IMPORTANT POINT
When in a case of circumstantial evidence all circumstances relied upon by prosecution are proved and they form a complete chain, conviction of the accused cannot be faulted.

JUDGMENT :

Mohan M. Shantanagoudar, J.

The judgment dated 18.11.2009 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad in Criminal Appeal No. 509 of 2007 is called in question in this appeal. By the impugned judgment, the High Court has confirmed the judgment dated 18.09.2007 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Jalgaon in Sessions Case No. 150 of 2006 convicting the appellant herein for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/-, and in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months.

2. The case of the prosecution in brief is that the deceased Munir and his wife Madina (PW8) were residing on the backside of the house of the informant Qutuboddin Sandu Tadvi (PW7); the informant is none other than the father of the deceased; the informant and his wife Shahnoorbi, another son Nawab and Nawab’s wife Afsana were staying jointly in one house, which was in front of the house of the accused. Both houses are near each other. On 16.12.2005, the informant and his wife Shahnoorbi were in the house. His son Nawab and his wife Afsana were not present. Deceased Munir came to the house of the informant in the evening and informed him that he was going to see a movie. At about 11:00 or 11:15 p.m., the informant heard shouts from his son Munir, saying “Oh mother, save me – Mukhtyar had assaulted me by knife in my stomach”. On hearing the shouts of Munir, the informant and his wife woke up and opened the door of the house. Immediately, the injured Munir entered the house of the informant, at which point of time the accused Mukhtyar was standing behind Munir, holding a bloodstained knife in his hand. Madina, the wife of Munir also reached the spot, by which time Munir fell down with bleeding injuries on his stomach. His intestines had come out of the abdomen. The injured became unconscious. Accused Mukhtyar ran away from the spot. In his haste, he left his chappal near the door of the house of the informant. The informant went to Dr. Shantilal Teli and requested him to come to the spot of the incident and examine the victim, who accordingly came and after examination declared him dead. Immediately thereafter, the first information came to be lodged by the father of the deceased.

As mentioned supra, both the courts convicted the accused under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

3. The defence does not dispute that it is a case of homicidal death. However, it is argued on behalf of the accused that the circumstances relied upon by the prosecution are not proved and hence the accused may be given the benefit of doubt.

Per contra, Shri Nishant Ramakantrao Katneshwarkar, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State of Maharashtra argued in support of the impugned judgments.

4. The case rests on circumstantial evidence. Neither the informant nor the wife of the deceased had seen the assault by the accused on the victim Munir. It is by now well established that in cases of such nature, all circumstances relied upon by the prosecution must be established by cogent, succinct and reliable evidence, all the proved circumstances must provide a complete chain, inasmuch as no link in the chain of circumstances should be missing, and such chain of circumstances should unequivocally point to the guilt of the accused and exclude any hypothesis consistent with his innocence.

5. In order to establish the guilt of the accused, the prosecution has relied upon the following circumstances:

a. the informant (PW7) and the wife of the deceased (PW8) noticed the conduct of the victim and the accused immediately after the incident. They heard the cries of the victim and saw him with bleeding injuries, at which point of time the accused was just behind the victim and was holding a bloodstained knife;

b. the oral dying declaration of the deceased before his father;

c. the accused was seen in the accompany