Delhi District Court
State vs . Vishav Choudhary @ on 26 March, 2010
IN THE COURT OF MANOJ JAIN
ASJ/SPECIAL JUDGE (NDPS)
OUTER DISTRICT:ROHINI COURTS:DELHI
SC No.: 50/08
STATE Vs. VISHAV CHOUDHARY @
VIPUL CHOUDHARY
S/o Sh. Ravi Karan Singh
R/o H. No. A4/4, 3rd Floor,
Sector15, Rohini, Delhi.
(Presently lodged in District Jail, Rohini)
FIR No.: 328/08
PS: Prashant Vihar
U/Sec. 302 IPC
Date of Institution: 19.09.2008
Date of conclusion of Arguments: 12.03.2010
Date of pronouncement of Judgment: 26.03.2010
JUDGMENT
1 Accused has been indicted by police for murdering his mother.
2 Initially, the investigation took off when at about 2:22 PM on 31.05.08 Police Control Room was alerted by a caller who claimed that threefour persons had entered their house i.e. A4/4, Sector15, Rohini and were beating up mother and had attempted to kill her and that the house had been locked from outside and mother was alone inside the house. Caller was Yash Pal (brother of the accused). Police swung into action and reached there. House was found locked from the outside but the window of the room was found open and through such open window, the police could see the dead body of a lady lying on the floor. Crime team was summoned at the spot. The lock of door of the house was got broken open. The dead body was found to be of Smt. Kailash Kumari. According to the case of prosecution, Ravi Karan Singh (Father of the accused) used to reside at the aforesaid FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 1 of 30 house along with his wife i.e. deceased Kailash Kumari and his son i.e. accused Vishav Chaudhary. That day, only his wife and son i.e. accused Vishav Chaudhary were present at the house. Ravi Karan Singh told the police that he had received a call from his son i.e. accused Vishav Chaudhary that threefour person had entered inside the house and had killed his mother and out of fear, he had fled away from the house. He also told police that on receiving such news, he rushed to his house. Accused also informed Yashpal about the intrusion of such people in his house whereupon Yashpal informed the police and then he along with accused reached the house. They found the main door of the house locked from outside. As per the case of the prosecution, Ravi Karan Singh and his son Yash Pal entered inside the house from the open window but they did not see Kailash Kumari anywhere. Then, they saw a portion of wearing maxi of Kailash Kumari coming out from the palla of bed and when bed was opened, body of Kailash Kumari was found lying inside the box of the bed. They pulled her out in order to see whether she was still alive or not. She was dead by that time. They came out. It was thereafter that the police official reached there and entered inside the house. Some broken bangles were found inside the room and in the kitchen, four steel glasses, having little bit of cold drink, as well as one two liter bottle of Coca Cola was found. Accused was also present outside his house and he was looking in anesthetized condition and, therefore, he was ordered to be taken to BSA Hospital for medical examination. Multiple abrasions over his both wrists were also found. Accused had given history of assault to the attending doctor but when he was brought back at the spot, he told police that he had consumed number of sleeping pills and, therefore, he was again taken to BSA Hospital where his gastric lavage was conducted. Accused was accordingly, admitted in the hospital and case was registered u/s 302 IPC as the case was found to be of homicide. Further necessary exposed that, in fact, it was accused Vishav Chaudhary who had committed murder of his mother Smt. Kailash Kumari and that accused had attempted to mislead the FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 2 of 30 police by claiming that threefour persons had entered inside his house who had killed his mother. According to the allegations made in challan, accused made confession before the police and claimed that he was preparing for competitive examination and on 12.02.08 his result of Delhi Administrative, GradeII had come out and his name did not figure out in merit list and, therefore, he was very tense and was under depression and started taking sleeping pills. On 02.05.08 also, he had consumed sleeping pills and, therefore, his mother was very sad and she also went under depression. He claimed that he loved his mother very much but since he could not succeed and due to his failure, his mother was also feeling disheartened and used to remain dejected, he thought of killing himself and also killing his mother so that his mother also does not remain sad or depressed any more. As per the investigation, accused had purchased tablets of Alparazole and had laced the cold drink with the same. His mother consumed such cold drink and started feeling giddiness and went into slumber. Thereafter, accused tied her hands and legs and covered her face with the help of polythene but when he found that his mother was still breathing, he strangulated her. Thereafter, he himself also consumed such pills and attempted to kill himself by cutting his wrist but could not succeed as he started feeling pain. Then he, in order to save himself, concocted a story and attempted to show that some intruders had entered inside his house and killed his mother. He himself had locked the door from outside and threw the keys as well as the wrapper of the pills used. Those were also recovered by the police during investigation. It is in these circumstances, accused has been arrested and charge sheeted.
3 Charge Sheet was received on allocation by this court on 19.09.08.
4 Accused was charged u/s 302 IPC on 11.02.2009 to which accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 3
of 30
5 Prosecution was directed to adduce evidence and has examined
twenty five witnesses viz. PW1 Pankaj Rangan (neighbour of the accused), PW2 Shashi Bala Rangan (wife of PW1), PW3 Dr. Deepti Bhalla (Doctor who had examined the accused), PW4 Mahesh Gupta (proprietor of the medical store from where the accused had bought sleeping pills), PW5 WHC Madhu Sharma (duty officer), PW6 Trilok Chand (neighbour of accused), PW7 Dr. K. Goel (autopsy surgeon), PW8 Jagmender Sharma (Photographer), PW9 Ct. Suman (officer of PCR), PW10 Rohtash Kumar (Duty Officer), PW11 Manish Kumar (relative of Pankaj Rangan), PW12 Ravi Karan Singh (father of accused), PW13 Ct. Manoj Kumar, PW14 Ct. Akhtar Ali, PW15 Ct. Dalbir Singh (photographer of crime team), PW16 Yash Pal (brother of the accused), PW17 Ct. Ganga Swaroop, PW18 SI Baljeet Singh, PW19 SI Manohar Lal (draftsman), PW20 HC Banwari Lal MHC(M), PW21 Ct. Praveen Kumar, PW22 SI Mahender Singh, PW23 Ct. Krishan Kumar, PW24 Inspector C.M Meena (main investigating officer) and PW25 Dr. Adesh Kumar (forensic expert).
6 Accused, in his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C., pleaded innocence but he did not lead any evidence in his defence.
7 I have heard Ld. Addl. P.P. for the State and Sh. R.S. Mahla, Ld. Defence Counsel and carefully gone through the entire material available on record.
8 Ld. Addl. PP for the state has contended that there is no direct evidence but all the circumstances point towards the guilt of the accused. She has argued that there is bunch of circumstances which categorically points toward the complicity of accused and accused alone.
FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 4
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9 On careful scrutiny of challan, statements u/s 161 Cr.P.C. and
documents on which prosecution has chosen to rely upon, such circumstances can be enumerated as under:
1. On the fateful day, there was no one in the house except the accused and his mother.
2. There is no sign of entry of any outsider or stranger as per the testimony of neighbours.
3. Pet dog of PW1 Pankaj, which used to be tied at the first floor, did not bark that day which shows that no outsider had used the staircase to reach the house of the accused.
4. Accused was having selfinflicted injuries on his both wrists and had also consumed pills which clearly hints that he wanted to finish himself after killing his mother.
5. Accused had consumed similar type of sleeping pills and had tried to commit suicide as his wrists were found cut.
6. His conduct speaks for itself as if at all some outsiders had entered his house and had started beating his mother, then he would not have left her alone and would have rather tried to save his mother whom he loved very much.
7. He did not raise any hue and cry despite the fact that his house was located in busy residential locality.
8. Outer door was found locked and, keys of the lock were recovered at instance of accused.
9. At the instance of accused, strip of sleeping pills was also recovered and drug content was found to be the same in the Viscera ( of the victim) as well as in the gastric lavage (of the accused), which clearly implies involvement of accused.
10. False story woven by him becomes another circumstance against him.
10 When statement u/s 313 Cr.P.C. of accused was recorded and it was asked from him whether he wanted to say anything else or not, he came up with following answer:
I am innocent. I was never in depression and never used to take any such medicine. My jail record is also very clean and I FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 5 of 30 was never ever treated for any depression or anxiety. On that day, three persons had come to our house at about 10.45 AM or so. My mother told me that they were from her village and I went out to bring cold drink and Namkeen for serving them. I purchased the same from a nearby shop and then I came inside the house and I poured Pepsi in the glasses. My mother told me to talk to them as she wanted to complete the washing work but they all insisted that they wanted to talk to her. Then they all started quarrelling with my mother claiming that she had not done right by interfering in their some work. I came out of the room and stood in the balcony and then I heard some shouts from inside and then I saw them beating my mother. They all slapped me also. I got afraid very much and out of fear I ran away from there. I returned back to my house after 30 minutes and then I saw that all the articles of the house were lying scattered. Those three persons were already there and I went inside and I saw them strangulating my mother.
They again threatened me to run away. I could feel that perhaps they had already virtually killed my mother. Then I left the spot as I was feeling lot of ghabrahat. Thereafter I called up my brother and told him about everything. I am innocent.
11 Sh. R.S. Mahla, Ld. Defence counsel has refuted the contentions raised by State. He has contended that since the police was completely clueless about the actual offenders, in order to show that the case has been solved, they chose accused as easy prey and implicated him. He has argued that police did not investigate the matter properly and did not make any attempt to nab the actual offenders who had come to the house of the accused that day. He has also argued that version of accused is trustworthy and believable and he had seen 34 persons of Village Bilsuri quarreling with his mother. It has been argued that accused could not dare to confront them and out of fear, he rushed out of his house and immediately informed his brother and father about the aforesaid fact. But by the time they could reach the spot, his mother had been killed by those persons. He has argued that moreover there is no motive with accused and it has not been explained by the prosecution as to why he would kill his mother whom he loved very FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 6 of 30 much. He has also contended that investigation is faulty and accused never made any disclosure statement. On the other hand, his signatures were obtained on some blank papers and even his brother and father were made to sign on several memos later on.
12 Undoubtedly, there is no direct evidence before us. It has to be seen from the various circumstances whether it is the accused and accused only who is accountable for the murder in question. 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. In other words, there must be a complete chain of evidence not leaving any reasonable ground for a conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused. Court has to satisfy itself to the following aspects: (1) The circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is to be drawn should be fully established. The circumstances concerned 'must' or 'should' and not 'may be' established;
(2) The facts so established should be consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused, that is to say, they should not be explainable on any other hypothesis except that the accused is guilty;
(3) The circumstances should be of a conclusive nature and tendency;
(4) These should exclude every possible hypothesis except the one to be proved; and (5) There must be a chain of evidence so complete as not to leave any reasonable ground for the conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused and must show that in all human probability the act must have been done by the accused.
13 Prosecution has examined 25 witnesses in all. Categorywise classification of witnesses can be said to be as under:
1. Relatives of accused as well as of deceased:
(i) PW12 Ravi Karan (Husband of deceased) FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 7 of 30
(ii) PW16 Yashpal (son of deceased)
2. Neighbours of accused:
(i) PW1 Pankaj Rangan
(ii) PW2 Shashi Bala Rangan
(iii) PW6 Sh. Trilok Chand
3. Police officials who had visited the spot:
i. PW8 Sh. Jagmender Sharma (private photographer) ii. PW15 Ct. Dalbir Singh (Photographer of Crime Team) iii. PW17 Ct. Ganga Swaroop iv. PW18 SI Baljeet Singh (Incharge of Crime team) v. PW19 SI Manohar Lal (Draftsman) vi. PW21 Ct. Praveen Kumar vii. PW22 SI Mahender Singh viii. PW24 Inspector C.M. Meena (Investigating Officer) Besides aforesaid police officials, PW12 Ravi Karan and PW16 Yashpal had also entered inside the house after the occurrence.
4. Doctors and Forensic Experts:
(i) PW3 Dr. Deepti Bhalla (doctor who had examined the accused)
(ii) PW7 Dr. K. Goel (Autopsy Surgeon)
(iii) PW25 Dr. Aadesh Kumar
5. Formal police officials :
(i) PW5 WHC Madhu Sharma (He had recorded DD No. 9A)
(ii) PW9 Ct. Suman (official from PCR)
(iii) PW10 HC Rohtash Kumar (Duty Officer)
(iv) PW13 Ct. Manoj Kumar (police official who had taken the sample to FSL)
(v) PW14 Ct. Akhtar Ali (DD Writer)
(vi) PW20 HC Banwari Lal (MHC(M))
6. Independent Witnesses:
FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 8
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(i) PW4 Mahesh Gupta (from whom the accused had purchased the tablets)
(ii) PW11 Manish 14 Let me now see whether prosecution has been able to prove the entire chain of circumstances.
ACCUSED WAS ALONE WITH HIS MOTHER THAT DAY 15 It is not disputed that deceased along with her husband and accused used to reside at house no. A4/4, Third Floor, Sector15, Rohini, Delhi. Defence admits such fact. PW12 Ravi Karan Singh happens to be the father of accused and he has emphatically deposed that on 31.05.08, he had left his house for his office situated at Badli and his wife and youngest son Vishav Chaudhary were at house when he left the house. He deposed that after reaching his office, he had talked to his wife on phone between 10 am and 10:45 am who told him that she was washing clothes with the help of washing machine and he asked her to wait till 2 pm as he wanted to help her in washing the clothes but she claimed that there was no problem and she would wash the clothes all by herself. He further deposed that between 1:20 pm and 1:25 pm, he received a telephonic call from his son that 2/3 persons had entered his house and out of fear, he had fled from there. PW16 Yashpal is in Delhi Police. He is, however, residing at a different place and he has deposed that on 31.05.08, he had talked to his mother over the telephone in noon and he had also talked to his brother and they both were sounding normal and happy when he talked to them and his mother even asked him to visit them with family. He further deposed that at about 1 pm or 1:30 pm, his wife informed him that there was a phone call and he took the receiver and found that the phone call was of accused who was sounding perplexed and was weeping and told that three persons from Village Bilsuri FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 9 of 30 had come to his house and were strangulating his mother and were killing her. Statement of accused was recorded u/s 313 Cr.P.C. and he also did not dispute the fact that on that day, he and his mother were alone in the house. In response to question no. 4, he admitted that it was correct that on 31.05.08, his father had left the house and he and his mother had alone at the house. Thus, this circumstance stands proved that there was no one in the house except the accused and his mother.
WHETHER ANYONE ELSE HAD COME THERE THAT DAY OR NOT ?
16 House of accused is situated at third floor and PW1 Pankaj Rangan is occupant of second floor of the same building. He was away to his work that day and had left his house at 8 am. His wife is also working and she had also left house for her work at 8 am and they had dropped their youngest son in crèche and their elder son was alone at the house with their pet dog Woody was also at the house. They deposed that they had tied Woody at their main gate of their house. PW1 Pankaj Rangan has deposed that Woody always used to bark whenever it used to notice any stranger. Their main door is situated just at the stair case. They deposed that since the dog had not barked, there was no possibility of any unknown person using the staircase to reach to the house of accused. PW1 Pankaj Rangan and his wife i.e. PW2 Shashi Bala have undoubtedly deposed that the dog had not barked that day but fact remains that their such revelation of fact is based on hearsay. They both were away to their respective workplaces. PW1 Pankaj Rangan had received a call from father of the accused and then he had called up his wife to enquire about the health of Kailash Kumari (since deceased) as according to her husband, Kailash Kumari was not well. Thereafter, his wife Shashi Bala told him that she was about to reach back as she was on her way from her office to residence. She deposed that she was getting repeated calls in this regard from her husband which agitated her.
FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 10
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She also deposed that she had received a call from father of accused as well and then she told him to enquire in this regard directly from accused only and upon that he gave her the telephone number of accused. She then called up accused who told him that some people had killed his mother and she had been put inside the room. It was thereafter only that she had reached back at her house and found that murder had been committed. I am of the considered opinion that both these witnesses have though supported the case of prosecution yet their testimony, legally speaking, does not serve the real purpose to show that no stranger had gained any entry. They both had claimed that their elder son was alone at the house. To some extent, the testimony of such elder son would have been useful. Moreover, though the dog is considered to be a very faithful animal yet it cannot be always and always inferred with complete exactitude that since the dog had not barked that day, no stranger had used the staircase in order to reach the house of the accused.
17 Testimony of PW6 Trilok Chand also does not serve any real purpose. He did not come up with certain details and, therefore, he was even cross examined by the prosecution with the permission of the court. According to him, he was present at his house that day and he had received a telephonic call from wife of Pankaj Rangan who was enquiring whether any incident had taken place there or not. He pleaded his ignorance and after about one hour, wife of Pankaj Rangan came there and when they went upstairs, the door of the room of accused was found to be locked from outside and, therefore, they returned. Later on, police had also reached at the spot. In his crossexamination, it was suggested to him by the prosecution that he had peeped inside the room through the window and he had seen that the articles lying scattered inside that room and he answered that it was possible. In his crossexamination, he claimed that he had gone to school at 11 am to attend ParentTeacher Meeting and he returned back at 12:30 noon FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 11 of 30 and he was taking rest in the inner room of his house. He also claimed that he did not hear the barking of the pet dog of Pankaj Rangan but fact remains that since he himself had claimed that he was taking rest in the inner room of the house, it was not perhaps possible for him to have heard any dog bark. As already noticed above, factum of barking of dog does not really hold the key.
18 However, circumstance regarding entry of any outsider is not confined to the testimony of neighbours. I have to see the stand of accused as he is the one who had first claimed that 34 persons had entered his house and were killing his mother. According to prosecution, it's a concoction and he manufactured a false story in order to wriggle out of the murder of his mother. PW9 Ct. Suman was posted in Police Control Room and she has deposed that at 2:20 pm, she had received a telephonic call and the call had been made from number 9868968433 and the caller had claimed that 34 persons had come to his house i.e. A4/4, Third Floor, Sector15, Rohini, Delhi and had done "maarpeet" (quarrel) with his mother and were trying to kill her. Caller also informed that they had locked the room and the mother was inside the room. Said mobile phone was of Yashpal and which is not disputed. Defence also admits the aforesaid fact. When accused was examined u/s 313 Cr.P.C., this circumstance was put to him and he claimed that said mobile number was of Yashpal and he himself had informed him about the aforesaid fact and, thereafter, he might have informed the police. As per accused, three persons had come to his house at 10:45 am or so and his mother told him that they were from her Village and he went out to bring cold drink and Namkeen for serving them. He further claimed that when he came back to the house and poured Pepsi in the glasses, his mother asked him to talk to them as she wanted to complete the washing work but they all insisted that they wanted to talk to her and then they all started quarreling with his mother claiming that she had not done FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 12 of 30 right by interfering in their some work. He further claimed that he then came out of room and stood in the balcony and saw them beating his mother. They had also slapped him and out of fear, he ran away. He further claimed that he returned back to his house after 30 minutes and saw that all the articles of the house were lying scattered and those persons were strangulating her mother and he was again threatened to run away and, therefore, he left the spot again out of fear and called up his brother and told him everything. As per accused, quarrel did not finish in a flash as according to accused, when he returned back to house after 30 minutes, all intruders were still there and strangulating his mother. The call which has been made by his brother to the police was at 2:20 pm. This long hiatus has not been explained by the defence and it was supposed to be elucidated by the defence. Moreover, as per the Crime Team, no other finger prints could be lifted from the spot and, therefore, there is virtually no chance of anyone else coming there and quarreling with Kailash Kumari or killing her. Accused has also claimed that all those persons were from the native village of his mother and they all were claiming that she had not done right by interfering in their work. Her husband was perhaps the best person who could have thrown some light whether, at all, there was any dispute between his wife and persons of her village. On this score, rather testimony of PW12 Ravi Karan is completely quiet. In his entire examinationinchief, he did not even murmur even a single word that there was any sort of such dispute. In his crossexamination, he claimed that the relation between his wife and his son were not strained and there was no property dispute between them. He also claimed that his wife had no symptom of anxiety or depression. PW16 Yashpal has also not stated anything in this regard and this shows it to be case of madeup tale.
19 There is one more startling aspect of the case which also indicates that accused has come up with a bogus story. According to accused, 34 FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 13 of 30 persons had entered inside his house and were quarreling with his mother. He, out of fear, fled away and thereafter, he informed his brother and father. If at all, he had found that all those persons were quarreling with his mother, he would have immediately intervened. He claimed that he saw the quarrel from balcony and he was slapped as well and, thereafter, he came out of his house. He could have, at that point of time, informed the police or his brother and father. He was, after all, residing in a busy residential locality and if he had shouted for help, the neighbourers would have certainly collected there for his help. His conduct speaks for itself and shows the hollowness in the story propounded by the defence.
20 Ravi Karan was away to his workplace and after he was informed about the incident by accused, in order to ascertain as to what had happened, he called up PW1 Pankaj Rangan. PW1 Pankaj Rangan has deposed that father of accused was enquiring about the health of his wife as she was unwell. This is indeed baffling. It is nobody's case that Kailash Kumari was unwell that day. She was rather busy in household choir and had been busy in washing the clothes even as per her husband and son Yashpal. I am not able to find out any justified reason as to why the caller i.e. the father of accused had asked Pankaj Rangan to enquire about the health of his wife who was perfectly normal that day. If at all his son had told him that 34 persons had entered his house and had killed his mother then he should have immediately told such fact even to Pankaj Rangan. Moreover, it is not made clear by PW16 Yashpal as to what made him call the police after more than one hour of his getting information from accused. He also does nothing logical. A Delhi Police official is also found to be unmoved. Reason is perceptible. He knew the story woven by accused was fake or should I say that even Yashpal tried to screen his brother and got recorded false information simply in order to save his brother. It might be possible that the information was got recorded in a calculated manner so FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 14 of 30 that the accused is able to get away from the clutches of law. Be that as it may, I do not want to extend this issue of role of Yashpal any further.
21 There is series of telephonic calls but it is really surprising as to why the investigating agency did not choose to collect all the relevant details. Neither such call records were collected nor was any effort made to get the same proved. On careful perusal of record, it is, however, noticed that police had collected call details of mobile of accused but for reasons best known to the prosecution, no necessity was felt of citing the concerned service provider as witness. Certified record was also not procured. These calls would have certainly reflected as to when accused called up his brother for the first time and after what interval, his brother informed the police. Call details of Shashi Bala Rangan were also not collected. Fortunately, omission in this regard does not seem to be fatal at all.
INJURIES ON THE PERSON OF ACCUSED 22 As per the evidence appearing on record, accused had first of all contacted his brother Yashpal. His brother Yashpal has deposed that when he had received the call from accused, accused was sounding perplexed and was weeping. At that time, accused simply claimed that three persons from Village Bilsuri had come their house and were killing his mother. He also told that out of fear, he had fled from there. His brother Yashpal then picked him up from DC Chowk, Sector13, Rohini and then they both reached the house. He also deposed that his father had also reached by that time along with one Manish Kumar and then he had made a phone call to the police. He then deposed that he and his father entered the house from the window and then they found the dead body lying inside the diwan (box bed). They had taken out the body from the box. Thereafter, the lock was broken by the police and the police entered the room. I take a little pause FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 15 of 30 here. Yashpal was in Delhi Police and though the accused was his real brother it was not appropriate on his part to have entered the room without any neutral police official. After all, PCR Van was also stationed there if he is to be believed. He should not have ventured into the act of entering the house without local police or without the officials of PCR. This was very important for the purposes of preservation of spot. It seems that due to overanxiety or enthusiasm or his being extraconcerned about the well being of the mother, he rushed into his house. Fortunately, his such misstep does not prove to be damaging to the case of prosecution.
23 In his further examination, Yashpal has admitted that his younger brother i.e. accused, who was also at the spot was found perplexed and when the police enquired as to who else was present at the house along with his mother, he informed the police that accused was present with his mother and thereafter, the accused was taken into custody and he was told that his brother was being taken to BSA Hospital. He also deposed that later on he learnt that accused had confessed his guilt and he even received a call in this regard from ACP of Shalimar Bagh. PW12 Ravi Karan (father of accused) has also deposed that when he reached at the spot along with Manish Kumar, he found the window of their house opened and in the meanwhile, accused came along with Yashpal and PCR also reached there. He simply claimed that accused was, later on, taken away by the police officials but he did not know as to where he had been taken. In his cross examination, he also denied that it was wrong to suggest that accused was feeling giddiness and, therefore, he was sent to hospital. It seems to me that father of accused has been able to overcome the trauma of death of his wife and he probably now wants to save his son. He has not wholeheartedly supported the case of prosecution for that very reason only. He and Yashpal must have seen the cutwrists of accused but they were hardly concerned. They did not make any enquiry from him at any point of time.
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24 PW22 SI Mahender was posted at Police Post, Sector16, Rohini and
he had reached at the spot along with Ct. Ganga Swaroop and they had noticed the dead body lying near the wooden diwan in the room. Naturally, by that time, the body had already been taken out by Yashpal and his father from the boxbed. He further deposed that Additional SHO as well as SHO/Inspector C.M. Meena reached at the spot and Crime Team also reached at the spot and hammer was provided by Manish with the help of which SI Baljeet, Incharge of Crime Team had broken open the lock. He further deposed that, in between, it was noticed that there was a boy in the crowd who was looking semiunconscious and he had taken that boy to BSA Hospital. He is referring to accused. He deposed that after getting the accused medically examined when, he along with accused returned to the spot, accused told that he had consumed heavy amount of tablets due to which he was feeling unconscious and, therefore, as per the direction of senior officials, accused was again taken to BSA Hospital and accused was admitted there. PW24 Inspector C.M. Meena has also deposed on the same lines.
25 Accused was brought to BSA Hospital where he was examined by Dr. Deepti Bhalla. Dr. Bhalla has deposed that she examined accused and accused had himself narrated the history of assault upon him. She did not find any sign of loss of consciousness, vomiting, ENT bleeding etc. and on examination, she found multiple abrasions (? selfinflicted) over both the wrists and lower aspect of both the forearms (flexor aspect). MLC has been proved as Ex.PW3/A. She deposed that at 6 pm same day, accused was again brought by Ct. Rohtash and patient i.e. accused had alleged that he had ingested some unknown substance (? approximately 10 tablets of alprax tablets on that day at around 1 pm). Such history was given by accused himself. His gastric lavage was got conducted and sample was sealed and handed over to Investigating Officer. MLC has been proved as Ex.PW3/C. In FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 17 of 30 her crossexamination, she has very categorically claimed that since the injuries on wrist were superficial in nature, she could gather that those were selfinflicted injuries. She admitted that all the superficial injuries could not be labelled as selfinflicted injuries.
26 The most important aspect of the medical examination of accused remains the fact that accused himself had given the history of assault and consumption of alprax. He was not accompanied by any of his family members. He has not bothered to explain at all as to why he had consumed sleeping pills and who was responsible for the cut marks on his wrist. Before the doctor, he claimed that he was assaulted. But accused has contradicted himself as in his statement u/s 313 Cr.P.C. he said that he had never told the doctor that the injuries were outcome of any assault. He rather claimed that he had told the doctor that the cutmarks were 2/3 days old. If that was really so, suggestion in this regard should have been put to the doctor but there is no such suggestion at all which shows that the stand of accused taken u/s 313 Cr.P.C. is bogus. Moreover, MLC Ex PW3/A reveals that dressing was done and betadine was applied which confirms that wounds were fresh. Dr. Deepti has also deposed that first aid was given. There was no other injury on the person of accused except aforesaid wristcut and for those injuries, he was given treatment. If the injuries were old, there would not have been any need of first aid and dressing. Moreover, his father and brother have also not uttered anything about any old injury. According to Ld. APP, after killing his mother, accused tried to finish himself as well and, therefore, he tried to cut his wrist but later on, he concocted a story. The blade, which had been used by him for cutting his wrist, was later on thrown by him and during investigation, the same could not be recovered. Pointing Out Memo has been proved by prosecution as Ex.PW21/A. Thus the apparent fresh self inflicted injuries on both the wrists of the accused could have been explained by the accused alone but the accused has not been able FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 18 of 30 to give any satisfactory reply. On the other hand, he tried to mislead the investigating agency as well as the concerned Medical Officer by claiming that he had been assaulted by someone. It, therefore, becomes apparent that accused himself is the author of these injuries appearing on his wrists. This circumstance goes in support of prosecution.
CONSUMPTION OF SLEEPING PILLS 27 As per the case of prosecution, accused had used Alprazolam tablets (Alpraquil 0.5). According to prosecution, tablets of Alpraquil 0.5 were put by him in the cold drink which he served to his mother and similar tables were consumed by him as well. At the instance of accused, empty strips of the tablets were also recovered. The viscera of deceased was preserved after postmortem and was sent to forensic laboratory. Since the accused had also himself given the history of consumption of such pills, his stomach was washed out and after gastric lavage, stomach contents were appropriately sealed and were sent to forensic laboratory. I have the benefit of report of forensic expert. PW25 Dr. Adesh Kumar has proved his report as Ex.PW24/J and he found benzodiazepines group of drugs in the viscera of the deceased as well as in the gastric lavage of the accused. This is a very strong circumstance against the accused. He had told the attending doctor that he himself had consumed the pills. Such fact has not been discredited by the defence in any manner whatsoever. Accused tried to come up with evasive answer and claimed in his statement u/s 313 Cr.P.C. that he had not consumed any such pill. There is no suggestion to the concerned doctor that she had not recorded the history of accused properly. Defence counsel has argued that both mother and son had the similar breakfast and there is every chance of getting similar substance inside their body and therefore, there is nothing unusual. We are here not talking about any poisonous substance contained in any food article at all. We are here concerned with a drug and FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 19 of 30 it can find its way inside our body when drug as such is consumed. Moreover, it's nobody's case that any article of food was adulterated. Said contention of defence is thus meritless.
28 I have seen the crossexamination of Dr. Deepti Bhalla. It was asked from her as to what was the impact time of such medicine and she claimed that it depended on the strength of the alprax and also that it varied from person to person. Sh. Mahla has contended that there is no question of accused consuming such pills as if at all he had consumed the pills at 1 pm or so, the drug would have taken its effect and he would not have been in conscious state when he was taken to hospital second time i.e. at 6 pm. His such contention is not supported by any medical data. Moreover, I agree with the answer given by Dr. Deepti Bhalla. It naturally depends upon the capacity and stamina of an individual. For a young boy like accused, there was every chance of delay in impact time. It cannot be said that since till 6 pm, accused was fully conscious, he had not consumed any such pill or not.
29 Alprazolam is a shortacting drug of the benzodiazepine class. It is primarily used to treat moderate to severe anxiety disorders and panic attacks and is used as an adjunctive treatment for anxiety associated with moderate depression. Benzodiazepines are among the most frequently prescribed drugs worldwide. Pure benzodiazepine overdoses usually induce a mild to moderate central nervous system depression. Deep coma requiring assisted ventilation is rare. The severity of the CNS depression is influenced by the dose, the age of the patient and his clinical status prior to the ingestion, and the coingestion of other CNS depressants.
30 Be that as it may, fact remains that accused was able to tolerate the drugoverdose. Moreover, when forensic opinion confirms the presence of such drug content in his stomach, then it becomes incumbent on accused to FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 20 of 30 explain why he was compelled to take the same. Such special circumstance is in his exclusive knowledge alone and only he could have answered. His bald denial does not serve any purpose.
RECOVERY OF KEY AT THE INSTANCE OF ACCUSED 31 The door of the house of accused was found locked from outside and the lock was broken open with the help of hammer which was provided by Manish. There is no dispute with respect to such fact at all. As per the request made by defence counsel, I checked the lock as well as the key in order to see whether the key was of that very lock or not and it was found that key was of the same lock. There is also found to be slight dent marks on the lock which establishes use of hammer. When hammer is used, it is not always necessary that the lock would break in two. Due to the force or pressure applied, the lock can get unlocked without getting actually broken. Be that as it may, fact remains that the key recovered at the instance of accused is of the same lock. Seizure memo in this regard has been proved as Ex.PW21/C. After the accused was discharged from the hospital, he led the police party to his house and took them to the room where the diwan (bed box) was lying and claimed that he had thrown out the key from the other window. The police officials scaled the adjacent wall of the house and the key was found lying on the chajja and key was brought down with the help of a bamboo. Inspector C.M. Meena and Ct. Krishan Kumar have fully supported the case of prosecution in this regard and there is nothing before me to disbelieve such recovery of key at the instance of accused. Sh. Mahla has contended that at the time of such recovery, the police could have easily joined public witnesses but nothing of that sort has been done which shows that even the key was planted. Indubitably, it would have been much better if the police had able to associate some independent persons but simultaneously it cannot be lost sight of the fact that people are generally FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 21 of 30 reluctant and hesitant and they rarely associate themselves with such type of investigation. Inspector C.M. Meena has deposed that when they reached at the house of accused at 6 pm that day, they met some ladies there who were relatives of accused and he had also met grandfather of accused on the ground floor. He also volunteered that grandfather of accused was furious as he claimed that he would not allow his grandson to go upstairs. He admitted that he did not ask those relatives of accused to join the investigation. There was already a tragedy in the house and such relatives were already under gloom and it was not expected that even otherwise, if asked, they would have joined the investigation. Fact, however, remains that nonjoining of independent witnesses does not make the recovery doubtful.
RECOVERY OF EMPTY STRIPS 32 According to prosecution, after the accused had committed offence in question, he had thrown the empty strips of the tablets in the vacant plot adjacent to his house. Inspector C.L. Meena as well as Ct. Krishan Kumar has deposed on these lines. PW24 Inspector C. M. Meena has deposed that accused had got recovered the empty wrappers of tablets from the open plot no. A4/3, Sector15, Rohini and Memo has been proved as Ex.PW21/D. To the similar effect is the testimony of Ct Krishan Kumar. These two empty strips have been proved by the prosecution as Ex.P10 collectively. It would be also worthwhile to mention that such strips were sent to forensic laboratory but since there was no tablet in the wrapper, these strips did not prove to be useful to the prosecution. Fact remains that recovery in this regard stands proved and such recovery was made at the instance of accused and, therefore, is admissible in evidence.
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PURCHASE OF MEDICINE FROM PW4 MAHESH GUPTA
33 According to prosecution, said strips had been purchased by accused
from PW4 Mahesh Gupta. I have seen the testimony of PW4 Mahesh Gupta. He has deposed that he had sold the capsule Maxirish (10 in number) and tablet Alpraquil 0.5 (20 in number) to Vipul Chaudhary as referred by Dr. Sarin Chandra and the medicines were sold on 26.05.08. Carbon copy of the bill was retained by him and the original was returned to customer i.e. accused and the carbon copy was handed over to the police which was seized by the police. Seizure memo has been proved in this regard.
34 However, I am of the opinion that his testimony does not serve real purpose. There are few reasons behind that. Firstly, it has not been made clear by the prosecution as to how PW4 Mahesh Gupta knew accused Vishav Chaudhary beforehand. In his statement u/s 161 Cr.P.C., he claimed that he knew Vishav Chaudhary beforehand as he used to purchase medicines from him. Such fact is mentioned in the end and the manner in which it has been recorded, smacks of interpolation. Such interpolation is not in good taste. In his entire examinationinchief, Mahesh did not utter even a single word to the effect that he knew accused already and State also did not choose to grill him. In such a situation, how he really identified accused is anybody's guess? Secondly, any medical store sells medicines to hundreds of customers on daily basis. It's a store situated in busy locality of Delhi. PW4 Mahesh Gupta admitted in his deposition that he used to sell medicines with bill always. The bill in question is of 26.05.08 and he admitted that as per the bill book, no other medicine was sold to anyone else that day. This is hardly believable that a chemist would sell only one medicine. Therefore, the bill book in question cannot be accepted as genuine one. Thirdly, the relevant bill has been proved as Ex.PW4/A and the batch number of Alpraquil has been mentioned as S2G7R (the batch number is not fully legible). However, in order to see as to what was the batch number on the FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 23 of 30 empty strips, I called for the case property and it was found that the batch number on the empty strip was 008B8ABB. Thus, the batch number does not match and, therefore, the prosecution has not been able to prove that the strips in question had been purchased by the accused from the medical store of PW4 Mahesh Gupta.
35 However, to me, such fact is not a material fact. What is important is the recovery of strips? It is hardly of any significance as to from where such medicine was purchased or whether the chemist was in a position to show the bill or to identify such customer. Medicines are normally found in every household and every individual cannot be expected to be in possession of bill showing purchase of medicines. It is also hard reality that customers rarely demand bill from chemists. Here, strips were recovered at the instance of the accused and such fact has been duly proved and it really does not weaken the case of prosecution even if prosecution has failed to show that these were purchased from the medical store of PW4 Mahesh Gupta.
BILL OF COKE AND NAMKEEN 36 Investigating agency again wasted its energy on this aspect of the case. Even if there was no bill with respect to such articles, the prosecution case was not going to suffer at all. Investigating agency came up with a story that when the accused was apprehended, he was carrying a bill pertaining to purchase of those articles and such bill was seized by the police and it is also a circumstance against accused. I also not inclined to believe such bill. Reasons are various. Firstly, it is not at all believable that the accused would dare to carry such bill in his pocket. Bill has been proved as Ex.P9 and is of 30.05.08. Incident is of 31.05.08 and it would be hardly convincing that accused would be carrying a proof of his involvement or complicity even on the next day. Secondly, the bill is even otherwise a FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 24 of 30 duplicate bill and the prosecution has not been able to elaborate as to how the duplicate bill was there with the accused. Moreover, the bill in question could have been proved by the concerned seller i.e. M/s Subhiksha Trading Store. It was situated in Sector9, Rohini but the investigating agency did not produce any evidence to show that such bill was in fact issued by said seller. Moreover, said bill was with the accused and according to seizure memo Ex.PW12/D, accused was carrying the same with him and it was taken out from the pocket of his wearing pants. Naturally, then it would have been in a folded condition but a bare glance of bill Ex.P9 would show to the contrary. I am, therefore, not inclined to believe the prosecution story with respect to the recovery of bill. But such fact is, again, very inconsequential and does not cause any dent on the case of prosecution.
CAUSE OF DEATH 37 PW7 Dr. K. Goel is the postmortem surgeon and he has proved his report Ex.PW7/A. His testimony is unrebutted and as per his report, the cause of death was asphyxia consequent upon manual strangulation (throttling). All injuries were found to be antemortem in nature and injury no. 1 i.e. injury on the neck was found caused by manual grip and such manual pressure over the neck was sufficient to cause death in ordinary course of nature. Admittedly, the deceased had been administered pills as well and the trace of such drug was found in the viscera but the death was due to strangulation i.e. much before the drug could have taken its impact. There are two more injuries which are in the shape of bruises and abrasions but these are evidently insignificant. Unrebutted testimony of Dr. K. Goel clearly indicates that the cause of death is asphyxia consequent upon manual strangulation.
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INVESTIGATION DONE AT THE SPOT ON THE FATEFUL DAY
38 PW24 Inspector C.M. Meena is the Investigating Officer and he has
fully supported the case of prosecution and has proved the relevant documents which had been prepared by him during investigation. When he reached at the spot, he met Ct. Ganga Swaroop and other staff of Police Post Sector16, Rohini. He claimed that the door of the room was locked from outside and the left side window of the room was lying open and was without grill and when he peeped through the window, he noticed that there was a diwan and half portion of diwan was open and one female dead body was lying outside the diwan exactly near the diwan and he also claimed that the articles of the room were also lying scattered. He noticed that on the slab of the kitchen, there were four steel glasses and one bottle of 2 liters of Coke. He summoned Crime Team. He deposed that accused was present there and was sitting outside the room and was not in the full senses and there were cut marks on both the wrists of accused. He also deposed that Crime Team reached at the spot and SI Baljeet, Incharge of Crime Team came with photographer and fingerprint proficient. He also claimed that even a private photographer had also been called by the police staff of PP Sector16. He also deposed that Manish had brought the hammer and the lock of the room was broken open and the lock was seized. Seizure memo of lock has been proved as Ex.PW11/A and the lock has been identified as Ex.P8. He has also deposed that Crime Team entered the room and took the photographs of the room from different angles and fingerprints proficient could not lift any chance prints. He also deposed that one polythene was found lying under the slab of kitchen which was containing the torn pieces of maxi (gown). He further deposed that he made endorsement on DD No. 19A and sent the same through Ct. Ganga Swaroop for the registration of case. Site plan was prepared at the instance of father of accused and such site plan has been proved as Ex.PW24/B. Ct. Ganga Swaroop returned at FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 26 of 30 the spot with copy of FIR and original rukka and thereafter, IO lifted and seized glasses and the Coke bottle. He deposed that the Coke, which was lying in four steel glasses, was separately put in four plastic small bottles. Seizure memo has been proved as Ex.PW12/A and the Coke bottle has been proved as Ex.P5 and the plastic bottles, in which the contents were put, have also been duly identified by him. Polythene was containing the pieces of maxi which were having blood stains and these pieces have been also proved as Ex.PW12/B and such pieces have been also identified by the witness. Broken pieces of bangles were also recovered from near the dead body and seizure memo in this regard has been proved as Ex.PW12/C. He has also deposed that SI Mahender returned at the spot along with accused and produced one sealed bottle containing gastric lavage and seizure memo has been proved as Ex.PW22/A. There is no dispute regarding the identification of the dead body and the inquest proceedings. After postmortem, Ct. Krishan Kumar, who was in the hospital for preservation of dead body, handed over three sealed pullandas having seal of hospital and those were taken into possession vide memo Ex.PW23/A. 39 PW18 SI Baljeet, Incharge of Crime Team has also supported the case of prosecution and has proved his report Ex.PW18/A. He also explained that fingerprint proficient tried to lift finger prints but no chance prints could be lifted. Sh. Mahla has contended that such fingerprint proficient should also have been cited as witness. It would have been much better he had also been cited as witness but since no chance prints could be lifted from the spot, the prosecution did not find any need to cite him as a witness. Sh. Mahla has argued that finger print expert should have picked up impression from the neck of the deceased. However, very rarely, any latent fingerprints of the assailant can be recovered from the skin of the victim's neck.
40 PW8 Jagmender Sharma is the private photographer and he had
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taken the photographs from outside and he has proved the same as Mark PW8/A1 to A11. I have seen these photographs which clearly show that the door was locked from the outside and the adjacent window was open. It also shows the glasses and Coke bottle lying on the slab of the kitchen. It also shows that the dead body lying in the floor and the articles lying on scattered position. Spot was photographed by Crime Team photographer as well and PW15 Ct. Dalbir Singh has proved the photographs as Ex.PW15/1 to 15/18 as well as the negatives. PW17 Ct. Ganga Swaroop, PW22 SI Mahender Singh and PW23 Ct. Krishan Kumar had also reached at the spot and they have also fully supported the case of prosecution. After the accused was discharged from the hospital, he had led the police party to ganda nalah for the recovery of blade and also to his house for recovery of strips and keys and proceedings conducted on 02.06.08 have also been duly proved as is apparent from the testimony of PW24 Inspector C.M. Meena and Ct Krishan Kumar.
41 Sh. Mahla has contended that Ravi Karan and Yashpal were away to Haridwar in connection with immersion of ashes of Kailash Kumari in Ganges and they had never signed Arrest Memo or the Personal Search Memo of accused and investigating agency has forged the documents. It seems to be a bald attempt as nothing has been established by the defence which may even remotely indicate that on 02.06.08, they both were not in Delhi the entire day and were away to Haridwar. It seems that in order to save accused, they are simply trying to confuse the scenario. Their such attempt is, however, nothing but fiasco.
42 PW5 WHC Madhu Sharma has proved DD No. 9A as Ex.PW5/A. PW9 Ct. Suman was posted in Police Control Room and she had received the call made by Yashpal and she has also proved the record as Ex.PW9/A. Her testimony is also unrebutted. PW10 HC Rohtash Kumar was the Duty FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 28 of 30 Officer at the relevant time and date and he has proved FIR. His testimony is also unrebutted. Concerned MHC(M) i.e. PW20 HC Banwari Lal has also entered the witness box and has proved all the entries maintained in Register no. 19 and he had also sent sealed parcels through Ct. Manoj Kumar to FSL, Rohini and PW13 Ct. Manoj Kumar has also corroborated him in this regard. PW14 Ct. Akhtar Ali is the DD Writer and he has also proved relevant DD entries. His testimony is also unrebutted. Scaled site plan was prepared by PW19 SI Manohar Lal which has also been proved by him as Ex.PW19/A. 43 Sh. Mahla has contended that there was no reason for accused to have killed his mother and since prosecution has failed to establish any motive, case is bound to fail. Most often it is only the perpetrator of crime alone knows as to what circumstances prompted him to a certain course of action. Motive is in the mind of the accused and can seldom be fathomed with any degree of accuracy. Absence of motive would never dislodge the entire prosecution story.
44 Sh. Mahla has contended that fact mentioned u/s 313 Cr.P.C. cannot be equated with evidence. He has contended that such answers given by accused are no substitute for proof and prosecution is duty bound to stand on its legs. He has also argued that prosecution cannot dig out any advantage from the weakness appearing in defence. I don't find any scope of debate on these aspects of the case at all. Here, however, prosecution has shown existence of bunch of circumstances and those are to be evaluated along with the version coming from the mouth of accused. Moreover special facts within the exclusive knowledge are to be explained by none other than accused.
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CONCLUSION
45 In view of my aforementioned discussion, it becomes very much
perceptible that all the circumstances clearly indicate towards the complicity of accused and accused alone. He was present with his mother in his house that day. In the noon, there was telephonic conversation between his brother Yashpal and his mother and Yashpal had even talked to him. Accused himself also admits that he was also present at his house along with mother. There is no sign of entry of any outsider. There is nothing to show that there was any sort of dispute between his mother and anyone else. Not a word in this regard has been whispered by Ravi Karan and Yashpal. There is no explanation from the side of the accused as to why he had cut his wrists and why he had consumed pills. The only logical interference is that he also attempted to finish himself after killing his mother being guilt ridden. Report of forensic expert also clearly indicates that the same drug content was found in the viscera of his mother and in stomach wash of accused. He was present at the spot and was looking semiunconscious and was perplexed and when he was taken to hospital, he admitted before the doctor that he had consumed the sleeping pills. He tried to mislead the investigating agency and doctor claiming that he had been assaulted by someone but in statement u/s 313 Cr.P.C., he claimed that the cut marks were 2/3 days old and he was not assaulted by anyone. Empty strips of tablets and the key of the lock of his house were recovered at his instance only. In view of the aforesaid circumstances, the involvement of the accused stands proved to the hilt. There is nothing to even hint at his innocence .Accused is accordingly held guilty and convicted u/s 302 IPC.
Announced in the open court Today i.e. on 26th March, 2010. (MANOJ JAIN) ASJ/Special Judge (NDPS) Outer District: Rohini Courts: Delhi FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 30 of 30 FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar U/s 302 IPC State Vs. Vishav Choudhary @ Vipul Choudhary 29.03.2010 Present: Ms. Purnima Gupta, learned Addl. P.P. for the State.
Convict in JC with counsel Sh. Ajay Mahla.
1 Blessings on the hand of women! Angels guard its strength and grace, In the palace, cottage, hovel, Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it, Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.
Infancy's the tender fountain, Power may with beauty flow, Mother's first to guide the streamlets, From them souls unresting grow--
Grow on for the good or evil, Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.
Woman, how divine your mission Here upon our natal sod! Keep, oh, keep the young heart open Always to the breath of God! All true trophies of the ages Are from motherlove impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.
(American Poet William Ross Wallace praises motherhood as the preeminent force for change in the world in The Hand That FIR No. 328/08 PS Prashant Vihar page 31 of 30 Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand That Rules the World) 2 Mother is our most trusted companion. She is there to support us in our thick and thin. She shows us ray of prosperity even in the times of adversity. She dissipates the clouds of sorrow and always brightens our lives. She is constant and unending source of inspiration. The sweetest sounds to mortals given are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven. An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.
3 Alas! Convict did not understand the immense value of mother and slayed her. A bizarre impulse shook his raison d'être and he committed the greatest blunder of his life.
4 Sec 302 IPC leaves us with only two alternatives. Death or Life sentence. I have heard arguments from both the sides. Learned Addl. P.P. has contended that convict deserves maximum sentence as he had shown the audacity to kill his own mother and, therefore, he does not deserve any mercy. Learned defence counsel has, on the other hand, contended that it is not a case where convict is required to be sent the gallows.
5 I have considered the rival submissions as well as the factual backdrop of the case and I also cannot be unmindful of the fact that convict is a young boy having no previous bad antecedents. I have also considered the legal position.
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6 Is it a case falling within the parameters of 'Rarest of the
Rare'? Answer has to be in negative.
7 Moreover, death sentence will be more serene for
convict. After all, it's not easy to live life with such a stigma.
8 Convict is a young boy and it is hoped that he realizes his folly and undergoes life sentence with penitence and attains some salvation.
9 He is accordingly given lifesentence and fined Rs. 20,000/ in default whereof he would undergo S.I. for a period of 6 months. Needless to say that period spent so far behind the bars would also be reckoned as part of sentence.
10 Convict remained composed throughout the trial and I hope he takes the sentence with same calmness. He is educated man and it is hoped that he uses his educational skills in jail in right direction. Superintendent Jail would ensure that his skills are used in productive manner and he does not slump into depression so that he is in a position where he can overcome the trauma, can reform himself, can rediscover himself and rehabilitate himself once he walks out in free air after the period of sentence is over.
11 Fine has not been deposited.
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12 A copy of the judgment and order on sentence be given
to convict free of cost.
13 File be consigned to record room.
Announced in the open Court
on this 29th day of March, 2010.
(MANOJ JAIN)
ASJ/Special Judge (NDPS)
Outer Distt: Rohini Courts: Delhi
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