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2015 Supreme(Pat) 424
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
I.A. Ansari, Gopal Prasad, JJ.
Arjun Paswan - Appellant
Versus
State of Bihar - Respondent
Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 567 of 1993
Decided on : 19-03-2015
Advocate Appeared:
For the Respondent: Dr. Mayanand Jha, A.P.P. Mr. Bharat Lal
The central legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for the prosecution to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt, and the reliance on credible and consistent evidence to establish guilt.
Headnote:
Conviction - Murder - Indian Penal Code, Section 302, Arms Act, 1959 - The court discussed the medical evidence, witness testimonies, and inconsistencies in the prosecution's case. The medical evidence did not support the claim of the deceased being shot with a pistol, and witness testimonies were found to be unreliable. The court held that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt, and the accused was acquitted under the benefit of doubt.
Fact of the Case:
The appellant, Arjun Paswan, was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for the murder of Balendra Singh. The prosecution's case relied on witness testimonies and medical evidence.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the prosecution's evidence was unreliable and failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The medical evidence did not support the claim of the deceased being shot with a pistol, and witness testimonies were inconsistent and lacked credibility.
Issues: The key issues revolved around the reliability of witness testimonies, the consistency of the prosecution's case, and the interpretation of medical evidence.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the lack of reliable evidence presented by the prosecution, inconsistencies in witness testimonies, and the failure to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Final Decision: The appeal was allowed, the conviction and sentence were set aside, and the accused was acquitted under the benefit of doubt. The bail bond of the accused was cancelled, and the sureties were discharged. The Amicus Curiae was awarded a fee of Rs. 5,000.
Under the judgment, dated 13.12.1993, passed, in Sessions Trial No. 439 of 1991/81 of 1992, by learned 11th Additional Sessions Judge, Gaya, the appellant, Arjun Paswan, stands convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Following his conviction, the accused-appellant has been sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- and, in default of payment of fine, undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months.
2. The case of the prosecution, as unfolded at the trial, may, in brief, be set out as under:
(i) On 23.05.1990, at about 10:00 A.M., having seen off the sister of her husband, when the informant, Basanti Devi (P.W. 2), returned home, accompanied by her husband, Balendra Singh (since deceased), and started cooking, her husband, Balendra Singh, sat down at the varandah of the house awaiting meals. While the informant was cooking, accused Arjun Paswan came to her house and called her husband from outside the house. Though the informant asked her husband to leave the house after taking his meal, accused Arjun Paswan told them that he had some urgent work and would send his uncle (i.e., the husband of the informant) soon. The informant, too, followed her husband, saw accused Arjun Paswan taking her husband, Balendra Singh, to the house of Baloon Pasi and, on reaching the house of Baloon Pasi, the accused took out a pistol from his waist and fired at the informant’s husband on his neck and, then, started assaulting the informant’s husband by means of a sickle. When her husband was writhing in pain, the informant moved forward to save her husband, but accused Arjun Paswan drove her out of the house, locked the main gate of the house and fled away.
(ii) Jamanti Devi (P.W. 1), wife of the uncle of Balendra Singh (since deceased), too, witnessed accused Arjun Paswan taking Balendra Singh to the house of Baloon Pasi and, then, she (PW 1) heard the sound of firing and, on coming out of her house, saw accused Arjun Paswan assaulting Balendra Singh by means of a sickle.
(iii) On hearing the informant’s cries, her parents-in-law and many others came and found her husband dead. The informant, then, on the same day, i.e., 23.05.1990, at about 6:00 P.M., orally informed the police, at Guraru Police Station, about the occurrence and the oral information, so given by her, was reduced into writing in the form of her fardbeyan. 3. Treating the said fardbeyan as the First Information Report, Guraru Police Station Case No. 29 of 1990 was registered, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27 of the Arms Act, 1959, against accused Arjun Paswan. When the police arrived at the place of occurrence, they did not, however, find the house of Balendra Paswan locked from outside; rather, the house was open and when they entered into the house, they found Balendra Singh, husband of the informant, lying dead with injuries on his body.
4. During investigation, police visited the place, where the said dead body was found, and held inquest over Balendra Singh’s dead body, which was also subjected to post mortem examination, and, on completion of investigation, a charge sheet was laid, under Sections 302 of the Indian Penal Code, against accused Arjun Paswan.
5. At the trial, when a charge, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, was framed against the accused, the accused pleaded not guilty thereto.
6. In support of their case, prosecution examined as many as 7 (nine) witnesses. The accused was, then, examined under Section 313 (1) (b) of the Criminal Procedure Code and, in his examination aforementioned, the accused person denied that he had committed the offence, which was alleged to have been committed by him, the case of the defence being that of denial.
7. Having, however, arrived at the finding that accused-appellant, Arjun Paswan, had been proved guilty of the charge under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, the learned trial Court convicted him accordingly. Following his conviction, sentence
