State Of Rajasthan vs Ankur Padiya - 2021 Supreme(Raj) 519

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2021 Supreme(Raj) 519

IN THE HIGH COURT OF RAJASTHAN AT JAIPUR BENCH
Sabina,Manoj Kumar Vyas, JJ.
State Of Rajasthan & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
Ankur Padiya & Ors. - Respondents
D.B. Criminal Death Reference No. 1/2019, D.B. Criminal Appeal No. 114/2018, S.B. Criminal Appeal No. 528/2018, S.B. Criminal Appeal No. 566/2018 and D.B. Criminal Appeal No. 12/2019
Decided on : 03-03-2021

Advocates appeared:
Ms. Alka Bhatnagar, Additional Government Advocate, Mr. Ashwin Garg, Advocate, Mr. Rahul Singh Meratwal, Advocate, Mr. Gajendra Singh Chauhan, Advocate, Mr. Prakash Kumar Jha, Advocate, Mr. Anil Kumar Yadav, Advocate, for the Appellant; Mr. Arvind Kumar Gupta, Advocate, Mr. Aniket Sharma, Advocate, Ms. Mudita Sharma, Advocate, Mr. Tanay Jain, Advocate, Mr. Kuldeep Yadav, Advocate, Mr. Anurag Pareek, Advocate, Mr. Kapil Bhardhwaj, Advocate, Mr. Saurabh Chauhan, Advocate, Ms. Sakshi Swami, Advocate, Mr. Abdul Kalam Khan, Advocate, Mr. Narendra Prasad Meena, Advocate, Mr. Sanjay Gurjar, Advocate, Mr. Rajeev Surana, Advocate, Ms. Prabuddha Sharma, Advocate, for the Respondent.

Headnote:(A) Indian Penal Code - Sections 302, 364A, 379, 120B, and Information Technology Act - Sections 65, 66B, 66C, 66D - Death sentence awarded in relation to kidnapping and murder, later commuted to life imprisonment for insufficient compliance with procedural safeguards under Section 235(2) Cr.P.C. Court emphasized the need for fair legal representation due to pre-trial media influence. (Paras 10, 102, 106)

(B) Evidence - Standards for circumstantial evidence established; complete chain must exclude every hypothesis except the guilt of the accused. Various types of evidence presented including witness testimony, recoveries, medical and forensic reports, and electronic evidence; link established between defendants and the crime. (Paras 20, 86, 100)

(C) Appellate principles concerning the review of convictions and the necessity for fair trial rights articulated. (Paras 91, 92)

Facts of the case:
Convicts involved in a high-profile kidnapping case where a child was kidnapped for ransom, ultimately resulting in murder. Ransom demands were made via telephone, and spectral evidence, including security footage and mobile communications, implicated the convicts. There were numerous procedural allegations concerning the conduct of the fair trial, notably a media trial claim affecting the defendants' ability to secure competent legal representation due to community pressure.

Findings of Court:
The conviction of the main convict was upheld but death penalty commuted to life imprisonment due to failure in complying with procedural safeguards. Convictions of co-defendants were maintained based on ample circumstantial and corroborative evidence.

Issues: The court addressed issues of media influence during the trial, procedural violations concerning the sentence phase, and the admissibility and credibility of circumstantial evidence.

Ratio Decidendi: The court determined that the lack of procedural safeguards voided the death sentence and reasserted analysis guidelines for circumstantial evidence while reinforcing the rights to fair representation in trials.

Result: Death sentence commuted to life imprisonment for Ankur Padiya; other sentences upheld.

Table of Content
1. facts regarding the kidnapping incident (Para 2)
2. details on prosecution and defense claims (Para 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8)
3. conviction and sentencing details (Para 9)
4. court observations on sentencing procedures (Para 11)
5. prosecution's argument regarding media influence (Para 12 , 13 , 14)
6. arguments on trial fairness and representation (Para 15 , 16 , 17)
7. prosecution counterarguments regarding evidence credibility (Para 18)
8. circumstantial evidence considerations (Para 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24)
9. radio transcript and phone evidence (Para 25 , 26 , 27)
10. analysis of circumstantial evidence linked to the crime (Para 28 , 29 , 30)
11. discussion on the car used in the crime (Para 31 , 32 , 33)
12. evidence from the convict's vehicle and possessions (Para 34 , 35 , 36)
13. technical evidence recovery by law enforcement (Para 37 , 38)
14. forensic examination results from laptops and materials (Para 39 , 40)
15. accused's financial motive and connections (Para 41 , 42)
16. arrest and recovery evidence of convicts (Para 43 , 44 , 45)
17. further examinations and handwriting evidence (Para 46 , 47 , 48)
18. identity fraud and procurement of illegal sim cards (Para 49 , 50 , 51)
19. e-mail fabrications and their connection to the crime (Para 52 , 53 , 54 , 55)
20. witness testimony on identity fraud (Para 56)
21. investigation details involving email id usage (Para 57 , 58 , 59)
22. identification details from hotel stay incidents (Para 60 , 61)
23. cctv footage evidence and witness accounts (Para 62 , 63)
24. use of mobile phone evidence (Para 64 , 65 , 66)
25. prosecution claims of motive (Para 67 , 68)
26. conducting evidence related to convict anoop padiya (Para 69 , 70)
27. further evidentiary details against co-convicts (Para 71 , 72)
28. arguments against the investigation's credibility (Para 73 , 74)
29. reinforcement of investigation validity (Para 75 , 76 , 77)
30. counterclaims regarding investigation fairness (Para 78 , 79)
31. arguments regarding evidence of involvement (Para 80 , 81)
32. final validation of prosecution arguments (Para 82 , 83 , 84)
33. overall validity and conclusion of court findings (Para 85 , 86 , 87)
34. further examination of witness credibility based on behavior (Para 88 , 89)
35. analysis of identification evidence against accused (Para 90 , 91)
36. discourse on expert opinions and reliance (Para 92 , 93)
37. court decision on accused's defense validity (Para 94)
38. court ruling and sentencing details (Para 95 , 96 , 97 , 98)
39. trial outcomes and further orders (Para 99 , 100 , 101 , 102)
40. final verdict on the case (Para 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107)
41. conclusion and closure of references (Para 108 , 109)

JUDGMENT

Manoj Kumar Vyas, J. - Vide this order, Death reference in relation to convict Ankur Padiya and Criminal appeals of convicts Ankur Padiya,Anoop Padiya, Mahaveer Sharma and Karanjeet Singh, preferred against the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 26.02.2018 and 19.12.2018 passed by learned Special Judge, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities Cases) Kota, in Sessions Case No. 09/2015 (CIS No. 1/2015) Filing No. 478/2015, are being disposed of.

2. According to brief facts of the case, the matter arose out of a written report dated 09.10.2014, Exhibit-P.24, submitted by complainant Puneet Handa son of Madan Mohan Handa, registered at Police Station Jawahar Nagar, Kota. It was alleged in the report that the complainant resided in House No. 398 Talwandi, Kota. On 09.10.2014, his son Rudraksh, aged seven years, was playing in Hanuman Park at around 5-5:30 PM. The park was situated behind the house of complainant. The complainant received a phone call on his landline no. 0744-2426222 informing him that his son had been kidnapped. The person who made the call abused the complainant and identified himself as Jaffar Mohammad. He demanded ransom of Rs. two crore and threatened that the matter should not be reported to the police. The complainant told him

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