Allahabad High Court
Dharam Deo Yadav Son Of Late Sri Rambadan ... vs State Of Uttar Pradesh on 30 September, 2005
Author: Imtiyaz Murtaza
Bench: Imtiyaz Murtaza, Amar Saran
JUDGMENT Imtiyaz Murtaza, J.
1. The above two appeals are filed against the judgment and order dated 24-2-2003 passed by District & Sessions Judge, Varanasi, in S.T. No, 184 of 1999 whereby the appellant Dharam Deo Yadav was convicted under, Section 302/34 I.P.C. and sentenced to death, under Section 201 I.P.C. he was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment and the respondents in Govt. Appeal No. 2726 of 03 Kali Charan Yadav, Sindhu Harijan, Ram Karan Chauhan, Kesar Prasad Vaclav and Mahesh Chandra Misra arc acquitted of all the charges. The criminal reference is for the confirmation of death sentence.
2. The factual matrix of this appeal is related to the unfortunate murder of one Diana Clare Routley (hereinafter referred to as "Diana"), a New Zealander, who visited India in the year 1997. On 7.8.97 she arrived in Varanasi from Agra and stayed in Old Vishnu Guest House in Room No. 103. She left the Vishnu Guest House on 10.8.97 at 7.00 a.m for going to Darjeeling. Thereafter, she was missing and her father Allen Jack Routley informed the authorities about the missing of his daughter. A team of police officers was constituted headed by Raghvendra Singh, Station House officer P.S.Laksa. The team searched Diana but she could not be traced and it was revealed that one Dharam Deo Yadav came in contact with Diana and she was last seen along with him. The police team submitted its report to Superintendent of Police (City), Varanasi on 24. 4. 98 (Ex.42).
3. Thereafter, a written report was lodged by Allen Jack Routley, father of Diana, at P.S. Bhelupur, district Varanasi which was registered as Case Crime No. 254 of 1998 under Section 366 I.P.C. The report is reproduced below.
"Dear Sir, Re.: Re Diana Clare Routley, aged 25yr.
write in connection with the disappearance of my daughter, Diana Clare Routley last seen in Varanasi on Aug. 10th 1997.
She had arrived in Varanasi on the morning of Aug. 7th, 1997.
She was staying at Old Vishnu Guest House.
She last had contact with her family on Aug. 8th, 1997 when I rang her at Old Vishnu Guest House and she wrote a letter to me. Since then her family and friends have had no contact.
The person we suspect that could he involved in her disappearance is Dharam Dev Yadav who is a local guide in Varanasi and worked for Old Vishnu Guest House. If he is not involved in her disappearance he certainly knows something of her movements on the day she disappeared."
4. After the registration of the report, investigation of the case commenced. On 19.8.98 P.W.I4 Anil Kumar Rai, S.H.O., P.S. Shivpur, Varanasi received information that Dharam Deo Yadav would reach Shivpur railway station .The information was registered in G.D. No. 7 of the police station. He interrogated Dharam Deo Yadav and he confessed to have committed the murder of Diana and buried her in his room and on his pointing out her skeleton was recovered buried under the floor of his house (Ex. Ka 6). The skeleton was subsequently identified as of Diana. Thereafter P.W. 14 Anil Kumar Rai arrested him and on his disclosure complicity of Kali Charan Yadav, Sindhu Harijan and Ram Karan Chauhah was known and they were also arrested by P.W. 14. The inquest on the skeleton was prepared by Indra Kumar Mandal, Station Officer, P.S. Bahariyabad, Ghazipur on the dictation of P.W. 16 Rajendra Pratap Singh, S.D.M., Tehsil Jakhaniya, District Ghazipur. Post-mortem examination of the skeleton was done by a team of doctors consisting of Dr. R.B. Singh, Dr. S.K. Tripathi and Dr. V.K. Gupta on 20.8.1998 at 4.00 P.M. Post-mortem report is Ext. Ka. 18. Kali Charan Yadav got recovered a shirt, jeans and telescope on 3.9.1998. A pair of shoes allegedly belonging to Diana was recovered from the shop of Shiv Stiattkat Lal and a recovery memo Ext. Ka. 37 was prepared. On the information of arrested accused Kesar Yadav, one bag of black colour was recovered. One sleeping bag and one automatic camera were recovered and recovery memo is Ext. Ka. 35. Kesar Yadav had also transferred a cheque of American dollars to accused Mahesh Chandra Mishra and he was also arrested.
5. The police after the conclusion of the investigation and arrest of Kali Charan Yadav, Sindhu Harijan, Ram Karan Chauhan, Kesar Yadav and Mahesh Chandra Misra submitted charge sheets (Ex Ka. 40 and Ka. 41).
6. After the committal of the case, the court of sessions framed charge under Section 411 I.P.C. against Kali Charan, Kesar Yadav and Mahesh Chandra Misra. Charges under Sections 302/34, 201 and 394 I.P.C. were framed against Dharam Deo Yadav, Kali Charan Yadav, Sindhu Harijan and Ram Karan Chauhan. Dharam Deo Yadav was further charged under Section 364 I.P.C. In course of the trial, the prosecution relied upon the testimony of 27 witnesses. P.W. 1 Jarman Singh, P.W. 2 Bachau Lal, P.W. 3 Rais Khan, P.W. 4 Bharat Singh, P.W. 5 Shiv Narain Yadav alias Sanjay Nepali, P.W. 6 Nasim Ahmad, ' P.W. 7 Ajay Kumar Jaiswal, P.W. 8 Raja Ram Sahani, P.W. 9 Lal Chand, P.W. 10 Vijay Bahadur Singh, P.W. 11 Niranjan Chauhan, P.W. 12 Ajay Singh, P.W. 13 Manoj Kumar Singh, P.W. 14 S.I. Anil Kumar Rai, P.W. 15 S.I. Indra Kumar Mandal, P.W. 16 S.D.M. Sri Rajendra Pratap Singh, P.W. 17 Ram Sinhasan Singh, P.W. 18 Con. Pateshwar Lal, P.W. 19 Dr. G.K. Tripathi, P.W. 20 Dr. C.P. Tripathi, P.W. 21 Dr. G.V. Rao, P.W. 22 Lal Bachan Prajapati, P.W. 23 Con. Moharrir Dharm Narain Pandey, P.W. 24 Jagjit Singh, P.W. 25 S.I. Prashant Kumar, P.W. 26 S.I. Raghvendra Singh and P.W. 27 S.K. Singh, City Magistrate, Varanasi. The accused did not produce any witness in their defence.
7. The case of Dharam Deo Yadav was of total denial. He denied the fact that he was attached as a guide to Old Vishnu Guest House and he further denied that he accompanied Diana in her local visits in Varanasi and also denied any association with Diana.
8. P.W. 1, Jarman Singh, deposed that for the last 15-16 years he is plying cycle rickshaw in Varanasi city. He used to ply the same in the year 1997 - 98 also. Mostly he used to ply the rickshaw from Banaras Railway Cantt. station to Bhelupur, Sonarpur, Godouliya and Harish Chandra Ghaat. He used to carry foreign passengers and if they were not available then local passengers. Dharam Deo Yadav also used to ply the cycle rickshaw from 1993 to 1996 and on that account he had acquaintance with him. He and Dharam Deo Yadav had plied the rickshaw for several years and on that account they were acquainted with each other. Dharam Deo Yadav had left rickshaw plying in the year 1996 and his financial position improved by doing the work of a guide. He had seen Dharam Deo Yadav in the month of August, 1997. At that time he was carrying passengers from Sonarpur crossing to Pandey Haveli. At the crossing of Sonarpur Dharam Deo Yadav was coming alongwith a foreign lady in a rickshaw . At that time two foreign passengers were sitting in his rickshaw and he was carrying them to Vishnu Guest House. He had recognised the photograph, Ext. Ka. 1, of that lady, who was coming alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. He also told him that he was going to railway station. After dropping the passengers at Vishnu Guest House he enquired about the guide of the guest house, the manager told him that for the last about 2-3 days a lady Diana was staying in the guest house and Dharam Deo Yadav had taken her alongwith him. In the cross examination he deposed that he did not meet Dharam Deo Yadav after 1996, He had also stated that the photto of the lady, which he had seen, was affixed at many places at the railway station. The, same photograph was also affixed at Vishnu Guest House and other hotels, He had seen the posters of the lady about one year after he had seep this lady sitting alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. The investigating officer had also recorded his statement. He did not see any remains of any lady nor identified the same. He had not gone to identify the bones and face of any lady.
9. P.W. 2 is Bachau Lal. He stated that he is working in Old Vishnu Guest House regularly for the last 6 7 years. On 7th , 8th, 9thand 10thAugust, 1997 he was present on his duty at the guest house. His duty was to look after the persons who were staying in the guest house. His duty was also to changing the bed sheets etc, cleaning the rooms, taking away the dirty utensils etc. He had no other connection with the persons staying in the guest house. Dharam Deo Yadav used to come as a guide in the guesthouse. The lady of the photograph , Ext. Ka. 1, had stayed on 7th August, 1997 in room No. 3. Her name was Diana. She stayed there for about 3 days. Two other girls had also accompanied her but they stayed in the separate rooms. Both of them had left the hotel next day. He had gone into the room of Diana 5-6 times. He had seen Dharam Deo Yadav and Diana in the hotel rooms and in the room they were talking to each other. He had seen them on 8th and 9thinside the hotel room. On 8thand 9thAugust, 1997 he had gone to bring the dirty utensils and on 9thAugust, 1997 in the night for the last time he had gone to bring the same. At that time Dharam Deo Yadav was not in the room of Diana. In the cross examination he stated that he lives in the quarter situate within the premises of Old Vishnu Guest House and his duty was of 24 hours. Three girls came together. Diana stayed in Room No. 3 and the other two girls stayed in Room No. 7. He did not know the names of the girls. He knew only the name of Diana. He also stated that her photograph was brought in the hotel. Then he knew the name of this girl as Diana. Her photograph was affixed at several places. The Daroga came alongwith the father of the girl, then he met him. He had not seen Diana roaming around alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. He had informed the Daroga that Diana had come to his hotel in August, 1997. If it has not been mentioned in his statement then he could not give any explanation. He had informed the police that he had gone to the room of Diana 5-6 times but if this fact has not been mentioned in his statement, he could not tell the reason. He had also informed the police that Dharam Deo Yadav was working as guide in the guesthouse, but why the Daroga did not mention this fact in his statement, he could not tell the reason.
10. P.W. 3 is Raees Khan. He stated that for the last 12-14 years he is hiring out rickshaw s for plying. Dharam Deo Yadav also used to take a rickshaw for plying. He used to ply the rickshaw for about 6 years and thereafter he became a guide. He used to come to the railway station for reservation and he used to meet him. He met with Dharam Deo Yadav on 10thAugust, 1997 at platform No. 1 and he had also talked with him. At that time a foreign lady was also alongwith him. He had also recognised the photograph of Diana and stated that she was alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. He had to go to his village by a passenger train. Dharam Deo Yadav also told him that he was going to his village by the same train. He had also boarded the same compartment alongwith the foreign lady. The train reached Harbhujpur Halt station and Dharam Deo Yadav alongwith foreign lady got down from the train. He had told him that he was going to his village and he will stay there for 2 - 3 days. Dharam Deo Yadav disclosed the name of the foreign lady as Diana and also told him that she belonged to New Zealand. He stated that his 164 Cr.P.C. statement was also recorded which is Ext. Ka. 1. In the cross examination he stated that the investigating officer had not recorded his statement but his statement was recorded after about one year of his journey under Section 164 Cr.P.C. He had also seen the posters of the lady which was affixed at the railway station. He stated that in his statement before the Magistrate he did not state that Dharam Deo Yadav had informed him about the name of the lady as Diana and that she was a resident of New Zealand. He had disclosed to the Magistrate that Dharam Deo Yadav had told him that she would stay alongwith him for 2-3 days. He did not inform the Magistrate because it was not asked. He admitted that he had disclosed this fact after enquiring from the government advocate. He stated that he had seen the photograph of the lady and he had told the police also that he had seen this lady alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav.
11. P.W. 4 is Bharat Singh. He stated that from 7th to 10thAugust, 1997, he was Manager of Old Vishnu Guest House. Govind Lal Srivastava @ Khatau Dada was Assistant Manager alongwith him. Bachau was posted as an employee for cleaning and Sanjay Nepali and Pappu Bihari were cooks in the kitchen. Dharam Deo Yadav and Naseem were employed for accompanying persons staying in the guest house for sight seeing. The owner of the hotel was Ajay Jaiswal. The management of the hotel was looked after by his cousin Ganesh Prasad. Out of these two guides, Dharam Deo Yadav was more efficient in attracting the customers. He was more fluent in conversation and he was particularly adept in attracting foreign lady customers, During that period he was employed in the guest house. Jarman Singh was a regular rickshaw puller who used to carry passengers to the hotel. He had identified the photograph of the foreign lady, Ext. 1, who had stayed in his hotel from 7thto 10thAugust, 1997. Two other girls had also come alongwith her on 7thAugust. The entry of their arrival and departure Was mentioned in the register and the original register, which he had brought. Its photostat copy was filed as paper No. 37A/275 and 376. The entries of 7thand 8thAugust of arrival and departure are in the handwriting of Diana. She was allotted room No. 103. The other two girls, who had come alongwith Diana, had left the hotel on the next day at 11.45. On 7thand 8thAugust Diana accompanied with the two other foreign girls had gone alongwith guide Naseem. From 8thto 10thAugust up to 6.00 A.M. she had gone alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. On 8thAugust at about 12.00 noon Naseem guide had told Dharam Deo Yadav in his presence that the girl who was staying in room No. 103 had asked him whether he was married and he told heir that he was already married. Thereafter, Dharam Deo Yadav became guide of Diana. He used to eat alongwith her. This continued from 8thto 10th, August 1997, morning. On 10thDiana had left the hotel alone and after about 10 minutes Dharam Deo Yadav had also gone outside the hotel. On 9th/10thit about 10.30 P.M. Diana had taken her dinner at the restaurant situate on the roof and Dharam Deo Yadav had also taken his dinner alongwith her. Diana had left the hotel on 10thAugust and after about 20 minutes Jarman Singh had brought two foreign passengers to the hotel and he had informed him that he had seen Dharam Deo Yadav alongwith a foreign lady. After 10thAugust, Dharam Deo Yadav had returned after about 15 - 20 days to the hotel. During her stay of 3 days 2 - 3 times telephone calls were received from New Zealand and she had also enquired about the location of the post office and also the place for sending a fax. About 7-8 months after 10thAugust, 1997, the father of Diana had come to the hotel and he had also shown big posters of Diana which were affixed outside the hotel. At that time he knew that Diana was missing and did not reach her house. He further disclosed that in the register 1207 in the column of the passengers the name of Diana Routley is mentioned. He - admitted that in front of the name of Routley, room No. 107 was mentioned which was corrected as 103. Diana had mentioned room No. 107 because the girls who had arrived alongwith her were allotted room No. 107 and she had wrongly entered their room number. He admitted that there is some cutting at Sl. No. 1206 and in the column of arrival in India. He also admitted that in the column of departure there is some cutting in the month. He also admitted that there is difference of ink in the date of departure and signature. He also stated that Diana Routley had left the guesthouse and after about 10-15 minutes Jarman Singh, rickshaw puller, had brought two foreign tourists. One of them was female and the other was male. He also admitted that Diana Routley had left the guest house alone and Dharam Deo Yadav had not left the guest house alongwith her, Jarman Singh had informed him that he had seen Dharam Deo Yadav alongwith a foreign lady. Sanjay Nepali works in the kitchen. There were two guides in the hotel. He could not tell the reason why and how the investigating officer mentioned that Sanjay Nepali and Pappu Bihari were also employed in the guesthouse for sight seeing of the tourists. He further deposed that Diana Routley's father had come alongwith photos in to the hotel about 7-8 months, after Diana had left the hotel.
12. P.W. 5 is Shiv Narain Yadav @ Sanjay Nepali. He stated that on 7th- 8thAugust, 1997, he used to work in the kitchen of Old Vishnu Guest House. Pappu Bihari was also working alongwith him. He had identified the accused Dharam Deo Yadav and stated that he was working as a guide in Vishnu Guest House on 7.8.1997. He had also identified the posters of Diana and stated that she had stayed in Old Vishnu Guest House and used to take her dinner in the restaurant. He further deposed that on the date when Diana had arrived in the guest house, she was accompanied with two other girls who had left the guest,house the next day. The last time he had offered.food to her was on 9.8.1997 between 9.00-10.00 P.M. At that time Dharam Deo Yadav had also taken his food alongwith her. He had left the guesthouse at 11.00 P.M. and at that time Dharam Deo Yadav and Diana were talking to each other. Diana had left the hotel on 1 10.8.1997 at 7.00 A.M. Dharam Deo Yadav did not return to the guest house after the Diana had left the hotel. Dharam Deo Yadav had returned after 20 - 25 days and when he enquired about his whereabouts he told him that he had gone to his village. He had also enquired about Diana. He told him that she had gone to Darjeeling. On 10.8.1997 after checking out of the hotel Diana had come to the restaurant for making the payment and at that time he had enquired from Diana why she was leaving the hotel. She told him that as her train was in the evening, she was going to Sarnath and from there she would go to Mughalsarai for boarding the train. In the cross examination he stated that the investigating officer had met him about a year after Diana had left the hotel. The photograph, Ext. 1, he had seen in the month of March - April, 1998 in Vishnu Guest House and at other places. He had not told any one that he had given food to her in Vishnu Guest House. He had informed the investigating officer that he had offered food to her in Vishnu Guest House. The Daroga had shown him the photograph (Bx. 1).
13. P.W. 6 is Naseem Ahmad: He stated that on 7.8.1997 he used to work as a guide in Old Vishnu Guest House. Dharam Deo Yadav was also working as a guide in the hotel alongwith him. He had identified Dharam Deo Yadav. From 7.8.1997 to 10.8.1997 Dharam Deo Yadav was working as a guide in the hotel. He had identified the photo of Diana Routley, Ext. 1, and stated that this girl had stayed in the guest house from 7thto 10thAugust, 1997, She had come to the guest house alongwith two other foreign girls. He had gone alongwith them for sight seeing from 7.8.1997 to 8.8.1997 at about, 11.30 A.M. When he contacted Diana she enquired whether he is married or not. He had informed her that he is married and he has children. She told him that if he has not been married, she would have arranged his marriage. He had informed to the Manager about the conversation with Diana. Dharam Deo Yadav and Sanjay were also present there at that time. After 8.8.1997 noon he had not taken Diana for sight seeing. She had gone alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. He had also accompanied Diana to the P.C.O.
14. P.W. 7 is Ajay Kumar Jaiswal. He is the Owner of Old Vishnu Guest House He stated that the guest house is managed by his cousin Ganesh Prasad. He used to stay in the hotel for 5 - 10 minutes. He knew about the employees of the hotel who were working in August, 1997. There were 7 employees in the hotel. Bharat Prasad was Manager. Kitchen was looked after by Sanjay and Pappu Bihari. Naseem and Dharam Deo Yadav were working as guides. Bachau was working as a sweeper. He had identified Dharam Deo Yadav and also identified the photograph, Ext. 1. He stated that he had seen Dharam Deo Yadav alongwith the girl of the photograph on 10.8.1997 at 7.00 A.M. He had also seen them on the way to Sonarpur. He had enquired from Manager Bharat Prasad as to why Dharam Deo Yadav was going alongwith the girl. He told him that she had checked out from the hotel and Dharam Deo Yadav had gone alongwith her. He met Dharam Deo Yadav after about: 3 4 months. Dharam Deo Yadav had not been permitted to work in the hotel because he left the hotel without any permission. He also stated that Jarman Singh, rickshaw puller, used to bring tourists in 1997 to the guest house.
15. P.W. 8, Raja Ram Sahni, stated that he is plying a boat at Harishchandra Ghaat. Mainly he takes passengers from Sandhya Guest House and used to work in the said guest house. Dharam Deo Yadav used to bring tourists of Old Vishnu Guest House for sight seeing at Harishchandra Ghaat. He had met Dharam Deo Yadav due to this reason. He had identified Dharam Deo Yadav. He also identified Kali Charan. Kali Charan is also resident of the village of Dharam Deo Yadav. He is also a friend of Dharam Deo Yadav. He met Dharam Deo Yadav through Kali Charan. He had gone thrice to the house of Dharam Deo Yadav in village Vrindaban.
16. P.W. 9 is Lal Chand, a rickshaw puller. He stated that he recognises Dharam Deo Yadav for the last 7- 8 years. He also identified Dharam Deo Yadav in court. He had gone to the house of Dharam Deo Yadav on several occasions. The name of his village is Vrindaban and the railway halt is Harbhujpur Dharam Deo Yadav had told him that he had married with an English girl and she had paid money for construction of the house. He had gone to the house of Dharam Deo Yadav about 3 years back alongwith the police. Dharam Deo Yadav was not present there. His brother, mother, father and wife met him. Police had also searched in the house of Dharam Deo Yadav but he was not there. The police had recovered several photographs of foreign girls, letters and other papers.
17. P.W. 10 is Vijay Bahadur Singh. He stated that Dharam Deo Yadav is resident of his village and he knows him since his birth. He had come to Varanasi and started plying tempo rickshaw and thereafter he became a guide. Me used to come to the village alongwith foreign ladies. He stated that about 4 years back Dharam Deo Yadav came to the village alongwith a foreign lady. He had seen Dharam Deo Yadav alongwith that foreign girl roaming in the village. She had stayed in the house of Dharam Deo Yadav. He had identified the photograph of Diana and stated that she remained alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav in the village. He had seen this lady lying 4 - 4'/2 years back in the village. The wife of Dharam Deo Yadav and children lived in a Kachcha house adjacent to the Pakka house.
18. P.W. 11 is Nirarrjan Chauhan. He lives 2 - 21/2 Km. away from the house of Dharam Deo Yadav. He stated that about 4 - 4'/2 years back Dharam Deo Yadav came to his house at about 6.00-6.30 A.M. for masonry work. He had gone to his house alongwith one Murari Mistri and 3 laborers. He alongwith other persons reached at the house of Dharam Deo Yadav. He had opened the door of the house. He showed one room and told him that he wanted to prepare the floor and wall plaster. The floor was covered with bricks and in the middle it was slightly elevated. He told Dharam Deo Yadav that he will level the floor first, only then plaster can be done but Dharam Deo Yadav said that he has to do plaster in the same position. He plastered the walls in two days and on the third day he had prepared the floor. He had also worked in another room. He also stated that Daroga interrogated him about 3 - 3'/2 years back.
19. P.W. 12 Ajay Singh stated that Dharam Deo Yadav is resident of his village. He also knows Kali Charan, Sindhu Harijan and Ram Saran Chauhan. They are also residents of his village. He stated that Dharam Deo Yadav was doing agricultural work in the village. Thereafter he went to Varanasi and started plying cycle rickshaw and thereafter he became a guide. He had seen foreign lady roaming in the village alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. He showed his ignorance that Dharam Deo Yadav had brought any foreign girl to his village. He was declared hostile.
20. P.W. 13 Manoj Kumar Singh is a pathologist/technologist. He stated that he is a diploma holder. His clinic is in Bhojupeer Urmila Katra for the last 7 years. On 1.9.1998 in the presence of City Magistrate S.K. Singh he had collected a 10 ml. sample of blood in the tube of Alen Jack Routley in a tube. The tube and syringe were arranged by the City Magistrate. In his presence the tube containing blood was sealed by the City Magistrate. At that time Daroga, Raghvendra Singh, was also present who had called him to the house of City Magistrate. A form was also filled in which was signed by City Magistrate, Raghvendra Singh, the Daroga and he had also signed the same. The form contained an attested photograph of the person whose blood sample was taken.
21. P.W. 14 Anil Kumar Rai stated that in the month of August, 1998 he was posted as Station House Officer, P.S. Shivpur, Varanasi. On 19.8.1998 he received information that Dharam Deo Yadav, who is connected with the murder of Diana, is sitting at railway station for going somewhere. He had prepared G.D. No. 7 on 19.8.1998 at 3.05 A.M. He had also entered his departure in the G.D. No. 9. Copies of the G.D. entries were Exts. Ka. 4 and Ka. 5. He had enquired his name and about the abduction of Diana. He stated that he was the guide of Diana who was a resident of New Zealand. On 10.8.1997 he had taken her to Vrindaban, P.S. Bahariyabad and also informed him that she stayed in his house. Diana had traveler cheques of dollars. He alongwith Kali Charan, Sindhu Harijan and Ram Saran Chauhan on 13.8.1907 strangulated Diana to death and buried her dead body in a room and they had taken the cheques and other articles. Believing the information given by Dharam Deo Yadav as correct, he immediately informed the higher authorities on telephone. He took Dharam Deo Yadav in his jeep and reached at P.S. Bahariyabad. He had asked S.H.O. Indra Kumar Mandal, P.S. Bahariyabad to company him alongwith force. He had already received information on wireless and he was ready and they proceeded alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav to Vrindaban which was at a distance of 9 Kms. from the police station. They had gone on foot for about 6 Kms. then they reached the house of Dharam Deo Yadav. He had opened the lock of the door from the key which was kept in his pocket. He pointed out one room and stated that the dead body of Diana had been buried here. The whole floor was plastered. He had dug the floor and at a depth of about 2 feet one skeleton was recovered. Dharam Deo Yadav told him that this skeleton is of Diana. He had arrested Dharam Deo Yadav and taken him into custody. He had also confessed that Sindhu Harijan, Kali Charan and Ram Saran Chauhan are also residents of his village. He had prepared the recovery memo, which is Ext. Ka. 6. He had asked the S.H.O. Bahariyabad for preparation of the inquest memo and to conduct further enquiry and he left the place for the arrest of the other accused persons alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. From the house of Dharam Deo-Yadav they reached at the house of Sindhu Harijan and he esd arrested. Thereafter Ram Saran Chauhan and then Kali Charan were also arrested. He had prepared the memo of arrest Ext. Ka. 7. Thereafter he came to P.S. Shivpur and made an entry in G.D. No. 4 dated 20.8.1998. The G.D. entry is Ext. Ka. 8.
22. P.W. 15 is Indra Kumar Mandal, S.H.O., P.S. Bahariyabad, district Ghazipur. He stated that on 19.8.1998 he was posted as S.H.O., P.S. Bahariyabad, district Ghazipur. On the said date at about 7.15 A.M. Anil Kumar Rai, S.H.O., P.S. Shivpur, Varanasi came to his police station and informed him that Dharam Deo Yadav had confessed that the dead body of Diana is buried in his room. He prepared G.D. No. 9 at 7.15 A.M. which is Ext. Ka. 9. The written information given by Anil Kumar Rai is Ext. Ka. 10. Dharam-Deo Yadav took them to his house and opened the lock of the room and he pointed out a place and stated that the dead body of Diana was buried here. Dharam Deo Yadav had also told him that Kali Charan, Sindhu Harijan and Ram Saran Chauhan were also involved alongwith him. : Dharam Dev Yadav brought a Fowada and started digging the floor of the room. After digging 2 feet a skeleton was recovered and he confessed that he had buried Diana after committing her murder. Anil Kumar Rai had arrested Dharam Deo Yadav for the murder. Anil Kumar Rai prepared the memo, which is Ext. Ka. 6. Dharam Deo Yadav had also informed him that his other companions are present in the village and he went alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav for arresting them. He had summoned the papers for preparation of inquest memos. The information sent by him is entered in G.D. No. 19. The relevant papers were brought by Con. Ram Sinhasan and Con. Sunil Rai from the police station. He had prepared the inquest memo in the presence of S.D.M., Jakhaniya, R.P. Singh. For examining the skeleton it was brought outside the house. At the time of preparation of inquest memo Anil Kumar Rai reached alongwith other co-accused persons and higher officers had also arrived. Inquest report is Ext. Ka. 13. Photo lash" and challan lash were prepared which are Exts. Ka. 14 and Ka. 15. The skeleton was handed over to Con. Ram Sinhasan and Con. Sunil Rai for post-mortem examination.
23. P.W. 16, Rajendra Pratap Singh, deposed that in the month of August, 1998 he was posted as Sub Divisional Magistrate, Tehsil Jakhania, district Ghazipur. On 19.8.1998 he had received an order Of the District Magistrate through police station Bahariyabad to prepare the inquest memo of the recovered dead body in village Vrindaban. He had received this information at 2.00 O'clock. He reached village Vrindaban at 3.30 P.M. In a room of the house of Dharam Deo Yadav there was a pit in the eastern-northern corner, a skeleton was lying there. The pit was 5 x 5 feet in length and 2 x 3 feet in width. He met S.H.O. Bahariyabad, Indra Kumar Mandal there. He had shown the skeleton in the room. He had started the inquest proceedings at 4.00 P.M. On his dictation Indra Kumar Mandal had prepared the inquest memo. The skeleton was also taken out from the pit and kept outside the house. He further deposed that at the place of occurrence he was informed that one accused was arrested and for arresting the remaining accused the police of Varanasi was deputed. The police of Varanasi had brought 2-3 accused after their arrest from the village. Dharam Deo Yadav was also arrested. The skeleton was kept in wooden box and sealed. Photo lash and challan lash were also prepared and they are Exts. Ka. 13, Ka. 14 and Ka. 15.
24. P.W. 17 is Con. Ram Sinhasan Singh. He deposed that in the month of August, 1998, he was posted at police station Bahariyabad, district Ghazipur as a constable. Constable Sunil Kumar Rai was also posted there. Indra Kumar Mandal was Station House Officer of the police station. On 19.8.1998 village chowkidar of the village Vrindaban had come to the police station and he alongwith Sunil Rai proceeded to village Vrindaban for inquest. S.H.O. Indra Kumar Mandal was present in the house of Dharam Deo Yadav. S.D.M., R.P. Singh, was also present there. He had handed over the inquest papers to S.H.O. and thereafter the inquest proceeding had started. The skeleton was inside the pit of the room. After starting the inquest proceedings, the skeleton was kept in a box outside the house. Inquest report is Ext. Ka. 13. The sealed box of skeleton was handed over to him and Con. Sunil Rai. They had taken the sealed box to Ghazipur mortuary. The doctors had reached there on 20.8.1998 at 4.00 P.M. He handed over all the papers and sample seal to the doctors. The doctors had conducted the post-mortem examination.
25. P.W. 18, Con. Pareshwar Lal, deposed that on 19.8.1998 he was posted as constable photographer, Ghazipur. He had received information from Anand Swaroop, I.P.S., S.S.P.", Ghazipur for taking photographs of the skeleton which was recovered in village Vrindaban. He came to village Vrindaban and taken photograph of the skeleton. He reached at the house of Dharam Deo Yadav at 2.00 P.M. He found that the skeleton was in a dug out place inside the room. The skeleton was taken out. Several police officers were present there. He had also taken photographs of the pit inside the room. He deposited the negatives in the office which is Ext. 2.
26. P.W. 19 is Dr. G.K. Tripathi. He deposed that on 20.8.1998 he was posted in district Ghazipur as senior heart specialist. Dr. Ram Murti Singh and Dr. D.K. Gupta were also posted in the District Hospital, Ghazipur. He stated that at 4.00 P.M. Con, Ram Sinhasan Singh and Con. Sunil Rai of P.S. Bahariyabad, Ghazipur brought a skeleton sealed in a wooden box. The post-mortem was conducted in the presence of three doctors. He had found the skeleton of a young lady of average built and the hair were golden brown. He found the following features in the external examination:
1. Scalp bone with hairs.
2. Bones of the face, upper jaw and lower jaw.
3. Bones of upper and lower extremities attached with muscles and soils.
4. Few ribs of chest wall.
5. Lower part of the lumbere vertebra, thoracic vertebra and sacrum.
6. Both pelvic bones.
7. Both scapula.
27. Bones are not decomposed, bones of upper and lower extremities are attached with a few ligaments and muscles. Bones were preserved for further investigation. The cause of death could not be ascertained. Post-mortem examination report is Ext. Ka. 18.
28. P.W. 20 is Dr. C.B. Tripathi. He is professor and Head of Department of Forensic Medicines Department, Kashi Hindu Vishwavidhalaya, Varanasi. He had examined the body parts of alleged Diana Clair Routley, daughter of Alen Jack Routley, resident of 56, Monasila Road, Mohinarama, Auckland, New Zealand. The District Magistrate, Varanasi had ordered and on the request of I.G. (Zone), Varanasi a sealed box was received from S.H.O., P.S. Bhelupur, Varanasi which was brought by Con. Har Govind Bharti and Anil Kumar Singh. They had brought the box in sealed condition This witness has duly proved the process, which he had adopted in analysis and results of analysis alongwith factual observations made by him in the course of analysis and he prepared the report, Ext. Ka. 28. He further deposed that one femur bone and one humerus bone were preserved by him for D.N.A. test.
29. P.W. 21 is Dr. G.V. Rao. Chief D.N.A. Finger Printing Laboratory, C.D.E.D., Hyderabad. He has stated about his technical and expert qualifications on the relevant subject, which, as a matter of fact, are accepted, as not questioned or rebutted. He has stated that on September 1998 Prashant Kumar, Sub-Inspector and Constable Kameshwar Singh Yadav, P.S. Rohania, District Varanasi reached in the laboratory and produced the requisition from Chief Judicial Magistrate, Varanasi alongwith two parcels pertaining to crime No. 254/98 of P.S. Bhelupur, Varanasi of which this witness alongwith his assistant made examination and method of examination has also been proved by oral testimony of this scientist witness Dr. G.V. Rao, P.W. 21. He has stated that he had satisfied himself regarding authenticity of seal and its intactness. He adopted the test known as short Tandam Space Repeats (S.T.R.) analysis. He has also stated that he arrived at the conclusion after satisfying himself twice and issued the report. He has proved in detail Ext. Ka. 26; the original report sent by him to the court. He has also proved the process and other things required on the subject by his statement and has confirmed his opinion that Ext. A i.e. blood sample of Alan Jack Roulley is biologically related to the sources of Ext. B and C i.e. humerus and femur bones of deceased. He has proved his second conclusion those sources of Exts. B and C in his report i.e. humerus and femur bones are from one and the same source and he has thus proved the complete material alongwith his; report submitted to the Court by his oral testimony.
30. P.W. 22 is Lal Vachan Prajapati. He deposed that he has a photography shop. About 4 years back he had gone to village Vrindaban alongwith police for photography. S.H.O. had also gone alongwith him. One person, who was owner of the house, had gone with the police inside the room. The digging work in the room was in progress. He had seen bones in a pit. He had taken photographs of the skeleton. Photograph nos. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 were taken by him. He had submitted the negatives of the photograph which are Exts. 5/1 to 5/10.
31. P.W. 23 is Dharm Narayan Pandey. In the year 1998-99 he was posted as Constable Moharrir at P.S. Bhelupur. On 28.7.1998 Alen Jack Routley son of Fransis Kisman Routley, resident of 56, Melanesiya Road, Kohimarama, Auckland, New Zealand, lodged a report in English at 2.45 P.M. On the basis of the said report he had prepared the chik F.I.R. and entered it in G.D. No. 40. Chik F.I.R. and G.D. are Exts. Ka. 30 and 31. The case was converted under Section 302 and is entered in the G.D. dated 20.8.1998 (Ext. Ka. 32).
32. P.W. 24, Jagjeet Singh, deposed that he had a videography shop in Ghazipur. On 19.8.1998 he had gone to village Vrindaban for photography. C.O., Srivastava, had sent one constable and he had gone on his direction. He had gone to the house of Dharam Deo Yadav. He reached there and saw that a human skeleton was kept outside the house. He had done videography. He had given the video cassette to the investigating officer and had identified the cassette.
33. P.W. 25, S.I. Prashant Kumar Srivastava, stated that on 19.9.1998 he was S.I. under training, P.S. Rauhaniya. On 19.8.1998 he had taken a polythene packet in sealed condition from the court of C.J.M., Varanasi which contained one packet of bones and blood in a container for carrying it to C.D.F.D., Hyderabad. He had deposited the same in C.D.F.D., Hyderabad.
34. P.W. 26, Raghvendra Singh, Special Operation Group, Sonbhadra deposed that in the month of August, 1997, he was posed as Station Officer, Laksa. He received information of missing of Diana from the office of Senior Superintendent of Police, Varanasi. A committee was constituted by the Superintendent of Police (City), Varanasi, consisting of five other members alongwith him. A poster photograph of Diana (Ext. 1) was got prepared by Alen Jack Routley and he had delivered it to him. This photograph was received by him in the month of April, 1998. They could not find her. In connection with the enquiry he had visited Old Vishnu Guest House. During the enquiry he came to know that the last time she was seen alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav. They could not find out Dharam Deo Yadav.. They had gone to village Vrindaban, Ghazipur also. They had also shown the poster of Diana (Ext. 1) to the villagers and they had informed him that they had seen her alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav on 28.7,1998. D.I.G., Varanasi, had informed him that Routley, father of Diana, had arrived and investigation of the case was entrusted to him. He had met Routley on 28.7.1998 and a written report addressed to Station House Officer, Bhelupur was prepared and lodged, at the police station which is Ext. Ka. 34. Chik F.I.R. is Ext. Ka. 30 and copy of G.D. is Ext. Ka. 31. He had commenced the investigation of the case on 29-7-08. He had also identified the photo of Routley on Ext. Ka. 25. An information dated 22-5-2002 was received from the embassy that on account of his bad health Routley is unable to come to India in connection with the case. He had proved the signature of Routley by secondary evidence. He prepared the site plan of Old Vishnu Guest House. He had also recorded the statement of several villagers in Vrindaban. He had recorded the statements of employees of Old Vishnu Guest House namely Ajai Kumar, Ganesh Prasad, Naseen, Bachau, Bharat Singh, Jarman Singh. He also recorded the statements of Lal Chand @ Kareli, Shiv Nath, Shiv Narain Yadav, Sanjai Nepali, Raja Ram Sahni etc. He again recorded the statement of Jarman Singh on 5.8.1997. He received information that Dharam Deo Yadav will be arriving from Bombay on the next day. He had informed S.H.O. Shivpur, Anil Rai, who had arrested Dharam Deo Yadav and skeleton of Diana was recovered on his pointing out from his room. On the information of Dharam Deo Yadav three other accused were arrested. S.S.I. Bhelupur had recorded the statement of accused. He recorded the statement of witnesses." The statement of Rajendra Pratap Singh, S.D.M., S.O., P.S. Bahariyabad, Niranjan Das, Murari Mistri was recorded. The statement of photographer Lal Badan Prajapati was recorded. On 29.8.1998 statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. of Routley was recorded.by A.C.J.M. II Sri Ram Chandra Misra. C.J.M. had also authorised the Executive Magistrate for taking blood sample of Routley. Allen Jack Routley was produced before the City Magistrate S.K. Singh. In his presence blood sample of Routley was collected in a container received from Hyderabad. It was sealed and sent to C.J.M. A recovery memo, Ext. Ka. 25, was prepared and it was signed by Routley also and he had identified his signature. S.I. Prashant Kumar was sent to Hyderabad. Accused Kesar Chand was arrested and on his pointing out a sleeping bag and a camera were recovered. Recovery memo of these articles is Ext. Ka. 35. He also prepared the site plan of the place of recovery, which is Ext. Ka. 36. On 3.9.1998 a telescope, shirt and jeans were recovered on the pointing out of Kali Charan (Exts. 9 to 11). Shoe was recovered from the shop of Moti (Ext. 12). He also recorded the statement of Videogrpher Jagjit Singh. The skeleton of Diana was sent for the chemical examination. The site plan of the house of Dharam Deo Yadav is Ext. Ka. 38. On 15.11.1998 he had submitted charge-sheet against Dharam Deo Yadav, Kali Charan Yadav, Sindhu Harijan and Ram Karan Chauhan, Mahesh Chand and Keshar Chand. The charge-sheets are Exts. Ka. 40 and Ka. 41.
35. P.W. 27, S.K. Singh, deposed that in the month of September, 1998, he was posted as City Magistrate, Varanasi. He had received the identity card duly filled in with attested photograph of Alen Jack Routely by Mukul Goyal, Sr. Superintendent of Police, Varanasj which was found by C.D.F.D., Hyderabad and after satisfying himself that the person before him was Alen Jack Routely, blood sample was taken in his presence by Manoj Kumar, Pathologist at his residence in presence of Raghvendra Singh, Investigating officer. He had provided tube and syringe to the pathologist. The blood was sealed before him in a tube with a sample seal thereon.
36. The sessions judge after considering the evidence on record convicted and sentenced the appellant as aforesaid and acquitted the respondents.
37. We have heard the counsel for the appellant, A.G.A for the State and counsel for the respondents and also perused the order of the Sessions Judge and entire record.
38. Sri D.S. Misra, counsel for the appellant, submitted that the circumstances relied upon by the court below have not only been established by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt but also even if all the circumstances can be said to have been established, all of them taken together do not unequivocally point to the guilt of the accused and exclude a hypothesis consistent with his innocence. It is further submitted that the identity of the skeleton is not fixed, the trial court had wrongly relied upon the photograph of Diana (Ext. 1) without its negative for considering the circumstance of last seen of the deceased along with the appellant, the Sessions Judge had considered the recovery of skeleton on the pointing out of the applicant under Section 27 of the Evidence Act whereas at the time of the alleged recovery the appellant was not in "custody". The provisions of Section 27 of the Evidence Act were not applicable and the alleged recovery of skeleton On the pointing out of the appellant was inadmissible. It is further contended that P.W. 14, Anil Kumar Rai was not the investigating officer of the case and any act done by him was illegal. The conviction of the appellant under Section 302 I.P.C. is not justified because homicidal death is not proved. The constables who had taken the skeleton to B.H.U., Varanasi, were not examined and link evidence is missing.
39. Before analysing factual aspects it may be stated that for a crime to be proved it is not necessary that the crime must be seen to have been committed and must, in all circumstances, be proved by direct ocular evidence by examining before the court those persons who had seen its commission. The offence can be proved by circumstantial evidence also. The principal fact or factum probdndum may be proved indirectly by means of certain inferences drawn from factum probans, that is, the evidentiary facts. To put it differently, circumstantial evidence is not direct to the point in issue but consists of evidence of various other facts which are so closely associated with the fact in issue which taken together form a chain of circumstances from which the existence of the principal fact can be legally inferred or presumed.
40. It is a case of circumstantial evidence. It has been laid down by the Apex 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. The 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.
41. In the case of Padala Veer a Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh 1991 SCC (Crl) 407 the Apex Court laid down that when a case rests upon circumstantial evidence, such evidence must satisfy the following tests:
(1) The circumstances from which an inference of guilt is sought to be drawn, must be cogently and firmly established;
(2) those circumstances should be of a definite tendency unerringly pointing towards guilt of the accused;
(3) the circumstances, taken cumulatively, should form a chain so complete that there is no escape from the conclusion that with in all human probability the crime was committed by the accused and none else; and (4) the circumstantial evidence in order to sustain conviction must be complete and incapable of explanation of any other hypothesis than that of the guilt of the accused and such evidence should not only be consistent with the guilt of the accused but should be inconsistent with his innocence."
42. The case at hand has to be gauzed in the background of the aforesaid principles.
LAST SEEN
43. The first circumstance against the appellant is that when Diana was staying in Old Vishnu Guest House, he was working there as a guide and she was last seen alongwith him. The evidence of P.W. 1, Jarman Singh, clearly shows that in the month of August 1997, he had seen Dharam Deo Yadav alongwith a foreign lady going towards railway station. He had identified the photograph (Ext. 1) of Diana and stated that she was going alongwith Dharam Dev Yadav. P.W. 2 Bachau Lal also stated that in the month of August, 1997, Dharam Dev Yadav was working as a guide and he had also identified the photograph of Diana and stated that she had stayed in Old Vishnu Guest House and he had seen Dharam Deo Yadav in her room. P.W. 3 Rais Khan stated that Dharam Deo Yadav used to ply rikshaw and on 10.8.1997 he had met him at railway station Varanasi. Dharam Dev Yadav had told him that he is going to his village alongwith a foreign lady. He had also identified the photograph of Diana and stated that Dharam Dev Yadav was going alongwith her. He had also boarded the train alongwith them and Dharam Dev Yadav had got down at Harbhujpur Halt railway station alongwith Diana. P.W. 4 Bharat Singh is Manager of Old Vishnu Guest House. He stated that Dharam Dev Yadav worked as a guide. He also identified the photograph of Diana and stated that she stayed in the guest house and Diana came in contact with Dharam Dev Yadav. He also deposed that P.W. 1 Jarman Singh informed him that he had seen Dharam Dev Yadav with a foreign girl in a rikshaw going towards railway station. He further deposed that Alen Jack Routley had given him the photograph of Diana. P.W. 5 Shiv Narain Yadav @ Sanjay Nepali had worked in the kitchen in Old Vishnu Guest House. He stated that Dharam Dev Yadav and Naseem were working as guides in the guest house. After identifying the photograph of Diana that she had stayed in the guest house. He had served meals in the night of 9.8.1997 and Dharam Dev Yadav also took his meal alongwith her. On 10.8.1997 at 7.00 A.M. she had left the guest house. P.W. 6 Naseem Ahmad stated that he and Dharam Dev Yadav had worked as guides between 7.8.1997 to 10.8.1997. Diana stayed in the guest house and she left on 10.8.1997. He stated that from 8.8. 1997 to 10.8.1997 Dharam Dev Yadav accompanied Diana as a guide. P.W. 7 Ajay Kumar Jaiswal is the owner of Old Vishnu Guest House. He deposed that Dharam Dev Yadav was working as a guide. He had identified the photograph of Diana. He saw Diana and Dharam Dev Yadav on 10.8.1997 at 7.00 A.M. on a Rasta towards Sonarpura locality. P.W. 10 Vijay Bahadur Singh was resident of the village of Dharam Dev Yadav. He knew him since his childhood. He deposed that he plied tempo rickshaw in Varanasi and thereafter he worked as a guide. He visited the village alongwith a foreigner. He had identified the photograph of Diana and stated that she had stayed in the village alongwith Dharam Dev Yadav. The testimonies of these witnesses fully prove that Dharam Dev Yadav had worked as a guide in Vishnu Guest House and he came in contact with Diana and she was seen by these witnesses alongwith him. There is no suggestion as to why these witnesses are falsely roping him except a vague suggestion that they are under the pressure of the police. The prosecution has successfully proved the circumstance of last seen of the deceased alongwith the appellant. The counsel for the appellant has challenged that the witnesses of last seen had identified Diana on the basis of poster photograph (Ext. 1) and the court had wrongly considered the identity on the basis of a photograph alone It is submitted that in the absence of negative of the photograph, identity cannot be fixed on the basis of a photograph alone. This submission has got no substance. The evidence on record shows that the photograph of Diana was given by Routley to the investigating officer. There is no infirmity in identification of, Diana on the basis of her photograph. The counsel for the appellant placed reliance on a decision of State of Gujrat v. Bharat alias Bhupendra reported in 1991 Crl. L.J.978 where it is observed that the photographs should not be admitted in evidence without examining the person who took the photographs and the negatives of the same being produced on record. The Apex Court in various decisions had considered the desirability of identification on the basis of photograph and in some cases where the photograph of an accused was published in the news paper,his subsequent identification by the witnesses in the identification parade was disbelieved. The identification of Diana by her photograph is further corroborated by the test of super imposition and D.N.A. testing.In the case of D. Gopalakrishnan v. Sadanand Naik, , at page 87 : "There are no statutory guidelines in the matter of showing photographs to the witnesses during the stage of investigation. But nevertheless, the police is entitled to show photographs to confirm whether the investigation is going on in the right direction". In the case of Laxmipat Choraria v. State of Maharashtra, "On the whole, we think that if the court is satisfied that there is no trick photography and the photograph is above suspicion, the photograph can be received in evidence".It is further observed in the case of Laxmi Raj Shetty v. State of T.N., , at page 342 "In the world as a whole today, the identification by photograph is the only method generally used by the Interpol and other crime detecting agencies for identification of criminals engaged in drug trafficking, narcotics and other economic offences as also in other international crimes. Such identification must take the place of a test identification"
44. It is also necessary to point out that during the trial the identity of the photograph was not challenged.
RECOVERY OF SKELETON
45. The next circumstance is recovery of skeleton under Section of the Evidence Act on the pointing out of appellant from his house. P.W. 14, S.H.O., Anil Kumar Rai had interrogated Dharam Dev Yadav on 19.8.1998. He had confessed to have committed the murder and further disclosed that he could get the dead body of Diana recovered from the place in his village where it is hurried. P.W. 14 had informed the higher authorities and proceeded to the village alongwith him. Dharam Dev Yadav picked out a key from his pocket and opened the lock of the main door of his house and pointed out a place inside the room where the dead body of Diana was burried. Dharam Dev Yadav dug the floor and after a short dig a skeleton was visible. Thereafter Dharam Dev Yadav was taken into custody. Recovery memo of skeleton was prepared which is Ext. Ka. 6. The inquest memo was prepared. P.W. 15, Indra Kumar Mandal, had also supported the recovery of skeleton on the pointing out of Dharam Dev Yadav. He stated that Anil Kumar Rai, P.W. 14, came to P.S. Bahariyabad, Ghazipur, delivered a written report disclosing information that accused Dharam Dev Yadav has given inforfmation that dead body of a foreign lady lies buried inside his house. This fact was mentioned in G.D. which are Exts. Ka. 9 and 10. They had also accompanied Anil Kumar Rai, P.W. 14, and skeleton was recovered on his pointing out. P.W. 16, S.D.M., Jakhaniya also stated that he had received information through police station Bahariyabad that District Magistrate, Ghazipur, had directed him for completing and preparing inquest memo on a dead body recovered. He reached village Vrindaban at 3.30 P.M. and saw skeleton lying inside the room of house of Dharam Dev Yadav. He dictated while S.O. Indra Kumar Mandal had prepared the Panchayatnama in his writing. He further stated that the skeleton was taken out of the pit and placed before the house of accused. After the preparation of photonash, challan nash Ext. Ka. 13 to 15 were prepared and skeleton was sent for post-mortem alongwith letter to C.M.O. Ghazipur. P.W. 17, Con. Ram Sinhasan Singh, stated that he alongwith Sunil Kumar Rai went to village Vrindaban to the house of Dharam Dev Yadav and saw S.H.O. Indra Kumar Mandal and R.P. Singh present there. He had handed over Jild Panchayatnama to his station house officer. He further stated that he saw a skeleton in a pit inside the room of Dharam Dev Yadav. He had delivered the skeleton at the mortuary alongwith all the relevant papers to a team of doctors. P.W. 18, Con. Patehswar Lal also deposed that he had taken photographs of the skeleton which was placed inside the room of Dharam Dev Yadav. P.W. 22 Lal Bachan Prajapati, had also taken photographs of the recovery of a skeleton. Thus, the evidence on record fully establishes that the skeleton was recovered on the pointing out of the appellant.
IDENTITY OF THE SKELETON
46. The identity of the skelton is established by the evidence of P.W. 20 Dr. C.B. Tripathi and P.W. 21 Dr. G.V. Rao.
47. Firstly, it is to be noted that the skeleton was recovered buried inside the house which was in exclusive possession of the appellant.The recovery of skeleton is in pursuance to his diclosure statment made under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. The medical evidence with regard to fixing the identity of the skeleton is furnished by P.W.20 Dr.C.B.Tripathi, Professor & Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine, I.M.S., B.H.U., Varanasi, who had conducted the post mortem examination of skeleton on 30.8.98 at 12.30 p.m. He had prepared the post mortem examination report Ext.Ka.28. According to this report the body parts were human and of a single individual belonged to the caucasion race, aged about 24 years, height about 161 cm. and of a female He had also conducted personal identification by super imposition technique. The photograph of Diana was obtained from S.S.P., Varanasi (Ex.1) from which a black and white photograph (Ex.2) was made. The photograph of skull alongiwth mandible was taken (Ex.3) by minutely adjusting the same angle and distance from which photograph of face (Ex.2) was taken and negative of skull (Ex/3) was precisely adjusted then super imposed photograph was taken firstly partially exposing negative of photograph on photograph paper then exposing negative of skull on the same photograph. Thus the superimposed photograph (Ex.4) was obtained and registration marks and lines were compared and was found that they matched and coincidence exactly establishing that the skull belonged to the photograph of the individual.
48. Dental record of Diana (Ex.5) was made available by S.S.P., Varanasi with the help of interpol service. In the lower jaw there was evidence of eruption of third molar, both sides, but the teeth were missing. The dental record shows that both the lower third molar were extracated on 8.3.93. The upper third molar both sides teeth was not present and no sign of erruption was seen. The X-ray (dental) (Ex.6) of Diana shows that both upper third molar was not erupted/ intact. The examination of teeth and their X-ray shows that there are cavities and filling in the upper left second molar, upper right first molar, lower left second molar and lower right second molar,and also small cavities in the first molar both sides. The dental chart (Ex.5) and dental X rays (Ex.7) of Diana also shows presence of cavity and filling in these teeth. Thus the comparison of teeth and their x-ray with the dental and their x-ray records from New Zealand of Diana completely establishes the identity of skull and the mandible of being of Diana.
49. One femur and humerous bones were preserved for analysis and comparison with her father's blood sample.
50. The Apex Court had also relied upon the super imposition technique in fixing the identiy of the deceased in the case of Henry Westmuller Roberts v. State of Assam, , at page 307 "Those skeletan remains were sent by the Medical Officer, PW 37 duly packed in the presence of the Judicial Magistrate, PW 3 to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Gauhati. The Assistant Director, Biology Section in that laboratory, PW 27 obtained some photographs of Sanjay with their negatives from the boy's family through the police. After performing the superimposition test with Sanjay's enlarged photograph. M. Ex. 59 the Scientific Officer of the Photography Section of that laboratory, PW 28, found the skull, M. Ex. 48 and the photograph, M. Ex. 59 of Sanjay to be of the same person. Ex. 27 is his report. In these circumstances, we think that there is no reason to disagree with the findings of the courts below that the corpus delecti recovered from the place pointed out by Henry as per his confessional statement, Ex. 33 has been proved to be that of Sanjay who had disappeared from the pandal at the temple in Tinsukhia town in the evening of March 26, 1975. We agree with the courts below and find that the prosecution has proved beyond all reasonable doubt that Sanjay, who was about nine years old at the time of his disappearance, had been kidnapped and murdered"
51. P.W.21 Dr.G.B.Rao, Chief D.N.A. Finger Printing Laboratory, C.D.F.D., Hydrabad had adopted the tests as short tandem space repeats (S.T.R.) analysis and submitted his report(Ex.Ka.26). He had also confirmed that blood sample of Allan Jack Routley is biologically related to the sources of Exts. B & C i.e. humerus and femur bones of the deceased. He had also confirmed that humerus and femur bones are from one source. He also deposed that test adopted by him is known as short tandem sapce repeats (STR analysis) and this is a highly sensitive, conclusive test whcih produces results even on degraded biological samples. This test was done twice to obtained conclusive results.
52. He also deposed that D.N.A. finger printing technology is so advanced that even if the blood is disintigrated the D.N.A. remains stable unless it is burnt by fire. The scope of error in D.N.A. printing including malfunctionining of the instruments, human error and use of chemicals beyond expiry date, is one in 32 billion. He also deposed that the basic principle remains as per law of genetics that all the D.N.A. present in a biological child should match either with the father or with the mother.In view of the over whelming evidnece on the record the skeleton was of Diana is proved beyond reasonable doubt.
ADMISIBILITY OF RECOVERY UNDER Section 27 OF THE EVIDENCE ACT
53. The counsel for the appellant further submitted that the alleged recovery of the skeleton under Section 27 of the Evidence Act is not admissible because the evidence of P.W. 14 Anil Kumar Rai shows that he was not taken into 'custody'at the time of making confession. After the recovery of skeleton he was arrested. Section 27 of the Evidence Act applies when a statement is given by an accused of an offence while in custody and persuant to his statement something is recovered. Therefore, the Sessions Judge committed illegality in admitting the recovery of skeleton on the pointing out of appellant as an incriminating circumstance. The counsel for the appellant placed reliance on a decision of this court Ramua alias Ram Lal v. State reported in 1992 Crl.L.J.3972 where the recovery was disbelieved on the ground that at the time of recovery the accused was not in custody. We have considered the submission of counsel for the appellant and we do not find any force in this submission and the decision relied upon by the counsel for the appellant does not lay down correct law. Under Section 27 of Evidence Act custody does not necessarily mean custody after formal arrest, but includes a state of affairs in which the accused can be said to have come into the hands of a police officer or have been under some form of police surveillance or restriction on his movements by the police. In the case of State of A.P. v. . Gangula Satyamurti , the Apex Court had observed "such custody need not necessarily be post arrest custody." The testimony of P.W. 14 Anil Kumar Rai shows that he had interrogated Dharam Deo Yadav at the railway station and he confessed his crime, thereafter he took him in his jeep to P.S. Bahariyabad. He had asked S.H.O. Indra Kumar Mandal, P.S. Bahariyabad to company him alongwith force. He had already received information on wireless and was ready and they proceeded alongwith Dharam Deo Yadav to Vrindaban which was at a distance of 9 Kms. from the police station. Thereafter, he dug out the skeleton. This clearly shows that he was in "custody" within the meaning of Section 27 of the Evidence Act.
HOMICIDAL DEATH
54. The counsel for the appellant submitted that the prosecution failed to prove homicidal death in this case. The counsel for the appellant has drawn our attention to the post mortem examination of the skeleton conducted by P.W. 19 Dr.G.K.Tripathi which shows that cause of death could not be ascertained and body remains were preserved. It is submitted that in the absence of cause of death, appeallant cannot be convicted for the murder. It is further contended that if the prosecution case is to be believed, the appellant could only be convicted for an offence under Section 201 I.P.C.In support of his submission reliance was placed on a decision of Apex Court State of M.P. v. Ramkrishna Ganpatrao Limsey, wherein it is observed that "The strongest weapon in the armoury of the learned Advocate-General is the existence of a freshly constructed tomb in the loft of Limsey 's house wherein the dead body of Dattu was entombed. The conduct of Limsey in constructing Dattu 's tomb in the third storey of his house more or less verges on lunacy and is not conclusive evidence of the fact that Dattu had been murdered by him, though it raises a very strong suspicion against him. We have considered the submission of the counsel for the appellant and the decision also. It is no doubt true that even in the absence of the corpus delicti it is possible to establish in an appropriate case commission of murder on appropriate material being made available to the court. In the case of Ramkrishna Ganpatrao Limsey(supra) the apex court had also observed that "The High Court was dealing with the case of a person whose mind was so perverted that he could not see that such conduct on his part would surely recoil on himself and be the strongest proof against his innocence. The possibility therefore cannot be ruled out that he may have acted in a similar way in case he wanted to conceal, for reasons of his own, the death of a person brought about by natural causes in his house. It is not difficult to visualize that Dattu died a natural but sudden death and in a moment of panic and confusion Limsey conceived the idea of concealing his death by entombing him in his own house. There are no such circumstances that militate against the theory that Dattu might have died of alcoholic poisoning or of heart failure while sitting in the company of Limsey and drinking heavily. Limsey having been flabbergasted at what had happened might well have thought of disposing of his body in the manner he did in order to conceal the fact that his death took place while he was in his company and was taking liquor and smoking ganja, his object being to avoid bad repute and his place being described as a den of drunkards and resort of ganja-smokers." The fact of this case is totally distinguishable from the case of the present case. The court had observed in the Limsey's case (supra) " the conduct of limsey in constructing Dattu's tomb in the third storey of his house more or less verges on lunacy and is not conclusive evidence of the fact that Dattu had been murdered by him." In the instant case there is evidence that the appellant had called P.W. 11 Niranjan Chauhan to plaster the floor and he did not allow him to level the floor. His conduct shows that he knew the consequences of his conduct; therefore, the case of Limsey is not applicable. The counsel for the appellant also placed reliance on a decision of the Apex Court State of Punjab v. Bhajan Singh wherein it is observed '" The evidence of Dr Saluja is clear on the point that the features of the persons on whose dead bodies the doctor performed post-mortem were unrecognizable. Question then arises as to whether the death of the two persons whose dead bodies were recovered was homicidal. So far as this aspect is concerned, we find that Dr Saluja had deposed that he found no marks of ligature on either of the two dead bodies. According further to the doctor, he could not find the cause of death because the two dead bodies were in a decomposed state. In the face of the above evidence of the doctor, it is not possible to hold that the death of the two persons, whose bodies were recovered was homicidal". The facts of this case are distinguishable as the Apex Court had also observed " We, however, find that the evidence which has been adduced in this case is far from satisfactory and that it suffers from a number of infirmities. In the first instance, there is no evidence on record to show that the two dead bodies which are alleged to have been recovered in pursuance of the disclosure statement of Bhajan Singh were those of Bachan Singh and Harbans Singh, deceased". In the instant case there is sufficient evidence to show that the skeleton, which was recovered, buried in the room of the appellant was that of Diana. The Apex Court in the case of Rama Nand v. . State of H.P. observed :
"This means that before seeking to prove that the accused is the perpetrator of the murder, it must be established that homicidal death has been caused. Ordinarily, the "recovery of the dead body of the victim or a vital part of it, bearing marks of violence, is sufficient proof of homicidal death of the victim. There was a time when under the old English law, the finding of the body of the deceased was held to be essential before a person was convicted of committing his culpable homicide. "I would never convict," said Sir Mathew Hale, "a person of murder or manslaughter unless the fact were proved to be done, or at least the body was found dead." This was merely a rule of caution, and not of law. But in those times when execution was the only punishment for murder, the need for adhering to this cautionary rule was greater. Discovery of the dead body of the victim bearing physical evidence of violence, has never been considered as the only mode of proving the corpus delicti in murder. Indeed, very many cases are of such a nature where the discovery of the dead body is impossible. A blind adherence to this old "body" doctrine would open the door wide open for many a heinous murderer to escape with impunity simply because they were cunning and clever enough to destroy the body of their victim. In the context of our law, Sir Hale's enunciation has to be interpreted no more than emphasising that where the dead body of the victim in a murder case is not found, other cogent and satisfactory proof of the homicidal death of the victim must be adduced by the prosecution. Such proof may be by the direct ocular account of an eyewitness, or by circumstantial evidence, or by both. But where the feet of corpus delicti i.e. "homicidal death" is sought to be established by circumstantial evidence alone, the circumstances must be of a clinching and definitive character unerringly leading to the inference that the victim concerned has met a homicidal death. Even so, this principle of caution cannot be pushed too far as requiring absolute proof. Perfect proof is seldom to be had in this imperfect world, and absolute certainty is a myth. That is why under Section 3 of the Evidence Act, a fact is said to be "proved", if the court considering the matters before it, considers its existence so probable that a prudent man ought, under the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition that it exists. The corpus delicti or the fact of homicidal death, therefore, can be proved by telling and inculpating circumstances which definitely lead to the conclusion that within all human probability, the victim has been murdered by the accused concerned."
LINK EVIDENCE
55. The counsel for the appellant also argued that there is nothing on the record to show that how the body remains of Diana reached at B.H.U., Varanasi and the constables who had brought them to B.H.U. are not examined and it is also not clear how the body remains reached at C.D.F.D., Hyderabald. The link evidence is not proved. Dr. C.B. Tripathi had clearly deposed that constables Hargovind Bharti and Anil Kumar Singh had brought the body remains in a sealed condition and he had also compared with the sample seal and he was satisfied with the genuineness of the seal. It is necessarly to point out that Dr. C.B. Tripathi, P.W. 20, was not cross examined by the appellant and no suggestion was given whether the seal was tampered or changed. It is also relevant to point out that the body remains of Diana cannot be substituted because body remains cannot be obtained from any other source. The tampering in any manner was impossible. Therefore, this submission has no substance.
ILLEGALITY IN INVESTIGATION
56. The next submission of counsel for the appellant is that the investigation of the case is illegal. P.W. 14 Anil Kumar Rai was not an investigating officer of the case, therefore, he was not authorised to investigate the case and any act done by hin in furtherance of the investigation, including recovery of skeleton is illegal. This submission has no substance because report was already registered against the appellant and he was not traceable. As soon as information was received by him he had interrogated him and brought him to P.S. Bahariyabad and also informed higher authorities at the time of recovery of skeleton. Other senior police officers arrived there including a Magistrate. The testimony of P.W. 26 S.I. Raghvendra Singh shows that on 18.8.1998 he had received information that Dharm Dev Yadav will arrive next day from Bombay. He had also instructed the informer to contact S.O. Shivpur and he had also contacted P.W. 14 Anil Kumar Rai and also planned his arrest. He was fully authorised to effect arrest and recovery under Section 27 of Evidence Act and the same cannot be said to be illegal. Even if he was not authorised and any evidence is collected by him that cannot be ignored. In the case of N.M.T. Joy , the Apex Court had observed "so far as India is concerned, its law of evidence is modeled on the rules of evidence which prevailed in English law and courts in India and in England have consistently refused to exclude relevant evidence merely on the ground that it is obtained by illegal search of seizure. When the test of admissibility of evidence lies in relevancy, unless there is an express or necessarilly implied prohibition in the Constitution or other law, evidence obtained as a result of illegal search or seizure is not liable to be shut out."
MOTIVE
57. It is further contended on behalf of counsel for the appellant that according to the prosecution the motive for the crime was robbery and the session judge had already acquitted him of the charge under Section 394 I.P.C. and the State had also not preferred any appeal against his acquittal.
58. It is a case of circumstantial evidence. It is true that motive plays an important role in a case of circumstantial evidence but failure to prove motive does not discredit the otherwise reliable incriminating circumstances. The Apex Court in State of U.P. v. Babu Ram , at page 522 :
"We are unable to concur with the legal proposition adumbrated in the impugned judgment that motive may not be very much material in cases depending on direct evidence whereas motive is material only when the case depends upon circumstantial evidence. There is no legal warrant for making such a hiatus in criminal cases as for the motive for committing the crime. Motive is a relevant factor in all criminal cases whether based on the testimony of eyewitnesses or circumstantial evidence. The question in this regard is whether the prosecution must fail because it failed to prove the motive or even whether inability to prove motive would weaken the prosecution to any perceptible limit. No doubt, if the prosecution proves the existence of a motive it would be well and good for it, particularly in a case depending on circumstantial evidence, for such motive could then be counted as one of the circumstances. However, it cannot be forgotten that it is generally a difficult area for any prosecution to bring on record what was in the mind of the respondent. Even if the investigating officer would have succeeded in knowing it through interrogations that cannot be put in evidence by them due to the ban imposed by law."
59. It is further observed "In this context we would reiterate what this Court has said about the value of motive evidence and the consequences of the prosecution failing to prove it, in Nathuni Yadav v. State of Bihar 1 and State of H.P. v. Jeet Singh 2. The following passage can be quoted from the latter decision: (SCC p. 380, para 33) "33. No doubt it is a sound principle to remember that every criminal act was done with a motive but its corollary is not that no criminal offence would have been committed if the prosecution has failed to prove the precise motive of the accused to commit it. When the prosecution succeeded in showing the possibility of some ire for the accused towards the victim, the inability to further put on record the manner in which such ire would have swelled up in the mind of the offender to such a degree as to impel him to commit the offence cannot be construed as a fatal weakness of the prosecution. It is almost an impossibility for the prosecution to unravel the full dimension of the mental disposition of an offender towards the person whom he offended."
60. The evidence with regard to the last seen and recovery of skeleton on the pointing out of the appellant from his house which was in his exclusive possession is proved by credible evidence. The appellant also failed to offer any explanation as to why so many witnesses are deposing against him. The witnesses were subjected to extensive cross examination but nothing could be elicited to discredit their testimony. There is only a vague suggestion on the part of the appellant that witnesses are deposing under the pressure of police. This explanation cannot be accepted simply because the name of the appellant was disclosed prior to lodging of the report and during investigation. The evidence in this case was recorded after a long lapse of time and it cannot be said that the witnesses are under the constant pressure of the police. The witnesses were extensively cross examined but nothing could be elicited to discredit their testimony. The counsel for the appellant submitted that there is contradiction in the statement of the witnesses about the actual time of the recovery of the skeleton. We have considered the submission and considered the testimony of the witnesses and we do not found any material contradicion. It is also important to point out that some minor contradictions are bound to occur when the evidence is recorded after about three years of the occurrence. The Session Judge also rightly relied upon the recovery of the skeleton.
FALSE DENIAL
61. In his examination under Section 313 Cr.P.C. the appellant had denied the prosecution case completely. It is also relevant to point out that the appellant had denied that he worked as a guide. The evidence on record fully establishes the fact that the appellant earlier used to ply rickshaw and later on he became guide. All the witnesses have categorically stated that he was working as a guide in old Vishnu guest house. Even P.W. 12 Ajay Singh who was also resident of his village and declared hostile, stated that Dharm Deo Yadav was doing agriculture work in the village and in Varanasi he had started plying rickshaw and thereafter he became a guide. Thus there is ample evidence to prove that the appellant was working as a guide and he was employed in that capacity in Old Vishnu Guest House. His denial about his profession is false. The circumstance of last seen and recovery of skeleton from his house was put to the accused under Section 313 Cr.P.C. His answer was of denial. Thus the appellant had made false denial of his profession, his being last seen with the deceased and about the recovery of skeleton which also provides an additional link in the chain of circumstances. The Apex Court in the case of Anthony Dsouza and Ors. v. . State of Karnataka reported in 2003 S.C.C. (Crl) 292 observed as under:
"In Swapan Patra v. State of W.B. this court said that in a case of circumstantial evidence when the accused offers an explanation and that explanation is found not to be true then the same offers an additional link in the chain of circumstances to complete the chain. The same principle has been followed and reiterated in State of Maharashtra v. Suresh where it has been said that a false answer offered by the accused when his attention was drawn to a circumstance, renders that circumstance capable of inculpating him. This court further pointed out that in such a situation false answer can also be counted as providing a missing link for completing the chain. The aforesaid principle has been again followed and reiterated in Kuldeep Singh v. . State of Rajasthan."
62. In our opinion the circumstances from which an inference of guilt is sought to be drawn are unerringly pointing towards the guilt of the accused and the circumstances, taken cumulatively, form a chain so complete that there is no escape from the conclusion that within all human probability the crime was committed by the appellant and none else; and the circumstantial evidence is complete and incapable of explanation of any other hypothesis than that of the guilt of the appellant. The sessions judge rightly recorded the finding of conviction and we concur with the same.
63. In Government Appeal No. 2726 of 2003 the Sessions Judge acquitted respondents Kali Charan Yadav, Sindhu Harijan and Ram Karan Chauhan under Section 302/201 I.P.C. on the ground that P.W. 26 Raghvendra Singh, S.I. deposed that the only incriminating circumstance against these persons is the statement of the accused and he could not collect any other evidence. There was no legally admissible evidence against them. The Sessions Judge had rightly held that the guilt of the accused is not proved. Kali Charan was acquitted under Section 411 I.P.C. The Sessions Judge had held that he was charged under Section 411 I.P.C. on the basis of recovery of certain articles of the deceased but the recovered articles were not put up for identification so as to connect the same as belongings of Diana. There is no evidence that these articles were looted and he had with dishonest intention received or retained the looted articles of Diana and has acquitted him under Section 411 I.P. C. The respondent Kesar Yadav and Mahesh Chand Misra were also charged under Section 411 I.P.C. The alleged looted articles were recovered from the possession of respondents Kesar Yadav and Mahesh Chand Misra. The Sessions Judge had wrongly held that recovery on the basis of joint statement cannot be proved against any of the accused. It is rightly held that there was no evidence to prove that Kesar Yadav had the knowledge or reason to believe that the goods and articles were stolen/looted and acquitted him under Section 411 I.P.C. Similarly there is no evidence that Mahesh Chand Misra had received or retained American dollors/travellers cheques in the name of Diana and thereafter transferred the same to some other person for a higher price consideration. Therefore, it can not be said that the trial court was not justified in acquitting the respondents. The Apex Court in the case of State Of Punjab v. Karnail Singh observed as under:
"There is no embargo on the appellate court reviewing the evidence upon which an order of acquittal is based. Generally, the order of acquittal shall not be interfered with because the presumption of innocence of the accused is further strengthened by acquittal. The golden thread which runs through the web of administration of justice in criminal cases is that if two views are possible on the evidence adduced in the case, one pointing to the guilt of the accused and the other to his innocence, the view which is favourable to the accused should be adopted. The paramount consideration of the court is to ensure that miscarriage of justice is prevented. A miscarriage of justice which may arise from acquittal of the guilty is no less than from the conviction of an innocent. In a case where admissible evidence is ignored, a duty is cast upon the appellate court to reappreciate the evidence even where the accused has been acquitted, for the purpose of ascertaining as to whether any of the accused committed any offence or not. (See Bhagwan Singh v. State of M.P. 1) The principle to be followed by the appellate court considering the appeal against the judgment of acquittal is to interfere only when there are compelling and substantial reasons for doing so. If the impugned judgment is clearly unreasonable, it is a compelling reason for interference. These aspects were highlighted by this Court in Shivaji Sahabrao Bobade v. State of Maharashtra 2, Ramesh Babulal Doshi v. State of Gujarat 3 and Jaswant Singh v. State of Haryana 4."
64. The Sessions judge rightly acquitted the respondents and we also confirm the acquittal of the respondents and the Govt. Appeal lacks merit and is hereby dismissed.
65. Lastly, this is a serious question for consideration that whether imposition of death penalty to appellant in the facts and circumstances of case is justified? The Sessions Judge awarded the death sentence on the ground that "the entire factual and circumstantial scenario and close perusal and keen perception certify as to how the accused/convict Dharam Deo Yadav killed and brutally and criminally buried a lonely young girl of a foreign country betraying the confidence of a Guide reposed by the foreign tourist and displayed dubious and dare/cool in burying the dead body inside a room in ones own house and all that defies all parameters of criminality. More so in relation to a citizen of foreign country with dared attempt to screen from punishment and all that done under darkest veil of secrecy. Added further, all these criminal acts and doings of convict Dharam Deo, as to my mind also disgrace, tarnish and under mine the image of "we the people of India" as enshrined in the preamble of the Indian Constitution."
66. Under the old Code of Criminal Procedure ample discretion was given to courts to pass death sentence as a general proposition and the alternative sentence of life term could be awarded in an exceptional case and that too after advancing special reasons for making a departure from the general rule. The new Code of 1973 has entirely reversed the approach. A sentence of imprisonment for life is now the rule and capital sentence is an exception. It has also been made obligatory on the courts to record special reasons if ultimately death sentence is awarded.
67. In the case of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab , the constitutional validity of the provision for death penalty was upheld . The constitutional Bench pointed out that the present legislative policy discernible from Section 235(2) read with Section 354(3) of the code of criminal procedure is that "it is only when the culpability assumes the proportion of total depravity that 'special reason' within the meaning of Section 354(3) for imposition of the death sentence can be said to exist". Broad illustrative guidelines of such instances were also indicated therein. It was laid down that the legislative policy applied in Section in Section 354(3) of the code of criminal procedure is that, if a person convicted of murder, life imprisonment is the rule and death sentence an exception to be imposed in the" rarest of the rare" cases.
68. In Machi Singh v. State Of Punjab it was observed that it was only in rarest of rare cases , when the collective conscience of the community is so shocked that it will expect the holders of the judicial power center to inflict death penalty irrespective of their personal opinion as regards desirability or otherwise of retaining death penalty.
69. A reading of Bachan Singh (supra) and Machhi Singh (supra) indicates that it would be possible to take the view that the community may entertain such sentiment in the following circumstances;
1. When the murder is committed in an extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical, revolting or dastardly manner so as to arouse intense and extreme indignation of the community.
2. When the murder is committed for a motive which evinces total depravity and meanness; e.g. murder by hired assassin for money or reward; or cold blooded murder for gains of a person vis-a-vis whom the murdered is in a dominating position or in a position of trust; or the murder is committed in the course for betrayal of the mother land.
3. When murder of a member of a scheduled caste or minority community etc. is committed not for personal reasons but in circumstances which arouse social wrath; or in cases of 'bride burning1 or 'dowry death' or when murder is committed in order to remarry for the sake of extracting dowry once again or to marry another woman on account of infatuation
4. When the crime is enormous in proportion . For instance when multiple murders , say of all or almost all the members of a family or a large number of persons of a particular caste, community or locality, are committed.
5. When the victim of murder is an innocent child or a helpless woman or old or infirm person or a person vis-a-vis whom the murderer is in a dominating position, or a public figure generally loved and respected by the community.
70. In Sevaka Perumal v State of Tamil Nadu the Apex Court had observed that "Undue sympathy to impose inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice delivery system to undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law and society could no longer endure under serious threats. If the courts do not protect the injured, the injured would then resort to private vengeance. It is, therefore, the duty of every court to award proper sentence having regard to the nature of the offence and the manner in which it was executed or committed etc."
71. The Apex Court in the case of State of U.P v. Satish J T 2005(92) SC 153 has held that "The principle of proportion between crime and punishment is a principle of just desert that serves as the foundation of every criminal sentence that is justifiable. As a principle of criminal justice it is hardly less familiar or less important than the principle that only the guilty ought to be punished. Indeed, the requirement that punishment not be disproportionately great, which is a corollary of just desert, is dictated by the same principle that does not allow punishment of the innocent, for any punishment in excess of what is deserved for the criminal conduct is punishment without guilt."
72. The criminal law adheres in general to the principle of proportionality in prescribing liability according to the culpability of each kind of criminal conduct. It ordinarily allow some significant discretion to the judge in arriving at a sentence in each case, presumably to permit sentences that reflect more subtle considerations of culpability that are raised by the special facts of each case. Judges in essence affirm that punishment ought always to fit the crime; yet in practice sentences are determined largely by other considerations. Sometimes it is the correctional needs of the perpetrator that are offered to justify a sentence. Sometimes the desirability of keeping him out of circulation, and sometimes even the tragic results of his crime. Inevitably these considerations cause a departure from just desert as the basis of punishment and create cases of apparent injustice that are serious and widespread.
73. Proportion between crime and punishment is a goal respected in principle, and in spite of errant notions, it remains a strong influence in the determination of sentences. Anything less than a penalty greatest severity for serious crime is thought to be a measure of toleration that is unwarranted and unwise. But in fact quite apart from those considerations that make punishment unjustifiable when it is out of proportion to the crime, uniformly disproportionate punishment has some very undesirable practical consequences".
74. We have considered the facts and circumstances of the case and there is no mitigating circumstance in favour of the appellant. We have no hesitation in holding that the case at hand falls in rarest of rare category and the Sessions Judge rightly sentenced the appellant to death and we also confirm the same. In view of the above the appeals are decided as under:
1. Crl. Appeal No. 1000/2003 filed by Dharam Deo Yadav is dismissed. Conviction and sentence awarded by the trial court is confirmed.
2. Govt. Appeal No. 2726 filed by the State against the acquittal of respondents Kali Charan Yadav, Sindhu Harijan, Ram Karan Chauhan, Kesar Prasad Yadav and Mahesh Chandra Misra is dismissed
75. The reference No. 21 submitted by the sessions judge for the confirmation of the death sentence is allowed.
76. Office is directed to send a copy of this order to the court concerned within a week.