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Cigarette Flick Sparks Murder: Supreme Court Backs Conviction on Dying Words and One Steady Witness
In a verdict delivered on , the , comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B. Varale, dismissed the appeal of Mitesh @ T.V. Vaghela, upholding his life imprisonment for the 1998 murder of tea stall owner Somabhai Sankabhai Rabari in Ahmedabad. The bench emphasized that even without multiple eyewitnesses, a reliable corroborated by unshakable testimony can seal guilt under , as reported in .
A Trivial Quarrel Turns Deadly
The roots trace back to , around 10:30 p.m., when a petty spat erupted at Somabhai's tea stall near a four-way junction in Khokara, Ahmedabad. The appellant allegedly tossed a half-burnt cigarette into Somabhai's washing bucket, igniting a heated exchange. Somabhai informed his brother, complainant Ishwarbhai (PW-1), a driver with , of the incident and the appellant's threat to "see him."
The next morning, between 7:00-7:30 a.m. on , Shiva Madrasi and Shankar Dhobi alerted Ishwarbhai that Somabhai lay bleeding near his stall. Rushing there, Ishwarbhai heard his brother name the appellant as the knife-wielding attacker. Somabhai repeated this accusation multiple times en route to the hospital in an auto-rickshaw but was declared dead on arrival. Police arrested the appellant, recovering a knife based on his disclosure. Sessions Case No. 158 of 1999 led to conviction by , affirmed by the .
Defence Challenges the Prosecution's Fragile Web
Appellant's counsel, , argued the case rested on shaky ground: PW-1's alleged oral was dubious given Somabhai's grave injuries, including a punctured left ventricle, rendering him unconscious. Key informants Shiva and Shankar went unexamined, most panch witnesses turned hostile, and supposed eyewitnesses (PW-4, PW-5, PW-10) resiled or proved unreliable—PW-10 fully retracted. The rickshaw driver's (PW-12) conduct seemed unnatural, medical records showed contradictions on injuries and timing, and the bloodless knife from a public spot undermined recovery evidence. With no credible eyewitnesses, just "interested" relatives and lapses, was urged, plus remission given served time.
The State, via , defended the concurrent findings, highlighting reliable testimonies and motive.
Dissecting Evidence: Motive, Mind, and the Fatal Act
The Supreme Court independently re-appraised, confirming via PW-1's unimpeached account of the prior quarrel and threat, followed swiftly by the attack. For , hostile witnesses (PW-4, PW-5, PW-10) still placed Somabhai bleeding at the scene, but PW-12 proved pivotal.
PW-12, rickshaw passenger en route to Maninagar station, witnessed the appellant stab Somabhai and flee, identifying the muddamal knife. His cross-examination—withstood rigorously on route, timing, and presence—yielded no material cracks. Courts below rightly deemed it "."
PW-1's dying declarations—made twice, conscious and voluntary—gained legal weight. Citing P.V. Radakrishna v. State of Karnataka (2003) 6 SCC 443 and State of Uttar Pradesh v. Ram Sagar Yadav (1985) 1 SCC 552, the bench noted a reliable alone suffices for conviction, here bolstered by PW-12 and circumstances. Medical doubts (unconsciousness) were dismissed: no expert suggestion on consciousness post-injury, FIR promptness, and hospital history's limited purpose (mechanism, not assailant).
Hostile witnesses? No issue. Invoking
Namdeo v. State of Maharashtra
(2007) 14 SCC 150,
"it is the
. Even the testimony of a solitary witness, if found to be wholly reliable... is sufficient."
Key Observations from the Bench
"A truthful and voluntary , if found to be reliable, can by itself form the sole basis of conviction without the necessity of corroboration."
"The testimony of PW-12 is a complete testimony in itself... cogent, complete and of a ."
"It is a settled principle of criminal jurisprudence that it is the ."
"Though PW-1 is not an eye-witness to the actual occurrence, his evidence cannot be discarded... particularly in view of the surrounding circumstances."
Life Sentence Stands: A Nod to Remission
The appeal was dismissed , conviction under and upheld. Yet, compassionately, the appellant—having served substantially—may seek remission per policy, to be expedited.
This ruling reinforces that circumstantial strength and testimonial integrity trump numbers, guiding future cases where hostility or absence thins eyewitness ranks but dying words ring true.
