Punjab-Haryana High Court
Jia Lal vs State Of U.T.Chandigarh on 23 January, 2012
Author: Sabina
Bench: Jasbir Singh, Sabina
Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 1
Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008
In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh
Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008
Date of decision:January 23, 2012
Jia Lal ......Appellant
Versus
State of U.T.Chandigarh .......Respondent
Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008
Shobh Nath and another ......Appellants
Versus
State of U.T.Chandigarh .......Respondent
CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE JASBIR SINGH
HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SABINA
Present: Mr.H.S.Bhullar, Advocate,
for the appellant in CRA No.519-DB of 2008.
Mr.Sunder Singh, Advocate,
for the appellants in CRA No.724-DB of 2008.
Mr.D.D.Sharma, Advocate,
for U.T.Chandigarh.
****
JUDGMENT
SABINA, J.
Vide this judgment, the above mentioned appeals will be disposed of as these have arisen out of a common incident/ Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 2 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 judgment.
Prosecution case was set in motion on the basis of the statement (Ex.PA) of the complainant Tilak Raj recorded on 17.8.2000. The complainant stated in his statement before the police that he was working as a salesman with Lada Liquor vend, Sector 24, Chandigarh along with Kashmir Singh, Piara Lal, Roop Lal and Nand Kishore. At that time, Nand Kishore and Roop Lal used to sleep in the shop at night. On 16.8.2000, at about 11 p.m., he had gone to his house after closing the shop. Roop Lal and Nand Kishore remained in the shop. When he reached the shop at 6.30 am on 17.8.2000 at the back door, he found that the door was bolted from outside. He opened the bolt and saw that there were blood stained foot prints on the floor. One dead body was lying in the toilet adjoining the stairs. The dead body was of Nand Kishore. When he went ahead, he found that the door was open and light was on and he found that steel almirah had been broken and cash was missing. When he went to the next counter, he found that the blood stained dead body of Roop Lal was lying on the cot and cash was found missing from the counter. He tried to make a phone call but found the three telephones missing. It appeared that some unknown persons had entered the shop with an intention to commit theft and had committed murders of Nand Kishore and Roop Lal salesmen with some sharp edged weapons and had run away with the cash. On that night, cash amounting to ` 40-45 lacs had been left in the godrej almirah. Some cash out of the said amount was seen scattered on the floor. The entire cash used to be counted by him Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 3 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 along with Roop Lal and Kashmir Singh and bundles of currency notes 100 each were used to be made and the stamp of Lada liquor was affixed on the said bundles. The person, who counted the bundles used to mention the amount and thereafter, sign the same. They had another shop in Sector 24, Chandigarh where also the amount was counted by the employees and the bundles were signed by them. The owner could only tell about the exact amount of missing cash. Since the telephones were not available, he informed the owner and police from the taxi stand.
On the basis of the statement of the complainant formal FIR No.225 was registered on 17.8.2000 at police station West Chandigarh under Section 460 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC for short).
Thereafter, Inspector Ram Gopal entered the shop-cum- flat (SCF for short) from the back side. He collected samples of blood lying near the dead bodies. Cash was seen lying scattered on the table in another room. Blood stained mattress, blood stained vest, a piece of carpet, a towel, a chappal, a safe door having finger prints, one table top glass having finger prints, one blood stained glass bottle, a piece of door of steel almirah and another piece of second door of almirah having finger prints were lifted from the spot. Statements of Amritpal Singh and Sameer Sharma @ Raju were recorded. The currency notes lying scattered at the spot were collected and were taken in possession. The spot was got photographed. Inspector Ram Gopal prepared inquest reports qua the dead bodies and the same were sent for postmortem Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 4 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 examination.
On 18.8.2000, one iron jack (round shape), an iron rod and one glass bottle were recovered from the back side near parking area. An attempt was made to lift the finger prints but no positive prints could be lifted. Two glass bottles of liquor having blood stains were lifted from the small kitchen near the stairs. Three empty glasses were recovered from the verandah near the water tap. Rough site plan of the place of occurrence was prepared.
On 19.8.2000, Inspector J.S.Cheema took over the investigation of the case. On 20.8.2000, he received an information that accused Lachhman Yadav, Shobh Nath, Mewa Lal and Jia Lal were residing in a house of Amrik Singh at Dadu Majra. However, the said accused could not be traced.
On 22.8.2000, an information was received by Inspector J.S. Cheema that accused Shobh Nath was to arrive back in Chandigarh in Sector 32. On the basis of the said information, he called Sameer Sharma and held a naka out side the office of Survey of India, Sector 32, Chandigarh. Sameer Sharma @ Raju, Tilak Raj and Kashmir Singh reached there. After some time, Shobh Nath was seen coming from the side of Gurudwara Sahib and was identified by Sameer Sharma. Shobh Nath, on seeing the police party, tried to escape but he was apprehended. Accused Shobh Nath was carrying a bag with him. On search of the bag, ` 6,00,000/- and some clothes were recovered. All the currency notes were in the denomination of ` 100/-. The bundles of currency notes were having slip of State Bank of India, Treasury Branch and stamp of Lada liquors with initials. The Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 5 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 said currency notes were bearing the initials of PW-24 Kashmir Singh and PW-2 Tilak Raj. All the 60 bundles of currency notes in the denomination of ` 100/- were taken in possession and were sealed with seal bearing impression BS. Seal after use was handed over to PW-7 Head Constable Tilak Raj. During interrogation, accused Shobh Nath disclosed that his co-accused Jia Lal was residing in village Dadu Majra. Thereafter, they proceeded for Dadu Majra. When they reached near Sector 37 rehri market, accused Jia Lal was identified by accused Shobh Nath. During interrogation, accused Jia Lal suffered a disclosure statement and on the basis of the same, he got recovered ` 48,00,000/-. The said amount included 85 bundles of currency notes in the denomination of ` 500/- and 55 bundles of currency notes in the denomination of ` 100/-. Each bundle was of 100 currency notes. All the bundles were having slip of State Bank of India, Treasury Branch and stamp of Lada liquor with initials. The currency notes were identified by Sameer Sharma, Tilak Raj and Kashmir Singh and they also identified their respective initials. The currency notes were taken in possession and were sealed with seal bearing impression BS. The process of recovery of currency notes was duly photographed and videographed.
On 27.8.2000, during interrogation, accused Shobh Nath suffered a disclosure statement and on the basis of the same, he got recovered an iron darat from the disclosed place and the same was taken in possession.
After completion of investigation and necessary formalities, challan was presented against the appellants and Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 6 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 accused Mewa Lal (proclaimed offender). Mewa Lal joined the trial on the basis of production warrants issued against him on 11.7.2005.
Prosecution in order to prove its case examined 26 witnesses.
Appellant Shobh Nath, when examined under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C. for short), after the close of prosecution evidence, pleaded as under:-
"I was arrested from my jhuggi situated in a colony but was wrongly shown to have been arrested from a place near a survey of India along with some currency notes and other articles. Actually when I was arrested from my jhuggi, nothing was recovered from me. The recoveries have been planted on me and the story with regard to leading to village Dadu Majra is also a false one and nothing of the type as is alleged by the prosecution about it took place. The videography is also a fabricated piece of evidence and was prepared in CIA staff, Sector 11, Chandigarh. I am innocent."
Apellant Lachhman Yadav, when examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C., after the close of prosecution evidence, pleaded as under:-
"I am a resident of village Rampur, District Sultanpur, UP. My father owned 7 bighas of land at our ancestral village, I was cultivating my land before coming to Chandigarh in the year 1997-98. during my stay at Chandigarh I had Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 7 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 worked as labourer at various places. I was residing in colony No.5 through our my stay at Chandigarh. I left Chandigarh in June 2000 because of uncertain nature of my employment and I have to work as labourer at various places. After leaving Chandigarh I went to my ancestral village at UP and started cultivating land owned by my father, but there also due to family dispute amongst myself and my brother, I was forced to leave my village. Thereafter, I went to village Kotha Navaria, District Partapgarh, where one of my relatives namely Ms. Rampata was living and was having land in that village. Her husband offered me to assist him in the cultivation of his land and also proposed that we should start a joint venture in some agriculture related field. So, I shifted to that village. I was arrested by police from that place. I have been falsely implicated in this case. I am innocent. I have never remained employed with Lada group at any point of time during my stay at Chandigarh. I was arrested on suspicion as the other co-accused are also from U.P."
Apellant Jia Lal, when examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C., after the close of prosecution evidence, pleaded as under:-
" I was arrested from my village in U.P. The recovery of money was planted on me. Although the same was recovered from some other place and person. A news with regard to my arrest appeared in some newspaper of Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 8 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 the date 23.8.2002 and persons like Guni Ram, Mata Pher, Ganga Ram, Mani Ram, Suresh Chand and Udey Pal even swore affidavits in this behalf that I was arrested by the Chandigarh police from the village and was brought to this place. The money has been falsely shown to be recovered from me from a place in Dadu Majra. I never had gone to that place in any capacity, what to say of knowing the same. The videography prepared by the police about the alleged recovery is fabricated piece of evidence created by the prosecution. I am not involved in the crime in any way alleged to have been committed in this case."
The appellants examined three witnesses in their defence.
The trial Court vide judgment dated 23.7.2008 acquitted accused Mewa Lal of the charges framed against him. The appellants were convicted and sentenced by the trial Court vide judgment/ order dated 23.7.2008/ 26.7.2008 for commission of offence under Sections 302, 460, 120-B IPC. Hence, the present appeals.
Learned counsel for the appellants have submitted that the appellants were innocent and had been falsely involved in the case. So far as appellant Lachhman Yadav was concerned, there was no material on record to corroborate the prosecution version that he had been employed as a driver by the owner of the liquor vend. No documentary evidence in this regard had been proved on record. Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 9 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 Appellants Shobh Nath and Jia Lal were allegedly known to appellant Lachhman Yadav. Since there was no material on record qua appointment of appellant Lachhman Yadav as a driver of the owner of the liquor vend, the other two appellants were also liable to be acquitted. The Appellants had falsely been involved on the basis of the disclosure statements and recovery of currency notes. The currency notes had not been produced during trial to substantiate the said recovery. In fact, no such recovery of currency notes had been effected from the appellants. The same had been falsely foisted on the appellants by the Investigating officer in connivance with the owner of the liquor vend. Since it was a sensational case, the investigating officer, with a view to earn praise, had falsely involved the appellants in this case. Investigating Officcer, PW-25 J.S.Cheema had failed to explain the visit of Inspector Jarnail Singh to Uttar Pradesh. No independent witness had been joined at the time of recoveries. No finger prints had been lifted from the spot to nab the real culprits. Appellant Jia Lal was arrested from his jhuggi and not from Sector 32, Chandigarh as alleged by the prosecution. Investigation had not been honestly conducted in this case. As per the prosecution, darat had been recovered on the basis of disclosure statement suffered by appellant Jia Lal, whereas, an axe had been sent to Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL for short). Some of the prosecution witnesses had stated that a Sickel had been recovered from Jia Lal. Since the liquor vend had been locked from outside, then there was no explanation as to how the complainant had entered the shop.
Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 10Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 Learned counsel for U.T., on the other hand, has submitted that the prosecution had been successful in proving its case. Appellant Lachhman Yadav was working as a driver with the owner of the liquor vend about 5-6 years prior to the occurrence. Appellant Lachhman Yadav, in connivance with the other appellants, had committed the crime in question. Heavy recoveries of cash were effected from appellants Shobh Nath and Jia Lal.
After hearing learned counsel for the appellants as well as learned counsel for U.T. and going through the record available on the file carefully, we are of the considered opinion that the present appeals deserve dismissal.
The present case rests on circumstantial evidence. In 'Manjunath Chennabasapa Madalli versus State of Karnataka', AIR 2007 Supreme Court 2080, it was held as under:-
"It has been consistently laid down by this Court that where a case rests squarely on circumstantial evidence, the inference of guilt can be justified only when all the incriminating facts and circumstances are found to be incompatible with the innocence of the accused or the guilt of any other person. (See Hukam Singh v. State of Rajasthan (AIR 1977 SC 1063); Eradu and Ors v. State of Hyderabad (AIR 1956 SC 316); Earabhadrappa v. State of Karnataka (AIR 1983 SC 446) ; State of U.P. v. Sukhbasi and Ors. (AIR 1985 SC 1224); Balwinder Singh v. State of Punjab (AIR 1987 SC 350); Ashok Kumar Chatterjee v. State of M.P. (AIR 1989 SC 1890). The Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 11 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 circumstances from which an inference as to the guilt of the accused is drawn have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and have to be shown to be closely connected with the principal fact sought to be inferred from those circumstances. In Bhagat Ram v. State of Punjab (AIR 1954 SC 621), it was laid down that where the case depends upon the conclusion drawn from circumstances the cumulative effect of the circumstances must be such as to negative the innocence of the accused and bring the offences home beyond any reasonable doubt."
PW-6 Sameer Sharma @ Raju deposed that he was a partner in Lada liquor group in the year 2000. The main office of the firm was located in SCF No.210-211, Sector 24-D, Chandigarh. The head office of the firm was in SCF No.211, whereas, the liquor shop was in SCF No.210. In August 2001, Kashmir Singh, Pyare Lal, Tilak Raj, Nand Kishore, Roop Lal and Lachhman were employed by their firm. Lada liquor groups had 14 liquor vends in Chandigarh. On 17/ 18.8.2000, instalment with Excise department was to be deposited by them. For this reason, cash collection from all the liquor vends in Chandigarh was kept in the head office. Bundles of 100 currency notes of different denominations were made and the same were initialed by him, Tilak Raj and Kashmir Singh. The shop was closed on 16.8.2000 at about 11 pm. He left the shop along with Tilak Raj and Pyare Lal. Roop Lal and Nand Kishore were left in the head office for safety purposes and they used to sleep in the shop at night Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 12 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 time. On that day, appellant Lachhman Yadav had gone to Patiala for renewal of his driving licence and had not returned till they had closed the liquor vend. He reached the shop in the morning on receipt of information qua murders of Roop Lal and Nand Kishore and robbery. At that time, relatives of the deceased as well as other partners Mohinder Kaur and Amritpal present there. A team of CFSL was also present there. Police inspected the spot. The CFSL team collected samples for investigation purposes. The cash lying scattered on the floor was counted and it came to about ` 13,40,000/-. Appellant Lachhman Yadav had been employed by their firm as a driver about 5-6 years prior to the occurrence. Earlier appellant Lachhman Yadav used to reside in the liquor vend. However, 1 ½ month prior to the occurrence, he had started residing in some tenanted premises. Appellant Lachhman Yadav used to help them in collecting cash from different liquor vends and also for the purpose of cash dealings with bank etc. Taranjit Singh, their partner, who was mainly looking after the business of the firm, had died four months prior to the occurrence and thereafter, his wife Mohinder Kaur was looking after the business. Mewa Lal and Shobh Nath used to visit appellant Lachhman Yadav and due to this reason he knew them. Appellant Lachhman Yadav had proceeded on leave for 5-6 days and had resumed his duty only 3-4 days prior to the occurrence. Despite his telling appellant Lachhman Yadav, who was accompanied by Mewa Lal and Shobh Nath and one more person , that he should go to Patiala in the afternoon but he had left in the morning. The said witness was present at the time of arrest Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 13 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 and recovery of currency notes from appellant Shobh Nath and Jia Lal.
PW-24 Kashmir Singh had corroborated the statement of PW-6.
PW-8 Mohinder Kaur deposed that her husband was running the business under the name and style Lada liquor and after his death she was looking after the business. They had 14 wine shops in Chandigarh. Their workers used to stay at night in SCF 210-211, Sector 24, Chandigarh. During the night of 16/17.8.2000 their workers Roop Lal and Nand Kishore had slept in the said SCF. In the morning of 17.8.2000, she received a phone call qua their murders and robbery. Appellant Lachhman Yadav was working as a driver with them. On verification, it was found that ` 70,39,220/- had been kept in the almirah. Out of the said amount, a sum of ` 13,39,220/- was found scattered in the SCF after the robbery. Thus, the assailants had run away with ` 64,00,000/- after committing murders of Roop Lal and Nand Kishore.
From the above evidence, it is evident that appellant Lachhman Yadav had been employed as a driver by the owners of the liquor vend. Although the prosecution had failed to bring on record documentary proof qua the appointment of appellant Lachhman Yadav as a driver by the owners of the liquor vend but this fact in itself cannot be said to be fatal to the prosecution case. The owners of the liquor vend may not have been maintaining proper records qua their employees. Since the liquor vends were being operated privately, the owners did not consider it necessary to Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 14 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 maintain record qua their employees.
From the statements of the above witnesses, it is duly established that appellant Lachhman Yadav had been appointed as a driver with them. Further from the statement of PW-6 Sameer Sharma, it is evident that on the day of occurrence, appellant Lachhman Yadav had not come to work. It also transpires from the testimony of PW-6 Sameer Sharma and the statement of complainant PW-2 Tilak Raj that appellant Shobh Nath was seen in the company of appellant Lachhman Yadav. This fact, in itself, may not have been sufficient to involve the appellants in the present case but the circumstance established on record by the prosecution qua recoveries of heavy amount of cash from appellant Jia Lal and Shobh Nath lends credence to the statements of PW-2 Tilak Raj, PW-6 Sameer Sharma and PW-24 Kashmir Singh qua involvement of all the appellants in the crime.
Appellant Shobh Nath was arrested on 22.8.2000 from Sector 32, Chandigarh. From the bag carried by appellant Shobh Nath, ` 6,00,000/- were recovered. The said bundles of currency notes were bearing stamp of Lada liquor and were also signed by the employees of the liquor vend. Appellant Shobh Nath was identified by PW-6 Sameer Sharma and was, thereafter, apprehended. On the clue supplied by appellant Shobh Nath, appellant Jia Lal was apprehended from Sector 37, Chandigarh. On the basis of disclosure statement suffered by appellant Jia Lal, ` 48,00,000/- were recovered. The bundles of the said currency notes were also having stamp of Lada liquor and initials of the employees of the vend. Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 15 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 The currency notes were duly identified by PW-6 Sameer Sharma, PW-2 complainant and PW-24 Kashmir Singh.
The argument raised by learned counsel for appellants Shobh Nath and Jia Lal that the recoveries of the currency notes had been falsely foisted on the said appellants fails to find favour with us. It is not believable that the owners of the liquor vend, after suffering robbery, would have again parted with ` 54,00,000/- just to falsely involve the appellants in this case. The currency notes were taken in possession during investigation. An application was moved by Mahender Kaur for release of ` 54,00,000/- to her on superdari. The said application was allowed by the trial Court vide order dated 12.4.2001 and the currency notes were ordered to be released to the applicant on furnishing requisite bond. Thereafter, on furnishing of requisite bond by the applicant, the currency notes were released to her on superdari. Thus, there is no force in the argument raised by learned counsel for the appellants that the currency notes had not been recovered from appellants and hence, the prosecution case was liable to fail.
A perusal of the photographs Ex.PA/2 to Ex.PA/20 shows that appellant Jia Lal had got recovered one suitcase from the disclosed place and from the said suitcase, currency notes were got recovered by him. The said currency notes were released to applicant Mohinder Kaur on an application moved by her. Hence, it cannot be said that in fact, no recovery of currency notes had been got effected by appellant Jia Lal.
Learned counsel for the appellants have placed reliance Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 16 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 on Sunder Pal vs. State of Haryana 2006 (2) RCR (Criminal) 307 to support their argument that since the amount in question had not been produced during trial, the alleged recovery of the said amount was liable to be disbelieved. We have gone through the said decision carefully. However, the facts of the said case are different. In the said case, the recovered currency notes were not available for the perusal of the Court. The recovered currency notes had been handed over to the complainant party without obtaining orders from the Court. The said decision fails to advance the case of the appellants as it is based on its own facts. In the present case, at the time of recovery of currency notes, on the basis of the disclosure statement suffered by appellant Jia Lal, the recovery proceedings were duly photographed and videographed. Thereafter, the recovered currency notes were released to applicant Mohinder Kaur on superdari. Hence, the argument raised by learned counsel for the appellants that no recovery of currency notes had been effected in this case is liable to be rejected.
Learned counsel have further placed reliance on Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai vs. State of Gujarat 2003 (1) RCR (Criminal) 380, wherein it was held as under:-
"For this purpose, if material on record indicates that such articles belong to the complainant at whose house theft, robbery or dacoity has taken place, then seized articles be handed over to the complainant after:--
(1) preparing detailed proper panchnama of such articles;Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 17
Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 (2) taking photographs of such articles and a bond that such articles would be produced if required at the time of trial; and (3) after taking proper security.
In the present case the currency notes were returned to the applicant after submission of requisite bond by her and hence the said decision fails to advance the case of the appellants.
In support of their argument that no independent witness had been joined at the time of recovery and hence, the prosecution case was liable to be disbelieved, learned counsel have placed reliance on Lala Ram and another vs. State 1988 (2) RCR (Criminal) 511. We have gone through the said judgment carefully. However, the said decision fails to advance the case of the appellants. In the present case, the recovery effected from appellant Jia Lal on the basis of his disclosure statement was duly photographed and videographed. PW-23 Amrik Singh, independent witness, though did not support the prosecution case and was declared hostile but during his cross-examination by the learned public prosecutor he has duly identified appellant Jia Lal in photographs Ex.A-2 to Ex.A-20.
In support of their argument that proper investigation had not been conducted in this case , learned counsel for the appellants have placed reliance on Khushia @ Happy vs. State of Punjab 2007 (1) RCR (Criminal) 557, where it was held as under:-
"It is worth noticing that normally clue-less crimes are committed. The factum of a cognizable crime having been Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 18 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 committed is known but neither the identity of the accused is disclosed nor is there any indication available of the witnesses who would be able to furnish useful and relevant evidence. Such offences are the test of wits of the intelligence of an Investigating Officer. A vigilant Investigating Officer well-versed with the techniques of the job, is in a position to collect the threads of evidence finding out of the path which leads to the culprit. The ends, which the Administration of criminal justice serves, are not achieved merely by catching hold of the culprit. An accusation has to be proved to the hilt in a Court of law. The evidence of Investigating Officer given in the Court should have a rhythm explaining step by step how the investigation proceeded leading to detection of the offender and collection of evidence against him. This is necessary to exclude the likelihood of any innocent having been picked up and branded as culprit and then the gravity of the offence arousing human sympathy persuading the mind to be carried away by doubtful or dubious circumstance treating them as of "beyond doubt"
evidentiary value. In this case, the Investigating Officer dealt with the case very casually and remained silent for six days and made no explanation in his statement as to what steps he took during those days to find a passage leading to the culprit and he woke up from the slumber only on 25th of February, 1998 when he arrested the Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 19 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 accused, recorded the statement of Mithu Singh regarding extra judicial confession made before him; recorded the statement of the accused under Section 27 of the Evidence Act and recovered weapon of the offence, on the same day which indicates unfairness in the investigation made by the Investigating Officer." Further learned counsel for the appellants have placed reliance on decision of the Apex Court in State of Haryana vs. Ram Singh 2002 (1) RCR (Criminal) 443, where in, it was held that defence witnesses are also entitled to equal treatment and equal respect as that of prosecution witnesses.
DW-1 Suresh Chand Shukla has deposed that on 21.8.2000, Sub Inspector Jarnail Singh, Sub Inspector Balwan Singh and other police officials had met him at his shop and had enquired about Jia Lal and Mewa Lal. Thereafter, in the evening Jia Lal was brought to the shop of his elder brother's son and he was given beatings and enquiries were made from him qua Mewa Lal. Thereafter, Jia Lal got recovered currency notes in the denomination of ` 100/- and ` 500/- in a suitcase. The police then took Jia Lal as well as the recovered currency notes with them. A report in this regard was published in Hindustan newspaper published from Lucknow, Delhi and Patna that ` 40,00,000/- looted from Chandigarh had been recovered from Amethi. The said news item Mark 'A' was published in the newspaper on 24.8.2000.
Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 20Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 DW-2 Ganga Ram also corroborated the statement of DW-1 qua recovery of currency notes on 21.8.2000 at the instance of Jia Lal from Amethi.
DW-3 Manjit Singh deposed that he had seen Hindustan newspaper mark 'A'. Ex.DW-3/A encircled with red pen had been published in the said paper. In his cross-examination, he deposed that Hindustan paper of 24.8.2000 brought by him from the record was not the same as was in newspaper item Ex.DW-3/A. He also admitted that the details of news item Ex.PW-3/A was not in the newspaper brought by him.
There is no quarrel with the proposition of law that defence witnesses have to be given equal respect as prosecution witness. Similarly, there is no quarrel qua proposition of law that the investigating officer is required to conduct investigation honestly and fairly. However, in the present case, the defence witnesses have failed to prove mark 'A' relied upon by the appellants. Learned counsel for the appellants Shobh Nath and Lachhman, during the course of arguments, has very fairly conceded that mark 'A' news item was not duly proved on record. In these circumstances, though the defence witnesses are entitled to equal respect as prosecution witnesses but the defence witnesses have failed to establish that the currency notes, which were taken away from the liquor vend, had been recovered from Amethi and thereafter, the recovery was falsely foisted on the appellants in Chandigarh. Furthermore, as per the defence witnesses ` 40,00,000/- were recovered from Amethi, whereas, in fact, ` 48,00,000/- were got recovered by appellant Jia Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 21 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 Lal on the basis of his disclosure statement and ` 6,00,000/- were recovered from appellant Shobh Nath at the time of his arrest. The defence version that Sub Inspector Jarnail Singh had gone to Amethi and had recovered the looted cash from there is not established on record.
There is no dispute that Sub Inspector Jarnail Singh had gone to UP with a couple of police officials on 19.8.2000 and had returned back on 21.8.2000 in the morning. The said fact is evident from the cross-examination of PW-25 Inspector J.S.Cheema. The said witness further deposed that on 20.8.2000, he had received information from Sub Inspector Jarnail Singh that Lachhman Yadav, Jia Lal and Mewa Lal were residing with Amrik Singh in Dadu Majra. Thereafter, the house of Amrik Singh was raided but accused were not found present there. Amrik Singh had admitted that Lachhman Yadav had taken a room on rent from him along with 2-3 persons. The room was lying locked. As per this witness, Sub Inspector Jarnail Singh had met him at 10.00 am on 21.8.2000. There is nothing on record to the contrary to substantiate the defence plea that in fact, on 21.8.2000 Sub Inspector Jarnail Singh was present in Amethi and had effected recovery of ` 40,00,000/- at the instance of appellant Jia Lal. Thus, there is nothing to establish on record that the investigation in the present had not been conducted fairly or in a proper manner.
Learned counsel for the appellants have submitted that the weapon of offence, alleged to have been recovered on the basis of the disclosure statement suffered by appellant Shobh Nath, could Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 22 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 not have caused incised wounds. The said argument of the learned counsel is without any force. The weapon recovered on the basis of the disclosure statement suffered by appellant Shobh Nath is a heavy sharp edged weapon and could have caused the injuries suffered by the deceased.
PW-3 Dr.J.R.Chauhan had conducted postmortem examination on the dead body of Nand Kishore along with Dr. Sushil Kumar on 17.8.2000 at 3 pm and had found following injuries on his person:-
"1. An incised wound 14 cm x 2 cm bone deep in the right fronto parietal region.
2. An incised wound 13 x 3 cm bone deep 4 cm below injury No.1.
3. 20 cm x 2 cm incised wound starting from right angle of mandible going to occipital through right pinna bone deep.
4. An incised wound 13 cm x 2 cm bone deep in occipital region.
5. 3 parallel incised wound 9 x 1 cm bone deep in the right parieto occipital occipital region.
6. An incised wound 6 x 1 cm bone deep in the mid occipital region.
7. An incised wound 10 x 4 cm bone deep in left post auricular region.
8. An incised wound 11 x 2 cm bone deep in the nape of neck.Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 23
Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008
9. An incised wound 6 x 1 cm going through the nasal bone.
10. Multiple incised wound, bone deep bearing in size 4 x 2 cm to 3 x 1 cm front of the chest.
11. An incised wound 5 x 3 cm skin deep below left knee.
12. An incised wound skin deep middle of right fore arm on the medial side.
13. An incised wound 5 x 2 cm bone deep on right little finger.
14. An incised wound left side of the neck extending in front just to right of mid line 15 x 8 cm incising skin neck muscles, trachea, esophagus, major blood vessels and passing through cervical vertebra."
In their opinion, the cause of death was shock and haemorrhage due to injuries on vital structure of neck, which was sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature.
On the same day, they had conducted postmortem examination on the dead body of Roop Lal and had found following injuries on his person:-
"1. An incised wound 5 x 3 cm bone deep right sternum border.
2. An incised wound 4 x 2 cm skin deep 2 cm below injury No.1.
3. An incised wound 3 x 2 cm above the right nipple.
4. An incised wound 2 x 1 cm above the right nipple.
5. An incised wound 14 x 1.5 cm starting from the upper Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 24 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 part of the forehead going downwards to the right angle of the mouth, bone deep.
6. An incised wound 12 x 2 cm front of right ear, bone deep.
7. An incised wound on the right side of the neck extending to mid line of the neck, 13 x 7 cm incising skin neck muscles, trachea, esophagus major blood vessels and passing through the cervical vertebrae."
They have further opined that the injuries on the person of the deceased were ante mortem in nature and probable time between injuries and death was instantaneous. Thus, the deceased had suffered numerous incised wounds. The same could have been caused with the weapon recovered from appellant Shobh Nath.
In the present case, the investigating officer had lifted finger prints from the spot but there is no report of the expert qua the said finger prints. The said fact in itself is not fatal to the prosecution case which is duly established from the other evidence on record. The recoveries of heavy amount of cash have been effected from appellants Jia Lal and Shobh Nath. The investigating agency or the prosecution witnesses had no ill will or enmity against the appellants to have falsely involved them in this case. Appellant Lachhman Yadav was working as a driver at the liquor vend and he has committed the crime in connivance with the other appellants. Appellant Lachhman Yadav knew that heavy amount of cash was available in the liquor vend on the day of occurrence as the excise instalment had to be deposited by the firm. Since appellant Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 25 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 Lachhman Yadav was known to deceased Roop Lal and Nand Kishore, he could gain easy entry in the liquor vend. Apparently, due to this reason, no material qua any struggle offered by the deceased was available at the spot. Appellant Lachhman Yadav gained easy entry in the liquor vend with his accomplices and thereafter, committed the crime.
PW-3 Dr.J.R.Chauhan deposed that he had seen the weapon, which was Sickle like, shown to him by the police and had given his opinion that the possibility of injuries caused with the said weapon could not be ruled out. The said weapon was then again sealed with their seal bearing letters 'CMO'. A perusal of Ex.PAQ, report of CFSL, on the other hand, reveals that the weapon was an iron kulhari. As per the said report, blood was detected on the said weapon but further tests pertaining to its human origin could not be carried out as material found was scarce for any further analysis. Ex.PAC is the sketch qua iron darat , which was recovered on the basis of the disclosure statement suffered by appellant Shobh Nath. It appears that the darat has been described as sickle like by the doctor because of its little semi circle shape. The chemical examiner, on the other hand, has described the said weapon as an iron kulhari. The said discrepancy in description of the weapon in the facts and circumstances of the present case cannot be said to be fatal to the prosecution case. We have seen the sketch of the iron darat recovered on the basis of the disclosure statement suffered by appellant Shobh Nath. The doctor could have opined it as sickle like weapon due to its shape. It appears that due to inadvertence or Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 26 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 negligence, it has been described as an iron kulhari by CFSL. Be that as it may, the weapon recovered from appellant Shobh Nath could have caused the injuries suffered by the deceased.
There is also no force in the argument raised by learned counsel for the appellants that in case the door had been locked from outside by PW-6 Sameer Sharma at night, the same could not have been opened by the assailants as the key was not available with them. The said argument of the learned counsel for the appellants is liable to be rejected as the rear door was found to have been bolted from outside by PW-6 Sameer Sharma. There is nothing available on record to suggest that the rear door was also being locked from outside. It appears that the rear door might have been bolted from inside, whereas, the liquor vend must have been locked from the front side. Since appellant Lachhman Yadav was known to the deceased, he got an entry in the liquor vend from the rear door. In the morning the rear door was found bolted from outside and PW- 6 had entered the vend from the rear door.
Investigating Officer PW-25 J.S.Cheema has deposed that it was a sensational case but that in itself would not lead to the inference that the appellants had been falsely involved in this case. The effort of the investigating officer as well as the owner/ employees of the liquor vend was to get the real culprits arrested and face the trial. In the present case, the prosecution has been successful in completing the chain of circumstances which lead to the inference qua guilt of the appellants and negate their false involvement. Appellant Lachhman Yadav was employed as a driver with the liquor Criminal Appeal No.519-DB of 2008 27 Criminal Appeal No.724-DB of 2008 vend and knew about the availability of cash in the vend on the day of occurrence. Appellant Lachhman Yadav along with his other co- appellants planned the robbery. ` 54,00,000/- have been recovered from appellants Jia Lal and Shobh Nath during investigation. There was no occasion for the owners or the investigating agency to have planted such a huge amount in this case to show false recoveries. The cash amount recovered from the said appellants was released to application Mohinder Kaur, owner of the liquor vend, on superdari by the trial Court. The trial Court had, thus, rightly convicted and sentenced the appellants vide judgment and decree dated 23.7.2008/ 26.7.2008. No ground for interference is made out.
Accordingly, the criminal appeals are dismissed.
( JASBIR SINGH) (SABINA)
JUDGE JUDGE
January 23, 2012
anita