IMPORTANT POINT
Conviction cannot be ordered only on basis of last seen. Chain of circumstances must be complete.

JUDGMENT :

C. Nagappan, J.

1. Leave granted. This appeal is preferred against the judgment dated 25.7.2014 of the High Court of Chhatisgarh at Bilaspur in Criminal Appeal No. 470 of 2001.

2. The appellant Rambraksh @ Jalim was accused No.2 and Bechan Ram was accused No.1 in the case in Sessions Trial No.133 of 1993, on the file of Additional Sessions Judge, Surajpur, and they were tried for the offences under Section 302 read with 34 and Section 201 of Indian Penal Code. The trial court acquitted accused No.1 Bechan Ram and at the same time convicted accused No.2 Rambraksh and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.500 and in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five months for the offence under Section 302 IPC and further sentenced him to undergo two years rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.100 in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month for the offence under Section 201 IPC and ordered the sentences to run concurrently. Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence accused No.2 Rambraksh preferred criminal appeal and the High Court dismissed the same. Challenging the said judgment the present appeal is preferred.

3. The case of the prosecution in a nutshell is as follows: On 7.10.1992 appellant herein/accused No.2 Rambraksh went to the house of deceased Ramsevak at 12.00 noon and asked to go with him to Ambikapur. Ramsevak refused saying that he does not have money and accused No.2 assured that he has money and he would come at night and they would go to Ambikapur by the first bus in the early morning. Thereafter he along with accused No.1 came to the house of Ramsevak at 11.00 p.m. and told him that they will proceed towards chowki from where they will board the bus to Ambikapur. Ramsevak went with accused and thereafter did not return home. On 14.10.1992, Rajesh son of Ramsevak inquired about his father to his mother PW3 Dasmatiya Bai and she told him that his father had gone with accused to Ambikapur and then Rajesh informed her that he had gone with Kamlesh and PW5 Banshidhar to their field and he noticed clothes, gamcha and shoes of his father in the field. PW3 Dasmatiya Bai along with her son went to the said place and found the articles of her husband and on noticing birds flying near one place they went there and she found skeleton remains of her husband. She went to Chandni Police Station and lodged Exh.P2 morque and the police recorded Morque vide Exh.P1. The investigation officer visited the scene of occurrence and conducted inquest on the scattered bones vide Exh.P5. Report vide Exh. P4. He seized from the spot one bamboo stick vide Exh.P6, pair of shoes vide Exh.P7, towel, pant, shirt, banjan and underwear vide Exh.P8, Bloodstained and plain soil vide Exh.P9, Hairs found on the spot vide Exh.P10. The human bones i.e. skull, jaw, legs and ribs were seized from the spot vide Exh.P13. He sent the bones of dead body for autopsy and PW6 Dr. Arvind Bhat on examination found the following :

“1 skull bone with 13 teeth.

2 humerus bones

1 vertebral column broken in three pieces each attached with each other with left femur attached with pelvis (detail of vertebral colum, sacrum, 5 lumber vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae),

One mandible attached 7 teech

Two broken scapula

Nine ribs

Two broken long bones (one simulating to tibia and one simulating to femur)

One radio ulna bones

One broken ulna

3 vertebrae

2 detached tooth

4 pieces of broken bones.”

Thereafter, dehati nalishi was recorded and FIR was registered vide Exh.P.18. Spot map was prepared vide Exh. P19. Bones were sent to Medical College, Raipur and PW10 Dr. Sapan Kumar Das examined the bones vide Exh.P23 and opined as follows:-

(a) These bones are of human origin

(b) Sex-Male

(c) Age-Between 25 to 40 years

(d) No marks of injury present to any of the bones

(e) Cause of death cannot be said

(f) Time lapse since death-within 6 months of the date of examination.

4. In the course of investigation accused No.1 Bechan Ram was arrested