Delhi District Court
State vs Vinay on 30 March, 2026
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18
FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy
u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC
IN THE COURT OF SH. JAGMOHAN SINGH
ADDITIONAL SESSIONS JUDGE - 03, NORTH DISTRICT
ROHINI COURTS, DELHI
In the matter of :-
CNR No. DLNT01- 005969-2018
SC No. 373/18
FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy
U/s : 302/201 IPC read with Section 120B IPC
State
Versus
1. Vinay
S/o Anil Kumar
R/o H.No.-49,
Village Holambi Khurd,
Delhi.
2. Anil Kumar
S/o Hukam Singh
R/o H.No.-49,
Village Holambi Khurd,
Delhi.
3. Aakash
S/o Anil Kumar
R/o H.No.-49,
Village Holambi Khurd,
Delhi.
Date of FIR : 28.02.2018
Date of committal : 02.07.2018
Charge framed on : 31.07.2019 Digitally signed
by JAGMOHAN
JAGMOHAN SINGH
SINGH Date:
2026.04.16
10:25:37 +0530
Page No.1 of 50
.
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18
FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy
u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC
Arguments heard on : 19.03.2026
Judgment pronounced on : 30.03.2026
Decision : Conviction
Appearance : Dr. Raj Rani, Ld. Addl. PP for the State
Sh. Gajraj Singh, Ld. Counsel for the accused
JUDGMENT
Brief case of the prosecution
1. Stated briefly, the case of the prosecution is that on 28.02.2018, DD No. 12PP (Ex.2/A) was received at PS Shahbad Dairy to the effect that a telephone call had been received in the PCR that at Holambi Khurd Village near the drain a dead body of some unknown lady aged 24-25 years was lying who had been killed by burning. Upon receipt of the same, ASI Om Prakash (PW-12) alongwith HC Sunil Dutt (PW-6) went to the place of occurrence i.e. Public School, Holambi Khurd, Delhi towards Naya Bans. After crossing the small bridge over the drain, to the left side around 60-70 meters on the dirt road, half burnt body of an unknown lady was lying; she was wearing yellow metal ring in the ring finger of her right hand and silver metal ring in the ring finger of her left hand; red bangles in the right hand; nose pin (laung); her left foot and body was almost completely burnt; a rope could be seen tied to the neck; her face and hairs were also half burnt; a partially burnt plastic bottle alongwith lid was lying nearby; 1-2 litre plastic bottle, partially burnt was Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN SINGH JAGMOHAN Date: SINGH 2026.04.16 10:25:46 Page No.2 of 50 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC lying over the body; bangles of the left hand were lying near the left hand; both hands were also in the burnt condition. The dead body could not be identified.
2. In the above facts and circumstances, upon the above statement of ASI Om Prakash, the present FIR bearing FIR No.114/18 (Ex.PW-1/A) was recorded and investigation of the case was taken up.
Trial
3. Upon completion of investigation, chargesheet was filed before the Court of Ld. MM and after compliance of provisions of Sec. 207 Cr.PC, the present case was assigned to this Court through proper channel.
4. Considering the material available on record, Ld. Predecessor of this Court vide order dated 31.07.2019, framed charge for the offences punishable u/s 302/201/120B IPC against all the accused, to which they all pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
5. Prosecution evidence was recorded thereafter and 23 PWs have been examined.
6. Statements of all the accused persons u/s 313 Cr.P.C. were recorded thereafter separately, wherein they pleaded innocence and stated that they were falsely implicated in the present case; Accused Anil used to give maintenance to deceased Jamna Devi even prior to the filing of civil suit; on the date of alleged Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN SINGH JAGMOHAN Date: SINGH 2026.04.16 10:25:53 Page No.3 of 50 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC incident, deceased went to the house of her daughters Suman and Urmila and did not inform about the same to accused Anil; no quarrel took place between accused persons and deceased Jamna Devi; they were falsely implicated in the present case on the instance of daughters of thedeceased Jamna Devi as they wanted to grab property/share of deceased; even above named daughters of deceased instigated her to file civil litigation against accused Anil in order to grab his share in the property.
7. The accused opted not to lead evidence in their defence.
Appreciation of Evidence
8. I have heard Ld. Counsel for the accused, Ld. Addl. PP for the State and have also perused the record carefully.
9. Sh. Gajraj Singh, Ld. Counsel for all the accused persons has argued as under :-
(i) The place of incident was inspected by police officials, crime team and dog squad; however, no such purse was recovered from the place of incident. Furthermore, no public person was cited as the witness at the time of alleged recovery of the said purse despite the fact that the public persons were easily available in the said area. The same raises a doubt that the said purse was planted upon the accused at a belated stage in order to fabricate evidence against accused persons.
(ii) The ladies purse was recovered at the instance of accused Vinay is doubt in itself. Accused Vinay was arrested on Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Page 10:26:00 No.4 of+0530 Date: 2026.04.1650 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC 05.03.2018 and his first disclosure statement was recorded on the same day. However, the factum of lady's purse was first time mentioned in the supplementary disclosure statement of accused Vinay recorded on 06.03.2018. It is highly improbable that a lady of such age, belonging to a village background would be carrying a purse with her at that time of night. Further, if use deceased was even carrying the purse with her, accused Vinay will not be that stupid to throw the purse belongs to deceased near the place of incident even after seeing the ID card of the deceased in the said purse.
(iii) As per the FSL report of chemical examination, no residue of kerosene/diesel/petrol was detected upon the both the plastic bottles recovered from the place of incident as well as on the burnt cloth piece, broken glass bangle pieces and on the burnt and unburnt grass and soil. The same ruled out the possibility of use of kerosene oil as per the story of prosecution.
(iv) The alleged recovery of blood stained quilt was not effected from the possession of the accused persons or the instance of the accused persons instead the alleged quilt was recovered from the room of the deceased. In such circumstances, the prosecution has failed to establish any nexus or connectivity between the accused persons and the said alleged recovery.
(v) The prosecution has relied upon the alleged bloodstains found on the quilt recovered from the room of the deceased. However, the mere presence of bloodstains on the quilt does not Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN SINGH Page No.5 of 50 JAGMOHAN SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 10:26:07 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC ipso facto establish that the same is connected with the alleged offence. It is pertinent to note that the deceased was an old aged woman, and the possibility of blood being present on the quilt due to other natural or routine circumstances cannot be ruled out. The said bloodstains could have occurred due to various reasons, including minor injuries, health-related conditions, or even during normal daily activities or similar circumstances. In the absence of any cogent evidence establishing that the said bloodstains were directly connected with the alleged incident, the prosecution cannot presume that the bloodstains found on the quilt were the result of the alleged offence.
(vi) Daughters of deceased Jamna Devi gave their statements to police in the year 2019 i.e. after a delay of one year which itself creates a doubt on the story of prosecution. The delay in recording of the statements of the daughters of the deceased indicates the aftermath story to strengthen the case of the prosecution.
(vii) In his cross examination depose that Inspector Devender Yadav was the investigating officer of the present case, however Proceedings/investigation was also carried out by Ex/SI Puneet Gerewal without any express/written authorization. The above said fact is also corroborated with the testimony of PW-20.
(viii) PW-9 in his testimony depose that the exhibits were sealed with the seal of SB. However, it is pertinent to note herein that the investigation the investigation was carried out by PW-23 Digitally signed Page No.6 by JAGMOHAN ofJAGMOHAN 50 SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 . 10:26:17 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC Inspector Devender Yadav and PW-20 Ex/SI Puneet Gerewal. It is a settled procedural requirement that the investigating officer conducting the investigation carries the IO Kit, which ordinarily contains the seal of the concerned investigating officer. In the present case, prosecution is failed to explain as to which police official the seal of 'SB' belongs to which creates s serious doubt regarding the sealing of exhibits and on the credibility of the alleged recovery.
(ix) PW-18 in his examination in chief deposed that Inspector Devender deposited exhibits in malkhana on 28.02.2018 and 05.03.2018, Ex/SI Puneet Gerewal deposited exhibits in malkhana on 04.03.2018 and 06.03.2018 and HC Neeraj deposited exhibits in malkhana on 12.04.2018. however, it is pertinent to mention that all the exhibits were taken to the malkhana on the same day which creates a doubt on tampering of the exhibits.
(x) Daughters of deceased first visited the police station on 01.03.2018 and thereafter they again went to police station but police official did not show the photograph of the dead body found on 28.02.20218 which creates a doubt on the story of prosecution.
(xi) The exhibits allegedly lifted from the house of deceased were not seized by the investigating agency at the spot. It is pertinent to note herein that police the alleged lifted exhibits later which raises a strong possibility of manipulation and Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN Page No.7 SINGH of 50 SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:26:41 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC tampering with alleged case property.
(xii) Deficiencies in the testimony of PW-3 NAMELY URMILA (Daughter of deceased) :-
(a) PW-3 in her statement recorded on 04.03.2018 u/s 161 Cr.P.C., no where stated on 27.02.2018 she had a word with deceased with the help of Suman where she got to know quarrel took place between accused persons and deceased. She deposed that she alongwith her other sisters are party to the civil litigation pending between the accused persons and deceased Jamna Devi. The same establishes the motive behind falsely implicating the accused of persons in the present case by the daughters of deceased.
(b) She in her cross-examination recorded before this Hon'ble Court, categorically deposed that no document pertaining to the recovery of the purse and broken earring was prepared in her presence, and further stated that she did not sign any document after the alleged recovery of the said was purse and broken ring.
However, the seizure memo prepared by the police bears her signatures as the witness. This material contradiction strikes at the root of the prosecution case and raises serious doubts regarding the authenticity and genuineness of the seizure memo as well as the alleged recovery itself.
(c) PW-3 deposed in her cross examination that neither she nor her sisters handed over any bill or documents showing the ownership of the alleged recovered articles/belongings of the Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH PageDate:
No.8 of 502026.04.16 10:26:55 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC deceased Jamna Devi nor they moved ladies any application regarding taking the possession of the alleged articles recovered articles as same were belonged to their deceased mother. The same raises a serious doubt that the alleged recovered articles did not belongs to deceased and the same was falsely planted upon the accused persons.
(d) PW-3 in her statement u/s 161 Cr.P.C. recorded before police dated 15.01.2019 stated that she along with her husband Vinod and her sister Suman along with her husband Ravi came to Delhi on 28.02.2018 to search their mother as she was missing. However, PW-3 in her examination in chief recorded before the Hon'ble Court dated 13.12.2019 deposed that her mother went missing on 01.03.2018 which raises suspicion on the credibility of the witness i.e. PW-3.
(xiii) Deficiencies in the testimony of PW-5 Jagdish Singh (PCR Caller).
(a) As per the story of the prosecution, investigation agency had lifted 1 litre plastic bottle which was lying near the right hand of the deceased, however as per the cross examination of PW-5, he deposed that no bottle of Kerosene was lying near the place where the dead body was lying. The same creates a doubt on the alleged recovery made by the investigating agency.
(b) PW-5 in his cross examination also deposed that no matchbox or ignition instrument was lying near the said place.
It is highly unnatural and improbable that even if the accused Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 Page No.9 10:27:01 of 50 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC persons had committed the alleged offence, they would leave behind the bottle at the spot while carrying away the matchbox or any other ignition instrument. The same raises a doubt on the story of the prosecution.
(c) PW-5 Jagdish is the one who allegedly first noticed the dead body and made the PCR Call. It also interesting to note that PW-5 was also a police officer. However, it is pertinent to note that neither the site plan of the spot was prepared at the instance of PW-5 nor the site plan was prepared in his presence. Thus, failure to prepare site plan at the instance of PW-5 or in his presence creates a serious doubt regarding the manner in which the investigation was conducted and casts a shadow on the story of the prosecution.
(d) Investigating agency did not call PW-5 on the spot while lifting the exhibits from the spot. The same creates a doubt on the recovery of exhibits from the spot by the investigating agency as the same is contradictory to the testimony of the PW-5.
(xiv) Deficiencies in the testimony of PW-7 Suman (Neighbour of deceased) As per the evidence of PW-7 recorded on 22.09.2022 she has turned completely hostile and did not support the case of the prosecution. PW-7 did not depose anything incriminating against the accused persons and the same clearly shows that the accused persons has been falsely roped in the present case and Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGHPage No.10 of 50 Date: 2026.04.16 10:27:06 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC failed the story of prosecution qua the motive of the accused persons to commit the alleged offence.
(xv) Deficiencies in the testimony of PW-13 Sheela (Daughter of deceased)
(a) PW-13 is a hearsay witness. She stated in her statement recorded u/s The Court dated 19.07.2024 deposed that her sisters Suman and Urmila informed her regarding the factum of missing of her mother.
(b) PW-13 in her cross examination herself admitted the fact that accused Anil used to give maintenance expenses to her mother which clearly. defeat the motive of the story of the prosecution.
(c) PW-13 in her cross examination deposed that she lastly talked to her mother one month prior to the alleged incident which indicates that she is not in regular touch with her mother.
(d) PW-13 in her cross examination depose that her mother (deceased) gave complaint against the accused persons however, no complaint was present on record to corroborate the same.
(e) The statement of PW-13 u/s 161 Cr.P.C. given before police recorded on 15.01.2019 which raises a suspicion on the credibility of the above-mentioned witness. It is pertinent to mention herein that PW-13 is a planted witness who was cited as witness only to strengthen the case of prosecution. (xvi) Deficiencies in the testimony of PW-17 Sunita (Daughter Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH Page No.11 SINGH Date:of 50 2026.04.16 10:27:12 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC of deceased)
(a) PW-17 is a hearsay witness. She stated in her statement recorded u/s 161 Cr.P.C. and in her testimony recorded before this Hon'ble Court dated 07.08.2024 deposed that her sisters Suman and Urmila informed her regarding the factum of missing of her mother and regarding the threats and quarrel to their deceased mother.
(b) PW-17 in her cross examination, she did not know when she lastly talked to her mother however her mother visited her house a week prior to the incident however, her deceased mother did not disclose about the quarrel or threats extended by the accused persons to her. The same creates a doubt on the story of prosecution.
(c) PW-17 did not level any allegation of trespassing against of trespassing against the accused persons which defeat the motive established by the prosecution.
(xvii) Deficiencies in the testimoney of PW-20 Ex-SI Puneet Grewal :-
(a) Being actively involved in the investigation, PW-20 did not aware of the fact that who had lifted the blood stains from the quilt at the house of accused persons.
(b) PW-20 signed the seizure memo of the quilt as the witness to the seize of quilt, however it is highly unexpected that if the quilt was seized in his presence, he did not know the Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Page No.12 of+0530 50 Date: 2026.04.16 10:27:21 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC size of the quilt though he himself in his cross examination dated 02.09.2024 deposed that they had checked the bed as well as the quilt with hand.
(c) PW-20 in his cross examination dated 02.09.2024 deposed that when they inspected the bed and the quilt, they were not wearing gloves which raises suspicion over tampering of the evidences.
(d) PW-20 had mentioned the date of arrest in the arrest memo of the accused Vinay as 05.03.2017 with a cutting/overwriting in the month i.c. 3. It is pertinent to mention herein that PW-20 did not mention about clerical error in the year and overwriting in the month in his statement recorded u/s 161 Cr.P.C. which raises a suspicion over the manner and date of arrest of accused Vinay as disclosed by the investigating agency.
(e) As per the cross examination of PW-20, he deposed that as per the directions of higher official, investigation in the case of murder case is to be conducted by the official of Inspector rank. Despite having knowledge of the above said fact, PW-20 along with HC Parveen PW-10 seized the motorcycle (on the instance of Vinay) purportedly used in the commission of alleged offence which raises a serious doubt about the legality and credibility of the said seizure and the investigation conducted.
10. Sh. Gajraj Singh, Ld. Counsel for all the accused persons has also relied upon the following authorities in support of his Digitally signed arguments :- by JAGMOHAN SINGH JAGMOHAN Date:
SINGH 2026.04.16
10:27:26
Page No.13 of 50
+0530
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(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18
FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy
u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC
(i) Deepak Sarna Vs State (NCT of Delhi) [Hon'ble High Court of Delhi, CRL. A 174/2004 decided on 30th October, 2018] (ii) Harbeer Singh Vs. Sheshpal & Ors. [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal No.1624-1625 of 2013]; (iii) Sachin Vs State of Maharashtra [2019 SCC Online Bom 1080 : (2019) 3 AIR Bom R (Cri) 386 in the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay Criminal Appeal No.248 of 2016 decided on June 21, 2019];
(iv) Ganesh Bhavan Patel & Anr. Vs. State of Maharashtra [1979 AIR 135, decided on 18.10.1978] (v) Prahlad and Ors. Vs State (09.02.2018 DELHI HC) MANU/DE/0567/2018; (vi) Yogesh @ Sachin Jagdish Joshi vs State of Maharashtra [Appeal No.744 of 2008 date of decision 28.04.2008]; (vii) Dilbagh Singih and Ors. Vs State [Hon'ble High Court of Delhi Crl. A 434 and 463/2000, decided on 29.01.2018]; (viii) Kamal Kishore & Anr. Vs. State of Delhi [Crl. A 77/2000 date of decision 18.07.2014]; (ix) Kavinder and Ors. Vs. State (NCT of Delhi) [ 2005 Cri LJ 1589, 115(2004) DLT 541,2005 (79) DRJ on 25.11.2004]; (x) Manoj @ Lekhraj [CRL. A 835/2014 date of decision 06.02.2018]; (xi) Inderpal @ Mandhu Vs Stat [CRL. A 1526/2014 date of decision 14.12.2017]; (xii) Balwan Singh Vs State of Chhattisgarh and Anr. [Criminal Appeal No.727 of 2015]; (xii) Abdulwahab Abdulmajid Baloch vs State of Gujarat [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal appeal No.1507 of 2007, date of decision 23.03.2009]; (xiii) State Vs Naushad [Hon'ble High Court of Delhi CRL L.P. 55/2013 date of Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGH Page No.14 of 50 SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:27:31 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC decision 08.07.2013]; (xiv) Ruda Khan @ Luda Khan Vs State of M.P. [Hon'ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh Cri. As No.285/2007 & 478/2007 date of decision 03.04.2018]; (xv) Sonvir @ Somvir Vs The State of NCT of Delhi [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal No.958 of 2017 decided on 02.07.2018]; (xvi) Sunil @ Sonu Vs State [Hon'ble High Court of Delhi decided on 10.08.2018]; (xvii) Digamber Vaishnav & Anr. Vs State of Chattisgarh [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal Nos 428-430 of 2019 arising out of SLP (Crl.) N.5530-5532 of 2015 decided on 05.03.2019]; (xviii) Tomaso Bruno & Anr. Vs. State of U.P. [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal No.142 of 2015 arising out of SLP (Crl.) No.1156/2013 decided on 20.01.2015]; (xix) Pradeep Kumar Vs. State of Chattisgarh [ Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal No.1304 of 2018]; (xx) Ram Sharan Chaturvedi Vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal No.1066 of 2010 decided on 25.08.2022]; (xxi) Parveen @ Sonu Vs The State of Haryana [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal No.1571 of 2021 decided on 07.12.2021]; (xxii) State of Madhya Pradesh Vs Phool Chand Rathore [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal No.1315-1316 of 2023 date of decision 28.04.2023]; and (xxiii) Kalinga @ Kushal Vs. State of Karnataka by Police Inspector Hubli [Hon'ble Supreme Court of India Criminal Appeal No.622 of 2013 date of decision Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGH Page No.15 SINGH of 50 Date: 2026.04.16 10:27:36 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC 20.02.2024].
11. It is settled law that in a criminal trial, burden to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt always lies upon the prosecution and the same never shifts.
12. It is also pertinent to note that the present case is based on circumstantial evidence. It is settled law that if any case is based on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution has to establish complete chain of evidence and has to prove hypothesis of guilt of the accused beyond all reasonable doubts and the said hypothesis of guilt should be inconsistent with the innocence of the accused.
13. On this point, in Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra (1984) 4 SCC 116 Hon'ble Supreme Court laid down five golden principles, also known as the "Panchsheel principles," for cases relying solely on circumstantial evidence as under:-(i) The circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is to be drawn should be fully established; (ii) The facts so established should be consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused, that is to say, they should not be explainable on any other hypothesis except that the accused is guilty; (iii) The circumstances should be of a conclusive nature and tendency. (iv) They should exclude every possible hypothesis except the one to be proved; and (v) There must be a chain of evidence so complete as not to leave any reasonable Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN SINGH JAGMOHAN Date: SINGH 2026.04.16 10:27:44 Page No.16 of 50 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC ground for the conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused and must show that in all human probability the act must have been done by the accused.
14. Evidence led by the prosecution may now be examined in the light of the above said settled legal proposition.
15. PW-5 Jagdish Singh is the person who saw the dead body for the first time and made call at 100 number. He deposed that on 28.02.2018, he went to his fields for walk where near ganda naala (drain), he saw that half burnt dead body of a female was lying; he made a call to the police at 100 number. He also deposed that he was a retired Sub-Inspector from Delhi Police.
16. PW-6 ASI Sunil Dutt (then HC) accompanied ASI Om Prakash (PW-12) to the place of occurrence on 28.02.2018 and deposed on the same lines as contents of the FIR (Ex.PW-1/A) already noted above. He further deposed that FSL team also reached the spot and inspected the scene of crime; one plastic burnt bottle of 01 litre which was lying to the right side of dead body was lifted and taken into possession. The said bottle was given serial number 1. He further deposed that another bottle of plastic having capacity of 2 litres, which was lying right side away from the dead body was lifted and taken into possession and was given serial number 2; burnt grass, piece of cloth, broken bangles which were lying under the dead body were also lifted and taken into possession. The pullanda was given serial Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 Page No.17 of 50 10:27:48 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC number 3. The grass and earth control which were lying near the dead body were also lifted and taken into possession and the pullanda was given serial number 4. Earth control which was lying near the dead body was also lifted and taken in possession and the pullanda was given serial number 5. All the pullandas were sealed with the seal of 'PG' and taken into possession vide seizure memo Ex.PW-6/A.
17. PW-6 also identified the case property i.e. partially melted empty plastic bottle without lid Ex.P1; another empty plastic bottle having label of 'Pepsi' Ex.P2; one pink colour cloth piece; some broken pieces of glass bangles; some burnt and unburnt grass and soil and open plastic container all having seal of 'PG' as Ex.P3 (colly).
18. PW-12 Retired SI Om Prakash (then ASI) also deposed on the same lines as PW-6.
19. After registration of the present FIR, the investigation of the present case was marked to PW-23/Inspector Devender Kumar, who deposed that on 28.02.2018, he reached the place of occurrence and inspected the scene of crime; ASI Om Prakash and SI Sunil Dutt were already there. He called the Crime Team at the spot at about 12:00 Noon. Crime Team reached the spot.
The spot was photographed from different angels and exhibits (as already discussed in the testimony of PW ASI Sunil Dutt) were lifted. The dead body was shifted to the Mortuary of BSA Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 Page No.18 10:27:54of 50 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC Hospital under the supervision of Ct. Devanand (PW-9). PW-9 made efforts for identification of the dead body but no clue was found.
20. PW-23 further deposed that on 04.03.2018, Smt. Urmila (PW-3) daughter of the deceased met him in the Police Station alongwith Mohan Lal Verma (PW-4), son-in-law of the deceased and husband of Smt. Mukesh, another daughter of the deceased. Smt. Urmila made a complaint about missing of her mother Smt. Jamna Devi. She was shown photographs which were clicked at the scene of crime and she stated that the dead body resembled her mother. PW-23 sent Smt. Urmila Devi and Mohan Lal Verma to BSA Hospital with ATO Inspector Avnish Tyagi. The body was identified by Smt. Urmila Devi and Mohan Lal Verma as of Jamna Devi. Thereafter, post mortem was conducted on the dead body of Jamna Devi after which, the dead body was handed over to the relatives of the deceased.
PW-23 also recorded the statements under Section 161 Cr.PC of Inspector Avnish Tyagi, Smt. Urmila and Mohan Verma.
21. PW-23 further deposed that it was late in the evening on the same day and they reached at the house of the deceased i.e. H.No.49, Holambi Khurd, Delhi; he inspected the room of the deceased and noticed blood stains on the quilt of the deceased; he called FSL team at the spot; after examination the blood stain found on the quilt was confirmed as blood stain; he seized the quilt after covering the same in a parcel and sealed the same Digitally signed Page No.19 of 50 by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
. 2026.04.16
10:28:00 +0530
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18
FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy
u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC
with the seal of 'PG' vide seizure memo Ex.PW-9/A. The subsequent investigation on that day was conducted by SI Puneet Grewal (PW-20) upon his instructions, as he had official emergencies.
22. PW-20/Ex SI Puneet Grewal deposed that on 04.03.2018, he joined the investigation of the present case and he alongwith Inspector Devendar Yadav and HC Krishan Kant went to the place of incident i.e H.No.49, Village Holambi Khurd in the afternoon/evening time; on the inspection of the spot Inspector Devender Yadav found blood stains on the quilt used by the deceased; FSL officials were called at the spot to verify whether it was blood stain; after verification that the stain was a blood stain, the quilt was seized vide seizure memo already Ex.PW-19/A.
23. PW-20 further deposed that he interrogated accused Vinay and arrested him vide arrest memo Ex.PW-19/B and the personal search of the said accused was conducted vide Ex.PW-19/C; disclosure statement of the accused was also recorded vide Ex.PW-19/D; his subsequent disclosure statement was also given by accused Vinay on 06.03.2018, which was recorded vide Ex.PW-20/XY. PW-20 further deposed that on the same day i.e. 05.03.2018, he produced accused Vinay in the Court and obtained police custody remand; he seized motorcycle bearing No.DL-6SAQ-3317, allegedly used by the accused vide Ex.PW-20/A. He also recovered the purse belonging to the Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN Page No.20 of 50 SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:28:05 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC deceased at the instance of accused Vinay from the drain near Holambi Khurd, near the place where the dead body was dumped vide seizure memo Ex.PW-9/A. He also arrested accused Anil vide arrest memo Ex.PW-20/B and conducted his personal search vide memo Ex.PW-20/C, his disclosure statement was also recorded vide Ex.PW-20/D. Accused Anil was taken to his house i.e. place of incident where he got recovered one white colour purse containing one card i.e. Khadya Aapurti Card and gold earrings (baali), which was cut into pieces) and the same was seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-3/C.
24. PW-20 further deposed that on the next day i.e. 07.03.2018, accused Akash Verma was arrested vide arrest memo Ex.PW-20/E and his personal search memo was prepared vide Ex. PW-20/F, his disclosure statement Ex.PW-20/G was also recorded. Pointing out memo, Ex.PW-20/H was prepared at the instance of accused Vinay. Accused Vinay also pointed out the place, where the body was dumped, the said pointing out memo is Ex.PW-19/E. Pointing out memo prepared at the instance of accused Anil was Ex.PW-20/I. Accused also pointed out the place, where they had put the dead body on fire, the said memo is Ex.PW-20/J. He also pointed out the place, where they had thrown the purse belonging to the deceased vide memo Ex.PW-20/K. He also identified the Khadya Aapurti Card and golden earrings as Ex.P-1 (colly); quilt as Ex.P-4 and Aadhar Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH PageDate:
No.21 of 502026.04.16 10:28:18 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC card and purse of the deceased were also exhibited in the statement of PW-9 (HC Devanand) as Ex.P-1/PW-9 (colly). He also identified the photographs of the motorcycle used in the crime vide Ex.PW-20/L and Ex.PW-20/M respectively.
25. Now coming to the testimony of other public witnesses relied upon by the prosecution. As noted already in the testimony of PW-23/Inspector Devender Kumar on 04.03.2018, PW-3 Smt. Urmila and PW-4 Mohan Lal Verma came to the Police Station searching for deceased Jamna Devi; PW-3 was sent to BSA Hospital alongwith ATO Inspector Avnish Tyagi where she identified the dead body to be of her deceased mother. PW-3 Urmila deposed on the same lines and further deposed that she had one brother Anil Kumar (i.e.one of the accused herein) who was her real brother; her deceased mother Smt. Jamna Devi and her brother i.e. accused Anil and his family members had a property dispute and they used to quarrel with each other on this issue. PW-3 further deposed that on 01.03.2018, her mother went missing; she alongwith her other sisters inquired from accused Anil and his family members, who informed them that she had gone somewhere and they were not aware where she had gone. They did not believe the version given by accused Anil and his family members. Therefore, they went to the Police Station for inquiry regarding her mother; they met police Inspector there who alongwith other police officials accompanied them to BSA Hospital Mortuary, where burnt dead Digitally signed Pageby JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN No.22 SINGH of 50 SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:28:11 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC body of a female was shown to them; she identified the dead body of her mother Smt. Jamna Devi by the ring, her teeth and the bangles. After identification of the dead body, postmortem was conducted, her statement was recorded in this regard which is Ex.PW-3/A; the dead body was also identified by other relatives including her brother-in-law/jija Mohan Lal Verma (PW-4). After postmortem the dead body was handed over to them vide dead body handing over memo Ex.PW-3/B.
26. PW-3 further deposed that on 06.03.2018, she was present at the house of her mother i.e. H.No.49, Holambi Khurd; police officials of PS Shahbad Dairy alongwith accused Anil and his son Vinay (who is also accused herein) came to the above house; accused Anil led them to his room where on the left side of the bed, under the bed, he produced one white colour small purse; the same was opened and found containing copy of ration card in the name of the deceased; one broken golden colour earring in orange colour cloth; she identified the broken earring of her mother; the same were taken by the police and were seized in the pullanda and she signed the seizure memo Ex.PW-3/C. She correctly identified the abovesaid properties i.e. the ration card as well as the broken pieces of golden colour earring which are collectively Ex.P1.
27. PW-4 Mohan Lal Verma corroborated the testimony of PW-3 and deposed that Smt. Mukesh was his wife while deceased Jamna Devi was his mother-in-law; the deceased was having Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN Page No.23 SINGH of2026.04.16 SINGH Date: 50 10:28:26 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC some property dispute with her son Anil (the accused herein); she went missing since 01.03.2018. He and his wife made inquiries from accused Anil about the whereabouts of his mother-in-law but he told that she has gone somewhere; as they were having no trust upon the accused Anil, they went to PS Shahbad Dairy to report; the SHO told them that an unidentified body was at BSA Hospital and he identified the said dead body in the Mortuary of BSA Hospital; there was a silver ring on the fingers of the dead body i.e. his mother-in-law; he was a goldsmith by profession and that ring was prepared by him; police officials recorded his statement regarding identification of the dead body and the same was Ex.PW-4/A.
28. PW-9 HC Devanand also deposed about the investigation carried out by him and recovery of purse belonging to the deceased at the instance of accused Vinay. He deposed that on 06.03.2018, he joined the investigation of the present case alongwith HC Praveen and IO/SI Puneet. On that day, accused Vinay was already in police custody. He led them to his house i.e. House No.49, Village Holambi Khurd, Delhi. The accused also led them to drain (i.e. ganda naala), Holambi Khurd, Delhi, from where he took out a purse from underneath the mud; the purse was found to contain Aadhar Card of deceased Jamna Devi.
29. PW-14 Dr. Vijay Dhankar, Specialist and H.O.D, Forensic Medicine, BSA Hospital conducted postmortem on the dead Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN Page No.24 SINGH of 50 SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 10:28:38 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC body of the deceased on 04.03.2018 and deposed that on examination, they found post mortem burns all over the body; on internal examination, hematoma was present in the subcutaneous tissues; soft tissues of neck; sternocleidomastoid muscle, strap muscles and base of tongue; right side of hyoid bone was fractured with associated hematoma; tracheal mucosa was congested; no blackening or spot deposit was found in the tracheal, larynx and pharynx. PW-14 further deposed that in their opinion, "death of deceased Jamna Devi was caused by asphyxia due to ligature strangulation. The internal injuries on neck were ante-mortem and sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature".His detailed report is Ex.PW-14/A.
30. The remaining public witnesses relied by the prosecution may also now be referred to. PW-15 Suman is another daughter of the deceased and is a very material witness for the prosecution as she has thrown light on the circumstances prevailing at the house of the deceased on the previous night immediately preceding the death of the deceased and the motive of the accused persons. She deposed that she was a housewife and her parental house was located at Village Holambi Khurd; her father had expired about 29 years prior to the death of her mother in the year 2018; there were seven sisters and one brother, all married; her mother had performed marriage of all her sisters and her brother; her mother used to reside at Village Holambi Khurd and most often she used to come to Sonepat to reside Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN Page No.25 SINGH of 50 SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 10:28:43 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC with her (i.e. PW-15) and her sister Urmila (i.e. PW-3) as she and Urmila both were having their matrimonial houses at Sonepat.
31. PW-15 Suman further deposed that her mother/deceased Jamna Devi was having a dispute regarding ownership and possession of her ancestral house with her brother Anil (i.e. the accused) and his sons Vinay and Akash (both are also accused in the present case) and quarrel used to take place amongst them off an on; her mother had filed a Civil suit against her brother Anil for the possession of the said house; in the said Civil suit in the year 2011, her mother had got the possession of half of the said house but her brother Anil had again trespassed in the said house and had taken possession of the same and then her mother had again filed a Civil suit.
32. PW-15 Suman further deposed that on 27.02.2018, it was the date in the Civil suit in Rohini Court and in the evening of 27.02.2018 while she and her sister Urmila were sitting together at Sonepat, she had called at mobile of her mother from her mobile number 9671517102 but her mother did not pick up the phone; thereafter she had called one neighbour of her mother also named Suman (i.e. PW-7) on her mobile, she did not remember the complete digits of the said mobile number but the last digits were 278; said Suman facilitated them to talk to her mother with her mobile phone; her mother (i.e. deceased Jamna Devi) informed her that accused Anil and both his sons Vinay Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN Page No.26 of 50 SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:28:53 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC and Akash were present with her; she further informed that in the above said Civil suit, Ld. Judge had told the accused persons either to settle the matter amicably with her mother or the Ld. Judge would pass an order asking them to vacate the house of her mother and on this issue, Anil, Vinay and Akash had been quarreling with her mother; her mother further informed her that accused persons had threatened her to withdraw the said Civil suit otherwise they would not permit her mother to stay in the said house and had also threatened to kill her mother; she and her sister Urmila advised her mother not to quarrel with the accused persons and to wait for the orders of the Court.
33. PW-15 Suman further deposed that on 28.02.2018 in the morning, she had again dialled the number of her mother but her phone was not responding/switched off; then she dialled the number of her neighbour Suman and she informed her that the house of her mother was locked from outside and her mother was not there; she made a number of calls since morning till evening on the mobile number of her mother and also Suman but could not talk to her mother; thereafter she dialled the phone number of accused Anil and asked him about her mother upon which he replied that he was unaware about the whereabouts of her mother and she was not at home since morning.
34. PW-15 Suman further deposed that she passed this information to Urmila (PW-3) as well as to her other sisters as neither her Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN Page No.27 of 50 JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 10:28:58 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC mother was there at home nor she had reached Sonepat at their matrimonial homes; she asked her brother Anil to report the matter to the police but he had told her that when she would reach Delhi, only then he would report the matter to the police.
35. PW-15 Suman further deposed that thereafter she alongwith her husband and children as well as her sister Urmila alongwith her husband and children departed from Sonepat and reached Delhi at about 11:00-11:30 PM on 28.02.2018 itself and searched for her mother; they asked accused Anil about her mother but he told them that he did not know; thereafter her husband, husband of Urmila alongwith accused Anil reached Police Post Metro Vihar to report the missing of her mother but police asked to provide the photograph of her mother, hence they left from there with a request to lodge the report in the morning.
36. PW-15 Suman further deposed that in the morning of 01.03.2018, she alongwith accused Anil had reached PS Shahbad Dairy and had lodged the missing report of her mother; the said missing report was got lodged by accused Anil saying that in case police called them, then he would attend the call and they would not have to come to Delhi from Sonepat; it was festival of Holi on 02.03.2018, hence they did not come to Delhi on that day and on 03.03.2018, they had come to know that dead body of a lady in burnt condition was found in the fields of Village Holambi; after receiving the news they had come to Delhi and accused Anil, his wife Reshma Devi, his Digitally signed by Page No.28JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN of 50 SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:29:03 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC daughter Mamta and accused Vinay and Akash told them that the said dead body found in the fields of Village Holambi was not of her mother and the said dead body was of one young lady.
37. PW-15 Suman further deposed that thereafter they all sisters had taken accused Anil to PP Metro Vihar. There police personnel had shown photographs of the dead body of the lady which was found in the burnt condition and had also shown a piece of cloth of pink colour of the size of palm to them; they could not identify the dead body from the photograph but the said cloth was identified by her being the piece of ladies suit of her mother; accused Anil who was also present there at that time was saying that he had seen the dead body and the same was not of their mother.
38. PW-15 Suman further deposed that they were suspicious of the conduct of accused Anil and next day morning, she and Urmila alongwith their husbands reached Police Station Shahbad Dairy and from there, they alongwith the police reached at Mortuary of Ambedkar Hospital and on their request, police had shown the said recovered dead body to them; the said pink suit of which a piece shown to them by the police was gifted by her to her mother and from the semi burnt pieces of the said suit as well as one silver ring and one copper ring which were there in the fingers of the dead body as well as from partially cut nail of the thumb of left hand of her mother, they had identified the Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGHPage No.29 SINGH of 50 Date: 2026.04.16 10:29:09 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC dead body to be that of her mother Jamna Devi.
39. PW-15 Suman further deposed that she told the police that her mother was having four artificial teeth; accused Anil who was also present there was saying that he was not able to identify the dead body being that of their mother; even after seeing the partially cut nail which was the distinguishing identification mark of her mother, accused Anil was not identifying the dead body of her mother. Hence, they became suspicious that it was Anil, who had killed her mother with his other associates due to property dispute with her mother.
40. PW-7 Suman wife of Bijender is the neighbour of deceased Jamna Devi who facilitated PW-15 Suman (i.e. daughter of the deceased) to talk to her mother on 27.02.2018. She corroborated the said testimony and deposed that accused persons were residing adjacent to her house; deceased Jamna Devi was mother of accused Anil and grandmother of accused Vinay and Akash; she knew Urmila and Suman, daughters of deceased Jamna Devi; both Urmila and Suman were married and were residing in their matrimonial homes at Sonepat, Haryana; she used to talk with them who usually made calls on her mobile phone from their mobile number in order to inquire about their mother.
41. PW-7 Suman further deposed that one day prior since the day when Jamna Devi went missing, she had not seen her; on that Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 Page No.30 of 50 10:29:13 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC day in the evening hours, Suman (i.e. PW-15) made a call on her mobile phone as she wanted to talk with her mother deceased Jamna Devi; PW-7 went to the house of Jamna Devi in order to hand over her mobile phone set for talking to her daughter; at that time deceased Jamna Devi alongwith all the three accused persons was present in the house; she handed over her mobile phone to Jamna Devi so that she could talk to her daughter Suman and returned to her house. Later on, Jamna Devi came to her house and handed over her mobile phone back.
42. PW-13 Sheela wife of Late Phool Chand is another daughter of the deceased and her testimony also corroborates the material particulars, the testimony of PW-15 Suman already discussed in the preceding paras. PW 13 deposed that she was a house wife and was living at Holambi Khurd; her father had expired 29 years ago prior to the incident; they were seven sisters and one brother; all her sisters and brother were married and her mother had performed the marriage of her sisters and brother; her mother Smt. Jamna Devi was living separately in Village Holambi Kalan. She further deposed that her mother was more affectionate towards her sister Suman and Urmila and whenever she wished to meet her said sisters, she would often visit their residence at Sonepat as the said sisters were living in Sonepat.
43. PW-13 Sheela further deposed that there were disputes between her mother Jamna Devi and accused Anil as well as his sons Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGH Page No.31 SINGH Date:of 50 2026.04.16 10:29:18 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC Vinay and Akash in respect of house/property; her mother used to cook her food separately; her mother also filed Civil suit against her brother in respect of house/property; in the year 2011, her mother had won the case regarding the house/property and also got decree in her favor in respect of the house/property and after that she had got possession of the house but despite the orders of the Hon'ble Court, her brother and both of his sons (i.e. all the accused herein) used to harass her mother and again they illegally occupied the abovesaid house, regarding which accused persons used to quarrel with her mother; thereafter, her deceased mother again filed Civil suit against her brother in respect of the illegal possession of the house.
44. PW-13 Sheela further deposed that on 28.02.2018, her sisters Suman and Urmila (i.e. PW-15 and PW-3 respectively) telephonically called her to know the whereabouts of her mother and asked regarding her visit to her residence; she informed them that her mother had not accompanied with her at that time; after that her sisters informed her that her mother did not reach even at her residence and they did not know about her whereabouts; the above named sisters further informed her that the mobile phone of her mother was going switched off and the day earlier her mother was having a court hearing and Anil as well as his sons (i.e. the accused herein) had threatened her.
45. PW-13 Sheela further deposed that thereafter, they all sisters were doing their best efforts to search for her mother; thereafter Digitally signed Page No.32 JAGMOHAN SINGH of 50 by JAGMOHAN SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 . 10:29:27 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC her sisters Urmila and Suman telephonically informed her that a burnt dead body was found at Village Holambi; thereafter she alongwith her sisters Suman, Urmila, Sunita, Poonam, Mukesh and other family members reached at Ambedkar Hospital and identified the dead body of her deceased mother which was in burnt condition; they identified the dead body of her mother after seeing one silver and copper ring, artificial teeth, left hand cut nail and informed the identity of dead body to the police officials. PW-13 Sheela further deposed that she was sure that her brother Anil and his sons Akash and Vinay killed her deceased mother for grabbing the property/house in respect of which they used to quarrel with her mother and property dispute was going on before the Hon'ble Court.
46. PW-17 Sunita is another daughter of deceased and her testimony is also on the same lines as that of PW-13 Sheela as noted above.
47. PW-21 Satish Verma, Alternate Nodal Officer, Vodafone Idea Limited proved the Customer Application Form in respect of mobile number of Suman wife of Bijender who was issued mobile bearing number 9654188278, copy of CAF is Ex.PW-21/A, Election Identity Card is Ex.PW21/B, Certificate under Section 65B Indian Evidence Act is Ex.PW21/C and CDR and location chart of above said mobile phone is Ex.PW-21/D, another Certificate in regard of the CDR and location chart is Ex.PW-21/E. He also similarly proved the CAF Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Page Date:
No.33 of 502026.04.16 10:29:32 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC Form in respect of mobile number 9671517102 which was issued in the name of Ravi, resident of Sonepat, Sector-25.
48. PW-22 Ms. Sheela, Ahlmad in the Court of Ld. Civil Judge, North, Rohini Courts brought the case file pertaining to Civil Suit titled Jamna Devi Vs. Anil Kumar. The court record is Ex.PW-22/A. She further deposed that as per record, after the death of Jamna Devi, the above said Suit was being pursued by her daughters namely Sushila, Sunita, Babita @ Geeta, Poonam, Urmila, Mukesh and Suman.
49. Other PWs are police officials who deposed about the role played by them in investigation of the present case
50.Testimony of daughters of the deceased namely Urmila (PW-3), Sheela (PW-13), Suman (PW-15) and Mohan Lal (PW-4) is natural and worthy of credit. All the above witnesses were subjected to lengthy cross-examination by the Ld. Defence Counsel. However, they withstood the same and nothing material emerged from the same to discredit their veracity. The same is also corroborated by the testimony of PW-7, the post mortem report the recovery of blood stained quilt from the house of the accused and also of two purses belonging to the deceased at the instance of accused Vinay.
51.From the combined reading of the testimony of the witnesses referred to as above, the following facts emerge clearly :-
(i) The deceased Jamna Devi was mother of accused Anil Kumar and grandmother of accused Vinay and Aakash; (ii) Digitally signed Pageby JAGMOHAN No.34 of 50 JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 . 10:30:13 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC They were living in the same house at Holambi Khurd; (iii) The deceased was having a property dispute with the accused persons in respect of the house/property; (iv) The deceased was last seen in the company of accused persons in the evening of 27.02.2018, when her daughter Suman (PW-15) wanted to speak to her on the mobile and PW-7 Suman Wife of Bijender had gone to the house of the deceased to handover her mobile phone to the deceased.; (v) During the abovesaid mobile phone talk, the deceased had informed her daughter Suman (PW-15) that accused Anil and both of his sons Vinay and Aakash were present with her; (vi) She further informed her that in the Civil Suit pending between them, the Ld. Judge had told the accused persons to settle the matter amicably with her or he would ask them to vacate the house; (vii) Accused Anil, Vinay and Akash had been quarreling with her; (viii) The accused persons had threatened her to withdraw the said Civil Suit otherwise they would not permit her to stay in the said house and had also threatened to kill her; (ix) The dead body of the deceased was first seen by PW-5 Jagdish Singh on the very next day morning i.e. 28.02.2018 near the ganda naala which was half burnt and he made a call at 100 number; (x) PW-6 ASI Sunil Dutt (then HC) alongwith PW-12 ASI Om Prakash were first to reach the place of offence and recovered the dead body; (xi) some parts of the body were completely burnt while others were half burnt;
(xii) rope was also found tied around the neck of the dead body;
Digitally signedJAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Page Date:No.35 of 50 2026.04.16 10:30:06 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC
(xiii) a burnt plastic bottle and another plastic bottle was also found near the body; (xiv) the dead body of the deceased was identified by her daughters including PW-3 Urmila and PW-15 Suman based on the ring, her artificial teeth and bangles; (xv) As per PW-15 Suman, the deceased had distinct identification marks - one of them was partially cut nail of thumb of her left hand and the other was artificial teeth; (xvi) The altercation of the accused persons with the deceased took place in the evening hours of 27.02.2018 and she went missing from the next day itself; (xvii) Her daughters were trying to contact her but could not do so; (xviii) When daughters of the deceased asked accused Anil where their mother was, he told them that he did not know; (xix) When PW-15 Suman got the information about recovery of dead body of a female in the Village Holambi, the accused persons tried to mislead her by saying that the said body was not of her mother and the same was of a young lady; (xx) the dead body of the deceased was also identified by PW-4 Mohan Lal Verma on the basis of silver ring on the fingers of the dead body and PW-4 deposed that he was a goldsmith by profession and that the abovesaid ring was prepared by him; (xxi) Even when the dead body was identified by daughters of the deceased and other family members at the Mortuary of BSA Hospital, accused Anil stated that the dead body was not of his mother; (xxii) As per PW-17 on 01.03.2018, they all seven sisters had gathered at Sonepat and had also visited the Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH Page No.36 of 50 SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 10:29:59 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC residence of their mother at Holambi Khurd and met accused Anil and asked him about whereabouts of their mother and asked him to assist for searching of their mother but he refused and stated "mai kyun dhoondhu"; (xxiii) As noted already, all the accused persons and the deceased were living in the same house at Village Holambi Khurd; (xiv) From the house of the accused, blood stained quilt was recovered; (xv) At the instance of accused Vinay, purse belonging to the deceased containing her Aadhar card was recovered from the drain ( ganda naala); Holambi Khurd, Delhi; (xvi) Also at the instance of accused Anil, from his house, a cream colour purse was recovered containing the golden ear-rings and ration card belonging to the deceased; (xvii) During the recovery proceedings, PW-3 Urmila daughter of the deceased i.e PW-3 was also present and she identified the broken pieces of gold metal as pieces of earrings of her mother i.e. deceased Jamna Devi; (xviii) The motorcycle used in the commission of the crime i.e. for transporting the dead body to the place, before it was burnt there, was also recovered at the instance of accused Vinay ; (xix) All the accused persons are close family members of the deceased; Accused Anil Kumar being son of the deceased and accused Vinay and Aakash being grandsons of the deceased, thus their identity is not disputed.
52. As noted already, it also emerges from the testimony of daughters of the deceased that there was an ongoing property Digitally signed JAGMOHAN by Page No.37 of 50 JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 . 10:30:38 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC dispute between the deceased and the accused persons; on 27.02.2018, there was Court hearing in the above said Civil suit and the Hon'ble Court had observed that accused persons should amicably settle the dispute with deceased Jamna Devi otherwise they would be dispossessed; a quarrel took place between the accused persons on this point in the evening; PW Suman Wife of Bijender is eye witness of last seen evidence of deceased Jamna Devi with the accused persons in the evening hours of 27.02.2018 and she also facilitated call over mobile phone of deceased Jamna Devi with her daughter PW-15 Suman also. At that time, deceased Jamna Devi had informed PW-15 Suman that accused persons were quarreling with her on the point of above said property dispute and were threatening to kill her. On the very next day, the dead body of deceased was found in half burnt condition near the drain of village Holambi Khurd. The quilt kept in the house of the accused persons was found to contain traces of human blood. The purse belonging to the deceased containing her golden earrings and ration card was recovered at the instance of accused Anil from the house of the deceased, while at the instance of accused Vinay, another purse belonging to the deceased was found from near the drain. The dead body was recovered very next morning i.e. 28.02.2018 by PW-5 Jagdish, who alerted the police. The accused persons did not lodge any missing report nor tried to search for the deceased. They also misled the daughters of the deceased and Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN Page No.38 JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
of 50 2026.04.16 10:30:45 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC other family members and did not co-operate in searching for the deceased. Accused Anil even tried to mislead other family members of the deceased by saying that the dead body recovered from the fields near the drain was not of the deceased. When the dead body was recovered, a rope was found tied around the neck. As per the postmortem report, the death occurred due to strangulation which was antemortem in nature and the burning was postmortem. In the above facts and circumstances, it stands clearly established that accused persons, in order to grab the property belonging to the deceased, which was also subject matter of a civil suit between her and accused Anil, killed her firstly be strangulating her then transported her body with the help of motorcycle near the drain and burnt it there.
53. In the above facts and circumstances, in the considered opinion of this Court, the chain of circumstances is complete and the mandate of Sharad Birdhichand Sarda (supra) is fully met. The death of Jamna Devi occurring close proximity in time to the quarrel taking place between the accused persons and the deceased leaves no manner of doubt in the mind of the Court that the murder of the deceased was committed by the accused persons themselves and by no one else and the conduct of the accused persons post the murder, as noted elaborately in the preceding paras in not co-operating in the search for the deceased misleading other family members about the identity of Page No.39Digitally byof 50 signed JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
. 2026.04.16
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(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18
FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy
u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC
the dead body of the deceased after the same was recovered and accused Anil not identifying the dead body of his mother despite identification by other family members and despite presence of distinct identification marks as noted in the preceding paras further strengthens the inference of guilt. Thus, the chain of evidence against the accused is complete and there is no reasonable ground to reach a conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused.
54.The arguments advanced by Ld. Defence Counsel Sh. Gajraj for all the accused persons may now be considered one by one.
55. As regards the purse belonging to the deceased, which was recovered at the instance of accused Vinay vide seizure memo Ex.PW-9/A, the argument that the said purse was not noticed by the Crime Team or the dog squad earlier does not falsify the recovery of the purse itself in the considered opinion of this Court. Further, as per the seizure memo Ex.PW-9/A, the above purse was smeared with mud and was taken out by accused Vinay from one corner of the drain. Thus, it is clear that it was not visible to the naked eye and had also lost human smell, making its recovery by the Crime team or the dog squad difficult. It is correct that no public persons were associated with the recovery of the above purse. However, it is also common knowledge that independent public persons are reluctant to come forward as witnesses in criminal proceedings and therefore, due to non-joining of public witnesses alone, the Digitally signed Page No.40 JAGMOHAN of 50 by JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 . 10:30:59 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC recovery of the above-said purse cannot be doubted. The argument that the above said purse was got recovered after supplementary statement of accused Vinay recorded on 06.03.2018, while his main disclosure statement was recorded on 05.03.2018 is also inconsequential.
56. It is correct that as per the FSL report of chemical examination, no residue of kerosene/ diesel/petrol was detected upon both the plastic bottles recovered from the place of incident. However, in the considered opinion of this Court, the said fact is of little help to the accused persons as it has been established from the testimony of PW-5 Jagdish, who reached the spot first of all and made call at 100 number and the police officials who reached the place thereafter the body of deceased Jamna Devi was half burnt. Moreover from the postmortem report as noted in the preceding paras, it has been clearly established that Jamna Devi was killed by strangulation which was antemortem in nature and subsequently the body was burnt as the burn injuries were postmortem in nature. Thus, the above argument is also of little avail to the defence.
57. The argument that the prosecution could not establish any nexus of the accused persons with the blood stained quilt recovered from the house of accused is also not tenable for many reasons. Firstly, as noted in the preceding paras, it has been established that quarrel took place between the accused persons and the deceased on the point of property dispute which was pending Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN Page No.41 SINGH of 50 SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:31:06 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC between them, in the evening of 27.02.2018 and from 28.02.2018 itself, deceased Jamna Devi went missing. In the same morning, her dead body was found by PW-5 Jagdish Kumar. The blood stained quilt was recovered from the house of the deceased herself on 05.03.2018 itself, where accused persons were also living. Thus, the above said recovery further strengthens the inference of guilt of accused persons and further strengthen the case of the prosecution that deceased Jamna Devi was first killed by the accused persons inside the house by strangulation with a rope and subsequently, her body was taken near the drain on the motorcycle and was burnt by the accused persons to destroy evidence of their crime.
58. As regards the delay in recording of statements of daughters of deceased Jamna Devi, it has already been observed that their testimony is worthy of credit and is natural. Moreover, they being the real sisters of accused Anil, would be the last person to falsely implicate him. Further, it has also come on record that all the sisters were married except one sister and were at their matrimonial houses, two of them at Sonepat. In these facts and circumstances, in the considered opinion of this Court, delay in recording of their statements under Section 161 Cr.P.C is not of much help to the defence.
59. The argument that Ex SI Puneet Grewal was not competent to investigate the present matter, as the IO was Inspector Devender Yadav, is also not tenable as it has come on record during the Page No.42 ofsigned Digitally 50 JAGMOHAN by JAGMOHAN SINGH . SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:31:12 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC testimony of PW-20/ Inspector Devender Yadav that on the day of the investigation, when investigation was carried out by Ex SI Puneet Grewal, he had to leave the site due to other official emergencies and the investigation was carried out by SI Puneet Grewal under his instructions.
60. The argument that as per testimony of PW9, seal of 'SB' was used in sealing the exhibits, which did not belong to the IO and it was not clear to which police official the above said seal belonged is also inconsequential. What matters is that the exhibits were properly sealed at the time they were lifted in the presence of other witnesses. Moreover, though it is correct to say that every IO has been issued an IO Kit which also has seal bearing his initials, however, there is no bar that seal belonging to some other police official cannot be used during exhibit collection process if for some reason or the other, the seal belonging to the IO is not available at the spot. Similarly, the argument that all exhibits in the present case were taken to the FSL on the same day is also inconsequential. What is material is that they were promptly deposited by the IO in the Malkhana after their collection/lifting. The mere fact that they were deposited with the FSL together is of no help whatsoever to the defence.
61. Now coming to the deficiencies pointed out in the testimony of PW-3 Urmila by the Ld. Defence Counsel. The purse containing the broken pieces of gold earrings belonging to the deceased Digitally signed Page No.43 JAGMOHAN of 50 by JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 . 10:31:19 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC was recovered from the house of the deceased, on the pointing out of accused Anil Kumar, as per siezure memo Ex.PW-3/C and the same also bears the signature of PW Urmila. It is correct that during cross-examination, PW-3 Urmila stated that she did not sign any document regarding recovery of above-said purse. However, she also deposed that on that day i.e 06.03.2018, at the time of recovery of above-said purse, containing broken pieces of ear-rings, she alongwith her sister Suman was also present at the house of the accused and the recovery took place in their presence. It also is pertinent to note that PW-3 Urmila was examined as a witness on 13.12.2019 i.e. almost two years after the occurrence. It has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a number of judgments that minor inconsistencies are bound to occur even in the statement of wholly truthful witnesses due to lapse of time and memory. In the above circumstances, when PW-3 Urmila has herself deposed that the abovesaid purse was not only recovered in her presence and in the presence of her sister Suman from the house of the accused and that she had also identified the said purse at the time of its recovery itself to be belonging to her deceased mother, the contrary statement coming on record in her cross-examination that she did not sign the recovery memo thereof can be result of lapse of memory/lapse of time. In the considered opinion of this court, the same does not go to the root of the prosecution's case and thus, is not of any help to the defence. Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 10:31:26 +0530 Page No.44 of 50 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC
62. The argument that as per testimony of PW-5 Jagdish Singh (PCR Caller), he did not see any kerosene bottle, match box or any ignition instrument lying near the dead body is also inconsequential for the reason that it is clear from the testimony of PW-5 that in the morning of 28.02.2018, he saw that half burnt body of a female was lying near the drain. He made PCR call and left the the scene. Therfore, firstly PW-5 did not stay at the scene of crime long enough to notice articles lying on the spot. Secondly, even though he deposed that he had retired as Sub Inspector from Delhi Police, he was not investigating the present matter and was not the IO of the case. He as a citizen only alerted the police after seeing the dead body. Even otherwise, as observed in the preceding paras what matters is that the body of deceased Jamna Devi was found near the drain in half burnt condition and the said body was identified beyond reasonable doubt by her family members including her daughters as discussed above. Moreover various police witnesses including PW-6 ASI Sunil Dutt, who was first to reach the spot alongwith PW-12 SI (then ASI) Om Prakash have clearly deposed that at the time of local examination of the place of occurrence, they saw two bottles lying on the spot. Thus, the above argument is also of little help to the defence.
63. The argument that site plan of the place of offence was also not prepared at the instance of PW-5 is also inconsequential as it Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN Page No.45 of 50 SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:31:33 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC has emerged from his testimony itself that after making PCR call, he left the spot and therefore, he was not available when police officials reached the spot and the site plan was prepared.
64. As regards the testimony of PW-7 Suman is concerned, it is factually incorrect to say that she did not support the case of the prosecution. As noted already, she has clearly deposed that one day prior to the day when deceased Jamna Devi went missing, she had facilitated call of PW-15 Suman (i.e. daughter of deceased) with deceased Jamna Devi and had gone to house of the accused as well as the deceased for handing over her mobile phone. At that time she had seen that deceased Jamna Devi alongwith all the three accused persons were present in the house. Therefore, it is clear from her testimony that she has not only supported the case of the prosecution but also is a crucial witness of the deceased being last seen with the accused persons on the evening of 27.02.2018 i.e. one day prior to the recovery of dead body of the deceased.
65. As regards the testimony of PW-13 Sheela (daughter of the deceased), the argument that as per her cross-examination accused Anil used to give maintenance expenses to deceased Jamna Devi or that PW-13 was not in regular touch with her mother or that there was no complaint on record by the deceased Jamna Devi to substantiate deposition of PW13 in her cross-examination that deceased had lodged a complaint against the accused persons are all inconsequential as it has been amply Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN Page No.46 SINGHof 50 SINGH Date: 2026.04.16 10:31:41 +0530 .
(Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.
SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC proved in the testimony of daughters of the deceased alongwith the testimony of last seen witness PW-7 Suman (neighbour), PW-15 Suman (daughter of the deceased) and from the record pertaining to the civil suit which was also filed on record by the Ahlmad of the concerned Court that a property dispute was pending between the deceased and the accused persons, a quarrel took place on that issue one day prior to the incident and the accused were fearful that they might be dispossessed from the house of the deceased through court order and therefore to ward off that possibility, the accused persons firstly killed the deceased by strangulating in her house; subsequently her body was transported on the motorcycle to the place where it was found i.e. near the drain and was burnt to destroy the evidence of the commission of the offence of murder. For the same reason, the argument that PW17 Sunita (daughter of the deceased) did not know when she lastly talked to her deceased mother or that she did not level any allegation of tresspassing against the accused persons, are also of no avail to the defence.
66. As regards the testimony of PW20 SI Puneet Grewal, the argument that he did not know the size of the quilt recovered from the house of accused or that at the time of seizing of the same, the police official were not wearing gloves, are also imaterial. What is material is that blood stained quilt used by the deceased herself was recovered from the house of the accused by the police officials and the same was found to Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN Page No.47 JAGMOHAN of 50 SINGH SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 . 10:31:48 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC contain human blood. Similarly, the cutting/ over writing on the arrest memo of accused Vinay is also of little consequence, as the identity of the accused has been clearly established.
67. Now coming to the authorities relied upon by Ld. Counsel for the accused. In Prahlad (supra), it was observed that merely because blood of the victim was found on the trousers can not, as a salatry circumstance be sufficient to link the accused with the crime. However, in the present case, the facts are different as recovery of the quilt stained with human blood is just one of the circumstance/evidence incriminating against the accused. Even more incriminating is recovery of half burnt dead body near the drain and recovery of articles belongings to the accused at the instance of accused Vinay; motive clearly established by daughter of the deceased as well as the last seen witness Suman that there was property dispute between the accused persons and to ward off of the possibility of being dispossessed from the house of the deceased through court order, the accused persons firstly killed the deceased in her house by strangulating her and thereafter, burnt the body near the drain after transporting it on the motorcycle to erase the traces of their crime.
68. Yogesh vs State of Maharashtra (supra) has been relied upon to argue that the gist of the offence of conspiracy is in the forming of scheme or agreement between the parties. In the facts of the present case, it is clear that the meeting of mind and agreement between the accused persons formed in the night of 27.02.2018 Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN Page No.48 JAGMOHAN SINGHof 50 SINGH Date:
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PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC itself, when despite being confronted and threatened with death, the deceased did not agree to withdraw the civil suit. Therefore, it is clear that at that time itself the accused persons decided to kill the deceased Jamna Devi.
69. In Dilbagh Singh (supra) it was observed that the blood group of the deceased was treated as an additional circumstance to prove that the deceased was stabbed. However, blood group was not ascertained. The facts of this case are again different as not only blood stained quilt was recovered from the house of the accused her half burnt body itself was found near from the drain. The authority of Kamal Kishore (supra), Kavinder (supra) and Manoj (supra) are also on the same lines. Inderpal (supra), Balwan Singh (supra) relied upon by Ld. Defence counsel also emphasised on the recovery of incriminating articles in the facts of the said cases being doubtful. However, in the present case, the recovery of blood stained quilt has been conclusively proved beyond reasonable doubt. The recovery of incriminating articles belonging to the deceased at the instance of accused Vinay has also been proved beyond reasonable doubt and there is no doubt regarding recovery of half burnt body of the deceased herself from near the drain.
70. The acquittal of the accused in Sonvir @ Somvir (supra) Sunil (supra), Digamber (supra), Tomaso (supra), and Pradeep Kumar (supra) was also based on the fact that recovery of incriminating articles was found doubtful. As already illustrated, the facts of Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN Page No.49 of 50 JAGMOHAN SINGH SINGH Date:
2026.04.16 . 10:32:03 +0530 (Judgment) State Vs. Vinay & Ors.SC No. 373/18 FIR No. 114/18
PS : Shahbad Dairy u/s. 302/120B/201 IPC the present case are different and therefore ratio of the abovesaid authorities is not applicable to the present case.
71. The authorities of Ram Sharan Chaturvedi (supra), Parveen @ Sonu (supra) and Phool Chand Rathore (supra) also hold that for an offence of conspiracy to be proved meeting of minds between the accused persons is essential. However, as amply demonstrated already, in the facts of the present case, the meeting of the mind of the accused persons to commit murder of the deceased was in place in the night of 27.02.2018 itself. Thus, the above authorities are also of little avail to the defence. Decision
72. In view of the above reasoning and discussion, in the considered opinion of this Court, the prosecution has been able to prove its case against the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt. Accordingly, accused Vinay, Anil Kumar and Aakash are hereby convicted of the offences u/s 302/201/120-B IPC.
Digitally signed by JAGMOHAN JAGMOHAN SINGH
SINGH
Announced in the open Court Date: 2026.04.16
10:32:09 +0530
on 30th March 2026 (JAGMOHAN SINGH)
ASJ-03, North District
Rohini Courts/Delhi
Page No.50 of 50
.