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2001 Supreme(All) 962
HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
J.C.GUPTA, M.A.KHAN
Ram Kishun
Versus
State of Uttar Pradesh
Cri.Appeal 287 of 1981
Decided On : 11 October 2001
Cri. Appeal 287 Of 1981
Anand Deo Giri, Rajendra Rai, V.SINGH,
Headnote:
CRIMINAL APPEAL - Murder - Conviction - Evidence Act, 1872 - Section 3 - Appreciation of evidence - Medical evidence - Inconsistency with ocular evidence - Injuries caused to the deceased - Nature of weapon used - Discrepancy between medical evidence and ocular testimony - Reliability of eye-witnesses - Motive for the crime - Unanimous verdict of the trial court - Confirmation of conviction and sentence.
Fact of the Case:
The appellants were convicted of murder and causing simple injuries to the deceased. The prosecution case was that the deceased was assaulted by the appellants with lathis fitted with iron rods and killed on the spot. The appellants denied the charges and claimed false implication. The trial court, after considering the evidence on record, found the appellants guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Finding of the Court:
The High Court upheld the conviction and sentence of the appellants. The Court found that the medical evidence was not inconsistent with the ocular evidence and that the injuries caused to the deceased could have been caused by lathis fitted with iron rods. The Court also found that the eye-witnesses were reliable and that the motive for the crime was established. The Court further held that the unanimous verdict of the trial court was not perverse or unreasonable.
Issues: 1. Whether the medical evidence was inconsistent with the ocular evidence? 2. Whether the eye-witnesses were reliable? 3. Whether the motive for the crime was established? 4. Whether the unanimous verdict of the trial court was perverse or unreasonable?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Court held that the medical evidence was not inconsistent with the ocular evidence. The Court noted that the doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination had admitted that the injuries caused to the deceased could have been caused by lathis fitted with iron rods. The Court also noted that the doctor had not ruled out the possibility of the injuries being caused by lathis having iron rings. 2. The Court found that the eye-witnesses were reliable. The Court noted that the eye-witnesses had given consistent statements and that their testimony was corroborated by the medical evidence. The Court also noted that the eye-witnesses had no motive to falsely implicate the appellants. 3. The Court found that the motive for the crime was established. The Court noted that there was evidence of a long-standing enmity between the deceased and the appellants. The Court also noted that the appellants had a motive to kill the deceased because he had appeared as a witness against them in a previous case. 4. The Court held that the unanimous verdict of the trial court was not perverse or unreasonable. The Court noted that the trial court had considered all the evidence on record and had given cogent reasons for its decision.
Final Decision: The High Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the conviction and sentence of the appellants.
( 1 ) THIS is an appeal against the judgment and order dated 3-2-1981 passed by Sri C. P. Misra, the then Addl. District and Sessions Judge, Varanasi thereby convicting the appellants of the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149, I. P. C. and sentencing them to undergo imprisonment for life. The appellants have further been held guilty of the offence punishable under Section 323 read with Section 149, I. P. C. and have been sentenced to undergo R. I. for a period of one year each. The appellants have further been sentenced to undergo R. I. for a period of one year each for the offence punishable under Section 147, I. P. C. All the sentences have been made to run concurrently.
( 2 ) FACTS leading the prosecution of the appellants are that on 11-10-1979 the informant Moti Chand had gone to see the Mela of Bharat Milap at Mangari Bazar, P. S. Phoolpur, Varanasi. There he met Shiv Shankar Singh (deceased) son of Sadaphal Singh, resident of Village Bhanpur, P. S. Phoolpur as he had also come to see the said Mela. They both remained there together. Shiv Shankars father-in-laws house was in the same Mangari Bazar and so after seeing Mela they both went there and stayed in the night. In the next morning at 8. 00 a. m. Moti Chand and Shiv Shankar both proceeded to their house on the motor-cycle of Moti Chand, who was driving it and Shiv Shanker Singh was sitting behind him on that. While on their way at about 8. 30 a. m. they reached near the pumping set of Bhaggan Singh alias Vibhuti Narain Singh resident of village Khurra, the accused Bansh Narain Singh son of Markandey Singh all of a sudden came on the way and instigated saying that let the deceased Shiv Shanker Singh be killed and be not spared as luckily he was found by them on that day. In the meantime, from the Arhar field in the two sides the other accused persons, namely, Pyare Lal, Prem Chand, Maharaj Narain and Ram Kishan, who were hidden there, came out having Lathis fitted with iron rings. At first the accused Pyarey Lal assaulted and felled down Moti Chand and thereafter the accused persons started assaulting Shiv Shanker-deceased with their Lathis and killed him on spot. Moti Chands request to spare the deceased was of no avail and the accused persons paid no heed to that. On the alarm raised by them, the witnesses Rama Shanker, Jagdish, Satya Narain, Mattar, Ram Murat residents of Village Chamaroo, P. S. Cholapur and several persons who were returning back from the Mela had reached and witnessed the aforesaid incident. The accused persons after assaulting fled away from the spot. They had killed Shiv Shanker deceased due to long standing enmity. After that, the injured Moti Chand leaving the dead body of Shiv Shanker Singh on the spot went to the police station Phoolpur for lodging the F. I. R. The written F. I. R. Ext. Ka. 1 was lodged by him at 9. 45 a. m. on 12-10-1979. The distance of the place from the police station was about 7 miles east. On the basis of the report Ext. Ka. 1, the chik F. I. R. Ext. Ka. 3 was prepared by the H. C. Shyam Lal Ojha, who had also made entries in the general diary Ext. Ka. 4. The injured and the informant Moti Chand (P. W. 1) was sent through the letter Ext. Ka. 5 for the medical examination along with Constable Banshidhar Tewari to Pindra Hospital, Varanasi. The S. O. Sri Jairam Ali Khan, who was present at the police station took up the investigation himself and he proceeded towards the spot along with constables Ramanuj Sharma and Kamla Shanker for investigation and reached at 11. 30 a. m. and on that day i. e. 12-10-1979 the Investigating Officer had recorded the statements of injured witness Moti Chand and other witnesses Jagdish Narain, Satya Narain, Rama Shanker, Mattar alias Raj Narain and Ram Murat and prepared the site plan Ext. Ka. 7. The panchayatnama of the dead body was prepared by him vide Ext. Ka. 8. He also prepared the diagram of the dead body and kept it in a sealed cover and pre
