IMPORTANT POINT
On doubtful recoveries, a presumption as to guilt of accused for offence of murder cannot be drawn.

JUDGMENT

Santosh Hegde, J.-The appellant and another person by name Gowardhan were charged for offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 and Section 201 read with Section 34 IPC for having committed the murder of one Abhai Kumar on 21-5-1988 and for having destroyed the evidence by throwing the dead body of said Abhai Kumar in a lake. The learned Sessions Judge, Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, who tried the accused for the above charges, imposed a sentence of imprisonment for life on both the accused for an offence punishable under section 302 read with 34 and a further RI for a period of 3 years under section 201 read with Section 34. In an appeal filed by the convicted accused which included the appellant before us, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur, Bench at Indore allowed the appeal of Gowardhan and acquitted him of all charges while the appeal filed by the appellant herein - Babudas - was dismissed, confirming his conviction and sentence under Sections 302 and 201, IPC. It is against this judgment of the High Court that the appellant is before us in this appeal.

2. Brief facts necessary for disposal of the appeal are that the first accused (since acquitted) and deceased Abhai Kumar were classmates during their school-days. The deceased had done his Ayurved Ratna and had started medical practice. He was also studying M.Sc. On 21.5.1988 said deceased told his father Babu Lal Jain that he was going to Indore to a day or two on some work and left Mandsaur at about 7/7.30 p.m. on that day. After some days since the deceased did not return, his father made a frantic search for him but all in vain. On 25.5.1988 the villagers spotted a dead body floating in Laduna lake and informed the village Chowkidar who, in turn, went to the Police Station Sitamau and lodged a report. Based on the said report, a crime came to be registered and the SHO - Rajendra Singh Jhala - arranged to fish the body out of the lake. The body had by then putrified and was unidentifiable. It is the case of the prosecution that from the clothes found on the body as also a key-bunch inside the pocket of the pant, the dead body was identified by the father, the younger brother, a friend and a former teacher of the deceased as that of Abhai Kumar. On post mortem the doctor opined that the deceased had died due to stab injuries on his chest. During the course of investigation it was found that on 18.5.1988 when the deceased and his friend Nilkanth PW-7 had gone to a pan shop when the first accused Gowardhan met him there and took the deceased away from PW-7 but PW-7 could hear that conversation between A-1 and the deceased. During the said conversation, PW-7 states that A-1 asked the deceased for a loan of Rs.30,000 but the deceased told A-1 that he had only Rs.25,000/- in his bank account which he would lend to him. It is the case of the prosecution that during the course of investigation, PW-10 Dinesh Shukla remembered that on 21.5.1988 he had actually seen the deceased in the company of both the accused near the lake which he informed the investigating officer after about a week because he had then left for his village. The accused persons were then arrested on 27.5.1988 and A-1 allegedly told the I.O. that out of Rs.25,000 taken by him from the deceased, a sum of Rs. 20,000 was given to the sister of A-2 for safe keeping and Rs. 4,900 were given to A-2 while the balance was pocketed by A-1 himself. The prosecution then also alleges that on the same day, A-2 told the I.O. that he had hidden a knife which was used in the murder of the deceased in a pond near the lake and that he would take the Police to the said place for recovery of the said knife. He is also supposed to have told the Police that he had hidden the money given to him by A-1 after spending a part thereof under some red stones on the way leading to Dammakheri. Even in this regard A-2 is supposed to have offered the Police to lead them to the place for recovery of the said money.