State Of A.P vs V.V. Panduranga Rao

State of A.P. .....Appellant

Versus

V.V. Panduranga Rao .....Respondent

JUDGMENT

Dr. ARIJIT PASAYAT, J.

1. Challenge in this appeal is to the judgment of a Division Bench of the

Andhra Pradesh High Court directing acquittal of the respondent who faced

trial for having allegedly committed the murder of his wife Veeranki

Bhulaxmi (hereinafter referred to as the `deceased'). It was the prosecution case that after committing the murder of his wife, the accused had tried to

commit suicide by cutting his throat with knife. He was charged for

commission of offences punishable under Sections 302 and 309 of the

Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the `IPC'). He was tried for both the

offences, but he was sentenced only in respect of offence punishable under

Section 302 IPC.

2. Prosecution version, in a nutshell, is as follows:

The accused, the deceased and the prosecution witnesses were the

residents of Venkuru village of Vijayawada, Krishna district. The deceased

was the wife of the accused. PW-1 was the mother, PWs 2 and 3 were

daughters and PW-4 was brother of the deceased. The deceased and PW-2

were attending cooli work and were maintaining the family. They shifted

their residence to Venkuru village for their livelihood and were staying in

the house of PW-1. On the intervening night of 2/3-3-2000 at about 3.45

a.m. the deceased was sleeping on her cot in their house in Venkuru. The

accused hacked her with a knife on her neck and caused her instantaneous

death and later he attempted to commit suicide by cutting his throat partially

with a knife. PW-1 woke up in the early hours and noticed that the deceased

2 was lying with bleeding injury on her neck and the knife with blood was in

the hands of the accused. Then on seeing PW-1 the accused fled away. A

complaint was lodged and it was registered in Cr.No.48 of 2000 of

Penamluru police station. Inquest was held over the dead body of the

deceased and the same was sent for post mortem examination. PW-8, the

Medical Officer conducted autopsy and issued post mortem certificate. The

statements of the witnesses were recorded and investigation was undertaken.

On completion of investigation charge sheet was filed. As the accused

person pleaded innocence trial was held. As noted above, the trial Court

placed reliance on the evidence of mother (PW-1) of the deceased and

recorded conviction. The High Court found that the evidence of PW-1 on

whose evidence the conviction was recorded does not inspire confidence. It

was also noted that the report was given to the police officer on telephone as

admitted by the brother of the deceased at about 4.00 a.m. The same does

not appear to have been recorded in writing and on the other hand the police

officer claimed to have come to the place of occurrence and recorded the

statement of the mother and converted it into the FIR. The High Court noted

that it was not explained by the investigating officer as to why the telephonic

message was not reduced into writing.

3 With reference to the evidence of PW-1 the High Court noted that she

stated that her son had informed the police. It is not known as to what the

son of PW-1 told the police i.e. whether he told about the details of the

crime or that some crime had taken place. If it is former then the message

was required to be reduced in writing. The police officer who received the

telephonic message is PW-10. According to him he received a telephonic

message that some murder had taken place. He categorically admitted that

he did not reduce the information into writing. Added to that the High

Court noted that the FIR reached the police station after about 7 hours. In

the FIR it was noted the injuries which were of very serious nature on the

person of the accused were not explained. It did not accept the stand taken

that the accused tried to commit suicide.

3. Learned counsel for the appellant-State submitted that the reasons

recorded by the High Court to direct acquittal are not sustainable in law. It is

stated that the message purported to have been given over telephone was a

cryptic one and, therefore, cannot be treated as a FIR.

4. Learned counsel for the respondent supported the judgment of the

High Court.

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5. Certain facts have been rightly noted by the High Court. Where the

information is only one which required the police to move to the place of

occurrence and as a matter of fact the detailed statement was recorded after

going to the place of occurrence, the said statement is to be treated as FIR.

But where some cryptic or anonymous oral message which did not in

terms clearly specify a cognizable offence cannot be treated as FIR. The

mere fact that the information was the first in point of time does not by

itself clothe it with the character of FIR. The matter has to be considered in

the background of Sections 154 and 162 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,

1973 (in short the `Code'). A cryptic telephonic message of a cognizable

offence received by the police agency would not constitute a FIR.

6. The object and purpose of giving a telephonic message is not to lodge

the FIR but to request the officer incharge of the police station to reach the

place of occurrence. On the other hand if the information given on

telephone is not cryptic and on the basis of that information the officer in

charge is prima facie satisfied about the commission of a cognizable offence

and proceeds from the police station after recording such information to

investigate such offence then any statement made by any person in respect

5 of the said offence including details about the participants shall be deemed

to be a statement made by a person to the police officer in the course of

investigation covered by Section 162 of Code. That statement cannot be

treated as FIR. To put it differently any telephonic information about the

commission of cognizable offence irrespective of the nature of details of

such information cannot be treated as FIR. If in the instant case PW-6

proceeded on the basis of what has been told by PW-1 to him about the

murder of the deceased it was but natural that PW-1 would have told him

who the author of the crime was. That is not the case of the prosecution.

There has been lots of improvements in the evidence of PW-1 i.e. what she

had made during investigation when compared with that recorded in Court.

7. During investigation PW-1 had not stated that he had seen the accused

standing near the dead body of the deceased or that on hearing her cries her

son Venkanna who has not been examined came there and informed the

incident to the police by phone. She had also not stated that the accused had

told her that he had cut the throat of the deceased with a knife which is

available in the house. Interestingly, there was no effort made to match the

blood group of the deceased with the blood found on the M.O.1. If the

6 aforesaid aspects are considered, the inevitable conclusion is that the appeal

is without merit, deserves dismissal which we direct.

........................................J. (Dr. ARIJIT PASAYAT)

........................................J. (ASOK KUMAR GANGULY)

New Delhi, May 04, 2009

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