Delay in filing an FIR is not necessarily fatal to a prosecution case. The court must consider the facts of each case and the explanation given for the delay.

1. The petitioner is convicted and sentenced for committing the offence under Section 325 I.P.C. He is sentenced to simple imprisonment of two months for this offence.

2. Simple facts of the case are that according to the prosecution the petitioner-accused is a nephew of the injured person Lahari Ram and litigation between the two is going on about some dispute over the agricultural land. It is said that on 1-12-1976 at about 4 P.M. when Lahari Ram was basking in sunlight along with his family members, namely, his wife Achhari Devi and daughter-in-law Biasa Devi, the accused suddenly came from behind with a Danda and gave Danda blows to Lahari Ram. Lahari Ram began to bleed. At the relevant time there was some marriage at the adjacent village with the result that many persons of the village, including the neighbours and some family members of the injured person had gone to attend that marriage. Therefore, Lahari Ram could not avail of the assistance of other villagers or neighbours. He was, however, taken to hospital at Sarkaghat by his wife Achhari Devi and admitted in the hospital on the next date, that is, 2-12-1976. The doctor on examination suspected some fracture. On X-ray examination it was found that transverse processes of first, second, third and fourth left lumber vertebrae were fractured.

3. It was after the injured was admitted in hospital that his wife Achhari Devi lodged the report about the incident at the police station on 5-12-1976 at about 2 P.M.

4. The prosecution relied upon the evidence of Lahari Ram himself, his wife Achhari Devi and his daughter-in-law Biasa Devi, who were the eye-witnesses of the incident.

5. The learned trial Judge has passed the order of conviction and the said order is confirmed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Mandi in appeal. Being aggrieved by this order, the petitioner-accused has preferred this revision application.

6. The learned Advocate of the petitioner strenuously contended that the information which is lodged at the police station on 5-12-1976 is very late because the incident took place on December 1, 1976. He contended that looking to the decision given by the Supreme Court in Thulia Kali v. State of Tamil Nadu, reported in AIR 1973 SC 501: (1972 Cri LJ 1296) this late filing of the information about the offence is fatal to the case. He further contended that it was for the prosecution to explain this delay and since the prosecution has failed to explain this delay in filing the information about the incident, the accused should be given benefit of doubt and should be acquitted.

7. I have gone through the whole record of the case and I have heard the learned Advocate of the petitioner even on merits. It is undoubtedly true that the information has been lodged four days after the incident. Therefore, the first question to be determined is whether this delay in filing the information is fatal looking to the facts of the present case. Now the Supreme Court in the above referred decision has nowhere said that delay in filing the information must necessarily be considered as fatal to every prosecution case. It is undoubtedly true that delay in filing the information of the crime is an important factor which the court has to take into consideration while deciding whether the evidence produced by the prosecution is reliable or not. If a reference is made to the decision of the Supreme Court in the above referred case, it will be found that the facts of that case revealed that the incident was known by several villagers and yet none of them lodged any report against the accused of that case. The Supreme Court has then observed that these villagers did not know about the actual assailant of the deceased and on the following day their suspicion fell on the accused and accordingly they involved the accused in that case. The Supreme Court has, thereafter considered the importance of the first information report and has rightly observed that the first information report in a