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2001(1) Supreme 654
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
(From Kerala High Court)
Umesh C. Banerjee and K.G. Balakrishnan, JJ.
V.L. Tresa -Appellant
versus
State of Kerala -Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 267 of 1991
Decided on 9-2-2001
Counsel for the Parties :
For the Appellant : Ramesh Babu M.R., and M.A. Firoz, Advocates.
For the Respondent : G. Prakash, Jyothish, A.P., Advocates.
.
Held : The analysis of the evidence in its entirety as has been effected by the learned Sessions Judge, could not be found faulted by the High Court and we also do not intend to record a contra finding disturbing the concurring finding of the learned Sessions Judge as also of the High Court in regard to the failure of the prosecution to prove that it was the accused who caused the death of the deceased. (Para 16)
However, in the contextual facts, the situation however, is slightly different and since the wife alone could explain the death of the husband in the manner is it is noted above. The crowbar was not available for few days and it is a subsequent discovery and on a further search, the crowbar contained human blood which has been proved to be that of the deceased. Both the Sessions Judge and the High Court have categorically disbelieved the evidence of the wife and it is in this regard it cannot but be said that the falsity of information given by the accused cannot but warrant a punishment under Section 201, I.P.C. since information regarding the offence was available only with the accused and there was a deliberate attempt to screen offender from legal punishment by way of providing false information regarding the offence. (Para 18)
Held finally : On the wake of the aforesaid, we are unable to record our concurrence with the submissions of Mr. Sushil Kumar as regards the conviction for the offence under Section 201 of the IPC. The High Court has been rather lenient in the matter of reducing the sentence but since there is no cross appeal by the State against the judgment, we do not intend to proceed with the matter any further, excepting confirming in the contextual facts the judgment of the High Court. The Appeal therefore, fails and thus is dismissed. The appellant be taken into custody forthwith to serve out the sentence, if not already served. (Para 19)
JUDGMENT
Banerjee, J.-This Appeal by the grant of special leave is against the judgment and order dated 22nd January, 1991 of the High Court of Kerala confirming the conviction for the offence under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code though however, the sentence has been reduced to simple imprisonment for one year as against rigorous imprisonment for five years by the learned Sessions Judge.
2. The core issue pertains to impediment, if any, to a conviction under Section 201 I.P.C. on acquittal of the main offence? The Appellate Bench of the High Court answered it in the negative and confirmed conviction and sentenced as noted above.
3. The contextual facts depict that Vincent, the deceased, was a young advocate and his death was suspected to be a murder. After investigation, his wife was indicted for murder and also for giving false information regarding the incident in order to screen herself from punishment. The learned Sessions Judge however acquitted her of the charge of murder but convicted her for the offence under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code and thus sentenced her to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and it is this conviction and sentence which were challenged in Appeal by the Appellant herein.
4. Before the High Court, it was contended in support of the Appeal, that the offence under Section 201 of the IPC can not form the basis of any conviction without there being any principle offence, and as such by reason of the order of acquittal under Section 302 and there being no appeal against such an order of acquittal, question of there being any conviction for the alleged offence under Section 201, would not arise. Subsequently, however, the revisional Jurisdiction of the High Court has been initiated by the learned Single Judge suo moto against the order of acquittal and the matter was placed before the Division Bench for hearing of the appeal as also the revisional petition. At the hearing before the Bench however, the learned Public Prosecutor very strongly canvassed for the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 of the I.P.C.
5. Before proceeding with the matter any further the prosecution case be briefly noted hereinbelow:
The deceased advocate was residing with his wife and daughter in a separate house from his parents and since the deceased incurred debts he wanted to dispose of the land and the building in which they resided which stood in the name of his wife. As a matter of fact, an agreement for sale was more or less finalised when on the date of occurrence the deceased advocate after consumption of alcohol returned home in the night and informed his wife as regards the factum of execution of the agreement for sale on the following date. On this issue however, there was heated exchange of words between the husband and the wife and she inflicted an injury on the forehead of the deceased with a crowbar. The injury however, resulted damage of skull and brain and almost brought the death instantaneously. The accused wife, however, became very active thereafter and the crowbar was concealed beneath the firewood splinters stacked in the kitchen and it has been made out to all those who reached the house that he committed suicide by hanging. Without knowing however, the real cause of death, the father of the deceased (P.W.1) provided the first information to the Police and the first information report was registered by the Police for unnatural death but when the autopsy was done, the Police sensed it to be a case of murder. The accused wife was subsequently arrested and upon interrogation, the investigation officer recovered the crowbar from the firewood sprinters stacked in the kitchen which was also subjected to chemical analysis and the forensic report revealed that it was stained with human blood of the same group as that of the deceased.
6. During the course of examination of the accused before the learned Sessions Judge, she denied her complicity and stated that as a matter of
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