State
of Karnataka Vs. M.N. Ramdas [2002] Insc 376 (5 September 2002)
S. Rajendra
Babu & P. Venkatarama Reddi. P. Venkatarama Reddi, J.
This
appeal by special leave filed by the State is against the judgment of the High
Court of Karnataka setting aside the judgment of the Sessions Court, Mysore and
acquitting the respondent herein of the charge under S. 302 IPC. The respondent
was charged of committing murder of his companion by name Ananthu by inflicting
injuries with a chopper on the afternoon of 28.6.1988 at a room in 'Kucheta
lodge' in Mysore. According to the prosecution, the
accused and the deceased who stayed in the house of PW 4 on the day prior to
the day of occurrence came together to Mysore on the next day i.e. 28.6.1988. The accused came to the house of PW 4
to meet the deceased Ananthu who was related to him. The accused and the
deceased checked in at Kucheta lodge in Mysore at about 1.30
P.M. on 28.6.1988. At
that time PW2 who was a friend of the proprietor of the lodge and who used to
stay in the lodge during his visits to Mysore to attend to his contract work was at the counter of the hotel.
According to PW 2, the manager by name Raju while leaving for food requested
him to be at the counter. Entries were made in the lodge register and a receipt
P1 was passed on to the accused for the cash received. It transpires from the
evidence that the name written in the hotel register and the receipt was 'H.S. Ramesh'.
The
receipt which is in a printed form in English was filled up by the deceased as
PW 2 did not know English. At about 4.15 P.M. when PW 2 was sitting at the counter along with the room boy Manjunath,
the accused came and told him that he had killed Ananthu and he should
telephone to the police. At that time he was wearing only a pant and his body
was stained with blood. Then, he sent the room boy Manjunath along with the
accused to the room to see what had happened.
Manjunath
came back leaving the accused in room and closing it from outside. Manjunath
reported to PW 2 that murder had taken place and that he may telephone to the
owner of the lodge. Then, he contacted the proprietor's father by name Jugga Raju
(PW 3) over telephone and informed him that some 'Galata' (untoward incident)
had taken place in the lodge and requested him to come down to the lodge. PW 3
came to the lodge immediately and got a feed back of the event from PW 2. PW 3
then contacted the police and informed them that a murder had taken place in
room No. 7 without naming the victim or the assailant. Then, the police Sub-inspector
PW 12 accompanied by police personnel reached the lodge. He entered room No.7
in second floor by opening the bolt. He found the accused sitting on the cot. A
dead body was lying by the side of the cot in a pool of blood. There were
injuries on the neck and the face and a blood stained chopper was found on the
table. He arrested the accused who gave his name as Ramdas and he sent the
accused to the police station. PW 12 recorded the statement of room boy Manjunath
at the lodge. That statement signed by Manjunath is Ex. P 10. and it was
treated as complaint. PW 12 returned to the police station at about 5 P.M. and
registered the crime under Section 302 IPC and submitted FIR Ex. P 11 to the
Magistrate and superior officers. Then, PW 10 who was working as Circle
Inspector of police took over further investigation. He proceeded to the place
of occurrence and drew up spot Mahajar in the presence of Panchas PW 5 and
another. He seized various articles in the room including blood stained bed
sheets and pillow covers, bushshirt of the deceased, blood stained chopper etc.
Then, in the presence of the Panchas, he held inquest over the dead body.
During inquest he examined PWs 2 and 3. The inquest report is Ex. P 3. He sent
the dead body for post-mortem examination. According to PW 10 the accused was
sent with a requisition to the hospital through a police constable as he
sustained minor injuries. After the accused returned from the hospital PW 10
seized his clothes M.O. 13 to 15 in the presence of Panch witness PW 7 after
providing alternative clothing to him. The seized articles were sent to the
Forensic Laboratory, Bangalore. The chemical analysis & Serology reports (P
9 and P 8) confirmed the presence of human blood stains on various articles
including M.O. 6 and clothes. PW 10 deposed that during investigation it was
disclosed that there was a scuffle between the accused and the deceased.
PW 1,
who is the wife of the deceased, stated that one Ranga Raju who is her
husband's paternal aunt's son is the owner of the land adjacent to their land
and her husband and Ranga Raju were often quarrelling in connection with the
land dispute. She further stated that Ranga Raju's elder brother's son is the
accused. She also stated in somewhat vague terms that "due to land dispute,
there was ill-will between my husband and accused". She identified the
handwriting of her husband on Ex. P1 which was issued in the alleged name of
H.S. Ramesh. She also identified clothes on the body of the deceased. Moreover,
she stated that the police showed her the hotel register in which the name H.S.
Ramesh was found and that name was also written with the hand of her husband.
PW 6
is the Professor and Head of Department of Forensic Science in Government Medical College. He conducted post-mortem examination
of the dead body on the night of 29.6.1988 as per the requisition received from
the police on the previous day. Ex. P4 is the post-mortem report. PW 6 found
six incised wounds on the face and neck apart from many other superficial
incised wounds and abrasions on various parts of the body. Incised wounds 1 to
6, according to PW 6, looked like multiple chop wounds which cut the neck
tissues up to the trachea. The injury on the right side of the neck was deep
seated, cutting the muscles and blood vessels of the neck. The outer part of
the third cervical vertebrae was found cut upto the body. PW 6 expressed the
opinion that the death was due to bleeding and shock as a result of chop
injuries on the right side of the neck caused by a heavy sharp cutting weapon.
The seized chopper MO 6 was examined by him and he gave the opinion that the
injuries could have been caused by a weapon like MO 6 and some of the minor
injuries could be caused by slashing of the cutting edge of MO 6.
The
learned Sessions Judge relied on the following circumstances for coming to the
conclusion that the accused had committed crime :
1. As
per the evidence of PW 4, wife of the deceased, on the day of the occurrence
the deceased accompanied by the accused left her house in a village to Mysore. The evidence of PW 2 reveals that
the accused and the deceased hired a room in the lodge at about 1.30 P.M. Ex. P.1 (cash receipt) filled up by the
deceased was issued by PW 2 who was incharge of the counter at that time.
PW 2
had last seen them going to the alloted room i.e. room No. 7.
2. The
deceased was found murdered in the room by 4.15 P.M.
3.
When the door of room No. 7 was opened by the police, accused was sitting on
the cot by the side of the dead body, as seen from the evidence of PWs 2 and
10.
4. In
the room the blood stained chopper by which the injuries could have been
inflicted (as per the medical evidence) was found. The blood stained clothes of
the accused were seized. The chemical analysis report reveals that they
contained human blood.
5. The
learned trial Judge referred to the fact that Manjunath, the room boy, whose
statement was treated as FIR could not be examined as his whereabouts were not
known, as disclosed in the evidence of PW 10.
With
regard to the extra judicial confession, the trial Court neither discarded nor
relied upon it apparently for the reason that according to the decision cited
before him - Rahim Beg and Another evidence especially when it is made before a
person with whom the accused had no previous contacts. The learned Sessions
Judge observed that even if the extra judicial confession is eschewed from
consideration the other circumstances referred to supra are sufficient to
establish the guilt of the accused.
The
learned Sessions Judge concluded that the circumstances form a complete chain
and rule out reasonable likelihood of innocence of the accused.
Before
we proceed to the consideration of the High Court's judgment, we deem it
appropriate to refer to a recent decision of this wherein the evidentiary value
to be attached to the extra judicial confession has been explained thus :
"It
is settled position of law that extra- judicial confession, if true and
voluntary, it can be relied upon by the court to convict the accused for the
commission of the crime alleged. Despite inherent weakness of extra- judicial
confession as an item of evidence, it cannot be ignored when shown that such
confession was made before a person who has no reason to state falsely and to
whom it is made in the circumstances which tend to support the statement.
Relying upon an earlier judgment in Rao Shiv Bahadur Singh V. State of Vindhya
Pradesh this Court again in Maghar Singh V. State of Punjab held that the
evidence in the form of extra- judicial confession made by the accused to witnesses
cannot be always termed to be a tainted evidence. Corroboration of such
evidence is required only by way of abundant caution. If the court believes the
witness before whom the confession is made and is satisfied that the confession
was true and voluntarily made, then the conviction can be founded on such
evidence alone. In Narayan Singh V. State of M.P. this Court cautioned that it
is not open to the court trying the criminal case to start with a presumption
that extra-judicial confession is always a weak type of evidence. It would
depend on the nature of the circumstances, the time when the confession is made
and the credibility of the witnesses who speak for such a confession. The
retraction of extra-judicial confession which is a usual phenomenon in criminal
cases would be itself not weaken the case of the prosecution based upon such a
confession. In Kishore Chand V. State of H.P. this Court held that an
unambiguous extra-judicial confession possesses high probative value force as
it emanates from the person who committed the crime and is admissible in
evidence provided it is free from suspicion and suggestion of any falsity.
However, before relying on the alleged confession, the court has to be
satisfied that it is voluntary and is not the result of inducement, threat or
promise envisaged under Section 24 of the Evidence Act or was brought about in
suspicious circumstances to circumvent Sections 25 and 26. The court is
required to look into the surrounding circumstances to find out as to whether
such confession is not inspired by any improper or collateral consideration or
circumvention of law suggesting that it may not be true. All relevant
circumstances such as the person to whom the confession is made, the time and
place of making it, the circumstances in which it was made have to be
scrutinized." Examined in the light of the enunciation of law as above, we
are of the view that the testimony of PW 2 as regards the confession made by
the accused at the earliest point of time is such as to inspire confidence in
the mind of the Court. PW 2 may be a stranger to the accused but it should also
be noted that there is absolutely no reason why he should unnecessarily
implicate the accused. Without any loss of time he brought to the notice of PW
3 and the police the factum of confession made by the accused soon after the
crime. His version in this regard is supported by PW 3 who, being the father of
the proprietor of the lodge, came to the lodge immediately after receiving the
phone call from PW 2. The conduct of the accused in committing the murder and
immediately revealing this fact to a stranger like PW 2 may not be consistent
with the ordinary human conduct. It may be difficult to speculate as to what
prompted the accused to confess the commission of crime before PW 2 and to
remain in the lodge after the incident. But, on that account, there need not be
astute reluctance on the part of the Court to accept the extra- judicial
confession. The unnatural conduct on the part of the accused will not
necessarily shake the veracity of PW 2's testimony but it will put the Court on
guard to get the assurance of truth in the prosecution case by corroborative
evidence including circumstantial factors. We have before us the evidence of PW
3 who corroborates the version of PW 2 and both these witnesses have no reason
to falsely implicate the accused. That apart, the circumstances referred to by
the trial Court are almost clinching and lend assurance to the correctness of
the version of PW 2.
We
shall now come to grips to the reasons put forward by the High Court in
acquitting the accused. The following are the reasons given by the High Court :
1.
There is no clinching material where exactly the incident took place whether in
first floor or second floor. PW 2 stated that room No. 7 is in first floor
whereas in Ext P.10, room No.7 is said to be in second floor.
2. The
extra-judicial confession was not communicated to the police or to the
proprietor of the lodge at the earliest point of time. The telephonic message
was only to the effect that an untoward incident had happened.
3.
Having regard to the variation in the evidence of PWs 2 and 3 the confession
becomes doubtful.
4. The
hotel register was not produced in Court to establish that the accused and
deceased stayed together in the room Hence, the last seen evidence cannot be
given any weight.
5.
Though the accused was injured and sent to the hospital, the injuries were not
explained nor the doctor examined..
6. The
chopper found on the table was not sent to finger print expert.
7.
None spoke about the wearing of the seized shirt and baniyan by the accused.
8. No
motive is established.
None
of the above reasons, in our view, are tenable. On the basis of evidence on
record it was not reasonably possible to take the view which the High Court
did. We shall now proceed to discuss the reasons given by the High Court in
order to see whether the conclusions of the High Court are perverse or there is
scope to take more than one view.
First,
about the place of incident. A doubt was entertained by the High Court as
regards the place of occurrence, when there was no room for such doubt. The
prosecution evidence is consistent that the murder took place in room No. 7 of
the lodge. Whether it be in the first floor or the second floor is not really
material. The alleged discrepancy as to the location of the room does not throw
an iota of doubt on the prosecution case. PW 2 who was giving evidence after
more than two years may not have recollected whether room No. 7 was in the
first floor or the second floor, especially when he is not the proprietor or
manager of the lodge.
There
is over-whelming evidence to show that the occurrence took place in room No.7.
Next,
coming to extra judicial confession, we searched in vain for any variation in
the versions of PWs 2 and 3 which may have bearing on the factum of making
confession before PW 2; but, we could find nothing.
The
non-mention of the confessional statement by PW 2 when he telephoned to PW 3 or
PW 3 when he contacted the police over phone is not at all a factor which casts
a reasonable doubt on the version of PW 2.
Having
regard to the fact that they were expected to reach the lodge within a few
minutes, such details could be more appropriately narrated in person rather
than wasting time on phone. Such conduct is quite consistent with ordinary
human conduct. The time lag between the telephonic contact and the arrival of
PW 3 and the police is less than half an hour, as the evidence on record
reveals. It is too much to think that PW 2 entertained the idea of concocting
extra judicial confession within those few minutes. The view taken by the High
Court in this regard is wholly perverse.
The
last seen evidence cannot be discredited on the basis that the hotel register
was not produced in order to establish that the accused and the deceased hired
a room in the hotel. In the face of the undeniable fact that the name entered
in the cash receipt (Ex. P1) and in the hotel register is a fictitious name
'H.S. Ramesh', the production of hotel register could not have made any
difference. The fact remains that PW 2 identified the accused and the deceased
as the persons who took the room a few hours before the incident and to whom
the receipt was passed on. The hand- writing of the deceased on Ex. P-1 was
identified by his wife P.W.4 - an educated lady. Then, we have the clear
evidence to the effect that the accused was found in the room by the side of
the dead body. All these relevant facts were overlooked by the High Court.
In
regard to the injuries on the accused, it is true that PW 10 the I.O.
stated
that minor injuries were found on the person of the accused and, therefore, he
sent the accused with a requisition to the hospital. No doubt, the prosecution
could have examined the Doctor or produced the medical examination report. But,
this lapse on the part of the prosecution by itself does not demolish the
prosecution case. The presence of injuries may at best suggest that the
possibility of some scuffle within the room cannot be ruled out. But, when the
accused had not set up the plea of self-defence or any other plausible
explanation for the unnatural death of the deceased though he was the only
person in the know of things, the non-production of evidence as to the nature
of injuries received by the accused is not really material. The omission on the
part of the prosecution does not in any way weaken the case against the
accused.
The
weapon MO 6, found on the table in the room contained human blood as per the
chemical analysis report. If the finger prints of the accused could be traced
thereon that would have provided an additional piece of evidence to connect the
accused with the crime. It is doubtful whether blood-soaked chopper, if analysed
by the finger print expert, could have given any clues as to finger prints. Be
that as it may, even if it is considered a lapse in the investigation, that
will not cast a cloud of doubt on the prosecution case.
The
next observation of High Court that none of witnesses spoke to the fact that
the deceased was wearing the seized shirt and banian is factually incorrect.
The Panch witness PW 7 spoke to the seizure of the blood stained clothes which
the accused was wearing at the police station.
MOs 13
to 15 are the blood stained clothes and they were sent for chemical analysis.
As
regards the motive, it is true, as vehemently contended by the learned Amicus
Curiae that the prosecution evidence is not quite satisfactory. A bald
statement that there was a land dispute between the deceased and the accused
was made by PW 1 the wife of the deceased.
She
gave a somewhat detailed version in so far as the enmity between Ranga Raju who
is a relation of the accused and the deceased, but, that is really not
material. The fact that the prosecution did not adduce satisfactory evidence on
the motive aspect, in our view, is not sufficient to throw out the prosecution
case as unreliable. When there is abundant evidence to show that the accused
and the accused alone would have committed the murder, the absence of proof of
motive does not vitiate the prosecution case.
For
all these reasons, we are of the undoubted view that the approach of the High
Court is perverse as it has set aside the conviction recorded by the Trial
Court on untenable and irrelevant grounds. It is not reasonably possible to
give benefit of doubt to the accused, as the evidence is so clinching. We,
therefore, set aside the judgment of the High Court and restore the conviction
and sentence given by the Sessions Court. The respondent accused shall serve
the remaining period of imprisonment as per the judgment of the Trial Court.
The appeal is allowed. We place on record our appreciation of the valuable
services rendered by Shri Devesh Singh, Amicus Curiae.
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