2019 Supreme(Cal) 286

IN THE HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA, CIRCUIT BENCH AT PORT BLAIR
HARISH TANDON, SHEKHAR B. SARAF, JJ.
Jagadish Mazumder - Appellant
Versus
The State - Respondent
CRA No. 6 of 2017
Decided On : 15-02-2019

Headnote:

CRIMINAL APPEAL - Murder - Chain of circumstances - Whether the prosecution has successfully proved the guilt of the accused - Whether the chain of events as formulated by the prosecution and accepted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge is complete and leads one to the conclusion that there is no reasonable doubt that the murder of the victim was committed by the accused person.

Fact of the Case:

The complainant, Manoj Kumar Sarkar, stated that he is a resident of VIP Street, Rangat and is working as an LIC agent. His father, Mahendranath Sarkar (the victim/deceased), used to reside alone in his own house at Ulla Basti, Nimbutala. The complainant further stated that he has three brothers and two sisters and that his mother resides with his elder brother, Ashim Sarkar, at Junglighat, Port Blair, who is working as a Junior Engineer in APWD Department. The complainant further stated that on July 12, 2012, at about 8:00 A.M., a villager named Subal Halder of Ulla Basti, Nimbutala called and informed him that his father was sitting on a chair and the front door was closed from inside. Subal Halder further informed him that he had called out to his father time and again but his father had not responded to his call. The complainant, Manoj Kumar, also stated that he along with a few villagers went to his father's house and saw that the front door of the house was closed from inside. He thereafter telephoned the Pradhan of the Nimbutala Panchayat, Shri Manoj Biswas, who came to the spot along with police personnel. Thereafter, at about 9:00 A.M., they all entered the house from the back door, which was unbolted. On going there, they found that there were several deep-cut injuries on the neck and the body of the deceased and blood was oozing profusely. He further stated that the floor of the hall room of the house was stained with blood. On the basis of the said fard bayan of Manoj Kumar Sarkar, Rangat P.S. Case No. 100 of 2012 dated 12.07.2012 for offences under Sections 449/302/380 of IPC was registered and Dilip Kumar Seal, Sub Inspector of Police, was entrusted to take up the investigation.

Finding of the Court:

The chain of circumstances itself is very weak and it neither connects the accused to the offence of the murder of the deceased nor to the other offences under Section 449 and Section 380 of IPC. It is to be noted that the accused was not seen entering the victim's house. The only point on which the prosecution has proceeded is the recovery of the gold ring from the jewellery shop in Port Blair. Here again, as pointed out earlier, the statement of the staff of the jewellery shop is not above suspicion and is incongruous regarding the price of the gold ring paid to the accused. Furthermore, it is clearly established that the staff was well acquainted with one of the policemen from before. This fact, together with the inconsistent statements made by him, leads to a clear inference that the testimony is unreliable and therefore further weakens the case of the prosecution.

Issues: 1. Whether the prosecution has successfully proved the guilt of the accused? 2. Whether the chain of events as formulated by the prosecution and accepted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge is complete and leads one to the conclusion that there is no reasonable doubt that the murder of the victim was committed by the accused person?

Ratio Decidendi: In a case where no direct evidence is available, the prosecution can prove their case through circumstantial evidence. In cases of circumstantial evidence, the courts are called upon to make inferences from the available evidence, which will lead to the accused's guilt. In a majority of cases, the inference of guilt is usually drawn by establishing the case from its initiation to the point of commission wherein each factual link is ultimately based on evidence of a fact or an inference thereof. Therefore, the courts have to identify the facts in the first place so as to fit the case within the parameters of 'chain link theory' and then see whether the case is made out beyond reasonable doubt. The chain link theory as developed in the judgment of Hanumant (Supra) has clearly held that the circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is to be drawn should, in the first instance, be fully established, and all the facts so established should be consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused. Again, the circumstances should be of a conclusive nature and tendency and they should be such as to exclude every hypothesis but the one proposed to be proved. In other words, there must be a chain of evidence so far complete as not to leave any reasonable ground for a conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused and it must be such as to show that, within all human probability, the act must have been done by the accused.

Final Decision: The order of conviction and sentence recorded against Jagdish Majumdar are hereby set aside and the appellant is found not guilty of all the charges framed against him and stands acquitted.