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High Court Of Delhi
LALA RAM AND THAKUR SINGH - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF DELHI - Respondent
CRIMINAL APPEAL 116 of 1984
Decided On : 05/03/1988
CRIMINAL APPEAL - SECTION 302/34 IPC - FACTUAL DISCREPANCIES - DELAY IN SENDING SPECIAL REPORTS - NON-COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 154 CRPC - DOUBTFUL ARREST TIME - INCONSISTENT WITNESS STATEMENTS - DESTRUCTION OF CASE PROPERTY - VIOLATION OF SECTION 452 CRPC - APPEALS ALLOWED.
Fact of the Case:
Three accused were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Padam Singh. The prosecution alleged that the accused caught hold of Padam Singh and inflicted fatal injuries on him with daggers. The accused challenged the conviction on various grounds, including discrepancies in the prosecution's case, delay in sending special reports, non-compliance with Section 154 CrPC, and destruction of case property.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the prosecution's case was full of discrepancies and inconsistencies. The time of recording the first information report (FIR) and the sending of special reports to higher authorities was not properly explained. The accused were allegedly arrested immediately after the incident, but their formal arrest was shown only at about 1.30 AM. The manner in which the injuries were inflicted on the deceased was not convincing. The eye-witnesses were found to be unreliable as they were known to each other and had appeared as witnesses in numerous criminal cases together. The court also noted that the case property, including the weapons of offense, had been destroyed by the police, which deprived the appellate court of the opportunity to examine the evidence.
Issues: 1. Whether the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. 2. Whether there were discrepancies and inconsistencies in the prosecution's case. 3. Whether there was a delay in sending special reports to higher authorities. 4. Whether there was non-compliance with Section 154 CrPC. 5. Whether the accused were arrested immediately after the incident. 6. Whether the manner in which the injuries were inflicted on the deceased was convincing. 7. Whether the eye-witnesses were reliable. 8. Whether the destruction of case property violated Section 452 CrPC.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The discrepancies and inconsistencies in the prosecution's case, the delay in sending special reports, the non-compliance with Section 154 CrPC, the doubtful arrest time, the inconsistent witness statements, and the destruction of case property all raised reasonable doubts about the genuineness of the prosecution's case. The court also found that the eye-witnesses were not reliable and that the manner in which the injuries were inflicted on the deceased was not convincing.
Final Decision: The appeals were allowed, and the order of conviction and sentence against the accused persons was set aside. They were ordered to be set at liberty forthwith unless required to be detained in any other case.
( 1 ) BY this Judgment, we propose to dispose of two connected criminal appeals bearing No. 116/84 filed by Lala Ram and 0m Parkash, and criminal appeal No. 131/84, filed by Thakur Singh. These appeals arise out of the order of Shri T. S. Oberoi, Addl. Sessions Judge, Delhi. , dated 1st May, 1984. by which they were held guilty of offences under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to imprisonment for life, Accused Thakur Singh and Lala Ram were also sentenced to R. 1. for a period of 3 years for the offence punishable under Section 27 of the Arms Act. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
( 2 ) IN order to appreciate th arguments raised by the appellants, it is necessary to keep in mind the prosecution version of the incident. Few days prior to the present occurrence, a quarrel had taken place between Padam Singh (deceased) and the accused persons. With the intervention of the father and brother of Padam Singh, the dispute was amicably settled. However, on 9th February, 1982, at about 4. 15 P. M. as the story goes, when Padam Singh was passing through Gali No. 4, Than Singh Nagar, and was near the back portion of house of S. Gurbax Singh. the three accused caught hold of him, saying that earlier he was saved by his father and brother, but today, they would not leave him. At that time, Babu Ram, the father of Padam Singh, was 15 to 16 paces behind his son. He was the accused 0m Parkash catching hold of Padam Singh from behind while the other two accused took out daggers and started inflicting injuries on the front and back of his son. Padam Singh, on receipt of several injuries fell down on the ground. On seeing this, Babu Ram raised alarm, on bearing of which Pearey Lal, who was standing nearby, with the help of another by stander, Sua Lal, chased Thakur Singh and caught bold of him at some distance. Babu Ram, succeeded in apprehending Lala Ram whereas Prabhu Dayal caught hold of 0m Parkash at the place of occurrence itself. After a few minutes, a police party headed by S. I. Dharam Pal reached there. All the three accused were produced before the Police.
( 3 ) SUB-INSPECTOR Dharam Pal recorded the statement (Ex. PW-3/a) of Shri Babu Lal underneath which he made his endorsement (Ex PW-8/a) and sent the ruqa to the Police Station for the registration of the case. PW-8, A. SI. Jaipal Singh, Duty Officer, on the receipt of the report recorded to Dharam Pal the formal F. I. R. Ex. PW8/b and sent the copy of the same for investigation. He also sent the special reports to higher authorities and the Ilaqa Magistrate for information.
( 4 ) THE Investigating Officer prepared the site plan (Ex. PW15/a) and took into possession blood, bloodstained earth from near the dead body and converted them into separate sealed parcels. Pearey Lal produced one khanjar (dagger) which had a broken tip. This dagger was alleged to have been thrown in a nearby drain by accused Thakur Singh. 1st sketch Ex. PW4/a was prepared and it was taken into possession vide memo Ex. PW4/a. Similarly, after preparing the sketch of the handle of the knife, which handle was found at the spot, it was taken into possession vide memo Ex. PW4/c. The blood-stained clothes of the accused persons were also taken into possession The scene of occurrence was got photographed. Along with the body, the weapons of offence Were forwarded to the post-mortem doctor for his opinion All the accused were arrested. The case property was sent to the Director, C F. S. L. for his reports, where from the report Ex PW15/c was received. After completion of the investigation, the challan was filed in Court.
( 5 ) THE promotion in all examinaed 15 witnesses to prove their case whereas accused produced Shri R. K. Yadav, the then Metropolitan Magistrate to whom the special report was sent and a Head Constable from Police Station Patel Nagar, to produce the correct copies of the D. D. Reports concerning this case. The learned Ad
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