Virbhan Singh & ANR Vs. State of
U.P [1983] INSC 95 (12 August 1983)
ERADI, V. BALAKRISHNA (J) ERADI, V.
BALAKRISHNA (J) VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)
CITATION: 1983 AIR 1002 1983 SCR (3) 600 1983
SCC (4) 197 1983 SCALE (2)91
ACT:
Evidence-Circurmstantial evidence-Several
circumstances supported by medical evidence lead to the only conclusion that
the deceased was murdered in a most brutal and heinous fashion and then hung by
rope by the accused so as to give an appearance of a case of suicide -
Conviction and sentence for the offence of murder should be confirmed.
HEADNOTE:
For the offence of murder of Smt. Gyani, her
husband Virbhan Singh his mother Smt. Gyani Devi (both appellants before the
Supreme Court) alongwith his father Sileti Singh were arraigned before life
Sessions Judge, Etawah, u/s. 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code.
According to the prosecution the motive was the selfish animal nature in the
husband and his parents which has come out in the form of their determination
that the husband should remarry after doing away with the obstacle in the shape
of his existing wife on the sole ground that she was inauspicious due to the
fact that she did not bear children for four or five years after the marriage
and that even though thereafter she conceived twice and successfully gave birth
to two male babies, both those babies did not survive beyond a few weeks or
days. The further evidence of the prosecution were that the accused assaulted
the deceased and then hung her with a rope to give the impression of suicide,
did not inform anyone and kept the body in the room, that an attempt made by
Sileti Singh to remove the body in a lorry failed, that when P.W.1, the sister
of the deceased went along with P.W.4 her brother-in-law to see the deceased on
the 14th of August, 1968, the husband and the mother told a lie that the
deceased had gone out to get medicine, that again on the 15th August, 1968
after P.W,l's repeated insistence, the dead body was shown to her in a
decomposed condition, that Sileti Singh only thereafter lodged a report at the
police station Jawaharnagar to the effect that the deceased committed suicide
which version was accepted by the Police and the Panchas; that on the insistence
of P.W.1, the dead body was sent for postmortem, that the postmortem revealed
(a) five antemortem injuries including the breakage of the right side hyoid
bone under the ligature mark, (b) death should have taken place between 5.30
P.M. On August 13th, 1968 and 5.30 A.M: on August 14th, 1968, (c) death was due
to shock and haemorrhage as a result of injury to liver and stomach as well as
asphyxia due to hanging and (d) inview of the antemortem injuries found, there
was little possibility of the deceased hanging herself.
The Sessions Judge found, on a careful and analytical
consideration of the evidence, all the accused guilty, convicted them under
Section 302 I.P.C. and sentenced the three of them to life imprisonment. In the
appeal filed the 601 High Court confirmed the conviction and sentence of the
present appellants and acquitted Sileti Singh, the father.
There was no appeal by the State against the
acquittal.
Dismissing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1: 1. The conviction and senctence of
the appellants are perfectly correct and sound, as they are guilt of the murder
of the deceased in a brutal and heinous fashion.
1: 2. The case no doubt turns purely on
circumstantial evidence. But the circumstances are so telling that the only
conclusion reasonably possible is the one arrived at by the courts below that
the deceased did not commit suicide by hanging hereself but was done to death
by being brutally assaulted and thereafter hung by the neck with a rope. The
medical evidence clearly goes to prove that it would not have been possible for
the deceased, who had sustained severe injuries of the type and nature
described in the post-mortem report in the stomach and liver, to hang herself.
The husband, Virbhan Singh and his mother, Smt.Gyani Devi, were throughout
present in the house and no outsider had come to the house at the relevant
time.
According to the opinion of the doctor, the
latest point of time at which the death of the deceased could have taken place
was 5,30 a.m. On 14.8.1968 but even on the evening of that day when P.W.1,
Shrimati Ram Kumari, sister of the deceased went to their house and enquired
for the deceased, she was told by Virbhan Singh and his mother that the
deceased had gone out with the father-in-law for getting some medicine. On the
next day (15th August, 1968) rumours spread in the village that the deceased
had been done to death and it was only when P.W. l accompanied by her
brother-in-law, P.W. 4 went to the house of the accused and insisted on being
shown the body that she was finally allowed to see the dead body of her sister
which, by then, was already in a state of decomposition. Significantly, it is
only subsequent thereto that Sileti Singh went to the police Station and lodged
the report stating that the deceased had committed suicide by hanging. The
conduct of the appellants is consistent only with their active involvement in
the commission of the crime. It has come out in the evidence that on the
evening of the 14th August 1968 at about 7.30 or 8.00 p.m. Sileti Singh had
made attempts to remove clandestinely the dead body from the locality for which
purpose he had met Brahma Nand (P.W. 3), a truck owner, and unsuccessfully
tried to hire his truck to transport the dead body.
[605 G-H, 606 A-E] Observations (i) If
society should be ridden of this growing evil, it is imperative that whenever
dastardly crimes of this nature are detected and the offence brought home to
the accused, the courts must deal with the offender most ruthlessly and impose
deterrent punishment. [602 E] (ii) Most strangely, in spite of the body being
in a fairly advanced state of decomposition, thereby clearly indicating that
the death had taken place a long time prior to the report given by Sileti
Singh, which should have normally aroused serious suspicion in the mind of any
reasonable person about the 602 version of suicide given by him, the
Sub-Inspector and the panchas were inclined to record the cause of death as
suicide by hanging and close the case without any further investigation. [603
H-604 A] (iii) Though the reasons stated by the High Court in acquitting Sileti
Singh by giving the benefit of doubt are not sound and convincing since the
State has not preferred an appeal, his acquittal will stand. [606 F-G]
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal
Appeal No. 154 of 1974.
From the Judgment and order dated the 25th
September, 1973 of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 1 809 of
1969.
R.R Garg, V. J. Francis and Nikhil Chandra
for the appellants.
Dalveer Bhandari. H. M. Singh and Ranbir
Singh Yadav for the respondent.
The following Judgment of the Court was
delivered by:
BALAKRISHNA ERADI J. It is an unfortunate and
disturbing phenomenon that has recently arisen in many parts of our country
that instances of bride killing are alarmingly on the increase. If society
should be ridden of this growing evil, it is imperative that whenever dastardly
crimes of this nature are detected and the offence brought home to the accused,
the courts must deal with the offender most ruthlessly and impose deterrent
punishment. The case before us is one of its kind. While, in the vast majority
of such cases, the harassment and killing of the bride is traceable to the
abominable and pernicious practice of demanding and extracting dowry and the
failure on the part of the bride's parents to adequately satisfy the greedy demands
of the husband's people, the reason for the torture and murder of the innocent
wife in the present case was that she was considered an
"inauspicious" girl. That was for the reason that she did not bear
children for four or five years after the marriage and even though thereafter,
she conceived twice and successively gave birth to two male babies, both those
babies did not survive beyond a few weeks or days.
Having branded the young wife as
inauspicious, the selfish animal nature in the husband and his parents came out
in the form of their determination that the husband should remarry after doing
away with the obstacle in the shape of his existing wife. That led the husband
and his mother to commit the dastardly murder Of the young wife in a most gruesome
fashion .
603 Sileti Singh, his wife, Smt. Gyani Devi,
and his son, Virbhan Singh, were arraigned before the Sessions Judge, Etawah,
charged with the murder of Smt. Gyani, the wife of Virbhan Singh, in
furtherance of the common intention of all of them, by intentionally causing
death by beating the deceased and then hanging her with a rope. The deceased
was married to Virbhan Singh about 9 years prior to the time of the occurrence.
She did not give birth to any child for about five to six years after marriage.
According to the prosecution case, the husband of the deceased and his parents
used to harass her and beat her on this account and they used to say that they
would get the second marriage performed for Virbhan Singh. In or about the
seventh year after the marriage, the deceased gave birth to a male child but
that child survived only for about 9 or 10 months.
There- - after, the ill-treatment of the
deceased at the hands of the husband and his parents is said to have commenced
again. A few months prior to the occurrence, the deceased gave birth to another
male child but that baby too died within 6 or 7 days of its birth This
precipitated matters and the deceased is said to have been branded as an
"inauspicious" woman, who could no longer be retained in the family.
According to the prosecution, she used to make complaints of severe harassment
by the accused to her sister, Shrimati Ram Kumari (P.W.1), who too was married
to a person in the same village-Nangla Incha. On 14th August 1968 at about 5.00
p,m., Shrimati Ram Kumari had gone to the house of the deceased with an intent
to meet her but she was told by the husband, Virbhan Singh and his mother that
the deceased had gone with the father-in law to obtain some medicine. The next
morning, P.W 1 heard a general rumour in the village that her sister had been
killed. There upon, she called her husband's younger brother, Krishna Gopal
(P.W.4) and again went to the house of the accused along with him.
She found Virbhan Singh and his mother, Smt.
Gyani Devi, in the house and she asked them to show her the dead body of the
deceased. At first they refused but on a hue and cry being raised by her, they
showed her the dead body lying in a roon in a swollen condition, emitting a
foul smell. On 15th August 1968, at about 9.30 a.m. Sileti Singh lodged a
report at the Police Station Jaswantnagar to the effect that the deceased had
committed suicide by hanging herself with a rope. Sub-Inspector Netrapal Singh
(P.W. 11) went to the place of occurrence and held an inquest on the dead body
with the assistance t of panchas. Most strangely, in spite of the body being in
a fairly advanced state of decomposition, thereby clearly indicating that the
death had taken place a long time prior to the report given by Sileti 604 Singh,
which should have normally aroused serious suspicion in the mind of any
reasonable person about the version of suicide given by him, the Sub-Inspector
and the panchas were inclined to record the cause of death as suicide by
hanging and close the case without any further investigation.
However, Ram Kumari (P.W.1) and her
brother-in-law, Krishn a Gopal (P.W.4), strongly protested and demanded that
the body should be sent for post-mortem and due to their persistence, the
request was acceded to. The post-mortem examination was conducted by Dr.
Lakhotia on 15-8-1968 at 5.30 p m. In the opinion of the doctor, the death had
taken place between one and a half to two days prior to the time of his
examination, i.e. between 5.30 p.m. On 13-8-1968 and 5.30 a.m. On 14-8- 1968.
The post-mortem report disclosed that there were the following ante mortem
injuries on the person of the deceased.
1. Ligature mark 8" x 1/2" on the
neck in the upper part between larynx and chin, in front and on sides just
below the chin. On dissection the margins were found congested.
It was directed upwards obliquely following
the lower jaw and was almost behind. Its base was pale, hard and leathery.
2. Abrasion 1-1/2" x1/2" on the
neck lower part left side.
3. Contusion covering whole of the upper eye
lid of left eye. Conjunctive was congested.
4. Contusion covering the whole of upper eye
lid of right eye. Conjunctive was congested.
5. Contusion 4" x 4" on the chest
left side upper part below the clavicle.
Under the ligature mark greater curve of
hyoid bone was broken on the right side.
There was congestion around the big vessels
of the neck.
The lower ribs of the deceased from 8th to
10th on the left side were found broken. The abdomen was distended and
discoloration was present in the flanks. Peritoneum was deeply congested. The
abdominal cavity was full of blood weighing about 1-1/2 Ibs. There 605 was a
big tear 6" long in the stomach. The abdominal walls were congested. There
was a lacerated wound 3"x 1/2" on the front of left lobe of the
liver. Both kidneys were congested and decomposing. Both sides of her heart
were empty. Larynx was congested deeply. Both lungs were deeply congested and
deeply decomposing. The large vessels were congested in the neck on both sides.
In the opinion of the doctor, the death was due to shock and haemorrhage as a
result of injury to liver and stomach as well as asphyxia due to hanging. The
doctor, on being examined as a witness, stated categorically that in view of
the injuries mentioned in post-mortem report, there was little possibility of
the deceased hanging herself.
The sessions Judge found, on a careful and
analytical consideration of the evidence, that the death of the deceased was
caused as a result of the injuries inflicted on her by the accused, followed by
asphyxiation resulting from the deceased having been hung by her neck by the
accused. He found all the accused guility of the offence of murder, convicted
them u/s 302 I.P.C. and sentenced the three of P them to undergo imprisonment
for life. In the appeal filed by the three accused, the High Court confirmed
the finding that the case was not one of suicide but one of calculated murder,
the hanging by rope being part of the process of the deceased being put to
death by her assailants. The High Court, however, took the view that the
presence of Sileti Singh at the time of the commission of offence was not
established beyond doubt and hence it acquitted him giving him the benefit of
doubt. The conviction of Virbhan Singh and his mother, Smt. Gyani Devi, uls 302
I.P.C. was confirmed by the High Court. This appeal has been preferred by the
afore-mentioned two accused.
We find no merit at all in the appeal. Since
we are in complete agreement with the findings entered by the Sessions Judge
and the High Court regarding the cause of the death of the deceased and the
manner in which she was done to death, it is unnecessary for us to burden this
judgment with a repetition of the details of the evidence. The case no doubt
turns purely on circumstantial evidence. But the circumstances are so telling
that the only conclusion reasonably possible is the one arrived at by the
courts below that the deceased did not commit suicide by hanging herself but
was done to death by being brutually assaulted and thereafter hung by the neck
with 606 a rope. The medical evidence clearly goes to prove that it would not
have been possible for the deceased, who had sustained severe injuries of the
type and nature described in the post-mortem report in the stomach and liver, to
hang herself. The husband, Virbhan Singh and his mother, Smt. Gyani Devi, were
throughout present in the house and no outsider had come to the house at the
relevant time.
According to the opinion of the doctors the
latest point of time at which the death of the deceased could have taken place
was 5.30 a.m. on 14-8-1968 but even on the evening of that day when P.W. 1,
Shrimati Ram Kumari, sister of the deceased went to their house and enquired
for the deceased, she was told by Virbhan Singh and his mother that the
deceased had gone out with the father-in-law for getting some medicine. On the
next day (15th August 1968) rumours spread in the village that the deceased had
been done to death and it was only when P.W.l accompanied by her brother-
in-law, P.W 4 went to the house of the accused and insisted on being shown the
body that she was finally allowed to see the dead body of her sister which, by
then, was already in a state of decomposition. Significantly, it is only
subsequent thereto that Sileti Singh went to the Police Station and lodged the
report stating that the deceased had commit ted suicide by hanging. The conduct
of the appellants is consistent only with their active involvement in the
commission of the crime. It has come out in the evidence that on the evening of
the 14th August 1968 at about 7.30 or 8.00 p.m. Sileti Singh had made attempts
to remove clandestinely the dead body from the locality for which purpose he
had met Brahma Nand (P.W.3), a truck owner, and unsuccessfully tried to hire his
truek to transport the dead body On a scrutiny of the evidence, we age fully
satisfied that the conclusion recorded by the learned Sessions Judge and by the
High Court, that the appellants are guilty of the murder of the deceased in a
most brutal and heinous fashion, is perfectly correct and sound. We may observe
that the reasons stated by the High Court in acquitting Sileti Singh, by giving
him the benefit of doubt, have not appealed to us as sound and convincing but
since the State has not preferred an appeal, his acquittal will stand.
In the result, the conviction and sentence
are confirmed in respect of Virbhan Singh and Smt. Gyani Devi and this appeal
is dismissed. The appellants will forthwith surrender to their bail bonds and
will be taken into the custody to serve out their sentence.
S.R, Appeal dismissed.
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