Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
BALDEV RAJ
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
STATE OF HARYANA
DATE OF JUDGMENT17/09/1990
BENCH:
FATHIMA BEEVI, M. (J)
BENCH:
FATHIMA BEEVI, M. (J)
KANIA, M.H.
CITATION:
1991 AIR 37 1990 SCR Supl. (1) 492
1991 SCC Supl. (1) 14 JT 1990 (4) 524
1990 SCALE (2)615
ACT:
Criminal Trial--Extra-judicial confession--Evidentiary
value of--Whether can be relied upon by Court for convic-
tion.
HEADNOTE:
The appellant was convicted under s. 302 IPC for murder-
ing his wife. The prosecution case was that on the fateful
day the deceased had taken meals to the appellant while he
was working in the field near his tubewell. Her dead-body
was recovered two days later in a nearby drain. He made an
extra-judicial confession the same day at the panchayat in
the presence of PWs 3, 4 and 5 to the effect that he had
killed his wife in the wheat field and threw the dead-body
in the drain at night after removing her ornaments. The FIR
was lodged thereafter in the presence of the appellant and
the fact of his statement was recorded therein. The weapon
of offence, the kassi, and the ornaments were recovered from
the hut near the tubewell at his instance. PW 3 narrated the
events that preceded the occurrence. PWs 4 and 5 fully
corroborated the evidence of PW 3 in that the appellant had
confessed his guilt in their presence. The evidence was
accepted by the trial court.
The High Court sustained the conviction on the view that
various circumstances conclusively proved the guilt of the
appellant beyond reasonable doubt.
In the appeal it was contended for the appellant that
the extrajudicial confession even if true, was not voluntary
but induced on the promise that he would he pardoned and the
same having been retracted could not form the basis for a
conviction in the absence of any material corroboration.
Dismissing the appeal,
HELD: 1. The High Court was right in its conclusion and
there was no ground for interference.
2.1 An extra-judicial confession, if voluntary can be
relied upon by the court alongwith other evidence in con-
victing the accused. The
493
value of the evidence as to the confession depends upon the
veracity of the witnesses to whom it is made. Though the
court requires the witness to give the actual words used by
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the accused as nearly as possible but it is not an invaria-
ble rule that the court should not accept the evidence, if
not the actual words but the substance were given. It is for
the court having regard to the credibility of the witness to
accept the evidence or not. When the court believes the
witness before whom the confession is made and it is satis-
fied that the confession was voluntary, conviction can be
rounded on such evidence.
2.2 In the instant case, the fact that the appellant
made the confession is proved by cogent evidence. He and his
father were brought before the panchayat held in the
presence of PWs 3, 4 and 5. He was questioned and was asked
to speak the truth. This prompting by the panchayat does not
amount to inducement or threat. The testimony of PW 4, a
lambardar, and PW 5, the Sarpanch being responsible persons
could not be doubted in the absence of any material to show
that they had been motivated to falsely implicate the appel-
lant. The circumstances under which the statement was made
leaves no room for doubt that the confession was voluntary.
2.3 The discovery of the dead body from the drain
through the wheat field, presence of blood in the field,
recovery of gold ornaments from the roof of the hut and
blood stained kassi from the hut near the tubewell were
material circumstances providing connecting links in the
chain of circumstantial evidence. The appellant when exam-
ined did not offer any explanation except to deny his in-
volvement. PW 3 had testified to the fact that the deceased
had complained about the illtreatment by her husband. In the
light of such evidence, it is preposterous to maintain that
she may have been assaulted by some unidentified assailant
somewhere in the fields and the appellant had been falsely
implicated in the offence.
3. The circumstances thus proved were conclusive of the
guilt of the appellant and incapable of being explained on
any other reasonable hypothesis. Conviction has, therefore,
to be maintained.
JUDGMENT:
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 206
of 1979.
From the Judgment and Order dated 27.9. 1978 of the
Punjab and Haryana High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 17 13
of 1975.
494
A.S. Sohal and S.K. Jain for the Appellant.
Mahabir Singh and A.G. Prasad for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
FATHIMA BEEVI, J. Raj Kumari (20), the daughter of Ishar
Dass. was married to the appellant Baldev Raj a year before
her tragic death in February, 1975. It appears that all was
not well with the couple. Raj Kumari left for her parents
house in village Raison 75 Kms. away from her matrimonial
home in village Urlana Khurd. She stayed with her parents
for some days complaining ill-teatment by the husband. On
the assurance of the father-in-law, she was sent back with
her husband hardly a couple of months before the incident on
14.2. 1975. On that fateful day, it is said that Raj Kumari
took meals to the appellant who was working in the wheat
field near his tubewell.’ Raj Kumari did not return home.
Her dead-body was discovered in the drain on 16.2. 1975.
Multiple injuries were seen on her person. Complaint was
lodged at the police station on February 16, 1975 at about
5.30 P.M. against the appellant who was finally chargesheet-
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ed for the offence under section 302 and 201, I.P.C. The
learned Sessions Judge convicted the appellant under section
302, I.P.C., and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for
life. The High Court dismissed the appeal against the con-
viction and sentence. This appeal by special leave is di-
rected against the judgment of the High Court.
The conviction of the appellant is based on circumstan-
tial evidence only. The main item of the evidence consists
of the extrajudicial confession stated to have been made by
the appellant in the presence of Ishar Dass (PW-3). Ramji
Dass (PW-4) and Satnam Dass (PW-5) at the panchayat on 16.2.
1975. besides the recovery of incriminating articles at the
instance of the appellant and the motive as spoken to by
Ishar Dass. According to the prosecution, on 15.2.1975 the
appellant’s father Hakam Chand contracted Ishar Dass when
Raj Kumari was found missing from 14.2. 1975. Ishar Dass
arrived at village Urlana Khurd accompanied by Satnam Dass,
Sarpanch of his village, and others. At the panchayat held
in the presence of Ramji Dass, Nand Lal, Satnam Dass and
others, the appellant stated that he killed his wife in the
wheat field and threw the dead-body in the drain at night
after removing her ornaments. PWs 3, 4 and 5 testified the
fact but Nand Lal (DW-I) did not support the prosecution
version. It is also the prosecution case that the appellant
was handed over to and arrested by the police at the time
the complaint was lodged after the
495
discovery of the dead-body and that the appellant had pro-
duced the kassi and the gold ornaments concealed in the hut
near the tubewell. PW-10. the Sub-Inspector of Police,
deposed to having interrogated the appellant and effected
the recovery on the basis of the statements made by the
appellant. Ishar Dass (PW-3) narrated the events that pre-
ceded the occurrence and also proved the letter he had
received from the appellant’s father when Raj Kumari was
staying with him. He also stated the circumstances under
which he happened to be at the panchayat on 16.2. 1975 along
with the others after being informed by Hakam Chand. PWs 4
and 5 fully corroborated the evidence of PW-3 in that the
appellant had confessed his guilt in their presence. The
evidence was accepted by the trial court and the High Court
to sustain the conviction against the appellant.
The argument on behalf of the appellant that the medical
evidence is conflicting with the prosecution case was re-
jected by the High Court finding that the ante-mortem in-
juries found on the body of Kumari could have been caused
with the weapon recovered even on the statement made by the
Doctor (PW-1). The recovery of the bloodstained earth from
the wheat field near the tubewell, recovery blood-stained
kassi and the ornaments worn by Raj Kumari by PW-10 in the
opinion of the High Court lent assurance to the statement
mad,: by the appellant before the panchayat. The High Court
was of the view that the various circumstances conclusively
proved the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt.
The main contention advanced on behalf of the appellant
before us is that the High Court failed to appreciate the
inherent infirmities in the prosecution evidence and that
there is no legal evidence to support the findings. It was
maintained that the testimony of PWs 3, 4 and 5 relating to
the extra-judicial confession is discrepant and incredible,
that the confession even if true, was not voluntary but
induced and the same having been retraced cannot form the
basis for a conviction in the absence of any material cor-
roboration.
The learned counsel for the appellant contended that the
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High Court had refused to give benefit of doubt to the
accused despite facts apparent on the face of the record any
interference is called for. The extra-judicial confession,
according to the learned counsel, being a very weak piece of
evidence, could not have been accepted as true or voluntary
in view of the admission made by the prosecution witnesses
and improvement in the story given by Ishar Dass. He pointed
out that at the panchayat the appellant was induced to make
a statement on the
496
promise that he would be pardoned and therefore the confes-
sion is unacceptable.
Normally this Court does not interfere with the concur-
rent findings of the facts of the courts below in the ab-
sence of very special circumstances or gross errors of law
committed by the High Court and violation of the well estab-
lished principles of the appreciation of circumstantial
evidence, which results in serious and substantial miscar-
riage of justice to the accused. We heard the learned coun-
sel at length. We find that the High Court was right in its
conclusion and there is no good ground for interference.
The first information was lodged by Ishar Dass at the
police station where the appellant was also present. In the
first information report itself Ishar Dass has narrated the
story of the panchayat having been held in the presence of
PWs 4 and 5 and the appellant having made the confession.
PW-5 accompanied Ishar Dass from village Raison. It is
difficult to hold that these persons hailing from another
village would have been in a position to influence the local
people against the appellant and foist a case against him.
PW-4, Lambardar (Ramji Dass) substantially supported the
prosecution case. The courts below have carefully analysed
the evidence and accepted the same. As rightly pointed out
by the High Court, we find no merit in the submission that
the medical evidence is not in consonance with the prosecu-
tion case. The facts that the autopsy was held nearly 72
hours after the injuries were caused and the witnesses were
examined long after the weapon was recovered are relevant in
appreciating the evidence of the medical witness. The evi-
dence of this witness read as a whole is only consistent
with the case that the injuries could have been caused with
the weapon. The fact that the appellant made the confession
is proved by cogent evidence. The circumstances that his
father was present throughout and the appellant himself did
not protest when he was present at the police station nega-
tives the suggestion of inducement or threat. The discovery
of the dead-body from the drain through the wheat field,
presence of blood in the field, recovery of gold ornaments
from, the roof of the hut and blood stained kassi from its
premises near the tubewell are material circumstances pro-
viding connecting links in the chain of circumstantial
evidence. The appellant when examined did not offer any
explanation except to deny his involvement. Ishar Dass
testified to the fact that Raj Kumari had complained about
the ill-treatment by her husband. In the light of such
evidence, it is preposterous to maintain that the deceased
may have been assaulted by some unidentified assailant
somewhere in the fields and the appellant
497
had been falsely implicated in the offence.
The confessional statement is not a long narration. The
substance of the statement is that the appellant killed his
wife and threw the dead-body in the drain. PW-4 is the
Lambardar of village Urlana Khurd and PW-5 the Sarpanch of
Gram Panchayat of village Raison. The fact that a panchayat
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was held at village Urlana Khurd is admitted even by the
hostile witness Nand Lal (DW-I). Ishar Dass when informed by
Hakam Chand at his village that Raj Kumari was found missing
entertained suspicion. He met his villagers and proceeded to
the appellant’s village the next day, along with the Sar-
panch and other persons. The panchayat was held there on
16.2. 1975. The appellant and his father were brought before
the panchayat. The appellant was questioned and was asked to
speak the truth and then the appellant with folded hands
said that he murdered his wife in the wheat field when she
came there with meals and later threw the dead-body in the
drain. The prompting by the panchayat does not amount to
inducement or threat and the circumstances under which the
statement was made leave no room for doubt that the confes-
sion was voluntary.
An extra-judicial confession, if voluntary, can be
relied upon by the court along with other evidence in con-
victing the accused. The value of the evidence as to the
confession depends upon the veracity of the witnesses to
whom it is made. It is true that the court requires the
witness to give the actual words used by the accused as
nearly as possible but it is not an invariable rule that the
court should not accept the evidence, if not the actual
words but the substance were given. It is for the court
having regard to the credibility of the witness to accept
the evidence or not. When the court believes the witness
before whom the confession is made and it is satisfied that
the confession was voluntary, conviction can be rounded on
such evidence. Keeping these principles in mind, we find
that the confession has been properly accepted and acted
upon by the courts below and there is no scope for any doubt
regarding the complicity of the appellant in the crime. The
confession of the appellant was voluntary. The testimony of
PW-4 and PW-5 being responsible persons could not be doubted
in the absence of any material to show that they had been
motivated to falsely implicate the appellant. The very
presence of the appellant and his father with the party of
Ishar Dass throughout the operation upto lodging of com-
plaint at the police station dispel any suspicion against
the prosecution case and clearly point to the truthfulness
of the same. We are, therefore, unable to find any infirmity
in the confession which has been accepted and relied upon by
the courts below.
498
The circumstances proved are conclusive of the guilt of
the appellant and incapable of being explained on any other
reasonable, hypothesis. Conviction has therefore to be
maintained. The appeal is accordingly dismissed. The appel-
lant who is on bail shall surrender to custody to undergo
the sentence of imprisonment.
P.S.S. Appeal dismissed.
499