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2019 Supreme(Raj) 2743
IN THE HIGH COURT OF RAJASTHAN AT JAIPUR BENCH
Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia and Banwari Lal Sharma, JJ.
Raju @ Rajugiri Goswami @ Raju Langda - Appellant
Versus
State Of Rajasthan - Respondent
Criminal Appeal (Jail) No. 227 of 2017
Decided On : 01-05-2019
Anshuman Saxenam, Adv., Javed Choudhary, Adv.
A dying declaration can be used as corroborative evidence to support other evidence in a case, but it is not sufficient on its own to establish guilt.
Headnote:
CRIMINAL APPEAL - SECTION 302 IPC - FACTUAL MATRIX - DYING DECLARATION - MEDICAL EVIDENCE - CONVICTION - SECTION 304 PART-II IPC - SENTENCE MODIFICATION - KEY LEGAL PRINCIPLE - DYING DECLARATION AS CORROBORATIVE EVIDENCE - INTENTION TO COMMIT CULPABLE HOMICIDE - KNOWLEDGE ATTRIBUTED TO ACCUSED.
Fact of the Case:
The deceased, a beggar, and the accused, a rag-picker, were known to fight over liquor. The deceased was found injured with a knife wound and died on the way to the hospital. He had told a police officer that the accused had stabbed him during a fight.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the dying declaration was spontaneous and corroborated by the testimony of witnesses who saw the accused and deceased quarreling. The court also considered the nature and seat of the injuries and concluded that the accused had no intention to commit culpable homicide but had acted in the heat of the moment.
Issues: 1. Whether the dying declaration was admissible and reliable. 2. Whether the accused had the intention to commit culpable homicide.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the dying declaration was admissible and reliable as it was spontaneous and corroborated by other evidence. 2. The court held that the accused did not have the intention to commit culpable homicide but had acted in the heat of the moment.
Final Decision: The court modified the conviction from Section 302 IPC (murder) to Section 304 Part-II IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sentenced the accused to five years rigorous imprisonment.
JUDGMENT
Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia, J. - The deceased, in the present case, was a beggar.
2. The accused-appellant before us is a rag-picker.
3. It has come in the evidence that they used to sell empty liquor quarters to the kabaadi (scarp dealer) and with the money earned used to take liquor.
4. It has also come in the evidence that both often used to fight over the liquor, and in the present case, due to solitary knife blow caused by the appellant, the deceased Jagdish @ Baba died and a case was registered against the accused-appellant.
5. The Court of Additional Sessions Judge, No.10, Jaipur Metropolitan Jaipur, vide its impugned judgment dated 26.07.2016, convicted the appellant for commission of offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
6. Having convicted the appellant for the above said offence, the trial Court, vide a separate order of even date, sentenced the appellant as under :-
"For offence U/s. 302 I.P.C. : The appellant was sentenced to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.50,000/- and in default of payment of fine to further undergo six months additional imprisonment.
7. The sentence were ordered to run concurrently."
8. Aggrieved against the judgment of conviction and the order of sentence, the appellant has preferred this appeal through Jail.
9. The Rajasthan High Court Legal Service Authority, Jaipur has appointed Shri Anshuman Saxena, as a Counsel to defend the appellant.
10. In the present case, the criminal proceedings were set into motion on the basis of the written-report (Exhibit-P/12) submitted by A.S.I. Omprakash (PW-8), who was then posted as Station House Officer at Police Station Ramganj Jaipur City (North).
11. On the basis of the above said written-report (Exhibit-P/12), a formal F.I.R. (Exhibit-P/13) bearing registration No.215/2015 was registered at Police Station Ramganj, Jaipur City (North) for commission of offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
12. The above said written-report (Exhibit-P/12), when translated into English reads as under :-
| To, |
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| The Station House Officer, Police Station Ramganj, Jaipur (North) |
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| Subject - Regarding registration of the case and initiation of legal action. |
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| Sir, |
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| In the above noted subject, it is submitted that I Omprakash, A.S.I. on the night was posted as a Duty Officer. Today, i.e. on 19.05.2015 in the morning at 06:30 A.M. through Constable Babulal Police Post Ghatgate, a telephonic information was received that a person, aged 45-50 years in a pool of blood is lying in front of the Shop No. 58 at Sanjay Bazar, Jaipur. Upon receipt of said information, I being Duty Officer, along with companion Police Officials Constable-Ramavtar, 10019 and Chhaju Lal, 2770 on a Government Jeep along with Driver Shambhudayal, 5554 from the Police Station reached at Sanjay Bazar, Jaipur. At the spot, one person, whose age is about 45-50 years and who look like a beggar, is lying in the pool of blood on the footpath in front of the shop. With the help of the companions Police Officials, the said person from the place of occurrence was made to sit in the Police vehicle for taking to the hospital for the treatment. Meanwhile, I being a Duty Officer asked the said person as to what happened. He said that in the fight, Raju gave a knife blow. On saying so, the said person started teetering. Upon asking his name, the said person had not disclosed the same. The said person was taken to the S.M.S. Hospital, Jaipur. The said person died on the way. Doctors at the Emergency Ward of the S.M.S. Hospital, Jaipur declared the said person as dead. The dead-body of the said person was kept at mortuary for the post-mortem. I have come to the Police Station. The unknown beggar was caused a injury by some person named |
