Circumstantial evidence must establish a complete chain, proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt without any missing links.

1 These three appeals arise out of one sessions trial being Sessions Trial No. 9-B/7 of 1990 and were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment. Appellant Sanjiv Kumar stood charged under S.120B, 302 and 201 IPC. Appellant Kamlesh Tyagi stood charged under S.120B, 302 read with S.120B and 201 IPC. Appellant Lekh Raj Gupta stood charged under S.120B, 302 read with S.120B and 212 IPC. It was alleged that all three of them hatched a criminal conspiracy to kill the deceased Rajesh Sharma and in furtherance of the said conspiracy, accused Sanjiv Kumar caused murder of the deceased whereafter accused Sanjiv and accused Kamlesh caused disappearance of the evidence of the offence. Accused Lekh Raj is alleged to have harboured accused Sanjiv Kumar knowing him to have committed the offence with the intention of saving him from legal punishment. The learned Sessions Judge, on a thorough analysis of the evidence on record, convicted accused Sanjiv Kumar under S.120B, 302 and 201 IPC. He was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for the conviction under the first two charges and 7 years' RI for his conviction of the last charge. In addition, he was directed to pay a fine of Rs 5000 for each of the offences with the further direction that the sentences would run concurrently. Accused Kamlesh Tyagi was also convicted under S.120B, and S.302 read with S.120B IPC and was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for each of the offences and pay a fine of Rs 5000 on each count. She was also further convicted under S.201 and was sentenced to imprisonment for 7 years and to pay a fine of Rs 5000. Accused Lekh Raj was convicted only under S.212 IPC and was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for 5 years and to pay a fine of Rs 5000. Against their conviction, the accused persons preferred two appeals - Criminal Appeals Nos. 121 and 125 of 1993. The State also preferred two appeals against accused Sanjiv and accused Kamlesh and the other against accused Lekh Raj for enhancement of sentence awarded by the learned Sessions Judge. These 4 appeals stood disposed of by the High Court by judgment dated 20-9-1996, whereunder the conviction and sentence of accused Sanjiv Kumar under S.302/120B and 201 was affirmed. Similarly, the conviction and sentence passed against accused Kamlesh Tyagi was also affirmed. But, so far as accused Lekh Raj is concerned, though his conviction under S.212 IPC was upheld, the sentence was modified to the period already undergone. The appeals filed by the State for enhancement of sentence were also dismissed and hence the present appeals.

2 At the outset, it may be stated that there is no eyewitness to the commission of murder and the case accordingly hinges upon the circumstantial evidence. The prosecution case in a nutshell is that accused Sanjiv Kumar is the nephew of accused Kamlesh, being her brother's son. The father of the deceased was at the relevant point of time posted as Additional District Attorney cum Public Prosecutor at Bilaspur. Accused Kamlesh had 4 daughters. The eldest daughter Chanchal was a classmate of the deceased and the family of the accused and the family of the deceased were on visiting terms. Both the families were residing in the same colony in Bilaspur. Sometime later, the family of the deceased shifted themselves from the agricultural colony to Dhora as PW 19, the father of the deceased, got an official accommodation at Dhora. The further prosecution case is that the deceased had developed some intimacy with Chanchal which was not approved of by the father of the deceased. PW 19 in fact met Kamlesh on one occasion and requested her to refrain her daughter from meeting the deceased. But Kamlesh told PW 19 that he should restrain his son from meeting Chanchal. It was also alleged that several threats were given by Kamlesh and Sanjiv to the deceased. On the fateful day on 25-5-1990, a telephonic message was received from PW 1 that the son of the Additional District Attorney