Content Provider | Supreme Court of India |
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e-ISSN | 30484839 |
Language | English |
Access Restriction | NDLI |
Subject Keyword | criminal penal |
Content Type | Text |
Resource Type | Law Judgement |
Jurisdiction | India |
Case Type | Appeal |
Court | Supreme Court of India |
Disposal Nature | Appeal Allowed |
Headnote | Penal Code, 1860 -Sections 302, 201- Appeal against acquittal by High Court-Circumstantial evidence-Ingredients-Links of chain of circumstances established-Offences proved. Penal Code, 1860 -Sections 302, 201-Conviction of accused by Trial Court-Acquittal by High Court-Appeal against High Court's judgment suffering from illegality-Delay in disposal of appeal-Whether a ground for non-interference of the findings of High Court. The prosecutions's case was that the accused-respondent was a private medical practitioner and the deceased was his second wife. He married her on 30.7.1971, when his first marriage was dissolved by an ex parte decree in a suit for dissolution filed by his first wife. The respondent and his widowed mother and his two married brothers and one unmarried younger brother were living under a common roof having common mess, but in separate rooms in the first floor of the house. The accused was a chronic alcoholic addict and he was having a large circle of friends. He used to come to his house in odd hours in drunken state. This was resented by his wife, the deceased. She insisted the accused to return home early. On account of this, there were frequent quarrels between them. Accused, disliking bis wife's interference in his private affairs, even started suspecting the fidelity of bis wife. It was said that the accused had on more than one occasion unleashed threats to shoot and kill the deceased. On the night of 11.10.1971 the accused and the deceased took their bed inside their room. On the next morning, on seeing smoke out of the bed room of the accused, a large number of people gathered at the house of the accused.At about 7.30 a.m., PW-2 and another, the two brothers of the deceased arrived there With 'Ahoi Bayna' in baskets. Seeing the crowd in front of accused house, they entertained a suspicion. When they were told that the accused's wife had set fire to herself throwing the 'Bayna' baskets in the courtyard, they went up to the first floor and saw the dead body of their sister lying on the floor with extensive burns all over her body. When they confronted the accused, the accused told them that when be had gone to the latrine in the early morning, the deceased committed suicide, for no visible reason. The deceased's brothers did not believe the version of the accused. They shouted that the accused murdered their sister. While they were quarrelling, PW-4, a Head Constable came to the scene found the c accused standing in his night-gown. P.W.4 was informed by the accused that the deceased had burnt herself. The S.P.(PW-3) was informed over telephone by the accused that his wife committed suicide and he instructed the accused to inform the local police. He come to the scene at about 9.15 a.m., after directing the local police to come to the scene. After inspection, the S.P. left giving instrucĀ· tions to the Investigating Officer. The Investigating Officer (PW-4) examined the inmates of the house and made an entry in the General Diary and registered a case against the accused. The accused was charged u/ss.302 and 201, IPC for the committing the murder or his wife and for causing the evidence of the offence or murder to disappear with an intention of screening himself from legal punishment, by burning the dead body by sprinkling kerosene oil. The Trial Court convicted the accused-respondent u/ss.302 and 201 IPC and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life and rigorous imprisonment for a period of 3 years, respectively with a direction that the sentences were to run concurrently. The High Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the accused respondent. Against the acquittal passed by the High Court, the present appeal was directed by the State, contending that the cumulative effect of all the pieces of circumstantial evidence brought on record by the prosecution justified the conviction or the respondent. The respondent submitted that the circumstances relied upon by the prosecution were not clinching the issue; that the presence of the responĀ· dent at the scene house at the time of the occurrence was disproved by CWs-1 and 2 and also by the evidence of PWs-6 and 9 did not support die prosecution case; that in the early hours of 12.10.1971 he at the request of PW-9 paid a visit to one Shashi's house as the latter was suffering from some ailments and he returned at about 7.45 or 8.00 a.m. to his house and .came to know about the incident; that the brothers of the deceased came to his house only at 11.15 a.m. and that too on his telephonic information to them; that the deceased hers it had created a hell of her own in the family and ultimately committed suicide by pouring kerosene on her and setting fire; that on the advice and prescription given by a Doctor, the deceased was put on medicine containing barbiturates, the traces of which were found in her visra; that the symptoms found by PW-1, the Medical Officer were not in support of the conclusion arrived at by PW-1, whose opinion was only attributable to his inexperience or negligence; that the bones could have been fractured due to excess heat and the death could have been on account of shock due to the bum injuries; that the cause of death could not have been due to strangulation, but it was due to suicide by pouring kerosene and setting herself on fire and the fractures of the bones and other symptoms found on the body should have been due to the intensity of the heat and that the evidence of PW-1 supporting the prosecution version should not be accepted, as the Medical Officer gave false evidence on account of some heated exchanges between him and PW-1 over an election held among the medicos which took place about 2 or 3 day before occurrence; |
Judge | Hon'ble Mr. Justice S. Ratnavel Pandian |
Neutral Citation | 1992 INSC 129 |
Petitioner | State Of U.p. |
Respondent | Dr. Ravindra Prakash Mittal |
SCR | [1992] 2 S.C.R. 815 |
Judgement Date | 1992-04-28 |
Case Number | 124 |
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