State of Punjab Vs.
Chatinder Pal Singh & Ors. [2008] INSC 1932 (11 November 2008)
Judgment
CHATINDER PAL SINGH
& ORS.
(Criminal Appeal No.
352 of 2002) NOVEMBER 11, 2008 [DR. ARIJIT PASAYAT AND DR. MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA,
JJ.] The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DR. ARIJIT PASAYAT, J. 1.
Challenge in this appeal is to the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High
Court upholding the judgment of acquittal passed by learned Additional Sessions
Judge, Ropar. The respondents faced trial for alleged commission of offences
punishable under Sections 376, 366, 363 and 308 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
(in short IPC).
The background facts
as projected by the prosecution during trial are as follows:
The FIR, Exhibit PD-3
in this case was recorded on July 29, 1989 at 9.30 P.M. in Police Station
Mohali under Sections 383 and 378 IPC on the basis of statement (Exhibit PD)
made by Kumari Poonam (since deceased) recorded by Head Constable Bishnu Dutt
in PGI Chandigarh at 1.30 P.M. on July 29, 1989. In the said statement it was
alleged by Kumari Poonam (since deceased ) aged about 16-1/2 years that she was
a student of 9th Class in Senior Secondary School, Mohali and that on that date
i.e. on July 29,1989 at about 10.15 A.M. she had committed suicide by putting
kerosene oil on her clothes and putting the same on fire on account of
misbehaviour by accused Honey who was resident of H.No. 112, Phase II, Mohali.
It was alleged that on July 17, 1989 when she was going to the school at about
7.00 a.m. along with her brother Anil, on the way Honey accused met them and he
asked her to accompany him, failing which he would not spare her brother and
out of fear she went with him and he took her to Rose Garden, Chandigarh in an
Ambassador car. It was further alleged that on that previous day i.e. July 28,
1989, in the same manner she was coming to the school at about 7.00 a.m. along
with her brother Anil and her friend Rajni when accused Honey along with two
others who she could recognise met them in white coloured Ambassador car and
they made her brother Anil sit in the said car and told her that if she wanted
her brother then she should sit with them and out of fear she sat in the car
and they also made Rajni sit in the said car. Thereafter they took them to a
hotel in Sector 22, Chandigarh and there they forcibly committed rape on her
and thereafter they left them at Mohali at about 1.00 P.M. on that day. It was
further alleged that thereafter she had told the entire occurrence about these
two dates to her mother. It was further alleged that on that day i.e. July 29,
1989, the said boy i.e. Honey came to their house and rang the door bell and
went away after giving a signal to her and at that time there was no one else
in the house.
Her mother had
stopped her from going to the school. It was alleged that she put herself on
fire as she had been defamed in the eyes of the public and it was useless to live.
She further alleged that on hearing her cries, another tenant Darshan Singh who
was residing in the adjoining room came there and he put off the fire and he
also called her mother and thereafter they brought her to PGI Chandigarh where
she was under treatment. She further stated that she had put herself on fire
because of the earlier incident concerning Honey accused and hence accused
Honey and his friends were responsible for the same. This statement Exhibit PD
was recorded by Head Constable Bishnu Dutt in the presence of PW3 Dr. A.S.
Bawa.
Further, Head
Constable Bishnu Dutt recorded the statement Exhibit PD of Kumari Poonam after
obtaining opinion Exhibit PC/1 of Dr. A.S. Bawa about the fitness of Kumari
Poonam to make the statement.
After recording the
said statement, HC Bishnu Dutt sent the same to Police Station Mohali as the
case pertained to the said Police Station. Thereafter, ASI Avtar Singh of
Police Station, Mohali moved an application before the SDM for making necessary
arrangements to record dying declaration of Kumari Poonam by a Magistrate.
Thereupon, Shri P.K. Sharma, Executive Magistrate, Chandigarh was deputed for
this purpose. Shri P.K. Sharma moved application Exhibit PH to the Doctor in
charge about the fitness of Kumari Poonam and the doctor on duty declared her
fit to make the statement at 7.30 P.M. on July 29, 1989 vide endorsement
Exhibit PH/1. Thereafter Shri P.K. Sharma, Executive Magistrate recorded the
statement Exhibit PJ of Kumari Poonam at 8.10 P.M. on July 29, 1989 in PGI
Chandigarh in English.
After completion of
investigation, charge sheet was filed. The accused persons pleaded innocence
and therefore trial was held.
In order to establish
the accusations, prosecution examined 17 witnesses. After considering the
materials on record, learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ropar directed
acquittal of the four accused persons of the various charges. State filed an
appeal before the High Court. The stand of the State before the High Court was
that even though Pws 13 and 15 i.e. the brother of the deceased (Anil Kumar)
and her friend (Rajni) had not supported the prosecution case, the two dying
declarations PDI and PJI clearly established the accusations. The accused
persons took the stand that in the so- called two dying declarations there were
various inconsistencies which were irreconciliable. Therefore, the trial court
was justified in directing the acquittal. The High Court accepted the plea of
the accused persons and upheld the acquittal.
The stand taken
before the High Court by the prosecution and the accused persons have been
reiterated in the present appeal.
We find that two
so-called eye-witnesses examined by the prosecution i.e. Pws 13 and 15 who
happen to be the brother and the friend of the deceased did not support the
prosecution version and resiled from their statement made during investigation.
Therefore, the residual question is the acceptability of the two dying
declarations.
The trial court did
not place any reliance on the dying declarations.
The discrepancy pointed
by the trial court is that in Ex. PD there is mention about one incident of
rape on her on July 28,1989 in a hotel at sector 22 Chandigarh by Honey and two
other accused. She does not state in the dying declaration in Ex PJ that she
was raped on July 17th and stated that accused Honey had simply taken her to
Rose Garden. In ExPJ she does not mention the date of the first incident as
July 17th but states that her friend Rajni was also with her and they were
taken to some unknown hotel while Honey raped her and accused Longowal raped
Rajni. She also did not mention the second incident to have taken place on 28th
July and stated that it was 2/3 days ago and not yesterday, when the boys took
them to a hotel in Sector 22 and raped them. There are several inconsistencies
and contradictions in the Ex PD1 and PJI.
Above being the
position, when two courts on analysis of the evidence found the respondents not
guilty, there is no scope for interference in this appeal. The reasons
indicated by the trial court and affirmed by the High Court discarding the two
dying declarations do not suffer from any infirmity. The appeal fails and is
dismissed. If the respondents have been released on bail pursuant to the order
dated 20th April, 2001, the bail bonds stand discharged.
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