Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

1. The instant controversy emerges out of a double murder, committed on the night intervening 15-16.5.2008. On having found the body of Aarushi Talwar in her bedroom in house no. L-32, Jalvayu Vihar, Sector 25, Noida, her father Dr. Rajesh Talwar got a first information report registered at Police Station Sector 20, Noida, on 16.5.2008. In the first information report Dr. Rajesh Talwar pointed the needle of suspicion at Hemraj, a domestic help in the household of the Talwars. On 17.5.2008 the dead body of Hemraj was recovered from the terrace of the same house, i.e., house no. L-32, Jalvayu Vihar, Sector 25, Noida, where Aarushi’s murder had also allegedly been committed.

Tenthly, based on the statements of Umesh Sharma, Kalpana Mondal, Vimla Sarkar and Punish Tandon, recorded during the course of investigation, it was sought to be concluded, that the door leading to the terrace of house no.L-32, Jalvayu Vihar, Sector 25, Noida, had always remained open prior to the date of occurrence. It was gathered therefrom, that the lock on the door leading to the terrace of the house in question on the date of occurrence, was affixed so that the investigating agency would not immediately recover the body of Hemraj, so as to hamper the investigation. These facts allegedly spell out the negative role played by Dr. Rajesh Talwar in causing hindrances in the process of investigation. Eleventhly, based on the statements of Rohit Kocchar and Dr. Rajeev Varshney, recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, disclosing, that they had informed Dr. Rajesh Talwar, that the terrace door, the lock on the terrace door, as also, the upper steps of the staircase had blood stains. They also asserted, that Dr. Rajesh Talwar “… climbed up some steps but immediately came down and did not say anything about keys and went inside the house …”. The aforesaid narration, coupled with the fact, that Dr. Prafull Durrani one of the friends of Dr. Rajesh Talwar stated, that he was “… told by Dr. Rajesh Talwar, that the key of the terrace used to be with Hemraj. He did not know about the key …” was the basis for assuming, that Dr. Rajesh Talwar was preventing the investigating agency from tracing the body of Hemraj, which was eventually found from the terrace, after breaking open the lock on the terrace door. Twelfthly, Umesh Sharma the driver of the Talwars, stated during the course of investigation, that he had placed two golf clubs, i.e. irons 4 and 5 in the room of Hemraj, when the Santro car owned by the Talwars, was given for servicing. The iron 5 club, which is alleged to be the weapon of crime (which resulted in a V shaped injury on the heads of both Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj), remained untraced during the course of active investigation. The same was recovered from the loft of the house of Dr. Rajesh Talwar, and handed over to the investigating agency, more than a year after the occurrence on 30.10.2009. The Magistrate noticed, that the loft from where it was allegedly found, had been checked several times by the CBI. To which the explanation of Dr. Rajesh Talwar allegedly was, that one golf club might have dropped from the golf kit, and might have been left there. This factual aspect lead to the inference, that the weapon used in the crime, was deliberately not handed over to the investigating agency, after the occurrence.

“From the analysis of evidence of all above mentioned witnesses prima facie it appears that after investigation, on the basis of evidence available in the case diary when this incident occurred at that time four members were present in the house – Dr. Rajesh Talwar, Dr. Nupur Talwar, Aarushi and servant Hem Raj; Aarushi and Hem Raj the two out four were found dead. In the case diary there is no such evidence from which it may appear that some person had made forcible entry and there is to evidence regarding involvement of the servants. In the night of the incident internet was switched on and off in the house in regard to which this evidence is available in the case diary that it was switched on or off by some person. Private parts of deceased Aarushi were cleaned and deceased Hem Raj was dragged in injured condition from the flat of Dr. Rajesh Talwar up to the terrace and the terrace was locked. Prior to 15.5.2008 terrace was not locked. According to documents available on the case diary blood stains were wiped off on the staircase, both the deceased were slit with the help of a surgical instrument by surgically trained persons and shape of injury on the head and forehead was V-shaped and according to the evidence available in the case diary that appeared to have been caused with a gold stick. A person coming from outside, during the presence of Talwar couple in the house could have neither used the internet nor could have taken the dead body of deceased Hem Raj to the terrace and then locked when the Talwar couple was present in the house. On the basis of evidence available in the case diary footprints stained with blood were found in the room of Aarushi but outside that room bloodstained footprints were not found. If the assailant would go out after committing murder then certainly his footprints would not be confined up to the room of Aarushi and for an outsider it is not possible that when Talwar couple were present in the house he would use liquor or would try to take dead body on the terrace. Accused after committing the offence would like to run away immediately so that no one could catch him.

Secondly, it was pointed out, after extensively relying upon the statement of Bharti, that the grill and mash door latched from the outside clearly evidenced, that after committing the crime the culprits had bolted the premises from outside. The absurdity in the inference drawn by the Magistrate, it was submitted, was obvious from the fact, that the actual perpetrator of the murders, while escaping from the scene of occurrence, had bolted the Talwars from outside. It was also pointed out, that the iron mashing/gauze on the door which was bolted from outside, would make it impossible for an insider, to bolt the door from outside. Thirdly, according to the learned counsel, the impression recorded in the investigation carried out by the CBI reveals, that the stairway leading to the terrace was from inside the flat (of the Talwars), was erroneous. This inference was sought to be shown to have been incorrectly recorded, as the stairs leading to the terrace were from outside the flat, i.e., from the common area of the apartment complex beyond the outermost grill-door leading into the house no.L-32, Jalvayu Vihar, Sector 25, Noida. It was therefore submitted, that under no circumstances Dr. Rajesh Talwar or Dr. Nupur Talwar could be linked to the murder of Hemraj, since the body of Hemraj was found at a place, which had no internal connectivity from within the flat of the Talwars.