Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

JUDGMENT WITH CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 894 OF 2005 & CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 142 OF 2006 B.N. AGRAWAL, J.

Sonia [A-1] and Sanjiv [A-2], respondents in Criminal Appeal No. 895 of 2005, were tried and convicted by the trial court under Section 302 read with Section 34 and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code [`IPC' for short] and sentenced to death and to pay a fine of Rs. 2000/- each. A-1 and A-2 were further convicted under Sections 25(1-B)(b) and 25(1-B(a) of the Arms Act respectively and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year. A-2 was further convicted under Section 201 IPC and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- in default whereof to further undergo imprisonment for one month. The sentences were, however, ordered to run concurrently. Tried along with A-1 and A-2 were eight other accused persons but they were acquitted by the trial court for want of evidence. The order of convictions and sentences gave rise to a murder reference by the Sessions Judge, Hisar and appeals by both the accused before the Punjab & Haryana High Court. By the impugned judgment, while upholding their convictions under Section 302 read with Section 34 and Section 120-B of the IPC and other provisions, the High Court has commuted the sentence of death into life imprisonment. Hence these appeals by special leave. While Criminal Appeal Nos. 895 of 2005 and 894 of 2005 have been preferred by Ram Singh, brother of deceased  Relu Ram, and the State of Haryana respectively for enhancement of sentence from life imprisonment to death, Criminal Appeal No.142 of 2006 is by the accused assailing the impugned judgment of their convictions and sentences. The case of the prosecution is that on 23.8.2001 when Jeet Singh [PW 57], one of the employees of deceased - Relu Ram, and A-2 were sitting at the Saw Mill located by the side of Farm House of Relu Ram, a telephone call was received by A-2 from A-1 conveying her desire to celebrate Priyanka's [deceased sister of A-1] birthday at the Kothi at Litani Mor [place of occurrence] and that she would bring her from the hostel of Jindal School at Hisar  the school she was studying in. At about 9.30 p.m. A-1 along with Priyanka reached home in a jeep. Thereafter, between 11  12 p.m., on hearing some noise of footsteps, PW 57, who was present at the Farm House, woke up and noticed that light in the room, where the spare parts of tractors etc. were kept, was on and upon inquiry found that A-1 was there in the room and he saw her taking a rod to the first floor which rod is used for raising/tilting the tractor from the ground. He again heard the noise of explosion of fire works, but, thinking that Priyanka's birthday was being celebrated, he went to sleep. PW 57 further stated that on 24.8.2001 at about 4.45 a.m. when he was sitting on his cot, he saw A-1 coming down and taking the Jeep at a very fast speed and returning after half an hour. Thereafter, at about 5.30 a.m. Ram Phal, the Milk Vendor, brought milk, but on seeing him coming upstairs, A-1 instructed him to leave the milk on the ground floor. At about 6.15 a.m. the School Van came to take Lokesh [deceased], son of Sunil [deceased], but it left after waiting for some time as Lokesh did not come down despite blowing of horn. PW 57 thereafter sent Rohtas, another servant of Relu Ram, to the first floor for bringing Lokesh down for being dropped in the School on motor-cycle. Upon being called by Rohtas, PW 57 went to the first floor and found that A-1 was lying in the porch with froth coming out of her mouth and was mumbling that she be saved and Sanjiv [A-2] be called. Reaching inside the house, PW 57 found that Relu Ram [father], Krishna [mother], Sunil [brother], Shakuntala [sister-in-law], Priyanka @ Pamma [sister], Lokesh [nephew] and Shivani and Preeti [nieces] of A-1 had been murdered in different rooms. He also found that Shakuntla's hands and feet were tied with cot. The tractor rod that PW 57 had seen A-1 removing from the room on the previous night was lying on the bed of A-1. Noticing a letter [Suicide Note  Ext. 227] lying on the bed of A- 1 written in Hindi, PW 57 picked up the same and left for the Ulkana Police Station. While giving description of what had been seen by him at the place of occurrence and handing over the said Suicide Note to S.I. Vinod Kumar, PW 59, PW 57 also stated that it may be possible that A-1 under a conspiracy had either administered some poisonous substance or made them to inhale poisonous thing and upon becoming unconscious they had been murdered. It was further stated by him that about six months prior to this incident, A-1 with an intention to kill deceased Sunil had also fired a shot from the licensed gun of deceased Relu Ram over a dispute of property, but the matter was hushed up in the house. On the basis of sequence of events that had taken place at the place of occurrence from the evening of 23rd August until 24th morning, described by PW 57 to PW 59 and the Suicide Note alleged to have been written by A-1, FIR was registered in the Ulkana Police Station at 8.15 a.m. by PW 59 wherein contents of Suicide Note were also reproduced. On completion of the investigation, chargesheet was submitted against A-1, A-2 and eight other accused persons, cognizance taken and they were committed to the court of Sessions to face trial.

On the other hand, Mr.K.T.S. Tulsi, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 895 of 2005 has submitted that in view of admission by A-1 in the Suicide Note as well as in the judicial confession [Ext. 187] made to PW 62 of having committed the murder and handwriting on the Suicide Note having been proved to be that of A-1, there is no scope left for doubting the veracity of the prosecution case. It has been further submitted by Mr. Tulsi that insofar as judicial confession recorded by PW.62 is concerned, it was recorded according to the procedure set out in Section 164 Cr.P.C. and that the alleged breach of Section 164(2) i.e., failure of magistrate to record reasons to believe that her statement was voluntary is a defect curable by Section 463 of the Cr.P.C. and is covered by a decision of a 3-Judge Bench of this Court in the case of Babu Singh vs. State of Punjab, [1963] 3 SCR 749. Adopting the line of argument identical to that of Mr. Tulsi, Mr. U.U. Lalit, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the State, submitted that even if there is a violation of Section 164 Cr.P.C., the Court can admit such an evidence as the violation of that Section is cured by Section 463 Cr.P.C. if it had not injured the accused in his defence on the merits. We shall first deal with the Suicide Note allegedly written by A-1. PW 57  the informant  while lodging the FIR and in his evidence stated that the Suicide Note was picked up by him from A-1's bed and thereafter he left for the Ulkana Police Station to lodge the FIR. It was handed over by him to PW.59 who, on the basis of sequence of events narrated by PW.57 that had taken place at the place of occurrence and on the basis of Suicide Note, registered the FIR, making the Suicide Note as part and parcel of the FIR by reproducing its contents therein.

The factum of A-1's presence at the place of occurrence having been established, we now proceed to discern whether the Suicide Note was fabricated one. In order to verify the handwriting on the Suicide Note to be that of A-1, on 10.9.2001 SIAjit Singh [PW 27] moved an application before Balraj Singh [PW.26], the then SDM, Hisar, for taking specimen signature and handwriting of A-1, which were taken and sent to FSL, Madhuban for analysis. According to the report submitted by FSL, Madhuban, in this regard, the handwriting on the Suicide Note tallied with the specimen handwriting.

A bare perusal of Suicide Note which was addressed by A-1 to none other than A-2 [her husband], would show that in the very first line she has confessed of having eliminated everybody and that she was ending her life as well. In this very letter of hers, A-1 has admitted having written it immediately after the occurrence. This fact stands proved by the evidence of PW.57 who in his evidence has stated that he picked up the said letter from A-1's bed and thereafter left for the police station. Therefore, there was no reason for any of the police officials to be present at the place of occurrence from the time the crime was committed until the arrival of the police officials after the lodgment of the FIR. Both the courts below have relied upon the evidence of PW.57 and PW.26 on this point and we see no reason to disbelieve their testimony. In this view of the matter, the submission of the learned counsel that the Suicide Note was fabricated has to be rejected.