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2022 Supreme(Raj) 1179
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR
Sandeep Mehta, Farjand Ali, JJ.
State Of Rajasthan – Appellant
Versus
Raju & Ors. – Respondents
D.B. Criminal Appeal No. 128/1992
Decided On : 13-09-2022
B.R. Bishnoi, PP., for the Appellant
R.S. Rawal, Advocate., for the Respondents
In cases based on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must establish motive, relationship, and a complete chain of evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Headnote:
Criminal Conspiracy - Acquittal - IPC 302/34, 397, 449 - Recovery of weapon 'Kunth' at the instance of accused Mangu Khan (Ex. P/13); Recovery of a pair of pants (Trousers) (Ex. P/5) from accused-Mangu Khan; Recovery of a notebook in which the name Noorjahan was inscribed on one of the pages (Ex. P/40) as alleged at the instance of accused Mangu; Recovery of a currency note of denomination of Rs. 100/- from Mangu which is marked as Ex. P/18; Recovery of currency notes of Rs. 12980/- (Ex. P/4) allegedly at the instance of accused-Raju @ Rajmal; Recoveries of a pair of pants (Trousers) & a key (Ex. P/5) from accused Raju @ Rajmal; Accused Raju @ Rajmal and Mangu Khan, being friends and that they were seen together by Dhool Singh P.W. 8 in the forenoon on the fateful day of the incident; Motive that the accused Mangu Khan was having love affair with one Noorjahan whom he wanted to marry and for that purpose, he was in need of money; Accused Mangu Khan was a friend of accused Raju @ Rajmal and so, both of them hatched a conspiracy to commit loot at the petrol pump.
Fact of the Case:
The accused-respondent Raju @ Rajmal and Mangu Khan were charged with the murder of Abhay Singh and robbery at a petrol pump. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence to establish the guilt of the accused. The trial court acquitted the accused-respondents, leading to the State's appeal.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the prosecution failed to establish the motive and relationship between the accused-respondents. The recovery of the weapon and currency notes did not establish a direct nexus with the crime. The court concluded that the prosecution's case had several flaws and failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Issues: The key issues revolved around the establishment of motive, relationship between the accused, and the sufficiency of circumstantial evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the importance of establishing motive and relationship in cases based on circumstantial evidence. It highlighted the need for conclusive and definite circumstances to exclude every possible hypothesis except the guilt of the accused. The court also stressed the requirement for a complete chain of evidence to support the guilt of the accused.
Final Decision: The court affirmed the judgment of acquittal, stating that the prosecution had failed to establish its case beyond reasonable doubt. The appeal filed by the State was dismissed, and the bail bonds of the accused-respondents were discharged.
JUDGMENT
1. This appeal under Section 378(1) & (3) Cr.P.C. has been filed against the judgment dated 23.09.1991 passed by the learned Special Court, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Cases, Udaipur in Case No. 104/1990 whereby, the learned Special Judge acquitted the accused-respondents from the charges under Sections 397, 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC.
2. Briefly stated the facts of the case are that on 14.03.1988, accused-respondent Raju @ Rajmal submitted an oral report (Ex. P/37) to the SHO, Police Station Dabok, District Udaipur alleging inter alia that he was employed at Hari Priya Petrol Pump for filling fuel. The owner of the petrol pump was Manak Chand Agarwal; other persons, namely Devi Lal, Ram Chandra, Gopal Lal and Abhay Singh were also employed there. He (Rajmal) and Gopal Lal were deployed to fill fuel while others were assigned duties at the counter. In the evening, Ram Chandra had gone to his house after handing over accounts and proceeds of the day to Abhay Singh. At about 12:00 a.m., after filling fuel in some vehicles, he too, went to sleep. At around 2:00 a.m., Abhay Singh came to wake him up and asked him to fill fuel in a vehicle. When, he (Raju @ Rajmal) stepped outside the room he was suddenly surrounded by three persons, one of whom was carrying a knife in his hand. Two of the assailants went towards the counter area of the petrol pump, threatened Abhay Singh and obtained the keys of cash locker from him. They assaulted Abhay Singh and took him to a room situated in the backyard of the pump. Abhay Singh was brutally beaten up by them. He (Rajmal @ Raju) was also beaten by the assailants and was confined in another room after his hands and legs were tied using a plastic string and his mouth was gagged by a muffler. Thereafter, the assailants fled away from the spot in an unnumbered jeep. It was further stated by him that one of the assailant who had caught hold of him was Ratan Singh, a friend of Abhay Singh and that he could identify the other assailants also if they were brought before him. At around 4:00 a.m., a guy wearing turban came there to fill fuel in his vehicle. The said guy came inside and unbolted the door; then, he somehow managed to come out and informed the police. He (Rajmal) went to the room at the back of the gas station and saw that dead body of Abhay Singh was lying there in a pool of blood. The blood smeared axle of truck was also lying there beside other belongings.
3. On the basis of the above report, an FIR No. 34/1988 (Ex. P/38) came to be registered at Police Station Dabok, District Udaipur for the offences punishable under Sections 396 & 397 IPC and investigation was assigned to SHO Mr. Ramdev (P.W. 28). The dead body of Abhay Singh was subjected to postmortem at the General Hospital, Udaipur. After five days of lodging of the FIR, the investigating agency found involvement of Raju @ Rajmal and one Mangu Khan in the crime. Thus, the respondents Raju @ Rajmal and Mangu Khan were arrested on 19.03.1988 & 20.03.1988 respectively for their alleged involvement in commission of crime. The statements of material witnesses were recorded. Both the accused-respondents made disclosure statements to the Investigating Officer. In furtherance of the information furnished by the accused named above, recoveries viz. cash amounting to Rs. 12,980/- (EX. P/1), a key and pair of trousers (Ex. P/5) were made from Raju @ Rajmal and recoveries of a blood smeared trousers, shoes (Ex. P/2) and 'Kunth' (Ex. P/13) as well as of a currency note of denomination of Rs. 100/- and a copy (exercise book) were effected at the instance of accused Mangu Khan. Certain articles viz. axle, blood smeared mattress, quilt, blanket, bedsheet, pillow, muffler and rope were also seized from the crime scene and forwarded to the FSL for serological analysis for the purpose of detection of blood etc. and report Ex. P/47 was prepared by the FSL.
4. After conducting thorough investigation, it was concluded that the first i
