Govindasami
Vs. State of Tamil Nadu [1998] INSC 238 (22 April 1998)
M.K.
Mukherjee, Syed Shah Mohammed Quadri M.K. Mukherjee, J.
ACT:
HEAD NOTE:
This
appeal under Section 379 Cr. P.C. is directed against the judgment and order
dated September 2,1997 rendered by the Madras High Court
in Criminal Appeal No. 30 of 1998. By the impugned judgment the High Court
reserved the acquittal of the appellant of five charges of murder, convicted
him thereof and sentenced him to death. The victims were Nagamalai (elder brother
of the appellant's father), his wife, two sons and a daughter.
2. The
prosecution case briefly stated is as follows: - (I) On May 30, 1984 at or
about 7.00 A.M. Sowndaram (P.W.2), a resident of village Kondayapalayam, in
which Nagamalai and appellant also lived, went to the house of the former to
fetch milk as it was her daily wont. Reaching there she found him, his wife,
two sons and a daughter lying dead in the front yard of their house with
bleeding injuries on their persons. She rushed back to her house and told her
husband Kurukkal (P.W.3) about the macabre murders. P.W.3 then went to the
house of Nagamalai and, having seen the dead bodies, apprised his co-villager Ramaswamy
(P.W.1) of the incident. After a visit to the house of Nagamalai, P.W.1 went to
the nearby village Varapalayam and gave a report to Ramani Marimuthu (P.W.7),
their Village Administrative Officer, which was recorded by him. In that report
he first described what he had seen in the house of Nagamalai and then stated
that he suspected that Govindaswami (the appellant) and his young brother had
committed the murders as there was a land dispute between them and Nagamalai.
(ii)
P.W. 7 then left for village Kondayampalayam and after seeing the dead bodies
went to Puliampatti Police Station and submitted the report (Ex.p.1). On that
report a case was registered and investigation taken up by Palanisamy
(P.W.236), the then Circle Inspector of Police.
He
went to the house of Nagainalal held inquest upon the five dead bodies and sent
them to the Government hospital, Sathyamangalam for post-mortem examination. He
seized some articles from the scene of crime, including a wrist watch with its
broken chain (M.O.1).
(iii)
On June 4, 1984 the investigation of the case was
taken over by Shri Beeman (P.W. 27), an Inspector of Police.
On
that day he arrested the appellant and seized a blood stained lungi (M.O. 19)
and a promissory note (M.O. 20) from his person under a memo (P.Ex. 8).
Pursuant to a statement made by the appellant he then went to the house of Marimuthu
(P.W. 14), an astrologer by profession, in village Arasur and seized a cycle
(M.O. 21) and gunny bag (M.O. 23) containing a torch light (M.O. 18) and an aruval,
(M.O. 22), a heavy sharp. cutting instrument. The aruval, lungi and some other
articles seized from the scene of crime were sent to the Forensic Science
Laboratory (F.S.L.) for chemical examination. After receipt of report of such
examination and on completion of investigation police submitted charge-sheet
against the appellant.
3. The
appellant pleaded not guilty to the charges and contended that he was falsely
implicated.
4.
That Nagamalai, his wife, two sons and a daughter met with homicidal death in
front of their house stands proved by overwhelming evidence on record. Indeed,
this part of the prosecution case was not challenged by the defence. Apart from
the uncontroverted evidence of P.Ws. 1,2,3, and 7, all of whom claimed to have
seen the dead bodies of the 5 persons lying with bleeding injuries in front of
their house, the evidence of P.W.27, who held inquest upon the dead bodies,
proves that fact. From the evidence of the three doctors, namely, Dr. Ulaganathan
(P.W.16) , Dr. Saroja (P.W. 17) and Dr. marimuthu (P.W. 18), who held
post-mortem examination upon one or the other of those dead bodies, we get that
each of them had a number of deep cut injuries all over their bodies. While Nagamalai
had 6 such injuries, his sons, Moorthy and Balasubramanian, had 12 and 4
respectively, his wife Ponnathal had 4 daughter Anbu Selvi had 2. When shown
the aruval (M.O. 22), the doctors opined that all the injuries could be caused
by such a weapon. From the evidence of the above witnesses it is thus
abundantly clear that the 5 deceased met with homicidal death in front of the
their house in the night between May 29 and May 30, 1984.
5. The
pivotal question that now falls for our determination is whether the
prosecution has been able to conclusively prove that the appellant is the
perpetrator of the above murders. In absence of any eye witness to prove the
same the prosecution relied upon the following circumstances;-
(i) the
appellant had a motive to commit the murders as he was having a boundary
dispute with Nagamalal over their properties and two days prior to the murders
he had a quarrel with nagamalai and his son Moorthy in course of which he (the
appellant) was beaten up. Besides, Nagamalai coerced the appellant to sign a
promissory note;
(ii) from
the scene of crime a wrist watch with a broken chain (M.O. 1) belonging to the
appellant was recovered;
(iii)
at the time of his arrest on June 4, 1984 the appellant was found wearing a
blood stained lungi (M.O. 19) and having a promissory note (M.O. 20) with him;
and
(iv)
pursuant `o the statement made by the appellant aruval (M.O. 22) was recovered
from the house of P.W. 14 on June 4,1984 and it was found to be stained with
human blood of group 'B', which was also the blood group of some of the
decease.
6. On
consideration of the of the evidence adduced by the prosecution to prove the
above circumstances the trial Court held that none of them stood proved an,
accordingly, it acquitted the appellant. In reversing the findings of the trial
Court, the High Court held that all the above circumstances stood firmly
established and that those circumstances unerringly pointed to the guilt of the
appellant.
7. Mr.
Ranjan Mukherjee, the learned counsel appearing for the appellant, first
submitted that the reasons given by the trial Court for rejecting the relevant
and material evidence of the evidence of the prosecution were weightier and had
not been completely displaced by the High Court. He next submit that, in any
case, the view of the evidence taken by the trial Court was also a reasonable
one. In such a situation, he argued, the High Court should not have reversed
the order of acquittal, by ignoring the well- settled principles laid down by
this Court in this regard. he lastly submitted that even if it was assumed that
the High Court was justified in so doing, it was not justified in imposing the
sentence of death.
8. As
against this Mr. Pragasam, learned counsel for the State, submitted that the
reasons given by the trial Court for discarding the entire prosecution evidence
were patently untenable and had been rightly dispelled by the High Court.
According
to him the powers of the High Court to review the evidence and reach its own
findings in an appeal against acquittal are as wide as those of the trial
Courts.
9.
This being a statutory appeal we have gone through the entire evidence on
record keeping in view the judgments of the Courts below. Our such exercise
persuades us to hold that each of the findings of the trial Courts is patently
wrong.
10.
Coming first to the motive, the prosecution examined five witnesses to prove
the same; and they are Ramaswamy (P.W.1), Donnuswamy (P.W.4). Govindaswamy
(P.W. 5), Ramaswamy (P.W. 6) and Ganesan (P.W. 8), the surviving son of the
deceased Nagamalai, who at the material time was in Coimbatore. P.W.1, who is related to both the
deceased and the appellant, testified that there were disputes between them
with regard to the boundaries of their land and that he and other Panchayatdars
attempted to settle the disputes.
P.W.4
stated that about 1-1/2 year before the incident the mother of the appellant
complained to him about the boundary dispute and grazing of cattle and that he
and others mediated and settled the dispute before the date of occurrence.
Similar is the evidence of P.W.5. The evidence of P.W.8 in this regard is that
due to land dispute there were frequent quarrels between his father and the
appellant.
In
disbelieving the evidence adduced by the prosecution to prove the motive the
trial Court observed that there were discrepancies in the evidence of the above
witnesses as to when the Panchayat was convened and who were the participants.
Having carefully gone through the evidence we do not find any material
contradiction to discredit them. On the contrary, we find the their evidence
unmistakably proves that there were disputes between them regarding the boundaries
of their lands and the most eloquent proof in support thereof (which has gone
completely unnoticed by the trial Court as also by the High Court) is the
evidence of Ramaswamy (P.W. 6) of village Ponnampalayan. From his evidence we
get that two days prior to the occurrence he had seen nagamalai and his son Moorthy
quarrelling with the appellant in connection with their lands. he further
stated that the appellant came to him and complained that Nagamalai got an
empty promissory note signed by him and beat him up.
He
next stated that he advised them not to quarrel. This witness was not at all
cross-examined with reference to the above aspects of his evidence. When the
above unconverted evidence of P.W.6 is read along with the evidence of the
witnesses mentioned earlier there cannot be any manner of doubt that the
prosecution has succeeded in proving that there was dispute between the
appellant and Nagamalai their lands and that only two days before the incident
they had a quarrel over that dispute in course of which the former beat the
appellant and, thereafter compelled him to sign a promissory note.
11. To
prove the second circumstance, the prosecution firstly relied upon the evidence
of P.W. 26 and P.W.7, P.W.26 testified that in presence of Mariamuthu (P.W. 7).
The
Village Administrative Officer, and K. Anumugam he seized a HMT wrist watch
with the word 'Cheran' engraved thereon (M.O.1), which was found near the dead
body of Moorthy under a memo (Ext. P.6) The above testimony of P.W.26 stands
corroborated by that of P.W. 7 and the seizure memo, contemporaneously
prepared. The evidence adduced by the prosecution to prove the above recovery
was not challenged by the defence. Next, to prove that the seized wrist watch
belonged to the appellant, the prosecution examined Sabesan (P.W 11) , Who is a
resident of the same village and at the material time was working as a bus-
conductor in Jeeva Transport Corporation. He testified that his uncle gave him
a HMT wrist watch with the word 'Cheran' written thereon, which he (his uncle)
had purchased from a worker of Cheran Transport Corporation. After he (P.W. 11)
had used the wrist watch for 2/3 years he sold it to the appellant, whom he
knew from before, for Rs. 240/- about two years before the incident. He
identified M.O. 1 as the wrist watch which he sold to him. P.W. 11 was
cross-examined at length but nothing could be elicited to discredit him.
Rather,
it was elicited that 10/15 days prior to the incident he had seen the appellant
wearing the same.
12.
The trial Court disbelieved the evidence of P.W. 11 principally on the ground
that he did not furnish any receipt regarding purchase of the wrist watch by
his uncle or sale to the appellant nor could he give the number of the wrist
watch. According to the trial Court, since any person could have owned that
wrist watch and could be present at the scene of crime, recovery of the same
did not and could not incriminate the appellant. The above reasons are, to say
the least, untenable. it is a matter of common knowledge that a person has any
uncanny sense of identifying his own belongings, particularly articles of
regular personal use.
The
trial Court was, therefore, not at all justified in discarding the assertion of
P.W. 11, who admittedly bore no animus against the appellant, that the wrist
watch (M.O. 1) earlier belonged to him . While on this point it is pertinent to
mention that the word 'Cheran' engraved in M.O.1 unmistakably supported P.W.
11'S version. Equally unjustified was the trial Court in disbelieving his
further assertion that he sold the wrist watch to the appellant for absence of
receipt relating to the sale or purchase of the same for it is also common
knowledge that in such petty transactions in villages no body insists
thereupon. It must, therefore, be said that the prosecution has been able to
firmly establish that the wrist watch found at the place of occurrence belonged
to the appellant.
13.
That brings us to the third circumstance. P.W. 27, the Inspector of Police, who
took up the investigation of the case on June 4, 1984 from P.W. 26, testified
that on that day he arrested the appellant at pullyampatty bus stop and seized
a blood stained lungi (M.O. 19) and a promissory note (M.O. 20) in presence of
witnesses one of whom was Murugesan (P.W. 9), and the seizure memo (Ext. p-8)
fully corroborate the evidence of P.W. 27 in this respect and the report of the
Chemical Examiner show that the lungi contained human blood. It is of course
true that the Serologist could not give any definite opinion as to its blood group
due to disintegration but absence thereof does not in any way affect the
prosecution case. In discarding the evidence regarding recovery of the hand
note the trial court observed that the hand-writing expert could not give any
definite opinion that the signature appearing thereon was that of the appellant
but it failed to consider that when the factum of the above recovery is read
along with the admission made by the appellant before P.W. 1 of his having been
coerced by Nagamalai to execute a hand note in his favour the recovery of the
hand note is a strong incriminating circumstance against him.
14.
Having found that the first there circumstances stand firmly established we
turn our attention to the last circumstance. As earlier noticed, the appellant was
apprehended by P.W. 27 on June 4, 1984 in
presence of P.W.9 and one Arumugam. According to P.W. 27, after his arrest the
appellant made a statement which he recorded in presence of the above
witnesses. The statement (Ext.p-7), to the extent it is admissible under
Section 27 of the Evidence Act, was to the effect that if permitted he would
identify and hand over the cycle, torch light, gunny bag and aruval. After
making the statement, the appellant led them to the house of P.W.14 in village Arasur.
Reaching there he brought out, from the house of P.W. 14 a cycle (M.O. 21), a
gunny bag (M.O.23), a torch light (M.O. 18) and an aruval (M.O.22) .
In
presence of the witnesses, namely, P.W. 9 and Arumugam P.W. 27 seized those
articles under a memo which was attested by both of them. P.W. 27 further
stated that he sent the seized articles, including the aruval for chemicals
analysis.
15.
While supporting the testimony of P.W. 27, P.W. 9, who is an independent
witness, stated that in his presence and that of Arumugam the Inspector (P.W.
27) interrogated the appellant. In course of the interrogation the appellant
stated that he would identify and hand over the aruval and cycle if taken to Arasur
and the statement 80 made was recorded by P.W. 27 (Ext. P.7) and attested by
him and Arumugam. He next stated that after the blood stained lungi and
promissory note were seized (about which we have discussed earlier) he along
with P.W. 27, the appellant and Arumugam proceeded to Arasur where the
appellant identified the house of astrologer Marimuthu (P.W.14). From that
house he took out a cycle with a gunny bag tied in the carrier of the cycle. In
that gunny bag one aruval and one torch light were found. In cross-examination
he stated that the aruval was found to be blood stained. He denied the defence
suggestion that he was deposing falsely at the instance of the police.
16. In
his evidence P.W. 14 stated that on May 31, 1984 at or about 7 A.M. the
appellant came to his house on a cycle and sought his professional advice for which
he gave him Rs.2/-. The appellant then left his house leaving behind his cycle
and the gunny bag stating that he would take them back in the evening. When he
asked about the contents of the gunny bag he told him that there were some coirs
in it. The appellant, however did not return as promised, but after four days
he came to his house accompanied by the police.
After
entering his house the appellant took out the cycle and the gunny bag and
brought out one aruval and a torch light therefrom. This witness was
cross-examined at length but nothing could be elicited to discredit him. This
witness hails from a different village altogether and there is nothing to
suggest even as to why he would depose falsely against the appellant why he did
not know from before. The trial Court disbelieved the evidence of P.W. 14 on
the grounds that it was not expected of him to remember each of the 20-40
persons who used to come daily to seek his advice and that, admittedly, he did
not keep any account of his professional activities. In our considered view
both the grounds are wholly unsustainable; the former is factually incorrect,
in that he (P.W. 14) stated that on an average 5- 10 persons came daily to seek
his advice and so far as the second one is concerned, it was not expected of
P.W. 14 who was earning his livelihood in a village as an astrologer charging Rs.
2/- per person, to keep accounts of his income.
Having
carefully gone through the evidence of P.Ws. 27,8 and 14 we have no hesitation
in concluding that the prosecution has been able to conclusively prove that
pursuant to the statement of the appellant that he would hand over the aruval,
it was recovered from the house of P.W.14. The reports of the Chemical Examiner
show that the seized aruval contained human blood of group `B' and the blood
seized from the spot where the dead bodies were lying was also of group `B'.
The fourth circumstance, thus, also stands cogently established.
17.
When the above four circumstances, each of which unerringly points towards the
guilt of the appellant, are taken cumulatively, there is no escape from the
conclusion that they are consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of
the appellant and wholly inconsistent with his innocence. We, therefore, uphold
the conviction of the appellant as recorded by the High Court.
18.
Lastly, comes the question of sentence. Mr. Mukherjee submitted that the
present case did not fall in the category of 'rarest of rare cases' justifying
imposing the extreme penalty of death. According to him, the mere fact that the
appellant committed five murders cannot be made a ground for imposition of
death sentence. In making the above submission he strongly relied upon the
judgment of this Court in Shamshul Kanwar v. State of U.P. (AIR 1995 S.C.
1748], wherein it was observed that a large number of deaths on one side cannot
ipso facto be a ground to bring the case into the category of rarest of rare
cases'. He also relied upon some other judgments of this Court wherein
sentences of death were commuted. To avoid prolixity we refrain from referring
to those cases as they turned on their own facts.
In
responding to the above contention of Mr. Mukherjee, Mr. Pragasam relied upon
the observations recorded by the High Court while imposing the death sentence.
19.
From the impugned judgment we find that the High Court first discussed the
principles laid down by this Court, for imposing death sentence in bachan Singh
v. State of Punjab (AIR 1980 S.C. 898], and other cases and then stated as
under:- " Now, we are going to consider the law laid down by the Apex
Court of our land in the above rulings with reference to the present case on
hand. Admittedly, as seen from the facts and circumstances of the case, the
following are proved beyond doubt:
1)
There is no provocation or any quarrel between the accused and the five
deceased. All the five deceased were unarmed and sleeping during midnight and
also they were helpless. There was no scope or chance for them to face the attack
.
2) It
is proved beyond doubt that it was a pre-meditated one, but not on account of
any sudden provocation.
3)
There is no mental derangement for the accused to kill 5 human beings in five
strokes one after another and they were killed during the course of their
sleep.
4) The
nature and the manner in which the accused committed the five murders found to
be gruesome, calculated, heinous, atrocious and cold-blooded murder.
Accordingly,
in the above circumstances, it is proved beyond doubt that the said heinous and
calculated offence committed by the respondent/accused in killings the 5
persons with five strokes one after the another is a rarest of the rare cases
of the present age in this State as a whole.
We are
of the clear view that the way in which he cut the neck of five individuals,
while they were sleeping during mid-night, is really a pre-meditated, atrocious
and calculated murder. As such we are of the clear opinion that if a human
being of this nature viz., the respondent /accused is allowed to continue to
live in the present society, there is great threat to the co-human beings.
There is not safety or protection for the innocent, helpless, un-armed follow
human beings in the above special reason and the peculiar circumstances of the
case on hand, we are of the clear view that it is just, proper, appropriate,
fit and deserving case where the capital punishment of death could be awarded
to the respondent/accused."
20.
From the above quoted observations, it is seen that the High Court did not base
its decision to impose the penalty of death solely on the fact that 5 person
were murdered but also other attendant circumstances relating to the murders.
Having
given our anxious and deep consideration to this aspect of the matter we are in
complete agreement with the reasons canvassed by the High Court to impose the
capital punishment. We only wish to add that the brutal manner in which the
appellant wiped out the entire family of his uncle [except one of his sons,
(P.W.8) who, fortunately at the material time was studying in Coimbatore,
obviously to grab his properties, has shocked our judicial conscience.
Nonetheless
we looked in to the record to find out whether there was any extenuating or
mitigating circumstances in favour of the appellant but found none. If, inspite
thereof, we commute the death sentence to life imprisonment we will be yielding
to spasmodic sentiment, unregulated benevolence and misplaced sympathy.
21. In
Mahesh v. State of Madhya Pradesh [(1987) 3 S.C.C.80], this Court, while
refusing to commute the death sentence, observed:- " It will be mockery of
justice to permit the accused to escape the extreme penalty of law when faced
with such evidence and such cruel acts. To give the lesser punishment for the
accused would be to render the justicing system of this Courts suspect . The
common man will lose faith in courts. In such cases, he understands and
appreciates the deterrence more than the reformative jargon." As the above
observations squarely apply in facts of the instant case we uphold the sentence
of death imposed upon the appellant.
22. In
the result, the appeal falls and the same is hereby dismissed.
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