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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
B.R. GAVAI, ARAVIND KUMAR, K. V. VISWANATHAN, JJ.
Sambhubhai Raisangbhai Padhiyar – Appellant
VERSUS
State of Gujarat – Respondent
Criminal Appeal Nos. of 2024 (@ Special Leave Petition (Crl.) Nos. 9015-9016 of 2019) With Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 9162/2021
Decided On : 17-12-2024
(A) Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act, 2012 – Sections 4 and 6 read with Sections 29 and 30 – Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 302, 364, and 377 [Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Section 103(1), 140 and **] – Indian Evidence Act, 1872 – Section 106 – Kidnapping, sodomy and murder of child – Death sentence – Circumstantial evidence – Deceased child was barely four years old and was playing near his house when accused took him from there under pretext of getting him ice-cream – If accused is last seen with deceased and particularly in a case of this nature when time gap between last seen stage and occurrence of death is so short, accused must offer a plausible explanation as to how he parted company with deceased and explanation offered must be satisfactory – Medical report is an additional link in chain of circumstances – Conduct of appellant in leading investigation team and Panchas and pointing out where apparel of deceased was hidden would be admissible – Conduct of appellant in leading investigation team and Panchas and pointing out where apparel of deceased was hidden would be admissible – Not conducting DNA test was not fatal to prosecution – Circumstances so established are consistent only with hypothesis of guilt of accused and are not explainable by any other hypothesis – Appellant has not rebutted presumption by adducing proof to the contrary – Conviction as imposed by Trial Court and confirmed by High Court upheld. (Paras 13, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30 and 31)
(B) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 – Sections 354(3) [Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 392] – Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act, 2012 – Sections 4 and 6 read with Sections 29 and 30 – Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 302, 364, and 377 [Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Section 103(1), 140 and **] – Kidnapping, sodomy and murder of child – Death sentence – Crime committed by appellant was diabolic in character – He enticed innocent child by tempting him with ice-cream and brutally sodomized and murdered the four-year old – Appellant also mercilessly strangulated deceased – Appellant was 24 years of age when incident happened; he had no criminal antecedents; appellant hails from a low socio-economic household – Present is not a case where it can be said that possibility of reformation is completely ruled out – Death sentence substituted with that of rigorous imprisonment for a period of 25 (twenty- five) years without remission. (Paras 33, 34, 36, 37 and 41)
Facts of the case:
Appellant herein stood trial for offences of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of child and was convicted and sentenced to death by Trial Court. High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, confirmed conviction and sentence of death imposed on him for offences punishable under Sections 302, 364, and 377 of Indian Penal Code and Sections 4 and 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act, 2012.
Findings of Court:
Sentence of imprisonment for a period of 25 (twenty-five) years without remission would be ‘a just dessert’.
Result : Appeals partly allowed.
JUDGMENT
K.V. Viswanathan, J.
Criminal Appeal Nos. of 2024 (@ Special Leave Petition (Crl.) Nos. 9015-9016 of 2019)
Leave granted.
2. Wednesday, 13th April 2016 dawned normally for the family of Pravingiri Gosai (PW-9), a farmer, who also alternated as the temple priest at Piludara village under the Vedaj Police Station, Bharuch District in the State of Gujarat. However, by dusk the situation had turned macabre for them, when their four-year old child was found murdered in the village outskirts.
3. The appellant herein stood trial for the offences of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of the said child and was convicted and sentenced to death by the Trial Court. The High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, by the judgment dated 03.04.2019 in R/Criminal Confirmation Case No. 2 of 2018 with R/Criminal Appeal No. 1207 of 2018, confirmed the conviction and sentence of death imposed on him for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 364, and 377 of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘IPC’) and Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act, 2012 (for short ‘POCSO Act’). The appellant is before us in appeal by way of special leave.
Brief Facts:
4. Pravingiri Gosai (PW-9) and his wife Artiben (PW-13.2) left their house at 06:00 a.m. in the morning of 13.04.2016 to get fodder for their cattle leaving their two small children Rohit @ Shital, aged about four years, the deceased and Rajeshwari, aged three months, along with PW-9’s mother at home. When they returned at 11.00 a.m., PW-9’s mother and children were at home. PW-9 left again to install a Dish TV in the village and returned at around 1 O’clock. He noticed that Rohit was not at home and when he inquired from his wife Arti, she replied that Rohit was playing near the temple and had not been seen since long. The desperate father continued his inquiries when PW-10 Jyotsnaben, his sister-in-law, who lived in the neighborhood told him that when Rohit was playing near the temple about 12:30 PM, the appellant who belonged to their village took the deceased and when she inquired from the appellant as to where he was taking the deceased, the appellant in spite of being dissuaded from doing so, told her that he will buy the child ice- cream and return in a while.
5. Since Rohit had not returned, PW-9 continued his search in the village when he met the appellant under a jamun tree behind the Pir Dargah at the bank of the lake at about 2 O’clock. When PW-9 inquired about his son with the appellant, the appellant told him that he gave the deceased ice-cream to eat and sent him home. PW-9 went home and when Rohit was not there, he came back to the lake, the appellant was not found. PW-13.2 Artiben, the mother of the deceased also carried out the search carried out and after receiving information from PW- 11 Manoj Kumar Parmar that the deceased was taken by the appellant, she along with her sister-in-law PW-10, and daughter went to the appellant’s house. The appellant’s mother was there and the appellant was not there. They left a message with the appellant’s mother that the appellant may be told to send their son (deceased) back home.
6. PW-9 continued his inquiries and search when he received a call from Manoj Kumar Parmar (PW-11) who asked PW-9 to come to the bank of the lake behind the Pir Dargah. When PW-9 reached the spot, he found the dead body of his son lying naked near the bushes.
7. PW-9 lodged a complaint around 06:45 at the Vedaj Police Station which resulted in registration of an FIR and the subsequent proceedings. After the inquest, the body of the deceased was sent for postmortem to BKS Medical College Vadodara. The postmortem report reveals that death was due to asphyxia due to throttling. A number of injuries were found on the body of the deceased which are as follows:
(1) Multiple scratch abrasions of size varying from 0.1 cm x 0.5 cm to 1.5 cm x 0.1 cm with underlying cont
(1) Kidnapping and murder of child – Death sentence – Circumstantial evidence – If accused is last seen with deceased and particularly in a case of this nature when time gap between last seen stage a....
Court emphasized the application of circumstantial evidence principles where all links confirmed the appellant's guilt in the kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder of a minor, upholding a death sent....
Circumstantial evidence must establish a conclusive chain consistent with the accused's guilt; suspicion cannot replace proof beyond reasonable doubt in criminal convictions.
Circumstantial evidence, particularly the 'last seen' principle, can suffice for conviction in rape and murder cases yet demands rigorous scrutiny for reliability.
(1) Evidence is only to be weighed and not to be counted – It is essentially, for prosecution to decide as to how many witnesses are to be examined to establish its case on any particular point.(2) D....
The judgment establishes that circumstantial evidence must form a complete, unbroken chain directly linking the accused to the crime, which warranted a life sentence in this case.
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