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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
V.D. TULZAPURKAR AND O. CHINNAPPA REDDY, JJ.
Nathu Garam, Appellant
Versus
State of U.P., Respondent.
Criminal Appeal No. 327 of 1977, D/- 17-10-1978.
Advocates appeared
Mr. Sudershan Lal Aneja, Advocate Amicus Curiae, for Appellant, Mr. O. P. Rana Advocate, for Respondent.
Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 302 and 201 – Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 – Section 294 – Offence of Murder – Order of Conviction – Appeal by special leave is directed against judgment and order of Allahabad High Court upholding conviction of appellant under S. 302. I. P. C. and confirming sentence of death awarded to him by Third Additional Sessions Judge, in Sessions Trial – Held, There is amply evidence on record to show that the appellant was in exclusive occupation or possession of the house for the past several months before the day of the occurrence and actually on the day of the occurrence he was found sitting just outside the front door of the house at about 5.00 p. m. and that his Lungi was also found inside the house. Kadir Baksh ( PW 1) has categoricaly stated that the houses of the appellants father and uncle, though adjoining are separate from the house in question, that each house is a separate one and that the appellant has been living in the house in question all alone- separate from his father and uncle - for the past 5 or 6 years. Duli Ram ( PW 3) has asserted that the father and uncle of the appellant used to live in separate house, that the appellant was living in the house for about 3 or 4 months before the occurrence. – This evidence clearly shows that the appellant was all alone residing in the house in which the dead body of Hazrati was found and that he was not staying with his father or under. – Circumstance that the house in which the dead body of Hazrati was found in an injured condition was in the exclusive occupation and possession of the appellant has been satisfactorily established. – It is, therefore, not possible to accept the contention of the counsel for the appellant that the important links in the chain of circumstantial evidence are missing or have not been proved by the prosecution. – It is clear that the cumulative effect of all the facts and circumstances enumerated above and which have been established by the prosecution quite satisfactorily would lead to the only inference that it was the appellant who was responsible for the murder of deceased Hazrati. – Trial Court was right in drawing the inference that the appellant, a bachelor of 28 years, living all alone must have lured the girl into his house on some pretext or another and tried to criminally assault her but because of resistance his attempt failed and thereupon he killed her. – Both the Courts below were perfectly justified in convicting the appellant under S. 302, I. P. C. – Counsel for the appellant urged that the lesser punishment should have been awarded but we do not find any extenuating or mitigating circumstances justifying the lesser punishment. – Question of sentence has been elaborately discussed by the Sessions Judge and the High Court has confirmed his view and court see no reason to take a different view on the question of sentence. – Appeal Dismissed
Judgment
TULZAPURKAR, J. :- This appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment and order of the Allahabad High Court dated August 10, 1976 (in Criminal Appeal No. 503 of 1976 and Reference No. 9 of 1976) upholding the conviction of the appellant under S. 302. I. P. C. and confirming the sentence of death awarded to him by the Third Additional Sessions Judge, Pillibhit on March 20, 1976 in Sessions Trial No. A-9 of 1975.
2. The prosecution case, briefly, stated, was that on April 10, 1975 at about 8 or 9 a. m. Km. Hazrati, since deceased, aged about 14 years took food for her brother Kadir Baksh (PW1) to the filed of Sarpanch Shyam Behair (PW4) in village Imalia, where he had gone along with others to cut wheat crop. After serving food to her brother Hazrati started returning to the village with the utensils (Tiffin Carrier, Lota, Glass, etc.) but she did not reach home. When Kadir Baksh returned home in the village at about noon, he was informed by his mother that Hazrati had not come back, whereupon Kadir Baksh (PW 1) along with Sarpanch Shyam Behari Lal (PW 4). Shabhapati Shyam Behari Lal (PW 11) and others undertook a search for Hazrati first in various fields; they also made enquiries in the several houses in the village. At about 5.00 p. m. the search party came near the house of the appellant who was found sitting in the front door of his house but on being questioned regarding Hazratis whereabouts he ran away, whereupon the search party entered the house of the appellant and found the dead body of Hazrati lying in a corner with bleeding injuries and her clothes (Salwar, Kurta, Orhni, etc.) soaked in blood, her salwar being loose and having slipped down up to her knees. The utensils (Tiffin Carrier, Lota, Glass etc.) were also lying there. The search party also noticed a Lungi, a stone and a spear (fodder cutting spear) each stained with blood lying in the room. Leaving his companious to watch the dead body, Kadir Baksh (PW 1) walked the distance of about 4 miles and lodged his report at Barkhera Police Station at 7.00 p. m. on the same day. On receiving the report the Station Officer Bhushan Singh (PW 6) recorded the statement of Kadir Baksh and reached the place of occurrence at about 8.00 p. m. but as it was dark and no gas light could be procured from the village he posted a guard at the place of occurrence for the overnight and undertook the investigation on the following day. After preparing inquest report he took samples of bloodstained earth and plain earth from the room, took charge of the blood-stained spear, the bloodstained stone, the bloo-stained Lungi as well as the blood-stained Dupata of the deceased and the several utensils under different Panchnamas and obtained Chemical Analysers report which showed that the stone, the spear, and the clothe of the deceased had blood-stains on them but neither the Lungi of the Appellant nor the clothese of the deceased had any seminal stains. He arranged to send the dead-body along with necessary papers to Pilibhit for post-mortem examination and Dr. Gangwar (PW 5) who did the autopsy on April 12, 1975 at 9.30 p. m., noticed in all seven injures - three incised wounds, three abrasions and one punctured would - all ante mortem, out of which the major one was "incised clean cut wound on the neck 22cm. x 3 cm. x soft structure on front of neck 3 cm. below chin" which had resulted in the trachea, bronchi and oesophagus being cut and in his opinion the injuries on her body were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. He also opined that the incised wounds on the neck and the lower and upper lips could be caused by the spear while the abrasions on the two shoulders and back could be caused by friction and the punctured wound on the right arm could be caused with the point of the fodder-cutting spear. As regards genitals he did not find any sign of violence. The Station Officer (PW 6) also recorded the statement of witnesses on April 11, 1975. In s
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