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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Dr. B. S. Chauhan, Dipak Misra, JJ.
Pramod Kumar - Appellant
Versus
State (GNCT) of Delhi - Respondent
CRIMINAL APPEAL NOs. 562-563 OF 2010
Decided on: 01-07-2013
(b) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973-Section 313- Where the occurrence had taken place in the house of C who has turned hostile-However, from his testimony and other evidence brought on record, it is evident that the occurrence took place in his house- His turning hostile does not affect the case of the prosecution.
(c) Evidence Act, 1872-Evidence of police personnel- The witnesses from the department of police cannot per se be said to be untruthful or unreliable- It would depend upon the veracity, credibility and unimpeachability of their testimony- If the testimony of the police officer is found to be reliable and trustworthy, the court can definitely act upon the same. (Para 10)
(d) Evidence Act, 1872-Non-examination of independent witness and reliance on the official witnesses are fatal for the prosecution. (Para 11)
(e) Evidence Act, 1872-The principle that quality of the evidence weighs over the quantity of evidence accepted. (Para 10)
(f) Evidence Act, 1872-Circumstanial evidence-
(g) Indian Penal Code,1860 Section 302- The fire arm country-made pistol .303 bore was designed to fire a standard .303 cartridge and that the pistol was in working order- Its test fire was also successfully conducted and the empty cartridge of .303 bore, found in the chamber of the country-made pistol was the empty cartridge fired from the country made pistol- It was the country-made pistol which was fired by the accused that caused injuries to the deceased. (Para 13)
Facts of the case:
Pramod Kumar was a proclaimed offender; that information was received by the competent authority that he was hiding in the house of Chander Pal; that a team had gone to apprehend him; that SI Jaswinder Singh along with other members of the team waited at a distance of 100 yards and Maharaj Singh went to the house of Chander Pal; that the accused was found on the verandah of the house and was asked to surrender but he immediately took out a knife from his shirt pocket; that before he could inflict a knife blow, he was overpowered by Maharaj Singh and there was a grapple between the two; and Maharaj Singh, receiving a bullet injury, fell down and eventually succumbed to the injuries in the hospital.
Findings of the Court :
As the desi katta was seized from the accused and the weapon, as opined in the FSL report, was the desi katta and further there is no material to prove that gun shot was fired from the weapon of Samar Singh. Thus, from the aforesaid, it is clear as crystal that the shot was fired from the country-made pistol seized from the custody of the accused-appellant.
Result : Appeals dismissed.
JUDGMENT
Dipak Misra, J.
On 19.3.1999, SI Prahlad Singh along Ct. Baljit Singh went to Village Gittorni where Inspector Mohd. Iqbal, PW-16, had reached along with his staff. After some time, ACP, Delhi Cantt., arrived at the spot. On enquiry, they came to know that one constable of P.S. Hauz Khas, namely, Maharaj Singh, having suffered a gun shot injury, had been taken to the hospital. The Head Constable Samar Singh narrated the occurrence to the effect that he along with other officials had received information about the presence of Pramod Kumar, a proclaimed offender of PS Hauz Khas, was hiding in the house of Chander Pal and about 4.30 p.m., they reached Village Gittorni and as per the instruction of SI Jaswinder Singh, he and Ct. Maharaj Singh went to the place to obtain information about the presence of Pramod Kumar and SI Jaswinder Singh waited along with the staff at a distance of 100 meters from the house of Chander Pal. When he and Maharaj Singh reached near the house of Chander Pal, accused Pramod Kumar was standing outside the room. Maharaj Singh disclosed his identity to him and asked him to surrender, but, Pramod Kumar, instead of surrendering, took out a knife from his shirt pocket with his left hand and tried to assault. However, immediately he was caught hold of by Maharaj Singh from the rear and both of them grappled with each other for some time. The Head Constable, Samar Singh, tried to snatch the knife from the hands of Pramod Kumar and ultimately he was successful in snatching away the knife from his hands but, at that juncture, Pramod Kumar took out a desi katta and fired at Maharaj Singh and the bullet hit in the stomach area. Hearing the sound, the villagers surrounded and assaulted Pramod Kumar. During that time, SI Jaswinder Singh came to the spot along with his staff and injured Maharaj Singh was taken to the hospital. Desi katta and knife which were seized from the accused were given to the IO by Samar Singh. As further revealed, accused Pramod Kumar was apprehended and five cartridges were recovered and on the basis of the statement of Samar Singh, an FIR was registered under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code (for short “IPC”). When Maharaj Singh succumbed to his injuries, the case was converted to one under Section 302 IPC. The bullet that had hit the stomach of the deceased was kept in a sealed cover and the same was sent to F.S.L. Malviya Nagar and ultimately, on completion of the investigation, charge-sheet was filed in the competent court which, in turn, committed the matter to the Court of Session. Be it noted, after hearing the accused, charges under Sections 186/332 and 302 IPC were framed and separate charges under Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, 1959 were also framed against the accused-appellant.
2. The accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.
3. The prosecution, in order to establish its case, examined 19 witnesses and got number of documents exhibited.
4. The accused, in his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (herein after CrPC), denied the entire allegations and pleaded that he was absolutely innocent. It was his further plea that one person caught hold of him and pushed him and started assaulting him. At that stage, he got up and grappled with that person who twisted his hand. The other person accompanying the first person gave him a kick and took out some weapon and fired at him, but he saved himself. The bullet hit the person who had caught hold of him and receiving the bullet injury, he fell down and later on, he learnt that he was Maharaj Singh and the person who had fired was Samar Singh. The neighbours, who had collected, started assaulting Samar Singh. Thereafter, many other police officials entered his room and beat him as a result of which his right leg was severely fractured and the plaster remained for eight months. That apart, 23 stitches were put on his head due to the beatings given by the police. He had become unconscious o
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