e. the extra-judicial confession made by

the appellants before Phool Singh (PW.10), completes the chain of

circumstances pointing to the guilt of the appellants-accused.

16. It is a settled legal proposition that conviction of a person in

an offence is generally based solely on evidence that is either oral or

documentary, but in exceptional circumstances conviction may also

be based solely on circumstantial evidence. The prosecution has to

establish its case beyond reasonable doubt and cannot derive any

strength from the weakness of the defence put up by the accused.

However, a false defence may be called into aid only to lend

assurance to the Court where various links in the chain of

circumstantial evidence are in themselves complete. The

circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is to be drawn

should be fully established. The same should be of a conclusive

nature and exclude all possible hypothesis except the one to be

proved. Facts so established must be consistent with the hypothesis

of the guilt of the accused and the chain of evidence must be so

complete as not to leave any reasonable ground for a conclusion

consistent with the innocence of the accused and must show that in

all human probability the act must have been done by the accused.

(vide: Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, AIR

16

1984 SC 1622; and Paramjeet Singh @ Pamma v. State of

Uttarakhand, AIR 2011 SC 200).

17. In a case like this, where all circumstances stand proved

against the appellants, their defence may be examined to test the

circumstances stood proved against them. In the instant case,

Kulvinder Singh, appellant No.1 is a resident of another district. He

had not taken the plea of alibi, nor led any evidence to support the

hypothesis that he was not present at the place of occurrence on the

date of incident. His only plea has been that he had falsely been

implicated without saying anything further.

18. Shri Laler, learned counsel appearing for the appellants has

challenged the statement made by Ranbir Singh (PW.3) that he went

to the place of occurrence in the morning on 10.10.1997 at 9.00 AM.

The police had reached there. "Police remained there till the accused

were arrested" stating that it cannot be true as, admittedly, the

appellants had been arrested on 13.10.1997 on being produced by

Phool Singh (PW.10). Ranbir Singh (PW.3) did not remain present

for three days at the place of occurrence. The relevant part of the

cross-examination has to be read as a whole in order to examine the

correctness of the submissions so advanced on behalf of the

appellants. The relevant part reads as under:

17 "I reached the tubewell of Singh Ram on the

next morning at 9.00 a.m. Police had reached the

place by that time. Police did not record statement

of anyone else in my presence. Police remained at

the spot till the accused were arrested. I cannot

tell when the accused were arrested."

19. By reading the aforesaid part of the statement it cannot be

held that Ranbir Singh (PW.3) had deposed that the appellants had

been arrested in his presence, as he was not even aware when they

had been arrested. So his statement has to be understood in the

following way: That the police remained at the place of occurrence

for several days and may also mean till 13.10.1997 when the

accused were arrested. Thus, no case is made out for interference on

this count also.

20. The last submission advanced by Shri Laler had been that if

injuries had been caused by one weapon as deposed by Dr. Vijay

Mohan Atreja (PW.9), the involvement of Kulvinder Singh-

appellant No.1 becomes doubtful and he should be acquitted giving

him the benefit of doubt. According to the post mortem report, the

following injuries were found on the body of Amardeep-deceased,

aged 25 years.

1. Incised wound on the left palm on the thenar eminence

placed obliquely 4 cm x 1 cm tapering downwards and

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laterally towards the left thumb 2 cm deep at the medial

side.

2. Incised wound 2 cm x 1 cm each on the palmer aspect of

lower phalanx of left index and middle finger and upper

phalanx of the left little finger.

3. Incised wound 9 cm in length x 1 cm on the medial

aspect of the mid left forearm place obliquely, 7 cm

below the left elbow.

4. Incised wound 3.5 cm x 1 cm placed obliquely on the

right forehead starting from the medial side of the right

eyebrow and extending upward and laterally 4 cm above

the lateral border of right eyebrow.

5. Incised wound 5 cm x 1 cm on right eye lid just below

the right eyebrow and extending laterally and over the

skin 2 cm lateral to the lateral angle of the right eye.

6. Incised wound 14 cm x 2.5 cm on the front of the face

starting from the right cheek bone's prominence

traversing obliquely towards the left on the left cheek.

7. Incised wound 5.5. cm x 1 cm on the face just below the

tip of the nose placed horizontally parallel to the upper

lip.

8. Incised wound 4 cm x 1 cm on the right side of the chin

starting from the right angle of the lower lip and

extending downward and medially towards the chin.

9. Stab wound tapering at both ends 2 cm x 1 cm on the

right side of the neck placed obliquely 3 cm below from

the right angle of the mandible going medially and

downwards.

19 10. Stab wound 2 cm x 2 cm placed on the anterior aspect of

the middle of the neck transversely.

11. Stab wound 4 cm x 2 cm on the left side of the neck 2 cm

below the right angle of mandible.

12. Stab wound 2.5 cm x 2 cm placed vertically placed

lateral to injury no.1 (3 cm) and 6 cm from the left

mastoid.

13. Stab wound 4 cm x 3 cm on left axillary fold (anterior)

place vertically spindle shape tapering upwards.

14. Stab wound 4 cm x 2 cm elliptical at lower border of left

axilla placed vertically.

15. Stab wound 7 cm x 3 cm elliptical, placed obliquely

starting from 5 cm lateral to left nipple and extending

upto 3 cm medial to injury no.14.

16. Stab wound 4 cm x 3 cm elliptical placed obliquely on

the left chest, 15 cm from the midline and 7 cm below the

injury no.15.

17. Incised wound 6 cm x 2 cm placed obliquely on left side

of chest 3 cm below and lateral to injury no.16.

18. Stab wound 4 cm medial to left iliac crest placed

transversely 5 cm x 2 cm. The loops of small intestine

were coming out of the wound.

19. Incised wound 4.5 cm x 2 cm placed obliquely on the

right inguinal ligament.

20. Incised wound 8 cm x 5 cm placed transversely parallel

to the upper border of left scapula in the supra scapular

region.

21. Incised wound 1.5 cm x 1 cm placed transversely on the

interior side of left leg in the middle.

20 22. Incised wound 3 cm x 2 cm on the left posterior axillary

line 12 cm below left axilla placed vertically going upto

the left chest wall.

According to Dr. Vijay Mohan Atreja (PW.9), the cause

of death in this case was shock and hemorrhage due to extensive

injuries to the vital organs. All these injuries were found to be anti-

mortem in nature and sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course

of nature.

The injuries look as if received by a person whilst trying to

save himself.

21. The age of the appellants at the time of occurrence had been

shown on the record as 19 and 23 years respectively and the

deceased was 5 ft.10 inch tall and 25 years of age. It is difficult to

imagine that one person could cause 22 injuries on such a well-built

person unless the other persons had caught hold of him. All the

injuries found on the person of the deceased are on front side of the

body and not a single injury has been found on the back. Such injury

could not have been caused unless somebody had caught hold of the

deceased from the back. It is a case of circumstantial evidence and

in the facts and circumstance of the case, the submission made by

21

Shri Laler is merely worth taking note of and not worth

consideration.

22. In view of the above, we do not find any force in the appeal

and is, accordingly, dismissed.

..........................J.

(P. SATHASIVAM)

..........................J.

(Dr. B.S. CHAUHAN)

New Delhi,

April 11, 2011

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