Ram Prakash Vs. The State of Punjab
[1958] INSC 72 (2 September 1958)
IMAM, SYED JAFFER SINHA, BHUVNESHWAR P.
WANCHOO, K.N.
CITATION: 1959 AIR 1 1959 SCR 1210
CITATOR INFO :
E 1964 SC1184 (3,7,14) E 1968 SC 832 (9) RF
1988 SC1883 (120)
ACT:
Criminal Law--Evidence--Retracted confession
of co-accusedEvidentiary value--Necessity of corroboration--Indian Evidence
Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), s. 30.
HEADNOTE:
The appellant was tried along with P for the
offence of murder. The prosecution case was that the appellant, in conspiracy
with P who was employed as a servant in the house of the deceased, took
advantage of the deceased being alone in the house with her child, went
upstairs and killed her and stole her ornaments, while P remained downstairs
with the child. The evidence upon which the prosecution relied for conviction
consisted of the confession of P, the statement of the appellant which led to
the recovery of the ornaments belonging to the deceased from the possession of
the mistress of the appellant, the recovery of a bloodstained dagger from his
belongings at the police station and his conduct after the murder. The
confession of P was later retracted by him in the Court of 'Session. It was
contended for the appellant that a retracted confession of an accused cannot be
used against his co-accused Held, that a voluntary and true confession made by
an accused though it was subsequently retracted by him, can be taken into
consideration against a co-accused by virtue Of s. 30 of the Indian Evidence
Act, but as a matter of prudence and practice the court should not act upon it
to sustain a conviction of the co-accused without full and strong corroboration
in material particulars both as to the crime and as to his connection with that
crime.
The amount of credibility to be attached to a
retracted confession would depend upon the circumstances of each particular
case.
Held, further, that on the evidence in the
case the confession of P was voluntary and true and was strongly corroborated
in material particulars both concerning the general story told in the
confession concerning the crime and the appellant's connection with crime.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal
Appeal No. 77 of 1958.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and
order dated February 26, 1958, of the Punjab High Court in Criminal Appeal No.
860 of 1957, arising out 155 1220 of the judgment and order dated December 23,
1957, of the Additional Sessions Judge at Ambala in Sessions No. 20 of 1957 and
Trial No. 32 of 1957.
Harnam Singh and Sadhu Singh, for the
appellant.
Har Parshad and T. M. Sen, for the
respondent.
1958. September 2. The Judgment of the Court
was delivered by IMAM J.-The appellant and one Prem were tried for the murder
of Nirmala Devi, wife of Banwari Lal, a Practising lawyer at Rupar. The
appellant was sentenced to death while Prem was sentenced to imprisonment for
life. The appellant and Prem appealed against their conviction and sentence to
the High Court of Punjab. Their appeals were dismissed and their conviction and
sentence were affirmed by the High Court.
The appellant obtained from this Court
special leave to appeal and in the present appeal the only question for
consideration is whether the appellant was rightly convicted and sentenced for
the murder of Nirmala Devi. The case of Prem is not before us.
At Rupar, Banwari Lal practised as a lawyer.
His wife, the deceased Nirmala Devi lived with him there with their child,
eight months old. With them also lived --Banwari Lal's sister Vina, a girl of
about 16 to 17 years of age. Banwari Lal had employed Prem as a servant about
four months before the murder of Nirmala Devi on February 12, 1957. This Prem
was a youngster of about fourteen years of age at that time.
According to the prosecution, lie was an
associate of the appellant who was posted at Rupar in the capacity of a footconstable
in the police force. The appellant and Prem became friendly and it is said that
the appellant had an eye on the ornaments of the deceased Nirmala Devi, which
she was in the habit of wearing when she went out. The deceased was a young
person in her twenties and of good character. She used to be left alone in the
house with her child, when Banwari Lal went to court and Vina went to school.
Prem, however, used to remain at the house. It is the case of the prosecution
that the appellant in 1221 conspiracy with Prem took advantage of the deceased
being alone in the house, when the appellant went upstairs and killed Nirmala
Devi and stole her ornaments, while Prem remained down-stairs with her child.
Vina had returned from school roundabout, 12-30 in the afternoon as it was the
recess time. At that time Nirmala Devi was in the drawing room feeding her
child. Prem was also at the house at that time. Vina again returned to the
house at about 3-45 p.m.
She enquired from Prem as to where Nirmala
Devi was and was told by him that he did not know as he himself had been absent
from the house. Vina, thereafter, went upstairs to the kitchen to take her
food. Banwari Lal had returned from court at about 3-15 p.m., earlier than
usual, as he had to attend an election meeting at the Municipal Office. He was
accompanied by a pleader Sudarshan Kumar Jain who was going to Chandigarh. He
had intended to give him a cup of tea, but finding the door leading through the
staircase to the residential portion looked and thinking that his wife was not
at home, lie and his friend left for the Municipal Hall.
Banwari Lal returned to his house at about
4-45 p.m. He enquired from Prem as to where his wife was and was informed by
him that she had gone out. He went upstairs and saw his sister Vina eating her
food. On opening the drawing room, however, Banwari Lal was stunned to find his
wife lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood. lie noticed several injuries
on her and that some of her jewellery was missing.
He proceeded to the police station almost
opposite to his house and lodged a First Information Report about the murder at
5 p.m.
There can be no manner of doubt that an
audacious and a brutal murder of a young and a defenceless person had taken
place with the intention of robbing her of her ornaments.
The fact of murder has been apply proved and
has not been seriously questioned. The only matter for consideration is Whether
the evidence established that the deceased Nirmala Devi was murdered by the
appellant with the assistance of Prem.
The evidence upon which the prosecution
relied for 1222 conviction is the confession of Prem, the statement of the
appellant which led to the recovery of the ornaments belonging to Nirmala Devi
from the possession of one Raj Rani a mistress of the appellant, the recovery
of a bloodstained dagger from his belongings at the police station and his
conduct after the murder.
So far as the confession of Prem was
concerned, it was retracted by him in the Court of Session. Prem's statement
under s. 342 to the Committing Magistrate, however, which had been brought on
to the record under s. 287 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, clearly stated
that the confession was a voluntary one. Indeed, his statement to the
Committing Magistrate showed that the crime was committed by the appellant and
that Prem had assisted him in the commission of that crime. Although in the
Court of Session Prem had retracted his confession, his memorandum of appeal in
the High Court would indirectly suggest that the confession made by him was
voluntary and true. Before we consider whether the confession was a voluntary
and a true one, it is necessary to deal with the submission on behalf of the
appellant that the confession, having been retracted by Prem, is irrelevant so
far as the appellant is concerned as the retracted confession of an accused
cannot be used against his co-accused.
Although on behalf of the appellant it had
not been argued that the retracted confession of Prem was inadmissible, we
regard the submission that it was irrelevant and cannot be used against the
appellant as tantamount to saying the same thing. Section 30 of the Indian
Evidence Act states:
" When more persons than one are being
tried jointly for the same offence, and a confession made by one of such
persons affecting himself and some other of such persons is proved, the Court
may take into consideration such confession as against such other person as well
as against the person who makes such confession." It will be clear from
the terms of this section that where more persons than one are being tried
jointly for the same offence, a confession made by any one of them affecting
himself and any one of his co-accused 1223 can be taken into consideration by
the court not only against the maker of the confession but also against his coaccused.
The Evidence Act nowhere provides that if the confession is retracted, it
cannot be taken into consideration against the co-accused or the confessing
accused. Accordingly, the provisions of the Evidence Act do not prevent the
Court from taking into consideration a retracted confession against the
confessing accused and his co-accused. Not a single decision of any of the courts
in India was placed before us to show that a retracted confession was not
admissible in evidence or that it was irrelevant as against a co-accused. An
examination of the reported decisions of the various High Courts in India
indicates that the preponderance of opinion is in favour of the view that
although it may be taken into consideration against a co-accused by virtue of
the provisions of s. 30 of the Indian Evidence Act, its value was extremely
weak and there could be no conviction without the fullest and strongest
corroboration on material particulars. The corroboration in the full sense
implies corroboration not only as to the factum of the crime but also as to the
connection of the (co-accused with that crime. In our opinion, there appears to
be considerable justification for this view. The amount of credibility to be
attached to a retracted confession, however, would depend upon the
circumstances of each particular case. Although a retracted confession is
admissible against a co-accused by virtue of s. 30 of the Indian Evidence Act,
as a matter of prudence and practice a court would not ordinarily act upon it
to convict a co-accused without corroboration. On this basis it is now to be
seen whether the confession was voluntary and true. It will then be necessary
to consider whether the confession has received full and strong corroboration
in material particulars both as to the crime and the appellant's connection
with that crime.
It was strongly urged that the police had
adopted a device to get the accused Prem into their custody again on a charge
of theft as lie had already been placed in the judicial lock-up after his
arrest in 1224 connection with the murder of the deceased Nirmala Devi. He was
arrested on June 25, 1957, in connection with a burglary which had taken place
on December 5, 1956, and he had been since then in police custody in connection
with the investigation of that case until July 10, 1957, the last day of remand
to police custody. On July 10, 1957, Prem made a confession before a Magistrate
concerning the murder of Nirmala Devi. Prem was discharged in the burglary case
on July 20, 1957. Having adopted this device of getting Prem into police
custody the police were in a position to exercise great influence upon Prem, a,
young' lad of about 14 years of age. When lie made his confession on July 10,
1957, he must have been still labouring under the influence of the police and
sufficient time was not given by the Magistrate to remove that influence. The
Magistrate ought not to have recorded his confession on July 10, 1957. He ought
to have remanded Prem to jail custody for a few days in order that the police
influence may be removed from his mind. We have examined the record and find no
justification for the suggestion made that the police adopted a device to got
the accused Prem in to their custody again by arresting him in the burglary
case of December 5, 1956. It is true that the accused Prem was discharged from
the burglary case on July 20, 1957, but there is nothing on the present record
to suggest that his arrest in the burglary case of December 5, 1956, was
without justification and that it was done purely for the purpose of getting
him back into police custody. It is true that Prem had been in police custody
from June 25, 1957 to July 10, 1957, and the Magistrate might as well have
refrained from recording his confession on July 10, 1957. It is clear, however,
from the record of the Magistrate that at 1 p.m. the accused Prem was produced
before him by the police for the recording of his confession. The Magistrate
told him that lie was not a police officer but a Magistrate and that he was at
liberty to think over the matter whether he would volunteer to make a
confession and gave him time, until 2 p.m. for this purpose. He further explained
to Prem that he should 1225 consider himself quite free and not make a
statement under the influence or temptation of anybody. At 2 p.m. the
Magistrate took various precautions. All the doors and the windows of his room
were closed. Everyone, except Prem, was turned out. The police were asked to
stand in the verandah from where they could not see Prem. Prem was again told
that he must regard himself as quite free and should not be under the influence
of the police or anybody else. The Magistrate then put a series of questions
which have been recorded in the form of questions and answers. By question 7,
the Magistrate enquired how long Prem had been in police custody and from where
he bad been brought that day, to which, the answer was that some 5 months back
he had been arrested since then sometimes he had been sent to jail and
sometimes had been kept in police custody. By question 8, the Magistrate asked
whether he was kept awake during that period or had been given greased diet
(Mnaggan giza, etc.), which we understand to mean whether he had been given
greasy food which would induce a sleepy condition in persons eating such food,
to which question he replied that he had enjoyed regular sleep and had been
taking common diet. At the beginning, of course, the police had kept him awake.
The Magistrate also enquired whether the police or any other person had made
any promise or had given any undertaking to help Prem or had given all
temptation to him or had influenced or frightened him. If so, he should state
this fully from his heart, to which Prem replied that he had not been given any
promise, temptation or inducement, nor was he subjected to fear or exhortation.
He had been merely asked to make a true statement. Prem then said that he would
make his statement of his own free will and the Magistrate could believe him or
not. The Magistrate also asked Prem whether anyone had beaten him or if there
was any mark of injury on his body, to which, the answer was 'no'. The
Magistrate then examined the body of Prem and found that there was no mark of
injury on his person. The Magistrate then asked as to why he was making a
confession, to which, Prem answered 1226 that he was doing so of his own free
will and to lessen the burden of his heart. The nature of the questions put and
the manner in which the Magistrate examined Prem clearly showed that the
Magistrate took every precaution to be satisfied whether Prem was going to make
a voluntary statement. We are satisfied that during the period of police
custody between the 25th of June and July 10, 1957, Prem was not induced to
make a confession. He made the confession voluntarily. That the confession was
voluntary finds support from Prem's statement to the Committing Magistrate
under s. 342 of the Code of' Criminal Procedure.
In that statement Prem told the Magistrate in
answer to various questions the following story: He had been employed as a
domestic servant by the lawyer Banwari Lal. He had developed during this period
friendship with the appellant.
The appellant had told him that he would
commit rape on Nirmala Devi and would rob her of her ornaments and, if she
resisted, he would murder her. He informed the appellant on February 11, 1957,
that Nirmala -Devi would be alone in her house at about mid -day on February
12, 1957. He had received on February 11, 1957, a dagger wrapped in a pajama
from the appellant and bad kept it in the store behind the office of Banwari
Lal On February 12, 1957, he informed the appellant that Nirmala Devi was alone
in the house. He had handed over the dagger and the pajama to the appellant on
February 12, after taking it out of the store room. The appellant had sought
his assistance in the commission of rape, robbery and murder of Nirmala Devi
and he had been promised a half share in the booty. To the question whether he
had kept watch over the house of Banwari Lal when the appellant entered it for
committing rape, robbery and murder of Nirmala Devi, Prem answered that he was
made to stand near the stair-case by the appellant and that he kept watch while
the appellant committed the crime. He finally admitted to the Committing
Magistrate that the confession which had been recorded on July 10, 1957, was a
voluntary confession. When asked whether he had to say anything else, Prem told
the Committing 1227 Magistrate that he had made a true statement before him and
also in the Court of the Magistrate who had recorded his confession. Shorn of
details the substance of the story told by Prem to the Committing Magistrate is
in keeping with the substance of his confession recorded on July 10, 1957.
It is to be further remembered that the
statement of Prem to the Committing Magistrate was brought on to the record of
the Court of Session under s. 287 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which
directs that the statement should be read as evidence. Although Prem retracted
the confession in the Court of Session, his memorandum of appeal filed in the
High Court showed that he had acted under the influence of the appellant and
had been allured by him to achieve his object.
He, however, pleaded that be should not have
received such severe punishment. On the contrary, lie should have been
acquitted. These circumstances clearly indicate that the confession recorded on
July 10, 1957, was a voluntary confession. It remains now to be seen whether it
was a truthful confession.
Prem asserted in his confession that he had
acquaintance with the appellant previous to the appellant's posting to Rupar
and their association continued at Rupar. There is nothing inherently improbable
in this story of Prem. It is true that there is not much evidence to
corroborate Prem.
that lie and the appellant were acquainted
and used to associate. Banwari Lal had seen them talking to each other once or
twice before the murder. The police station at which the appellant was posted
was almost opposite to the house of Banwari Lal where Prem was employed as a
servant and there was every probability of the appellant and Prem meeting. It
is significant that on the day of murder of Nirmala Devi, in the afternoon,
Prem was present in the compound of the police station with a child in a
perambulator. Foot-constable Gurbachan Singh, P.W. 4, enquired from Prem as to
why he had gone inside the police station. On this the appellant asked
Gurbachan Singh not to remonstrate with Prem as he was a mere, boy. Gurbachan
156 1228 Singh had stated that previously he had never seen Prem going inside
the police station with a perambulater. The intervention of the appellant
suggests that he knew Prem and was friendly towards him. Prem's story that he
was employed as a servant by Banwari Lal is corroborated by the evidence of
Banwari Lal himself, his sister Vina and his clerk Naranjan Das. In the nature
of things there could be no corroboration of Prem's story about the appellant's
proposal to rape and rob Nirmala Devi and, if necessary, to murder her.
According to Prem's confession a day before the murder he had been given a
dagger by the appellant along with a _pajama and that Prem took the pajama and
the dagger to the upper storey of Banwari Lal's house having concealed it in
the kothri of firewood which was near the office room of Banwari Lal. This part
of his story receives corroboration from the evidence of Banwari Lal that after
the murder he had found a blood-stained pajama, Exbt. P. 14, banging on the
door of the store room which is at the back of the residential portion of the
house. Banwari Lal is supported by Nand Lal, P.W. 34, Motor Mobile Patrol
Sub-Inspector, who recorded the First Information of Banwari Lal. According to
him, he found the pajama hanging on one of the shutters of an almirah fixed in
the wall in the fuel room situate at the back of the room where Nirmala Devi
was found lying dead.
It was bloodstained. Banwari Lal had clearly
stated that this pajama did not belong to him or any one in his house.
The existence of the pajama in Banwari Lal's
house lends corroboration to the story of Prem that he had been given this
pajama and that he had concealed it in the kothri of fire-wood near the office of
Banwari Lal. The statement of Prem that he had asked Raj sabziwala to bring
down the perambulator of the child and that he did so, finds corroboration from
the evidence of Gurbachan Singh that in the afternoon he found Prem accused in
the police station with a child in a perambulator.
The presence of the accused Prem at Banwari
Lal's house near about the time of the murder appears to 1229 be clear. When
Vina had left for her school at 9-45 a.m., Prem was in the house. Vina returned
to the house from her school at about 12-30 noon. At that time Prem was present
in the verandah in front of the office. When she finally returned from the
school at about 3-45 p.m., apparently Prem was not in the house but arrived
shortly thereafter. The murder was committed at any time between 12-30 p.m. and
2-15 p.m. if the appellant was the murderer, because Gurbachan Singh's evidence
showed that the appellant was at the thana at 2-15 p.m. Apparently, the
appellant went out with Gurbachan Singh and returned to the thana with him in
time for Gurbachan Singh to be on duty from 3 p.m. If the appellant was the
murderer he must have committed the murder before 2-15 p.m. Nirmala Devi was
alive at 12-30 p.m. when Vina saw her feeding her child. Assuming that Vina did
not stay long, as she had come to get some money to purchase a copy-book, it
would not be unreasonable to assume that Nirmala Devi was alive up to 12-40 or
12-45 p.m. The interval of time between that and 2-15 p.m., when the appellant
was seen at the police station, is about 1 1/2 hours. It would be probable that
during this time Prem was present in the house and when he says that lie was
present there there is no inherent improbability in his statement.
At 3-45 p.m., when Vina arrived, no doubt
Prem was not in the house, but he came shortly thereafter and Vina took from
him the child of Nirmala Devi. This clearly shows that Prem had gone out of the
house with the child of Nirmala Devi which one would not normally expect him to
do at that time of the day, if Nirmala Devi had left the house to do shopping
or to visit anyone. If Nirmala Devi was in the house and alive it was most
unlikely that Prem accused would have taken her child out of the house. Prem's
statement that he was amusing the child while the appellant was doing his
nefarious work appears to be true, because the child was with him and he had
been seen at the police station with a child in a perambulator. If the
circumstances tend to show that in all probability Prem was in the house from
12-30 p.m. to 2-15 p.m. then his 1230 story that he was present at the house
when the appellant came there appears to be a truthful statement. It is
significant that when Vina arrived at the house at 3-45 p.m.
she found the door of the stair-case locked.
When Prem arrived she saw the key in his hand, although Prem had said it was
lying on the floor. He opened the lock of the door of the stair-case with that
key and Vinia went upstairs to the second floor where she went to the kitchen
and took her food. When Banwari Lal arrived at his house at about 3-15 p.m. he
found his office room locked from outside. He wanted to go to the residential
portion for taking tea, but found the door of the stair-case locked from
outside.
Finding the door of the stair-case leading to
the residential portion of his house locked, he came down and went away in
connection with the election work. On his return he enquired from Prem about
the whereabouts of his wife and Prem told him that she had gone out. He wished
to go upstairs to the residential portion of the house and Prem at his request
opened the lock of the stair-case, the key being with him. According to Banwari
Lal, the usual practice was to lock the door of the office which adjoins the
stair-case and to bolt the other door from inside, but on the day of the murder
the door adjoining the stair-case was looked while the other door was lying
open. Banwari Lal's clerk, Naranjan Das, came to the house at 4-15 or 4-30 p.m.
He went up to the verandah in front of the office and found both the doors of the
office locked from outside. He asked Prem to open the office, but Prem told him
that the key of one of the locks which was fixed on the door adjoining the
stair-case, had been lost. He gave the key of the other lock and then Prem took
out a key from his pocket and opened the lock fixed on the other door of the
office.
There is no reason to distrust all this
evidence which would indicate that after Vina had left the house on her first
visit at about 12-30 p.m. the two doors were locked from outside which was
something unusual and that the keys of the looks of these doors were with Prem.
He had given evasive answers about the keys to Vinia and Naranjan Das 1231
while the key was in his pocket. These circumstances also indicate the
truthfulness of Prem's statement that he was present in the house during the
period in which Nirmala Devi was murdered. His statement in the confession that
the appellant had locked the door and had thrown the key in tile office
verandah and that while he sat there, the child, while playing, picked up the
key and that he said to the girl (presumably Vina) there was the key and then
he unlocked the door appears to be true. Reference in some detail to the
various statements of Prem in the confession and the circumstances proved by the
evidence of various witnesses became necessary in order to ascertain whether
Prem had made a truthful statement about his presence at the house during the
period in which Nirmala Devi was murdered and also as to the part he had played
in assisting the appellant to commit the murder. While it is true that in the
confession Prem does not attribute to himself any participation in the murder
itself, it is not to be forgotten that the murder of Nirmala Devi could not
have taken place without his aid. Whoever entered the house of Banwari Lal in
broad day light could not have gone upstairs without the knowledge and
cooperation of Prem. According to his statement lie knew what was the intention
of the appellant and to assist him in the accomplishment of his purpose he had
concealed in his master's house the pajama and the dagger given to him by the
appellant. If he did not actually participate in the murder he would be equally
guilty of the murder if that murder was committed with his aid and his
connivance. The confession, as a whole, concerning the murder of the deceased
appears to us to be true and we have no hesitation, after a very careful
consideration of all the circumstances appearing in the case, in saying so. In
our opinion, Prem's confession was not only voluntary and true but it had been
corroborated in material particulars regarding the general story told by him in
his confession. The other question which now remains for consideration is
whether the confession received material corroboration connecting the appellant
with the murder of Nirmala Devi.
1232 Amongst the appellant's possessions a
dagger was recovered which appeared to be blood-stained but owing to the long
delay in sending it to the Chemical Examiner its origin could not be
determined. From the medical evidence it appears that the dagger in question
could have inflicted the kind of injuries suffered by Nirmala Devi. The most
important corroboration, however, is the recovery of the ornaments of the
deceased. These ornaments, according to Banwari Lal, she had been wearing on
the day of the murder when he left for court. On some statement made by the
appellant his mistress Raj Rani was visited by the authorities and in the
presence of respectable witnesses some ornaments were recovered and they were
identified as the ornaments of the deceased. The evidence of Raj Rani also
showed that these ornaments were given to her by the appellant. She apparently
had no reason to depose against the appellant, because she had said in her
evidence that she wished to meet the appellant before giving clue to the
ornaments and that she wished to give the ornaments to the police in his
presence. The defence case was not that these ornaments did not belong to the
deceased but that, on the contrary, they were hers but had been produced by
Banwari Lal during the police investigation and that it was falsely alleged
that they had been recovered from Raj Rani. The evidence of Charan Dass, P. W.
24, President of the Municipal Committee of Rupar, however, clearly shows that
in his presence the appellant made a statement to the police to the effect that
one gold kara and seven gold bangles had been given by him to Raj Rani. This
statement was made on August 3, 1957. His evidence also shows that on August 9,
1957, he accompanied the police party from Rupar to Jangpura and that Raj Rani
took them to her sister's house. She brought out a trunk from inside the room.
She opened the lock of the trunk and produced from it a tin box which contained
a gold kara and seven gold bangles. The evidence of GoriShanker, a Municipal
Commissioner of Rupar is to the same effect and corroborated Charan Dass. The
courts below believed these two witnesses. We have examined 1233 their evidence
with some care in view of the submission on behalf of the appellant that they
should not be relied upon.
There is nothing in their evidence to show
that they were in any way hostile to the appellant or had any motive to depose
against him. The courts below having believed these witnesses, we would not
ordinarily go behind their view on a question of fact. Having regard, however,
to the consequences which arise as a result of the acceptance of their evidence
in this particular case, we have examined their evidence in the light of the
submission made on behalf of the appellant. It was suggested that at the
earlier stage the police investigation was not properly conducted and the
public were dissatisfied. A deputation of influential persons met the Chief
Minister as a result of which a more active and thorough investigation took
place. It may be that influential persons of Rupar interviewed the Chief
Minister, being dissatisfied with the manner in which the investigation was
taking place. There is, however, nothing to show that Charan Dass or Gori
Shanker were amongst those who had interviewed the Chief Minister or that they
had taken part in any agitation against the police concerning the manner of the
investigation. It is difficult to believe that two responsible persons such as
the President of the Municipal Committee and one of its members would go out of
their way to depose to certain events which would provide very strong evidence
against the appellant and lead to his conviction on a capital charge, unless
they had really heard the statement of the appellant and witnessed the recovery
as deposed to by them. It was then suggested that, apparently, Charan Dass had
no real reason to go to the police station on August 3, 1957, and, therefore,
his story that he heard the appellant make the statement which led to the recovery
of the ornaments was false. Charan Dass, however, had stated the reason for his
visiting the police station. He went there to complain to the police that
people parked their push-carts in the bazar and thus obstructed the passage. In
our opinion, as the President of the Municipal Committee of Rupar, if a
nuisance was 1234 being created by people parking their push-carts in the
bazar, it was a natural thing for him to go to the police station in order to
get such obstruction removed and for the police to see that the nuisance did
not continue. We can find nothing strange in the conduct of Charan Dass or Gori
Shanker in having gone to the police station in the circumstances deposed to by
them. We have no hesitation in believing the evidence of Charan Dass and Gori
Shanker that the appellant made a statement to the effect that he had given one
gold kara and seven gold bangles to Raj Rani and that the same were recovered
from Raj Rani in their presence. It would appear, therefore, on the evidence of
Raj Rani and these witnesses, that not long after the murder of Nirmala Devi
the appellant was in possession of her ornaments and that he had given them to
Raj Rani. The ornaments being in possession of the appellant soon after the
murder would show that he either stole the ornaments or was in possession of
them knowing or having reason to believe that they were stolen properties.
Nirmala Devi had been murdered by someone who had stolen her ornaments.
According to the confession of Prem it was
the appellant who had gone up-stairs where Nirmala Devi was Sometime after the
departure of Vina. He had given the appellant the pajama and the dagger.
Thereafter, the appellant left the house leaving the pajama behind. After the
departure of the appellant no outsider entered the house. It is clear,
therefore, that in order to steal the ornaments the thief killed Nirmala Devi.
The circumstances clearly indicate that the thief was no other than the
appellant. It seems to us, therefore, that the confession of Prem receives strong
and substantial corroboration connecting the appellant with the crime of the
murder of the deceased Nirmala Devi.
The conduct of the appellant from 2-15 p.m.
onwards clearly shows that he was in a disturbed state of mind which is
consistent with his having committed the crime, It is curious that lie was
uttering the word I Nirmala. It had been suggested to Gurbachan Singh that the
Assistant SubInspector Rikhi Ram had a 1235 daughter with whom the appellant
had illicit connection and that her name was Nirmala, but the witness stated
that he had no knowledge about it. The appellant in his statement under s. 342
of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the Sessions Judge admitted that he
was shouting out the name of Nirmala but he had a love affair with a girl named
Nirmala, daughter of Rikhi Ram. We are not prepared to accept the explanation
of the appellant as to how he was calling out the name of Nirmala so soon after
the murder of Nirmala Devi. This conduct of the appellant may not by itself
have been corroboration of sufficient importance to enable a court to convict
the appellant on the retracted confession of Prem. No stronger and no better
corroboration, however, of the confession of Prem could be had than the
evidence which showed that the appellant had been in possession of Nirmala
Devi's ornaments soon after her murder.
There were several comments made on the
evidence by the learned Advocate for the appellant, but those comments were
with reference to unimportant matters and were not at all relevant. In an
appeal by special leave it is not ordinarily permissible to make submissions on
questions of fact. The principal matter with which we have been concerned in
this appeal was whether the confession of Prem had been corroborated in
material particulars regarding the general story told by him and in material
particulars tending to connect the appellant with the murder of the deceased.
We have no hesitation in saying that the confession of Prem has been amply
corroborated in both respects. Recovery of the ornaments of the deceased at the
instance of the appellant incriminated him to the fullest extent and lent the
strongest corroboration to the confession of Prem from which it was apparent
that no other person than the appellant could have murdered Nirmala Devi.
The appeal is accordingly dismissed.
Appeal dismissed.
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