Back
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
T.S. THAKUR, CJI., A.M. KHANWILKAR, D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, JJ.
SUDHIR CHAUDHARY ETC. ETC. – APPELLANTS
Versus
STATE (NCT OF DELHI) – RESPONDENT
CRIMINAL APPEAL Nos. 700-701 OF 2016 [Arising out of SLP (Crl) Nos.3009-3010 of 2015]
Decided On : 29-07-2016
Facts of the case:
On 2 October 2012, a First Information Report (‘FIR’) was registered on a complaint made by Rajiv Bhadauria of Jindal Steel Company Private Limited alleging that the Appellants demanded a sum of money to refrain from telecasting programmes on a television channel pertaining to the alleged involvement of a corporate entity in a wrongful activity pertaining to the allocation of coal blocks. The FIR was registered against the Appellants for offences under Sections 384, 511, 420 and 120B of the Penal code. The Appellants were arrested.
An application was moved by the Investigating officer in the Crime Branch before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate requesting the court to seek the consent of the Appellants for obtaining their voice samples at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, CBI (CFSL-CBI) for the purpose of comparing it with a recording which had been made in the course of a sting operation.
The Appellants furnished their consent for tendering their voice samples.
When the appellants reported at the police station, the Investigating officer directed them to read out from a paper which contained inculpatory material drawn from an audio recording of the alleged sting operation.
The Appellants objected to do so.
Ultimately, the High Court rejected the submission that the direction to furnish a voice sample was in violation of the fundamental right under Article 20(3) of the Constitution since firstly, the Appellants had not been forced or coerced into furnishing such a sample since it was they who had furnished their consent; secondly, a voice sample is not evidence since its purpose is only to compare it with the questioned text. In the view of the High Court, once the Appellants had furnished their consent to furnishing their voice samples, it was not open to them to dictate the course of investigation.
Finding of the Court:
Having given consent for drawing voice sample, appellants cannot object to then text.
Result: Appeals disposed of.
JUDGMENT
Dr. D Y CHANDRACHUD, J.
Leave granted.
2. A judgment of the High Court of Delhi dated 11 February 2015 has given rise to these proceedings. The High Court dismissed a petition instituted under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and affirmed an order dated 7 July 2014 of the Additional Sessions Judge–01 Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, in a Criminal Revision.
3. On 2 October 2012, a First Information Report (‘FIR’) was registered at P.S. Crime Branch New Delhi, on a complaint made by Rajiv Bhadauria of Jindal Steel Company Private Limited. Briefly stated, the allegation in the FIR (FIR 240 of 2012) is that the Appellants demanded a sum of money to refrain from telecasting programmes on a television channel pertaining to the alleged involvement of a corporate entity in a wrongful activity pertaining to the allocation of coal blocks. The FIR was registered against the Appellants for offences under Sections 384, 511, 420 and 120B of the Penal code. The Appellants were arrested on 27 November 2012.
4. On 10 December 2012, an application was moved by the Investigating officer in the Crime Branch before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (South), when the Appellants were in police custody in pursuance of an order of remand, requesting the court to seek the consent of the Appellants for obtaining their voice samples at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, CBI (CFSL-CBI) for the purpose of comparing it with a recording which had been made in the course of a sting operation. In their replies to the application the Appellants furnished their consent for tendering their voice samples. Consequently, on 13 December 2012 the Metropolitan Magistrate disposed of the application by directing that the Investigating officer may move an appropriate application for the visit of the accused to the place or office where he proposes to collect the voice samples with a specification of time, date and place. The Appellants were required by the Investigating officer to furnish their voice samples on 21 December 2012. When they reported at the police station, the Investigating officer directed them to read out from a paper.
5. The grievance of the Appellants was that they were being made to read out inculpatory material drawn from an audio recording of the alleged sting operation. The Appellants objected to do so and moved an application under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for monitoring the investigation and for a direction to the Investigating officer to provide material for the purpose of a voice sample “which does not contain any inculpatory statement” in the presence of a judicial magistrate. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (for brevity ‘ACMM’) dismissed the application on 4 February 2013, observing that while it was open to the accused to decide whether or not to grant their consent, once consent was granted the accused would have to abide by the instructions of the Investigating officer and cannot dictate the terms on which the voice sample has to be given.
6. A Criminal Revision was filed against the order of the ACMM. The Revision was heard and decided by an order dated 7 July 2014. During the course of the proceedings before the ACMM, the State agreed to provide a text which was not an exact reproduction of the earlier text given to the accused but which was stated to be a mixture of some sentences drawn from the inculpatory material, besides some general statements. After perusing the draft text, the Appellants objected to the text stating that it contained portions of the audio recording. Before the ACMM an opinion furnished by the CFSL expert was produced. The opinion, inter alia, stated that:
“(A) It is not mandatory to have vis-à-vis same text to be read by a suspect. However, sufficient common sentences/words should be present in the sample voice recording with respect to the questioned voice recording for spectrographic examination.
(B) In case there are sufficient common sentence
The main legal point established in the judgment is the binding effect of the settlement between the parties, the waiver of the right to seek re-employment by the workmen, and the entitlement of the ....
A lockout is justified if it is declared in response to an illegal strike or a strike that is in breach of a settlement or award.
The combination of eyewitness testimonies, recovery of the weapon used, and forensic examination results can establish guilt in criminal cases, even based on circumstantial evidence.
The conviction of an accused person under Section 27(3) of the Arms Act is not permissible in law if the accused is also charged with committing murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
The court can enhance compensation based on the deceased's income and family dependency, and adjust the multiplier used by the Tribunal if found unjustified.
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
