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2016 Supreme(Del) 976
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
PRADEEP NANDRAJOG & MUKTA GUPTA, JJ.
AJAY @ SUNDER PAL – Appellant
Versus
STATE – Respondent
CRL.A. 79/2016
Decided On : 22-02-2016
Important Points
Subject
Criminal Law - Murder
Act Referred
EVIDENCE ACT : S.106, S.32, S.32(1), S.65(b)
INDIAN PENAL CODE : S.302, S.304(b), S.498(a)
Headnote
MURDER - Section 302 IPC - [302 IPC] - The court discussed the evidence and established that the accused was present when the deceased was alive and failed to explain how she died, leading to an adverse inference under Section 106 of the Evidence Act. The court also treated the statement made by the deceased to her mother as a dying declaration, admissible under Section 32 of the Evidence Act. The judgment upheld the conviction and order on sentence.
Fact of the Case:
Ajay @ Sunder Pal was convicted for the murder of his wife under Section 302 IPC. The deceased made distress calls to her parents before being found dead outside her matrimonial house. The post-mortem report indicated homicidal injuries, and the call records established the presence of the accused at the time of the incident.
Finding of the Court:
The court found the accused guilty of the murder of his wife based on the evidence that he was present when the deceased was alive and failed to explain how she died. The court also treated the deceased's statement to her mother as a dying declaration, admissible under Section 32 of the Evidence Act.
Issues: The main issue was whether the accused was responsible for the murder of his wife, as evidenced by his presence at the time of the incident and his failure to explain how the deceased died.
Ratio Decidendi: The court applied Section 106 of the Evidence Act to draw an adverse inference against the accused for failing to explain the circumstances of the deceased's death. Additionally, the court treated the deceased's statement to her mother as a dying declaration, admissible under Section 32 of the Evidence Act.
Final Decision: The court upheld the judgment of conviction and order on sentence, dismissing the appeal.
Mr. Ramesh Gupta, Sr. Adv. instructed by Mr. Bharat Bhushan Bhatia, Mr. Akshay Bhatia, Mr. Bharat Sharma, Advocates.
Mr. Varun Goswami, APP.
MUKTA GUPTA, J.
1. Ajay @ Sunder Pal though charged for offences punishable under Section 304B IPC and 302 IPC has been convicted for the murder of his wife under Section 302 IPC vide the impugned judgment dated December 14, 2015 and directed to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000/- which if realised a sum of Rs. 20,000/- has to be given as compensation to the legal heirs of deceased Laxmi, vide the order on sentence dated December 17, 2015.
2. Hari Chand received a distress call from Laxmi, his daughter in the intervening night of September 1 and 2, 2011 at around 2.00 AM, a further call by Ajay and then by his brother informing of the death of Laxmi. He along with his wife left the house at about 4.30 AM in the morning for Nangli Sakrawati where they found the dead body of their daughter Laxmi in front of her matrimonial house, a room in the field which was taken by accused persons on contract basis for agriculture. He noticed that two teeth of the lower jaw of his daughter were broken and blood was oozing out. He made a call to 100 number and Police reached the spot. On the basis of statement Ex.PW-5/A of Hari Chand, FIR No.299/2011 was registered under Section 498A/304-B IPC at PS Najafgarh and investigation was carried out.
3. Hari Chand stated that he was residing at village Siraspur for the last one year. He had married his daughter Laxmi on May 11, 2011 with Sunder Pal, S/o Bishan. On September 02, 2011 in the night at around 2 O’clock his daughter called on the mobile phone and wanted to talk to her mother. He gave the phone to his wife when his daughter stated to his wife that ‘Mummy aaj yeh mujhe nahin chodengey’. Thereafter the phone got disconnected. Again the phone rang up and this time Ajay @ Sunder Pal abused him. When his wife asked him to make her talk to their daughter Laxmi, Ajay stated that their daughter was lying unconscious. After some time another call came and they were informed that their daughter had died. At about 5.00 AM in the morning they left their village Siraspur to village Nangli Sakrawati where on reaching they found that their daughter had died. His son-in-law used to demand dowry and he suspected that his daughter had been murdered by his son-in-law and his sister.
4. Statement of Kamlesh PW-6, mother of the deceased was also recorded on the same day who stated that in the night at about 12.00 or 1.00 AM, her husband received a telephonic call who handed over the mobile phone to her. She talked to Ajay @ Sunder Pal who handed over the phone to her daughter Laxmi who stated ‘Mummy jaldi aaja yeh mujhe nahin chodenge’, ‘mein jaa rahin hoon yeh mujhe maar denge’ and the phone was disconnected. She heard the noise of falling down of the phone. Thereafter again Ajay @ Sunder Pal called her and told that her daughter had expired. It is stated that prior to the incident Ajay demanded two-wheeler but the demand could not be fulfilled due to their poor economic condition. She also stated about the threats extended by the sister of Ajay.
5. Post-mortem on the body of the deceased was conducted by Dr.Parvinder PW-2 who noted the following injuries:
“1. Lower right central incisor tooth broken (missing) with active bleeding (clotted and free) present with adjoining, bruising and laceration of socket and gum;
2. Upper right lateral incisor, canine and first premolar teeth dislocated with active free bleeding present with adjoining extra vacation of blood present in the gums;
3. Contusion of front upper and lower gums present diffusely (blueish colour)
6. Dr.Parvinder Singh opined the cause of death to be due to asphyxia following ante-mortem smothering and time since death was approximately 11-12 hours. In the further opinion Ex.PW-2/B Dr.Parvinder Singh opined that the injuries mentioned in the post-mortem report were homicidal in nature. The viscera was preserved an
