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2017 Supreme(Del) 827
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
GITA MITTAL & ANU MALHOTRA, JJ.
SUNIL KUMAR – Appellant
Versus
STATE – Respondent
Crl. Appeal Nos. 37, 46, 95 of 2017 & Crl. M.B. Nos. 60, 73, 151 of 2017
Decided On : 09-03-2017
For the Appellants : Mr. Sumeet Verma with Mr. Abhijeet Sharma.
For the Respondents: Mr. Varun Goswami and Karamvir.
Headnote:
Penal Code, 1860 - Section 302, 34 - Murder - Arrest - Disclosures - Forensic examination - Motive - Last seen evidence - Acquittal - Death of deceased - Three disclosure statements are identical - Time and place of disclosures have not been mentioned - Police has not forwarded the sample seal to the FSL for comparison - There was no prior enmity - No motive on the part of appellant against the deceased - Seized articles were not duly seized, kept sealed and protected and delivered in such condition to the FSL - Reasonable doubt on the authenticity of the recovery of the cigarette butts from the spot - Body of the deceased had been recovered not from a place which was within the control of any of the appellants but from agricultural field - Appellants have been able to cast substantial doubt in the evidence - Prosecution has not able to make out an unbroken chain of circumstances pointing unerringly towards the guilt of the appellants - Impugned judgment are set aside and quashed - Appellants are acquitted.
GITA MITTAL, J.
Crl. Appeal Nos. 37/2017, 46/2017 and 95/2017
1. Sunil Kumar (appellant in Crl. Appeal No. 37/2017); Arvind (appellant in Crl. Appeal No. 46/2017) and Dinesh (appellant in Crl. Appeal No. 95/2017) were subjected to a joint trial in SC No. 58069/2016 before the court of Additional Sessions Judge-03 (North), Rohini Courts, Delhi arising out of FIR No. 676/2012 registered by P.S. Narela.
2. Pursuant to their joint trial, by the impugned judgment dated 19th August, 2016, the ld. Additional Sessions Judge found the appellants guilty of commission of the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC with which they were charged. As a consequence, by the order dated 24th September, 2016, the appellants stood sentenced to life imprisonment with fine of Rs.20,000/- and in default of payment of fine, it was directed that they shall further undergo simple imprisonment for one year and in case of the fine amount being realized, the same was directed to be distributed equally among the two brothers of the deceased, namely, Rama Yadav and Ram Achal Yadav.
3. Aggrieved by their conviction by the judgment dated 19th August, 2016 as well as the sentence imposed upon them, the appellants have preferred these separate appeals challenging the judgment and order on sentence.
Given the fact that the same evidence is being referred to by the appellants and identical questions of law and fact are raised, we have heard the appellants together and propose to decide all three appeals by this common judgment.
4. The case rests within a narrow factual compass. On the 13th of December 2012 at 1:35 pm, information was received by L/HC Krishna Kumari (PW-2) at P.S. Narela, Delhi from the Police Control Room that Rama Yadav had informed from the phone No. 9650560103 that the dead body of his brother Munshi Yadav, who was missing since the day prior, from his house, was lying near the juggis at the roundabout at DSIDC, Bhor Garh, Narela. The same was registered as DD No. 25A by the L/HC Krishna Kumari in the roznamcha. A copy of the DD was entrusted to S.I. Mahavir Singh.
5. Insp. Mahavir Singh (PW-17) and Head Constable Jasbir (PW-3) proceeded to the spot which were the fields of village Bhorgarh (near cremation ground), Narela, Alipur Road, Delhi, where they found the dead body of Munshi Yadav, who was identified by the informant Rama Yadav as well as his brother Ram Achal Yadav, with marks of injury on his face and his tongue stuck between his teeth. A cream coloured shawl was found tied around the neck of the deceased. As per Insp. Mahavir Singh (PW-17), four cigarette butts and four broken plastic glasses were lying near the dead body.
6. Insp. Mahavir Singh (PW-17) recorded the statement (rukka) (Ex.PW4/A) of Rama Yadav as PW-4 at the spot itself which was duly thumb marked by Rama Yadav. Insp. Mahavir Singh (PW-17) made his endorsement (Ex.PW17/A) on the statement of Rama Yadav and handed over the rukka to Head Constable Jasbir Singh (PW-3) at 4:15 pm for registration of the FIR.
7. Based thereon, Head Constable Jasbir Singh (PW-3) proceeded to the police station and handed over the Tehrir to the duty officer. The computerized FIR No. 676/2012 was generated at the police station Narela and a copy thereof was handed over to Head Constable Jasbir Singh (PW-3) along with Tehrir for handing over to Insp. Mahavir Singh (PW-17) at the spot.
8. In the meantime, Insp. Mahavir Singh (PW-17) had called for the crime team which reached the spot and conducted spot proceedings. The photographer took the photographs at the spot. The mobile crime team report (Ex.PW11/A) was handed over to the investigating officer.
9. So far as seizure of the four broken plastic glasses and four cigarette butts of the Gold Flake make are concerned, the same were separately seized in plastic boxes and were kept in a pulanda by Insp. Naresh Kumar vide seizure memos Ex.PW15/A and Ex.PW15/B respectively. These seizures were duly sealed with the seal of “NK”.
