Back
2010 (1) Supreme 551
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
P. Sathasivam and H.L. Dattu, JJ.
Satni Bai — Appellant
versus
State of Madhya Pradesh (Now Chhattisgarh) — Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 212 of 2010
(Arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No. 5813 of 2007)
Decided on : 29-01-2010
Circumstantial Evidence- When a case rests only on circumstantial evidence, the inference of guilt can be justified only when all the incriminating facts and circumstances are found to be incompatible with the innocence of the accused or the guilt of any other person- The circumstances from which an inference as to the guilt of the accused is drawn, have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and have to be shown to be closely connected with the principal fact sought to be inferred from those circumstances (Para 11)
(2005) 3 SCC 114], relied
Circumstantial Evidence- Great care must be taken in evaluating circumstantial evidence and if the evidence relied on is reasonably capable of two inferences, the one in favour of the accused must be accepted-Circumstances relied upon must be found to have been fully established and the cumulative effect of all the facts so established must be consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt (Para 15)
(1992) 2 SCC 86], relied
Facts of the Case :
Appellant herein in the instant case was prosecuted for causing death of deceased by inflicting injuries on him by means of an axe .Trial Court convicted appellant imposing life sentence on her. Appeal thereagainst was dismissed by High Court.
2.Present appeal has been filed against said order of High Court.
Findings of the Court:
The Court held that instant case was not of direct evidence of committing murder of deceased by accused/appellant, who was none other than the mother of deceased, but was based on circumstantial evidence .Presence of the accused at the place of occurrence near the dead body of her son holding bloodstained axe in her hand was established by evidence of prosecution witnesses. It was also established from evidence of said witnesses that the accused tried to run away from the place of occurrence and she was caught by PW-2. These witnesses were closely related to the appellant. The axe as well as the saree of the appellant was blood stained according to the witnesses. There were no inherent contradictions in the testimony of these witnesses. The defence had been unable to dispel the chain of events which emerged from testimony of these witnesses. Post mortem report coupled with the testimony of witnesses presented a very clear and cogent chain of the events which occurred on the fateful day unerringly pointed towards guilt of appellant. Apart from that appellant was found standing near the dead body of her son with a bloodstained axe in her hand. The normal reaction for any mother would have been to go hysterical and clutch the body of her son. But, the reaction of a mother in the present case, as stated by PW-1 and PW-2 in their evidence, was that the accused tried to flee away from scene of the crime before being restrained. This kind of reaction and lack of remorse would not have been forthcoming had she been innocent. This unusual reaction to the death of her son who was aged 4 at the time of his death, in no uncertain terms pointed towards her involvement in the crime. Findings of High Court holding the appellant guilty of the offence under Section 302 I.P.C was held justified. Appeal was dismissed.
Result : Appeal dismissed.
JUDGMENT
H.L. Dattu, J.
“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts” - Washington Irving Leave granted.
2) It is in this backdrop, we seek to introduce the facts of this case : A wicked mother is facing life sentence having been convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for killing her own son with an axe by the Court of First Additional Judge, Ambikapur in Case no. 366 of 1996. On appeal, the conviction is upheld by the Division Bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
3) The appellant, Satni Bai is the mother of the deceased. She belongs to a tribal community. She has filed this appeal from prison, where she is undergoing her sentence of life imprisonment. She is represented by amicus curiae in this appeal.
4) The case of the prosecution is that, on 18.8.1996, Heera PW-1 and his elder brother Naihar Sai had gone to the forest in the morning to collect wood and at about 1.00 P.M., they returned to the house and when they were sitting inside the house, they heard the cries of his daughter, Sumitra PW-4 and Anita, the daughter of his younger brother. On hearing the cries, they came out of the house and went towards the side from where the sound of cries were heard and saw Kannilal (deceased) lying in a pool of blood. Heera lodged the report P-1 in the Police Station, Sitapur. A.K. Tiwari PW-7 was officiating in the post of Station House Officer, Sitapur. He had recorded the statements of Heera PW-1 Balobai PW-2 and Sumitra PW-4. Heera PW-1 had stated that the appellant/accused was standing near the dead body of Kannilal with a bloodstained axe in her hand. As the appellant was attempting to run away from the scene of crime, he instructed his wife Balobai PW-2 to stop her and snatch the bloodstained axe from her. He had also stated, that, there were bloodstains on the clothes of the appellant as well. Balobai PW-2 in her statement before the police had stated, on the date of the incident they were sitting in the house and on hearing the cries of her daughter Sumitra PW-4, she came out of the house and saw appellant’s son was lying dead and she saw the appellant standing near the dead body with the wooden part of the axe in her hand and the metal part of the axe on the floor. She had also stated, that, when the appellant started running away from the place, on instructions from her husband, she caught hold of appellant and locked her inside the house.
5) After recording the report P-1, the Station House Officer, Sitapur, left for the scene of occurrence and after giving notice to the Panchas, he had prepared Panchanama of the dead body of Kannilal. He had taken into his possession the blood stained axe on production by Heera PW-1 and also blood stained saree of the accused. He had also taken into possession the blood stained soil and plain soil from the place of occurrence. The investigating officer had also prepared the site plan. Thereafter, the dead body of deceased Kannilal was sent to the hospital situated at Sitapur for post mortem examination. The post mortem was carried out by Dr. K.K Datta PW-8, who in his detailed report had stated that the axe wound on the left side of the head of the deceased was sufficient to cause the death. The blood stained articles were sent for examination to the Forensic Science Laboratory and, according to the report, blood was found on the saree of the accused and the weapon of offence - axe. After completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was filed against the appellant in the court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Ambikapur, who in turn committed the case to the Sessions Judge for trial.
6) The prosecution in order to establish the charge against the
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
