CHARANJIT & ORS.versusSTATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.

                        [2013] 10 S.C.R. 688


A                        CHARANJIT & ORS.
                                   v.
                    STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.
                 (Criminal Appeal No. 232 of 2007)
                             JULY 4, 2013
B
         [A.K. PATNAIK AND GYAN SUDHA MISRA, JJ.]

         Penal Code, 1860 - ss.323134, 504134, 376(2)(a) and
    376(2)(g) - Appellant-police officials picked up PW3 for
C   interrogation and detained her in the police station at night,
    and then tortured and raped her - PW3 was released only on
    the next day when the village panchayat intervened -
    Conviction of appellants by Courts below - Justification - Held:
    Justified - Testimony of PW-3 was corroborated by the
o   evidence of her husband (PW-1) and neighbor (PW-2) -
    Appellants failed to produce relevant records in defence -
    Statement made by PW3 in inquiry conducted by
    Superintendent of Police cannot be used to contradict her
    evidence in the Court - No proof that PW3 made a/legations
E   against the appellants on the pressure of others - PW-3 took
    consistent stand in her petition to the Governor made within
    few days of her release from Police Station, in her complaint
    before the Magistrate and her evidence in Court - Both trial
    court and the High Court found that soon after PW3 was
F   released from the Police Station, she stated before PWs-1
    and 2 that she had been raped by the appellants and that she
    was bleeding profusely - Trial court and the High Court
    recorded concurrent findings of facts while holding the
    appellants guilty- Though powers of Supreme Court u/Article
G   136 of the Constitution are very wide, in criminal appeals the
    Supreme Court does not interfere with concurrent findings of
    facts, save in exceptional circumstances where there has
    been grave miscarriage of justice - In the case at hand,
    concurrent findings of facts recorded by the trial court and the

H                                 688
 CHARANJIT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.                689


High Court are based on legal evidence and there is no            A
miscarriage of justice as such by the two courts while arriving
at said findings - Impugned judgment of the High Court
therefore not interfered with, in exercise of discretion under
Article 136 of the Constitution - Constitution of India, 1950 -
Article 136 - Evidence Act, 1872 - s. 145.                        B

     Thirty two persons of a village filed a petition before
the SHO, Police Station, alleging that terrorists frequented
the house of PW3. The appellants-police officials picked
up PW3 and 'K' for interrogation and brought them to the
Police Station on 09.02.1989 at 7.00 a.m. 'K' was released C
but PW3 was detained and on the night of 09.02.1989, the
appellao_~_ ~llegedly tortured her with patta, made her
senseless andfiacfintercourse with her and released her
only on 10.02.1989 when the Village Panchayat
intervened.                                                  D

     On 13.02.1989, the complainant sent a petition to the
Governor of the State making allegations against the
appellants and requesting for enquiry. PW3 also filed a
criminal complaint before the Judicial Magistrate on E
25.07.1989. The Magistrate took cognizance of the
offences alleged and summoned the appellants. The
case was committed to the Sessions Court. At the trial,
PW-3 reiterated her version in the complaint. The
husband of PW-3 was examined as PW-1 and, a F
neighbour was examined as PW-2. Both PW-1 and PW-2
stated before the trial court that PW-3 was not released
on the evening of 09.02.1989 and was released only at
4.30 p.m. on 10.02; 1989 and when released, she was in a
bad shape and told them about the torture and sexual G
intercourse that was forced upon her by the appellants
on the night of 09.02.1989. The appellants, on the other
hand, took· the defence that PW-3 alongwith 'K' were
actually released on 09.02.1989 at 6.00 p.m. and denied
that they had any sexual intercourse with PW3.             H
    690      SUPREME COURT REPORTS            [2013] 10 S.C.R.


A     The trial court rejected the defence of the appellants
  and held that the testimony of PW-3 was corroborated by
  the evidence of PW-1 and PW-2 and convicted the
  appellants under Sections 323/34, 504/34, 376(2)(a) and
  376(2)(g) IPC and the appellant-'R' under Section 342 IPC
B also. The judgment was affirmed by the High Court, and,
  therefore, the present appeals.

          Dismissing the appeals, the Court

       HELD: 1. No evidence has been led on behalf of the
C defence to show that PW-3 implicated the appellants
  under the influence of the terrorists. Reliance was placed
  upon Ext.DW-1/B dated 09.02.1989 said to __have be~n
  signed by 32 vilfagers in:  ., which. it is stated that the
  villagers believe that terrorists were frequenting the
D house of PW-3 and staying in her house and taking their
  meals and, therefore, PW-3 should be brought and
  interrogated about those terrorists. But Ext.DW-1/B is no
  proof of the fact that PW-3 made the allegations of rape
  against the appellants on the pressure of the terrorists.
E [Para 11) [699-G-H; 700-A]

       2. Though contention was raised that PW-3 had
  herself given a statement in the inquiry conducted by the
  Superintendent of Police, Mr. Harbhajan Singh Bajwa,
F that she had made the complaint against the appellants
  at someone's instigation and she does not want any
  action to be taken on her complaint, but this statement
  of PW-3 is not substantive evidence before the Court and
  at best can be treated as a previous statement to
G contradict the substantive evidence of PW-3 given in
  Court. Section 145 of the Indian Evidence Act states that
  a witness may be cross-examined as to previous
  statements made by him in writing or reduced into writing,
  and if it is intended to contradict him by the writing, his
H attention must, before the writing can be proved, be
 CHARANJIT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.         691


called to those parts of it which are to be used for the   A
purpose of contradicting him. In the cross-examination
of PW-3, a question was put whether S.P. Mr. Harbhajan
Singh Bajwa conducted the inquiry and recorded her
statement and she has stated that he did conduct an
      ' but she does not know what he had recorded.
inquiry                                                    B
She has further stated that her signatures were obtained
on the statement but she knew only how to write her
name and cannot read or write Punjabi except appending
her signatures. In view of the aforesaid statement made
by PW-3 in her cross-examination, her statement            c
recorded in the inquiry conducted by S.P. Mr. Harbhajan
Singh Bajwa cannot be used to contradict the evidence
of PW-3 given in Court. [Para 11) [700-A-F]
     3. The statement of PW-3 in the petition dated
13.02.1989 to the Governor (Ex.PW-3/A), is not D
substantive evidence before the Court and can only be
treated as a previous statement to contradict the
substantive evidence of PW-3 given in Court by putting
a question to PW-3 in course of her cross-examination E
under Section 145 of the Indian Evidence Act. If such a
question was put in the cross-examination, PW-3 would
have got an opportunity to explain why she had not
specifically stated in the petition dated 13.02.1.989 to the
Governor (Ex.PW-3/A) that her husband (PW-1) and the
neighbour (PW-2) were also present when she was F
released at the intervention of the Panchayat on
10.02.1989. In absence of any such question1put to PW-
3 in her cross-examination, the omission of the names of
PW-1 and PW-2 in Ex.PW-3/A cannot be taken as
contradictory to the evidence of PW-3. Hence, the G
evidence of PW-3 as well as that of PW-1 and PW-2 that
on 10.02.1982, PW-1 and PW-2 were present when PW-3
was released at 4.30 p.m. could not have been
disbelieved by the Court. [Para 12) [700-H; 701-A-Dl
                                                           H
    692     SUPREME COURT REPORTS            [2013] 10 S.C.R.


A      4.1. The depositions of PW-1, PW-2 and PW-3 support
  the findings of the trial court and the High Court that PW-
  3 was not released at 6.00 p.m. on 09.02.1989 but 4.30 p.m.
  on 10.02.1989. The most relevant evidence to establish
  the defence of the appellants would have been the
B records of the Police Station. However, except the
  document Ext.DW1/A, the relevant records of Police
  Station, Balachaur such as the Daily Diary Register were
  not produced to support the defence case. [Paras 13, 14]
  [701-E; 702-H; 703-D]
c      4.2. As has been provided in Section 35 of the Indian
  Evidence Act, an entry in any public or other official book,
  register or record or an electronic record, stating a fact
  in issue or relevant fact, and made by a public servant in
  the discharge of his official duty, is itself a relevant fact.
0 Even if PW-3 was not arrested, records were required to
  be maintained in Police Station, Balachaur with regard to
  both the arrivals of the appellants and PW-3 and their
  departure giving the exact hour of arrival and departure.
  Moreover, if Ex.DW1/A was to be treated as a genuine ·
E document, records of Police Station, Balachaur,
  containing relevant entries ought to have been produced
  by the appellants to show that Ex.DW1/A was
  contemporaneously created on 09.02.1989. Since the
  appellants did not produce the aforesaid records in their
F defence, the trial court and the High Court acted within
  their powers to reject the defence of the appellants and
  instead believed the evidence of PW-1, PW-2 and PW-3
  that PW-3 ·was released only on 10.02.1989 at 4.30 p.m.
  [Para 14] [703-D; 704-B-E]
G
       5. The trial court and the High Court recorded the
  findings of rape committed by the appellants on PW-3
  because of her consistent version in her petition dated
  13.02.1989 (Ext.P3/A) to the Governor made within a few
H days of her release from Police Station on 03.02.1989, her
  CHARANJIT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.            693


  complaint dated 25.07.1989 and her evidence in Court.        A
  Both the trial court and the High Court found that soon
  after she was released from the Police Station on
  10.02.1989, she stated before her husband (PW-1) and the
  neighbour (PW-2) that she had been raped by the
· appellants and that she was bleeding profusely. The trial    B
  court and the High Court, therefore, came to the finding
  of guilt of rape against the appellants relying on the
  evidence of PW-3 as corroborated by the evidence of PW-
  1, PW-2 under Section 157 of the Indian Evidence Act.
  [Para 15] [704-E-F; 705-B-D]                                 C

     6. The trial court and the High Court recorded
concurrent findings of facts while holding the appellants
guilty. Even though the powers of this Court under
Article 136 of the Constitution are very wide, in criminal     0
appeals this Court does not interfere with the concurrent
findings of facts, save in exceptional circumstances
where there has been grave miscarriage of justice. As
the concurrent findings of facts recorded by the trial court
and the High Court in this case are based on legal             E
evidence and there is no miscarriage of justice as such
by the two courts while arriving at said findings, this
Court is not inclined to disturb the impugned judgment
of the High Court in exercise of discretion under Article
136 of the Constitution. [Para 16] [705-D-G]
                                                               F
     Sri Sambhu Das and Anr. v. State of Assam (2010) 10
 sec 374: 2010 (11) SCR 493 - relied on.
                    Case Law Reference:
     2010 (11) SCR 493       relied on           Para 16       G

    CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
No. 232 of 2007.

     From the Judgment & Order dated 16.11.2005 of the High    H
    694      SUPREME COURT REPORTS               (2013] 10 S.C.R.


A   Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Appeals
    no. 768 SB & 769 of 1997.

          P.H. Parekh, Sanjay Jain, Sudhakar Kulwant, Afshan for
    tlie Appellants.
B         Kuldip Singh, Mohit Mudgil for the Respondents.

          The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

          A.K. PATNAIK, J. 1. This is an appeal by way of special
c leave under Article 136 of the Constitution against the judgment
    of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in Criminal Appeal Nos.
    768-SB of 1997 & 769-SB of 1997 arising out of a complaint
    case.

    Facts of the case:
D
       2. The facts very briefly are that on 09.02.1989 at about
  5.00 a.m. Shankar Dass, who was the Principal of D.A.V.
  Higher Secondary School, Balachaur, was shot dead by
  terrorists and Ramesh Kumar, son of the deceased Shankar
E Dass lodged FIR No. 13 on 09.02.1989 in Police Station,
  Balachaur. Thirty two persons of village Paili filed a petition
  before the SHO, Police Station, Balachaur, alleging that
  terrorists frequent the house of the complainant in Village Paili.
  The appellants who were posted in Police Station, Balachaur
F went to the house of the complainant and picked up the
  complainant and one Kamaljit Kaur, who were working as 'daf
  and nurse respectively, and brought them to the Police Station.
  On 13.02.1989, the complainant sent a petition to the Governor
  of Punjab by a registered letter alleging that she along with
G Kamaljit Kaur were taken to the Police Station on 09.02.1989
  at 7.00 a.m. and were asked whether the extremists were
  frequenting their house and when they replied in the negative
  they were tortured at the Police Station. On the intervention of
  Maha Singh, President of the Para Medical Union, Kamaljit
H Kaur, was released, but the complainant was not released. The
 CHARANJIT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR. 695
              [AK. PATNAIK, J.]
complainant further alleged in her petition to the Governor of A
Punjab that in the night of 09.02.1989, the appellants tortured
her with patta, made her senseless and had intercourse with
her and released her on the morning of 10.02.1989 on the
intervention of the Panchayats of Villages Paili, Otal Majarh and
Unaramour. Soon after the release, the complainant disclosed B
to the members of Panchayat what had happened to her in the
night of 09.02.1989. In this petition to the Governor of Punjab,
the complainant made a request for an enquiry.
     3. When no action was taken against the appellants, the         C
complainant filed a criminal complaint before the Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Hoshiarpur on 25.07.1989 making substantially the
same allegations against the appellants. The Magistrate
recorded the preliminary evidence of the complainant and took
cognizance of the offences under Sections 323 and 504 read
with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short ~IPC') and       D
issued summons to the appellants. The complainant then filed
a petition under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code
(for short "Cr.P.C.") contending that the appellants should be
summoned for standing trial for the offences under Sections
366/342/376/506 read with Section 34 IPC. The appellants also        E
filed a petition under Section 482' Cr.P.C. for quasfling the
complaint as well as the order of the Magistrate summoning the
appellants. Both these petitions were disposed of by order
dated 29.07.1991 With the direction to the Magistrate to hold
an enquiry in respect of the offences described in the complaint.    F
The complaint was thereafter transferred to the court of the Chief
Judicial Magistrate, Chandigarh, by the High Court. Thereafter,
the Magistrate took cognizance of offences under Sections 323/
342/366/506 read with Section 34 IPC and summoned the
appellants and Hussan Lal. The case was committed to the             G
Sessions Court and the Additional Sessions Judge,
Chandigarh, was entrusted with the case. The Additional
Sessions Ji,idge initially framed charges under Sections 366/
504/342 and 323 IPC to which the appellants pleaded not guilty,
but thereafter by order dated 16.02.1995 the High Court              H
    696      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2013] 10 S.C.R.


A   directed the Additional Sessions Judge to reconsider the
    framing of charges against the appellants in the light of the
    allegations made in the complaint and the preliminary evidence
    recorded in respect of the complaint. The learned Additional
    Sessions Judge reframed the charges under Section ·376 (2)
B   (g) IPC to which the appellants pleaded not guilty and the
    appellants were tried.

        4. At the trial, the complainant was examined as PW-3 and
   she reiterated in the witness box her version in the complaint.
C The husband of the complainant, Gurmail Singh, was examined
   as PW-1 and, the neighbour of Gurmail Singh, Harbans Singh
   was examined as PW-2 and both PW-1 and PW-2 stated
   before the trial court that the complainant (PW-3) was not
   released on the evening of 09.02.1989 and was released only
   at 4.30 p.m. on 10.02.1989 and when she was released on
0
   10.02.1989, she was in a bad shape and she told them about
   the torture and sexual intercourse that was forced upon her by
   the appellants on the night of 09.02.1989. The appellants in
   their statements under Section 313 Cr.P.C. before the trial
E court, on the other hand, took the defence that the complainant
   (PW-3) along with Kamaljit Kaur were actually released on
   09.02.1989 at 6.00 p.m. and they were handed over to the
   people of Panchayat to ensure that the complainant would not
   do anything wrong in future and they denied that they had any
   sexual intercourse with the complainant and also stated that she
F was not detained in the evening or the night of 09.02.1989 at
  -the Police Station as alleged by her. In support of their defence,
   the appellants examined witnesses and produced two
   documents Ex. DW-1A and Ex. DW-18.

G        5. The trial court, however, rejected the defence of the
    appellants and instead held that the testimony of PW-3 as
    corroborated by the evidence of PW-1 and PW-2 who were
    present at the gathering immediately after the release of PW-
    3 clearly establishes that PW-3 was released on 10.02.1989
H   and at the time of her release she was in a bad shape and in
  CHARANJIT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.                   697
               [A.K. PATNAIK. J.]
 torn clothes and was bleeding and that she had told her tale of A
 sufferings before PW-1 and PW-2 by giving details of the
 incident of rape at the hands of the appellants. The trial court
 accordingly convicted the appellants under Sections 323/34,
 504/34, 376(2)(a) and 376(2)(g) IPC and sentenced them to
 rigorous imprisonment for various periods which were to run B
·concurrently, the maximum being 10 years for the offences
 under Sections 376(2)(a) and 376(2)(g) IPC. Aggrieved, the
 appellants, Charanjit and Kashmiri Lal filed Criminal Appeal No.
 768-SB of 1997 and Radlia Krishan filed Criminal Appeal No.
 769-SB of 1997, but by the impugned common judgment, the C
 High Court has dismissed their appeals.

 Contentions of the learned Counsel for the parties:

       6. Mr. P. H. Parekh, learned counsel for the appellants,
 submitted that the finding of the trial court as well as the High D
 Co1,1rt that PW-3 was not released on 09.02.1989 at 6 p.m. and
 was detained in the Police Station on the night of 09.02.1989
 and raped by the police is not at all correct. He submitted that
 this finding is based on the evidence of PW-3 but PW-3 ought
 not to have been believed because she had close links with the E
 terrorists who had pressurized her to implicate the appellants
 falsely in the case and therefore it was unsafe to rely on her
 evidence. In this connection, he submitted that one of the
 terrorists Hazura Singh was a relative of PW-3 and PW-3 used
 to give shelter to him and this would be clear from the letter F
 dated 09.02.1989 of the villagers marked as Ex.OW1/B. He
 submitted that PW-3 had herself given an earlier statement in
 an enquiry conducted by the Superintendent of Police Mr.
 Harbhajan Singh Bajwa that she had made the complaint
 against the appellants on someone's instigation and she does G
 not want any action to be taken on her complaint.

      7. Mr. Parekh next submitted that the trial court and the High
 Court have held that the evidence of PW-3 has been
 corroborated by the evidence of PW-1 and PW-2 who claimed             H
    698      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2013] 10 S.C.R.


A   to have gone to the Police Station on 10.02.1989 at 5.30 p.m.
    when PW-3 was released but in her petition dated 13.02.1989
    to the Governor (Ex.PW-3/A) she has not mentioned that PW-
    1 and PW-2 were present when she was released at the
    intervention of the Panchayat of village Paili, Otal Majarh and
B   Unaramour on 10.02.1989. He submitted that the trial court and ·
    the High Court, therefore, should not have relied on the
    corroboration of PW-1 and PW-2.

          8. Mr. Parekh next submitted that the trial court and the High
C   Court ought to have considered the evidence led on behalf of
    the defence. He referred to the evidence of DW-2 as well as
    Ex.DW1/A to submit that PW-3 was released on 09.02.1989
    itself. He also referred to the evidence of DW-10, who has
    stated that PW-3 had returned home on 09.02.1989 at about
    9.00 p.m. He submitted that the case of the prosecution is that
0
    PW-3 went to the civil hospital at Balachaur for her medical
    examination and thereafter to the hospital at Saroa but the
    doctors of the two hospitals did not conduct the medical
    examination to avoid a conflict with the police, and therefore
E   the appellants examined the doctors of the two hospitals DW-
    11 and DW-12, and both DW-11 and DW-12 have denied that
    PW-3 approached them for her medical examination. Mr.
    Parekh vehemently submitted that there is thus no medical
    evidence to support the allegation of rape and the trial court
F   and the High Court could not have held the appellants guilty of
    the offence of rape.

         9. Mr. Parekh submitted that the main reason why the trial
    court and the High Court disbelieved the defence version was
    that the records of the .Police Station relating to the arrest of
G   PW-3 were not produced by the appellants before the Court.
    He submitted that in the present case there was no arrest of
    PW-3 at all and she was picked up only for interrogation and
    for this reason no records were maintained by the Police
    Station. He vehemently argued that the prosecution has not
H
 CHARA NJ IT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR. 699
                [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
been able to establish the guilt of the appellants beyond            A
reasonable doubt and hence they are entitled to acquittal.

     10. Learned counsel for the State Mr. Kuldip Singh
submitted that it is not believable that PW-1, husband of PW-
3 did not accompany the Panchayat to the Police Station for          8
release of PW-3 on 10.02.1989. He submitted that Ex. DW-1/
A dated 09.02.1989 on which the appellants relied on for their
case that PW-3 was released on 09.02.1989 itself has not been
signed by PW-1, the husband of PW-3. He referred to the
evidence of PW-3 to show how she was tortured and raped by           c
the appellants one after the other and submitted that the
evidence of PW-3 is believable. He submitted that PW-1, the
husband of PW-3 as well as PW-2, the neighbour of PW-1 who
had accompanied PW-1 to the Police Station on 10.02.1989,
have also deposed that soon after PW-3 was released from
                                                                     0
the Police Station she told them how she was humiliated and
raped by the appellants against her consent after taking liquor.
He submitted that the evidence of PW-3 as corroborated by
the evidence of PW-1 and PW-2 was sufficient for the trial court
and the High Court to hold the appellants guilty of the offences     E
under Sections 323/34, 504/34 and 376 2(a) and 2(g), IPC and
to hold the appellant Radha Krishan guilty also of the offence
under Section 342, IPC.

Findings of the Court
                                                                     F
     11. We have considered the contention of Mr. Parekh on
behalf of the appellants that PW-3 has sought to falsely implicate
the appellants on account of her close links with the terrorists
and on account of the pressure from the terrorists, but no
evidence as such has been led on behalf of the defence to            G
show that PW-3 has implicated the appellants under the
influence of the terrorists. Mr. Parekh relied on Ext.DW-1/B
dated 09.02.1989 said to have been signed by 32 vill(!gers in
which it is stated that the villagers believe that terrorists were
frequenting the house of PW-3 and staying in her house and           H
    700     SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2013] 10 S.C.R.


A taking their meals and, therefore, PW-3 should be brought and
  interrogated about those terrorists, but E:xt.DW-1/B is no proof
  of the fact that PW-3 has made the allegations of rape against
  the appellants on the pressure of the terrorists. We have also
  considered the submission of Mr. Parekh that PW-3 had herself
B given a statement in the inquiry conducted by the
  Superintendent of Police, Mr. Harbhajan Singh Bajwa, that she
  had made the complaint against the appellants at someone's
  instigation and she does not want any action to be taken on
  her complaint. This statement of PW-3 is not substantive
c evidence before the Court and at best can be treated as a
  previous statement to contradict the substantive evidence of
  PW-3 given in Court. Section 145 of the Indian Evidence Act
  states that a witness may be cross-examined as to previous
  statements made by him in writing or reduced into writing, and
o if it is intended to contradict him by the writing, his attention
  must, before the writing can be proved, be called to those parts
  of it which are to be used for the purpose of contradicting him.
  In the cross-examination of PW-3, a question was put whether
  S.P. Mr. Harbhajan Singh Bajwa conducted the inquiry and
E recorded her statement and she has stated that he did conduct
  an inquiry but she does not know what he had recorded. She
  has further stated that her signatures were obtained on the
  statement but she knew only how to write her name and cannot
  read or write Punjabi except appending her signatures. In view
F of the aforesaid statement made by PW-3 in her cross-
  examination, her statement recorded in the inquiry conducted
  by S.P. Mr. Harbhajan Singh Bajwa cannot be used to
  contradict the evidence of PW-3 given in Court.

      12. We have also considered the submission of Mr.
G Parekh that in the petition dated 13.02.1989 to the Governor
  (Ex.PW-3/A), PW-3 had not mentioned that PW-1 and PW-2
  were present when she was released at the intervention of the
  Panchayat of village Paili, Otal Majarh and Unaramour on
  10.02.1989. This statement of PW-3 in the petition dated
H
 CHARANJIT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.                 701
              [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
13.02.1989 is not substantive evidence before the Court and         A
can only be treated as a previous statement to contradict the
substantive evidence of PW-3 given in Court by putting a
question to PW-3 in course of her cross-examination under
Section 145 of the Indian Evidence Act. If such a question was
put in the cross-examination, PW-3 would have got an                B
opportunity to explain why she had not specifically stated in the
petition dated 13.02.1989 to the Governor (Ex.PW-3/A) that her
husband (PW-1) and the neighbour (PW-2) were also present
when she was released at the intervention of the Panchayat of
village Paili, Otal Majarh and Unaramour on 10.02.1989. In          C
absence of any such question put to PW-3 in her cross-
ex~rriination, the omission of the names of PW-1 and PW-2 in
the petition dated 13.02.1989 to the Governor (Ex.PW-3/A)
cannot ·be taken as contradictory to the evidence of PW-3.
Hence, the evidence of PW-3 as well as that of PW-1 and PW-         D
2 that on 10.02.1982, PW-1 and PW-2 were present when PW-
3 was released at 4.30. p.m. could not have been disbelieved
by the Court.

      13. We have perused the depositions of PW-1, PW-2 and         E
PW-3 and we find that the depositions of these three witnesses
support the findings of the trial court and the High Court that
PW-3 was not released at 6.00 p.m. on 09.02.1989 but 4.30
p.m. on 10.02.1989. As against the evidence of PW-1, PW-2
and PW-3, the appellants examined DW-1, the Head Constable,
                                                                    F
who produced the record of Police Station, Balachaur relating
to FIR No.13 dated 09.02.1989 and he has stated that the
investigation of the case was conducted by the appellant-Radha
Krishan, the then SHO of Police Station, Balachaur, and PW-
3 was interrogated by him and PW-3 was handed over to               G
Shanker Singh, Maha Singh, Dhanpat, Sarpanch of village
Pillai and others as per the document Ext.DW1/A dated
09.02.1989, but he has admitted in his cross-examination that
he has no personal knowledge of the inve'stigation and he did
not know PW-3 and had just produced the record. The                 H
   702      SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2013] 10 S.C.R.


A appellants have also examined DW-2 and he has stated in his
  examination-in-chief that he along with others who had been to
  the Police Station requested the appellant-Radha Krishan to
  release the two ladies in case they were no longer required for
  interrogation and the two ladies, PW-3 and Kamaljit Kaur, were
B released at 6.00 p.m. on 09.02.1989 after getting a writing from
  them (Ext.DW1/A) to the effect that they will produce them
  before the police if need be at a future date. In cross-
  examination, however, DW-2 admitted that he did not know
  whether any entry was recorded at the Police Station for calling
c the two ladies to the Police Station, Balachaur and whether any
  entry was recorded regarding their release and he was also
  not aware whether Ext.DW1/A wa~ recorded in the Daily Diary
  Register of the Police Station, Balachaur. Additional M.H.C.
  Harminder Singh of Police Station, Balachaur was examined
D as DW-4 and he produced the FIR Register containing the FIR
  No.13 dated 09.02.1989 of Police Station, Balachaur under
  Section 302/34, IPC and others and has admitted that there
  was no jiinni specifically incorporating the facts of execution
  of Ext.DW1/A. The Head Constable Gurdev Dass of Police
E Station, Balachaur was examined as DW-9 and he has stated
  that he was posted in Police Station, Balachaur from
  20.11.1988 to April, 1991 and his duty hours on 09.02.1989
  and 10.02.1989 were from 8.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. and no lady
  by the name of PW-3 was confined in the police lock up, but
F he has stated that he has not brought any record of Police
  Station, Balachaur and he has made the statement from his
  memory only. He has, however, admitted that entries were to
  be made in Daily Diary Register kept in the Police Station as
  and when any police official leaves the Police Station or returns
G to the Police Station and similarly, if anybody other than police
  officials enters or departs from the Police Station. Thus, except
  the document Ext.DW1/A, the relevant records of Police
  Station, Balachaur such as the Daily Diary Register were not
  produced to support the defence case that PW-3 was picked
H up for interrogation on the morning of 09.02.1989 and was
CHARANJIT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.                     703
             [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
released at 6.00 p.m. on 09.02.1989 and for this reason both          A
the trial court and the High Court rejected the defence case and
instead believed the evidence of PW-1, PW-2 and PW-3 that
PW-3 was not released at 6.00 p.m. on 09.02.1989, but was
detained during the night of 09.02.1989 and was released only
on the next day in the evening on 10.02.1989.                         B

      14. The aforesaid discussion would show that the
prosecution adduced evidence through PW-1, PW-2 and PW-
3 that PW-3 was not released from the Police Station on
09.02.1989 at 6.00 p.m., but was actually released on                 c
10.02.1989 at 4.30 p.m. This evidence could be discarded by
the Court only if reliable evidence was produced by the defence
to establish that PW-3 was actually released from the Police
Station at 6.00 p.m. on 09.02.1989. The most relevant evidence
to establish this defence of the appellants would have been the       0
records of the Police Station. As has been provided in Section
35 of the Indian Evidence Act, an entry in any public or other
official book, register or record or an electronic record, stating
a fact in issue or relevant fact, and made by a public servant in
the discharge of his official duty, is itself a relevant fact. The    E
Punjab Police Rules provides that Register No. II shall be
maintained in the Police Station and Rule 22.49 in Chapter 22
enumerates the matters to be entered in Register No. II. These
include the following matters in clauses (c) and (h) of Rule
22.49, which are extracted hereinbelow:
                                                                      F
     "(c) The hour of arrival and departure on duty at or from a
     police station of all enrolled police officers of whatever
     rank, whether posted at the police station or elsewhere,
     with a statement of the nature of their duty. This entry shall
     be made immediately on arrival or prior to the departure         G
    ·of the officer concerned and shall be attested by the latter
     personally by signature or seal.
    Note. - The term Police Station will include all places such
    as Police Lines and Police Posts where Register No. II is
    maintained."                                                      H
    704       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2013] 10 S.C.R.


A         "(h) All arrivals at, and dispatches from, the police station
          of persons in custody, and all admissions to, and removals
          from, the police station lock-ups, whether temporary or
          otherwise, the exact hour being given in every case."

  That the aforesaid matters are required to be maintained in the
8
  Daily Diary Register kept in the Police Station has been
  admitted by DW-9 in his evidence. Thus, even if PW-3 was not
  arrested as contended by Mr. Parekh, records were required
  to be maintained in Police Station, Balachaur with regard to
C both the arrivals of the appellants and PW-3 and their departure
  giving the exact hour of arrival and departure. Moreover, if
  Ex.DW1/A was to be treated as a genuine document, records
  of Police Station, Balachaur, containing relevant entries ought
  to have been produced by the appellants to show that Ex.DW1/
  A was contemporaneously created on 09.02.1989. Since the
D appellants did not produce the aforesaid records in their
  defence, the trial court and the High Court acted within their
  powers to reject the defence of the appellants and instead
  believe the evidence of PW-1, PW-2 and PW-3 that PW-3 was
  released only on 10.02.1989 at 4.30 p.m.
E
       15. We further find that the trial court and the High Court
  have recorded the findings of rape committed by the appellants
  on PW-3 because of her consistent version in her petition dated
  13.02.1989 (Ext.P3/A) to the Governor made within a few days
F of her release from Police Station on 09.02.1989, her complaint
  dated 25.07.1989 and her evidence in Court. PW-1, PW-2 and
  PW-3 have deposed that an attempt was made for a medical
  examination in the Civil Hospital, Balachaur, and the hospital
  at Saroa but the doctors refused to conduct the medical
G examination on account of the pressure from the appellant-
  Radha Krishan, but DW-11 and DW-12, the doctors in the
  hospital, have denied that they had refused to conduct the
  medical examination. The result is that there is no medical
  evidence to support the allegation of rape made by PW-3
H against the appellants. The High Court, however, has held that
 CHARANJIT & ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB & ANR.                    705
              [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
as PW-3 was not a young woman, medical examination was                 A
not significant and absence of medical examination may not
be sufficient to disbelieve PW-3 if her story stands on its own.
The High Court has found that she has consistently stated in
her petition dated 13.02.1989 to the Governor of Punjab, in her
complaint dated 25.07.1989 before the Magistrate and in her            B
deposition in Court that she was detained in the night and raped
by the appellants and both the trial court and the High Court
have found that soon after she was released from the Police
Station on 10.02.1989, she stated before her husband (PW-1)
and the neighbour (PW-2) that she had been raped by the                C
appellants and that she was bleeding profusely. The trial court
and the High Court, therefore, have come to the finding of guilt
of rape against the appellants relying on the evidence of PW-
3 as corroborated by the evidence of PW-1, PW-2 under
Section 157 of the Indian Evidence Act.                                D

      16. Thus, the trial court and the High Court have recorded
concurrent findings of facts holding the appellants guilty of the
offences under Sections 323/34, 504/34, 376(2)(a) and
376(2)(g) IPC and the appellant-Radha Krishan guilty of the            E
offence under Section 342 IPC also. It has been repeatedly held
by this Court that even though the powers of this Court under
Article 136 of the Constitution are very wide, in criminal appeals
this Court does not interfere with the concurrent findings of facts,
save in exceptional circumstances where there has been grave           F
miscarriage of justice (Sri Sambhu Das and Another v. State.
of Assam [(2010) 10 SCC 374). As we have found that the
concurrent findings of facts recorded by the trial court and the
High Court in this case are based on legal evidence and there
is no miscarriage of justice as such by the two courts while
arriving at said findings, we are not inclined to disturb the          G
impugned judgment of the High Court in exercise of our
discretion under Article 136 of the Constitution and we
accordingly dismiss the appeal.

B.B.B.                                        Appeal dismissed.        H