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Showing contexts for: kidnapping case in Ravi Dhingra vs The State Of Haryana on 1 March, 2023Matching Fragments
9. The important ingredient of Section 364-A is the abduction or kidnapping, as the case may be.
Thereafter, a threat to the kidnapped/abducted that if the demand for ransom is not met then the victim is likely to be put to death and in the event death is caused, the offence of Section 364-A is complete. There are three stages in this section, one is the kidnapping or abduction, second is threat of death coupled with the demand of money and lastly when the demand is not met, then causing death. If the three ingredients are available, that will constitute the offence under Section 364-A of the Penal Code. Any of the three ingredients can take place at one place or at different places.”
15. Now, we shall consider the applicability of the above ratio to the present case and deal with appellants’ argument about contradictions in the statements of the PW-21. We agree with the High Court that the statements are crucial. We also note that the Courts below, as is usual in kidnapping cases, have placed singular reliance on the testimony of PW-21 to prove the element of ‘threat to cause death or hurt’, or to determine whether the appellants’ conduct gives rise to a reasonable apprehension that such person may be put to death or hurt. We have perused the statement of PW-21 made to the police on 18.02.2000, i.e., two days after he had returned home from the captivity of appellants-
16. In particular, we note that the High Court did not apply the precedent in Malleshi vs. State of Karnataka, (2004) 8 SCC 95 (“Malleshi”) properly. The facts in the said case, concerning the kidnapping of a major boy, revolved around the party to whom the demand for ransom ought to be made to bring home the guilt under Section 364A. It was observed in SK Ahmed that the Malleshi case dealt with demand for ransom and held that demand originally was made to the person abducted and the mere fact that after making the demand the same could not be conveyed to some other person as the accused was arrested in the meantime does not take away the effect of conditions of Section 364A. As clarified by this Court in SK Ahmed, Malleshi was merely concerned with ransom and its ratio would be of no assistance to cases where the fulfilment of other ingredients of crime under Section 364A is brought into question.