2010 Supreme(SC) 692

2010 (7) Supreme 8
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
P. Sathasivam and Dr. B.S. Chauhan, JJ.
Atbir — Appellant(s)
versus
Govt. of N.C.T. of Delhi — Respondent(s)
Criminal Appeal No. 870 of 2006
with
Criminal Appeal No. 877 of 2006
Decided on : 9-8-2010

IMPORTANT POINTS
1. There is no compulsion that all dying declarations have to be made before Magistrate.
2. The extreme penalty of death need not be inflicted except in gravest cases of extreme culpability. A balance sheet of aggravating and mitigating circumstances has to be drawn up and in doing so mitigating circumstances have to be accorded full weightage and a just balance has to be struck between the aggravating and the mitigating circumstances before the option is exercised.

Headnote:Indian Penal Code,1860-Sections 302 r\w 34-Offence of murder-Dying declaration –Admissibility-Prosecution of appellant along with others for causing death of his step mother and his step brother and sister by stabbing them-Conviction by Trial Court awarding death sentence to appellant –Appeal-Dismissed by High Court-Appeals thereagainst-Plea that conviction could not be based solely on dying declaration made by step sister of appellant before police officer without there being any corroboration from any other independent witness – Instantly ,after careful analysis of dying declaration , trial Judge as well as High Court found that there was total clarity in its contents and it was not a case where deceased was either rambling, unsure or had contradicted herself- No compulsion that all dying declarations have to be made before Magistrate- In the case on hand, the incident occurred on 22.01.1996 at 2.30 p.m., the injured was admitted in the hospital at 3.30 p.m. and she made declaration at 4.05 p.m. on the same day- Immediately after recording her statement, doctor referred her to Emergency Ward to save her life- However, she died on 24.01.1996 at 12.30 p.m.- The Inspector who recorded the statement was cross-examined and the details and his evidence was not shattered by the defence, in fact, not even a suggestion to the Investigation Officer about the availability of Magistrate at the relevant point of time-Doctor certified that at the relevant time she was in a fit mental state and endorsed the same by putting his signatures near the signature of the deponent -In such circumstances, held that there was no reason to disbelieve said dying declaration of implicating the three accused persons. (Para 17)

        Death Sentence- The extreme penalty of death need not be inflicted except in gravest cases of extreme culpability- Before opting for the death penalty the circumstances of the ‘offender’ also require to be taken into consideration along with the circumstances of the ‘crime’- Life imprisonment is the rule and death sentence is an exception- In other words death sentence must be imposed only when life imprisonment appears to be an altogether inadequate punishment having regard to the relevant circumstances of the crime, and provided, and only provided, the option to impose sentence of imprisonment for life cannot be conscientiously exercised having regard to nature and circumstances of the crime and all the relevant circumstances-A balance sheet of aggravating and mitigating circumstances has to be drawn up and in doing so mitigating circumstances have to be accorded full weightage and a just balance has to be struck between the aggravating and the mitigating circumstances before the option is exercised. (Para 26)

        Indian Penal Code,1860-Sections 302 r\w 34-Offence of murder of three members of a family- Death sentence- The aggravated accused, under the leadership of Appellant, reached the house of his step mother and initially demanded money and bolted the door from inside and, thereafter, inflicted 11 cut injuries on her son by appellant when the others caught hold of him- After finishing him, appellant inflicted 5 grievous injuries on his step mother mercilessly- He also inflicted another 21 injuries on his step sister ignoring her tender age- The manner in which three persons were brutally murdered showed that there was a determination to finish the entire family so that appellant and his brother enjoy the entire property and money immediately- Another aggravating circumstance was that the crime had been committed and executed after closing the doors with all three deceased being left helpless and unarmed- Closing of the door and bolting it from inside clearly showed determination to complete the crime and take away the life of all the three-Perusal of post-mortem reports of the three deceased clearly showed nature of the injuries inflicted on all the vital parts and the accused continued his action mercilessly till all the three lost their breath-Murders committed by Appellant was extremely brutal and diabolical one- The magnitude of the crime was also enormous in proportion since appellant , with assistance of his mother and brother, committed multiple murders of all members of the family-Apart from this, the victims were none else than his step-mother, brother and sister- Though the accused was also at the age of 25 at relevant point of time considering his hunger and lust for property killing his own family members when they had no occasion to provoke or resist and causing 37 knife blows on vital parts of all the three persons, held that it was a gravest case of extreme culpability and rarest of rare case and death sentence alone would be proper and adequate-The manner in which the murder was carried out in present case was extremely brutal, gruesome, diabolical, and revolting as to shock the collective conscience of the community-Conviction and sentence of death imposed on Appellant hence held sustainable-Conviction and sentence of life imprisonment imposed on co accused also held sustainable-Appeals dismissed. (Paras 31 to 36)

       Facts of the Case :

        Appellant along with others was prosecuted herein in the instant case for causing death of his stepmother and his step brother and sister by stabbing them. Trial Court awarded death sentence to appellant while awarding life imprisonment to co accused. Appeal thereagainst was Dismissed by High Court.

        2. Present appeals have been preferred against said order of High Court.

       Findings of the Court :

        The manner in which three persons were brutally murdered showed that there was a determination to finish the entire family so that appellant and his brother enjoy the entire property and money immediately. Another aggravating circumstance was that the crime had been committed and executed after closing the doors with all three deceased being left helpless and unarmed- Closing of the door and bolting it from inside clearly showed determination to complete the crime and take away the life of all the three. Perusal of post-mortem reports of the three deceased clearly showed nature of the injuries inflicted on all the vital parts and the accused continued his action mercilessly till all the three lost their breath.Murders committed by Appellant was extremely brutal and diabolical one. The magnitude of the crime was also enormous in proportion since appellant , with assistance of his mother and brother, committed multiple murders of all members of the family. Apart from this, the victims were none else than his step-mother, brother and sister. Though the accused was also at the age of 25 at relevant point of time considering his hunger and lust for property killing his own family members when they had no occasion to provoke or resist and causing 37 knife blows on vital parts of all the three persons, held that it was a gravest case of extreme culpability and rarest of rare case and death sentence alone would be proper and adequate.The manner in which the murder was carried out in present case was extremely brutal, gruesome, diabolical, and revolting as to shock the collective conscience of the community. Conviction and sentence of death imposed on Appellant was hence held sustainable. Conviction and sentence of life imprisonment imposed on co accused was also held sustainable. Appeals were dismissed.

       Result : Appeals dismissed.