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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. NAGESWARA RAO, INDU MALHOTRA, JJ.
State of Madhya Pradesh – Appellant
Versus
Harjeet Singh & Anr. – Respondents
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1190 OF 2009
Decided On : 19-02-2019
(2004) 9 SCC 27; (2015) 11 SCC 366; Criminal Appeal No. 1589/2018 – Relied upon
Facts of the case:
Trial Court convicted the Accused /Respondent No. 1 under Section 307, sentencing him to 5 years R.I. along with a Fine of Rs. 1000/. Accused /Respondent No. 2 was convicted under Section 307 read with Section 34 I.P.C. and sentenced to 5 years R.I. along with a fine of Rs. 1000/.
The High Court vide Impugned Judgment dated 03.01.2006 partly allowed the Appeal filed by the Accused /Respondents.
The High Court converted the conviction of Accused /Respondent No. 1 from Section 307 to Section 324 I.P.C. and reduced the sentence to one year R.I. and a Fine of Rs. 1,000. The period already undergone would be adjusted in the sentence awarded to him.
Accused /Respondent No. 2 was acquitted and his conviction from the charge of Section 307 was set aside.
Finding of the Court:
Trial court rightly convicted the appellant u/s 307.
Result: Appeal partly allowed.
Key Points: - Fatal injury capable of causing death is not essential for conviction under Section 307 (!) (!) (!) . - Intention to commit murder is essential and can be gathered from circumstances (!) (!) (!) . - Prosecution must prove intention beyond reasonable doubt (!) (!) . - Circumstances such as nature of weapon, severity of blows, and motive can infer intention (!) (!) (!) . - Mere possibility of causing death is sufficient; injury need not be on vital parts (!) (!) (!) . - Burden lies on prosecution to establish intentional act with murderous intent (!) (!) . - Consistency of witness testimony and medical evidence must be corroborated (!) (!) (!) . - Conviction requires proving both intention and overt act in execution (!) (!) . - Trial court’s finding on facts and evidence evaluation is central (!) (!) .
JUDGMENT
INDU MALHOTRA, J.
1. The present Criminal Appeal has been filed by the State of Madhya Pradesh against the judgment and order dated 03.01.2006 passed by the Gwalior Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, in Criminal Appeal No. 657/1998. The Criminal Appeal was filed by the Respondents against their conviction under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as “Section 307”). The High Court reduced the conviction of the Respondents from Section 307 to Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as “Section 324”).
2. The facts of the case, briefly stated, are as under:
2.1 The case of the Complainant – Sukhdev, as recorded in the F.I.R., is that on 12.11.1997 the Complainant-Sukhdev along with his brothers – Balveer Yadav and Deshraj Yadav, had gone to the District Court, Ashok Nagar to attend the hearing of their case against Accused /Respondent No. 1 – Harjeet Singh. After the hearing, at around noon, the Complainant – Sukhdev and his brothers crossed the road, and were standing in front of the Jail, when Ramji Lal – Accused /Respondent No. 2 alongwith an unidentified assailant called Sardar caught hold of Balveer Yadav and Deshraj Yadav. The Accused /Respondent No. 1 – Harjeet Singh grabbed the Complainant – Sukhdev, and stabbed him several times with a knife, inflicting blows on the chest, scapula, back, and hips.
Accused /Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, alongwith Sardar ran away from the spot. The Complainant – Sukhdev further stated that he would be able to identify Harjeet Singh, and the two assailants once he sees them.
2.2 Immediately after the assault on 12.11.1997, the Complainant – Sukhdev was admitted to the Civil Hospital, Ashok Nagar for treatment.
2.3 The medical examination of the Complainant – Sukhdev was conducted by Dr. M. Bhagat – P.W.6 at the Civil Hospital, Ashok Nagar, which recorded the following injuries :
(i) Stab Wound – 3.5 x 1 cm – deep in the chest cavity, over the left side of the chest.
(ii) Spindle shaped incised wound – 3 x 2 cm – muscle deep, present on the upper region of the right buttocks.
(iii) Stab Wound – 2 x 1 cm – over sub-scapula region, left side. Bleeding was present.
(iv) Stab Wound – 1 x 1 cm – over illeal region of hip, left side. Bleeding was present.
The medical report further stated that the injuries were caused by a sharp-edged, pointed object.
2.4 The Complainant – Sukhdev was referred to the District Hospital, Guna wherein X-Ray of his chest region was conducted by P.W. 8 – Dr. Raghuvanshi. The Report states that there was “haziness in lungs, left side of chest, present due to trauma of chest”.
Dr. Raghuvanshi – P.W. 8 stated in his deposition that the lungs of the Complainant – Sukhdev suffered injury, which resulted in blood seeping in the lungs, leading to haziness in the X-Ray image.
2.5 On 24.11.1997, the Accused /Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 were arrested by the Police. The weapon of offence i.e. the knife allegedly used by Accused /Respondent No. 1 was recovered from the bushes next to the bridge, on the statement given by Accused /Respondent No. 1.
2.6 The Spot Map of the crime scene was prepared, samples of bloodstained soil, and ordinary soil, were recovered from the scene of the crime.
2.7 The Accused /Respondent No. 1 was charged under Section 307, while Accused /Respondent No. 2 was charged under Section 307 read with Section 34 of the I.P.C.
2.8 The case was registered as Case No. 10/98 before the First Addl. Sessions Judge, Ashok Nagar, Guna District, Madhya Pradesh (Sessions Court).
2.9 The Sessions Court vide Judgment dated 30.11.1998, found Accused /Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 guilty of the offence of ‘attempt to murder’. The findings of the Sessions Court were as follows:
i. The Complainant – Sukhdev, and his brothers – Deshraj Yadav and Balveer Yadav who were eyewitnesses of the crime, and were present at the scene of occurrence, and were examined by the Court as P.W.s 2, 4, and 5 respectively. Their evidence was held to b
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