Judgment

CHANDRACHUD, J:- This is a case of fratricide in which the appellant Mulkh Raj Sikka was tried by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi on the charge that he had committed the murder of his brother Satish Chander on the night between the 27th and 28th May, 1970. The learned Judge sentenced the appellant to death and the order of conviction and sentence was confirmed in appeal by the High Court of Delhi. In this appeal by special leave the appellant challenged correctness of the judgment of the High Court.

2. One Bhagwan Dass had seven sons, appellant being the eldest and the deceased Satish Chander the youngest. At the relevant time the appellant was working as an Inspector of Police in the Central Bureau of Investigation, Delhi while the deceased had just finished a course in Electrical Engineering and seeking employment. The deceased used to live with the appellant in Qr. No. 238, Sector XII, R. K. Puram, Delhi.

3. On January 15, 1962 Bhagwan Dass executed a will and divided his property amongst his sons. After the death of Bhagwan Dass the appellant started managing the property left by the father. In 1968 disputes arose between the brothers as regards the division of the property which led to an agreement dated May 14, 1968. The grievance of the deceased was that he had not consented to this agreement and that it was wholly unfair to him.

4. On May, 27, 1970 the appellant obtained from his office casual leave for the 27th and the 28th on the ground that he was suffering from cough, cold and fever. Sometime on the 27th the appellant along with his wife and daughter went to live with his brother-in-law at Green park. The deceased Satish Chander was thus alone in the house at R. K. Puram on the night of May 27.

5. The case of the prosecution is that the appellant came to his house at about mid-night and knocked at the door whereupon the deceased let him in. The appellant is alleged to have committed the murder of his brother sometime during the night and to have left the house thereafter by locking the rear entrance from outside. Dhan Bahadur, a Chowkidar, who was on duty at the relevant time is alleged to have seen the appellant entering the house and to have heard a queer sound shortly thereafter. On the evening of May 28 Dhan Bahadur found that a number of persons had collected outside the appellant s house. At their instance he lodged a report at the police station.

6. Inspector Avtar Singh manager to open the door of the house and when he and the other members of his team went inside they saw Satish Chander lying dead with as many as 26 incised wounds on his person. A few toe prints were seen in the room near the one in which the dead body was lying as also in a verandah and a latrine.

7. The appellant was arrested on June 8 when he went to his office on the expiry of his extended leave. The attache-case which the appellant was carrying was found to come in three newspapers in which Satish Chander murder was reported. A few scratches were seen on the shoulder of the appellant. During the course of investigation on the appellant refused to participate in the identification parade and to give specimens of his foot-prints.

8. The examination of the appellant under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code lasted for four months and runs into 397 printed pages. The substance thereof is that the appellant denied every material circumstances including his differences with the deceased.

9. The case rests for its success on circumstantial evidence but not often does one come across a case in which the circumstances are as telling as here.

10. Turning first to the question of motive there is strong and cogent evidence showing that the relations between the appellant and the deceased were highly strained. Bhagwan Dass, the father of the appellant and the deceased, had by his will of January 15, 1962 bequeathed his property to his sons in a certain share. The appellant feigned ignorance of the will but it is clear from the e