Supreme Court of India
HAR SINGHversusSTATE OF UTTARAKHAND
- Citation
- 2008 INSC 1054
- Decided
- 18 September 2008
- Disposal
- Dismissed
- Bench
- ALTAMAS KABIR
Holding
The circumstantial evidence, including the body’s recovery by an accused, was sufficient to uphold the convictions under Sections 302, 201 and 394 IPC.
Summary
The appellants were accused of murdering Bhupal Singh after a dispute over gambling winnings. The prosecution alleged that the accused followed the deceased, assaulted him, and that he was killed shortly thereafter, with his body later recovered at the instance of accused Mohan Singh. The trial court, relying on the testimony of several eyewitnesses and the post‑mortem report, convicted the appellants under IPC sections 302/34, 201/34 and 394. The High Court affirmed the conviction. On appeal, the appellants contended that there was no direct evidence linking them to the murder and that the recovery of the body was not attributable to any accused. The Supreme Court held that the sequence of events up to the assault, the corroborated time of death, and the crucial circumstantial evidence of the body’s recovery by an accused satisfied the requirements of proof beyond reasonable doubt. Consequently, the Court dismissed the appeals and upheld the convictions.
Issues considered
- Whether the circumstantial evidence, including the recovery of the body at the instance of an accused, is sufficient to sustain convictions under Sections 302, 201 and 394 IPC.
- Whether the appellants can be linked to the commission of the murder despite the absence of direct eyewitness testimony of the killing.
Legislation cited
- Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 201, s. 302, s. 34, s. 394
Subjects
gambling disputemurdercircumstantial evidencebody recoveryIPC 302IPC 201IPC 394criminal appealconviction upheld
Judgment
[2008] 13 S.C.R. 621
1
HAR SINGH A
v.
STATE OF UTIARAKHAND
(Criminal Appeal .No. 816 of 2005)
~ SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
B
[ALTAMAS KABIR AND MARKANDEY KATJU, JJ]
PENAL CODE, 1860: ·
ss. 302134, 201134 and 394 - Dispute ensuing between
deceased and accused persons over money won in gambling- c
Accused assaulting the deceased - Dead body of deceased
recovered at the instance of one· of the accused - Conviction
by trial courl - Upheld by High Courl - HELD: Events upto
assault of deceased were found to have been established by
..- - both the courls below - Deceased was last seen with accused D
and was killed soon thereafter ~ Time of death of deceased
corroborated by medical evidence - Crucial circumstance of
recovery of dead body at the instance of one of the accused
found to have been established by both the courls below -
There is no reason to interfere with judgment of High Courl - E
Circumstantial evidence.
Three appellants alongwith another accused were
prosecuted for commission of offences punishable u/ss
302/34, 201/34 and 394 IPC, on the allegations that on a
·- ~
dispute over money won in gambling by the deceased F
from the accused persons, the latter robbed him of his
money and killed him. The trial court, on the basis of the
evidence of PWs 2,5,6 and 9 convicted the accused of
the offences charged. The High Court upheld the convic-
tion. One of the accused died meanwhile and the remain- G
ing three filed the instant appeals.
!
Dismissing the appeals, the Court
'"
HELD: 1.1 It has been well established that the de-
621 H
622 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2008] 13 S.C.R.
A ceased and the accused were involved in gambling in
front of the tea stall of PW-2 and that when the deceased
and PW-1 left the place where the gambling was being
conducted they were followed by the accused persons.
From the evidence of PW-1, it is also established that the -+
8 accused persons assaulted the deceased and when he
tried to intervene he was threatened and was made to
leave the place, though he heard the deceased request-
ing the accused persons not to kill him from the nearby
wheat field. [para 10] [625 D-F]
c 1.2 The events upto the assault of the deceased were
found to have been established by both the Courts be-
low. In addition, the circumstances also establish the fact
that the accused and the deceased were last seen together
by PW-1 and he was killed soon thereafter. The time of
- l'
D death stands corroborated from post-mortem examina-
tion. [para 11] [626 G-H 627-B]
1.3 The crucial circumstantial evidence was recov-
ery of the body of the deceased. Although, an attempt was
made to raise doubts as to whether PW-6 and PW-9 had
E actually seen accused 'MS' pointing out the location from
which the dead body could be and was subsequently
recovered, since both the courts below have accepted
the said evidence and there were no other intervening
circumstances, there is no reason to discard the same.
F [para 12] [627 C-0]
)' -
CRIMINALAPPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
No. 816 of 2005
From the Judgment and final Order dated 1.12.2004 of the
G High Court of Uttaranchal at Nainital in Crl.Appeal No. 851 of2001
K.B. Sinha, Subhash Chandra Birla and Subrat Birla for
'1
the Appellant.
Sunil Kumar Singh and Jatinder kumar Bhatia for the Re-
H spondent.
~
HAR SINGH v. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND 623
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by A
ALTAMAS KABIR, J. 1. These three appeals arise out of
the judgment and order dated 1st December, 2004, passed by
the Uttaranchal High Court dismissing the appeal filed by the
~ appellants herein (Criminal Appeal No. 851/01) against the judg-
ment and order of the Sessions Judge, Almora, in ST No.36 of B
• 1987, convicting the appellants under Sections 302/34, 201/34
and 394 Indian Penal Code. One of the accused, Ratan Sirigh,
died during the trial which abated against him and continued
against the other accused persons.
c
2. According to the prosecution, on 26th February, 1987,
the deceased Bhupal Singh @ Joga Singh of village Sain
Bagaria, DistrictAlmora, Uttaranchal, went to the Mela held at
village Dabra on the occasion of Shiv Ratri along with his wife
- f
and two children. He had taken an amount of Rs.3,000/- with
him for purchasing two bullocks and a goat. While at the Mela,
D
he met Gusain Singh and remained at the Mela with his wife
and children till 4.30 p.m. when he sent them back to their vii-
lage after telling them that he would return on the next day. There-
after, Bhupal Singh and Gusain Singh came back to the Mela
and found several persons, including the accused Mohan Singh; E
Har Singh, Ratan Singh and Lachham Singh, gambling in front
of the tea stall of one Bhuwan Singh. Bhupal Singh also joined
in the gambling and won Rs.200/- from Mohan Singh and
Rs.600/- from Lachham Singh. When it started to get dark,
~.·"
Bhupal Singh stopped gambling as he had to go to Village F
Bhaisora with Gusain Singh.
3. It was also the prosecution case that the above-named
accused persons followed Bhupal Singh and asked him to con-
tinue the gambling so that they could have a chance to recover
G
the money which they had lost. In the alternative, they asked
Bhupal Singh to return the money which he had won in the gam-
~
/
bling in front of the tea stall of Bhuwan Singh. Bhupal Singh re-
fused to listen to either of the two proposals. Thereafter, ac-
cused Mohan Singh allegedly lifted Bhupal Singh and threw him
H
624 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 13 S.C.R.
~
A on the ground with force. When Gusain Singh tried to intervene
in an attempt to save Bhupal Singh, he was also threatened by
the accused as a result whereof he ran away from the place. He
has, however, come out in his evidence with the statement that
while fleeing the place he had hidden in a nearby wheat field
-4
B from where he heard Bhupal Singh requesting the accused not
to kill him and subsequently even the said sounds ceased. When
Bhupal Singh did not return to his house even after the second
day, his mother, Smt. Chana Devi and Shri Soor Singh came to
"
Gusain Singh's house on the third day to enquire about him.
c Gusain Singh is reported to have told them about the entire in-
cident and then all of them went to the place of occurrence,
known as Khuti Aam, to search for the body of Bhupal Singh,
but the same could not be found. Thereafter, a written complaint
was filed by Smt. Chana Devi at Bhatroajkhan Police Station
on 2nd March, 1987.
D
4. On the basis of the said complaint investigations were
~
-
commenced and Mohan Singh was arrested after interroga-
tion. At Mohan Singh's instance Bhupal Singh's dead body was
recovered in the presence of witnesses. The other accused were
E also arrested and the body of the deceased was sent for post-
mortem, which was conducted by Dr. S.N. Srivastava, Medical
Officer, Civil Hospital, Ranikhet, on 4th March, 1987. During the
post mortem examination the following injuries were found on
the body of the deceased:
~ ~
F "1. Sharp cut wound on left side of face extending to
lower jaw left. Mandible cut sharp, edge on bone
seen, blood clots in an area 8 cm x 4 cm. Maggots
were present.
2. Sharp cut would on right side of forehead extending
G
through temple and just above right ear 6 cm x 4 cm.
Blood clots present. Sharp edge of temple bone and
)
parietal bone seen. Maggots were present.
3. Contusion and abrasion on the left side of chest, 4
H cm below nipple, area 5 cm x 4 cm.
HAR SINGH v. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND 625
[ALTAMAS KABIR, J.]
4. Contusion on the left side of chest 2 cm medial to A
injury no.3, area 4 x 2 cm.
5. Contusion and abrasion, just below right knee, area
4 cm x 3 cm.
6. Contusion on the left wrist ventral surface, area 3 cm B
x2 cm."
5. After completion of the investigation a charge-sheet was
filed and the accused-appellants were sent for trial.
6. Relying on the evidence of PW 1, Gusain Singh, who c
was accompanying the deceased at the time of the incident,
the evidence of PW 5, Smt. Chana Devi, mother of the de-
ceased, who lodged the First Information Report, the evidence
of PW 2, Bhuwan Singh, before whose shop the gambling was
~ ~ conducted, Soor Singh, PW 6, who claimed to be present when
D
appellant-Mohan Singh stated that he could point out the place
from where the body of the deceased could be recovered, and
PW 9, Kamrool Haq, who was present when the body of the
deceased was recovered, the trial Court came to the conclu-
sion that the prosecution had been able to prove its case against
E
the appellant beyond all reasonable doubt.
7. The High Court, on a reappraisal of the evidence, con-
firmed the decision of the trial Court and upheld the conviction
of the appellants herein.
~~1
8. On behalf of the appellants an attempt was made to F
convince this Court that from the materials on record there is
nothing to connect the appellants with the commission of the
offence. Even Gusain Singh (PW 1), who was allegedly accom-
panying the deceased and was produced as an eye-witness,
had clearly stated that he had not seen the actual murder of the G
deceased but had only heard the shrieks of the deceased re-
" questing the appellants not to kill him and that the said shrieks
finally ended. It was, therefore, suggested that in the absence
of any evidence to connect the appellants with the commission
of the offence, both the Trial Court and the High Court ~ad erred H
626 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 13 S.C.R.
A in convicting the appellants under Sections 302 and 201 read
with Section 34 IPC and Section 394 IPC.
9. An attempt was also made to show that the evidence of
PW 6, who was allegedly present both when Mohan Singh has
stated before the Investing Officer that he could locate the body
B of the deceased and also when the body was recovered, did
not indicate that the said body was recovered at the instance of
accused Mohan Singh. Learned counsel tried to convince the
Court that the accused had only been taken to the place of oc-
currence and that during the search which was conducted, the
c body was recovered, but not at the specific instance of Mohan
Singh. In other words, learned counsel tried to establish that the
recovery of the body was not at the instance of Mohan Singh,
but in his presence.
10. We are not convinced with the submissions advanced
D
on behalf of the appettants who were convicted mainly on the
• -
basis of circumstantial evidence and the evidence of PWs 1, 2,
5, 6 and 9 in support thereof. It has been well established that
the deceased and the accused were involved in gambling in
front of the tea stall of PW 2, Bhuwan Singh, and that when the
E deceased and PW 1, Gusain Singh, left the place where the
gambling was being conducted they were followed by the ac-
cused persons. From the evidence of PW 1, Gusa in Singh, it is
also established that the accused persons assaulted the de-
ceased and when he tried to intervene he was threatened and y ~
F was made to leave the place, though he heard the deceased
requesting the accused persons not to kill him from the nearby
wheat field.
11. The events upto the assault of the deceased were found
to have been established by both the Courts below. In addition,
G
the circumstances also establish the fact that the accused and
the deceased were last seen together by PW 1 and he was
killed soon thereafter. The post-mortem report clearly indicates
that the body had started decomposing and that maggots were
found on the body. It has to be kept in mind that while the date of
H
HAR SINGH v. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND 627
[ALTAMAS KABIR, J.]
occurrence is 26th February, 1987, the First Information Report A
was filed by PW 5, Smt. Chana Devi on 2"d March, 1987, the
body of the deceased was recovered on 3rd March, 1987, and
the post-mortem was conducted on 4th March, 1987. In other
words, between Bhupal Singh's death and the post-mortem
conducted, almost a week had elapsed which fact stands cor- B
roborated from the state of the body at the time of post-mortem
examination.
12. The last and, in our view, the crucial circumstantial evi-
dence was recovery of the body of the deceased. Although, an
attempt was made to raise doubts as towhether PW 6 and PW C
9 had actually seen the accused Mohan Singh pointing out the
location from which the dead body could be and was subse-
quently recovered, since both the courts b_elow have accepted
the said evidence and there were no other intervening circum~
_ _, stances, there is no reason for us to discard the same. D
13. In that view of the matter, we find no reason to interfere
with the judgment of the High Court and the Appeals are, there-
__fore, dismissed.
R.P. Appeals dismis.sed. E
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