Holding

The Supreme Court set aside the murder conviction and substituted it with conviction under Section 304 Part II IPC, holding that common intention to cause death was not proved.

Summary

The case involved a trade‑union rivalry that culminated in the murder of Prathab Chandran, a union vice‑president, on 15 June 1972. Six accused, including A‑2 (Nadodi Jayaraman) and A‑3 (Dilli Bai), assaulted the victim with iron rods and pipes, causing multiple injuries; the head injury was fatal. The trial court convicted A‑2 and A‑3 under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC (murder) while acquitting the other accused, and the High Court upheld this conviction. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the prosecution had proved a common intention to cause death, especially given that some co‑accused were acquitted and parts of the prosecution testimony were disbelieved. The Court held that the common intention to cause death was not established beyond reasonable doubt, so the murder conviction could not stand. Accordingly, the conviction was altered to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II IPC, and the sentence was reduced to the period already served, given the appellants’ long pre‑trial detention and lack of further criminal activity.

Issues considered

Whether the prosecution proved a common intention to cause death under Section 34 IPC sufficient for a conviction under Section 302 IPC.
Whether the acquittal of co‑accused and the partial disbelieving of prosecution witnesses necessitates rejection of the entire testimony (application of the maxim falsus in uno falsus in omnibus).
Whether the appropriate charge is murder (Section 302/34) or culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part II).
Whether the sentence should be reduced in view of the appellants’ prolonged pre‑trial detention and bail period.

Legislation cited

Constitution of Indias. 136
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 109, s. 120-B, s. 302, s. 304 Part II, s. 320, s. 324, s. 325, s. 34, s. 435

Subjects

murderculpable homicidecommon intentionSection 34 IPCtrade union rivalryspecial leavemaxim falsus in uno falsus in omnibussentence reductionacquittal of co‑accused

Judgment

A NADODI JAYARAMAN ETC.
v.
STATE OF TAMIL NADU
~
APRIL 28, 1992

B [R.M. SAHA! AND A.S. ANAND, JJ.]

Indian Penal Code, 1860: Sections 302/120-B, 302134 & 304 Part IL·
~
Murder-Trade Union rivalry-Attack by a number of accused with iron
c rods and iron pipes-Trial-Conviction of some accused and acquittal of
others--Reliance on testimony of witnesses vis-a-vis ·convicted accused and
rejection of their testimony vis-a-vis acquitted accused--Legality of-Held ...
where injuries are caused by a number of persons Court should ascertain the ~
...........
common intention of convicted accused-Nature of injuries and weapons
used held relevant for detennining the common intention-Conviction of
D accused altered from Sections 302/34 to one under 304 Part IL
~

Maxim--Falsus in uno falsus in omnibus-Applicability of.

Penology-Conviction-Accused suffered imprisonment for more than
five years and on bail for more than a decade-No criminal activity by
E accused during this period-Held not desirable to send him back to jail-Sen-
tence reduced to imprisonment already undergone.

Constitution of India, _1950: Article 136:

Appeal by Special Leave--Reappraisal of evidence --COncu"ent find-
F ings of facts by Court below-Interference with.

The appellants, A-2 and A-3, along with five co-~ccused were
prosecuted under Section 120-B read with Section 320 IPC as well as
under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC. Besides the co-accused were
also prosecuted for various other offences. It was alleged that the accused
G
persons conspired together to murder PC, Ex-Vice President of the
Peravai Workers' Union, and in· pursuance ·of the 'Same committed his··
murder. According to the prosecution case there was trade union rivalry
between the group of the deceased and the group of accused persons. The
eye witnesses deposed that on the date of occurrence A-2 was questioning
H PW-22 as to why he bad distributed pamphlets fdi" a meeting to be
794 .A
JAYARAMAN v. STATE 795

I
conducted under the auspices of PC and at that time PC arrived there. A'
~
---.{ Thereafter, A·2 to A-7 assaulted him with iron rods and iron pipes.
Prosecution witnesses who tried to intervene also received injuries at the
hands of accused persons. Further, when PC tried to escape the accused
persons chased him and exhorted to do away with him and thereupon they
again assaulted him indiscriminately with iron rods, as a result of which
he died. The Post Mortem report showed that t~e deceased suffered 32
B,
-1 injuries and that the head injury was sufficient to cause death in the
ordinary course of nature.

The Trial Court did not accept the testimony of the prosecution
........ witnesses in toto. It rejected the theory of conspiracy and accord~~gly
asquitted all the accused persons including the appellants of the c~arges c
I
of criminal conspiracy under Section 120-8 read with Section 302 IPC.
However, relying upon the testimony of PW 19, 21, 22, 25, 26 and 27, it
->-- convicted both the appellants under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC
and sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for life holding that the
deceased succumbed to the injuries caused by all the accused persons D
generally and by A-2 and A-3 in particular. All the other accused were
acquitted of all other charges framed against them.

On appeal, the Division Bench of the High Court upheld the convic·
tion and sentence of the appellants. In appeals to this Court it was
contended on behalf of the appellants (1) that with the acquittal of E

r co-accused or all the charges, the appellant's conviction also became
vulnerable and since the prosecution witnesses were disbelieyed qua co-
accused even with regard to the assault on deceased, they could not be

.... relied upon to convict the appellants; (2) Though the deceased' suffered
multiple injuries but only one injury had proved fatal according to the
F
medical opinion and since it was not certain that the blow given by either
of the appellant was by itself fatal or who out of the two had caused the
fatal blow or that the same was caused with the intentio!1 of causing death,
~r-~ the appellants' conviction under Section 302/34 IPC was not warranted;
and (3) the nature of injuries indicated that the intention of the appellants
was only to give beating to the deceased and they could be held guilty or G
an offence under Section 325/34 IPC only.

Allowing the Appeals, this Court,

;._ \
HELD : 1. This Court, in an appeal by special leave, when the two
J1'
courts below have concurred in their conclusions does not ordinarily .'.1
7% SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992) 2 S.C.R.

A reassess the evidence. The conclusion with regard to the assault on the ~
deceased by the appellants as recorded by the learned Sessions Judge and
confirmed by the learned Division Bench is based on proper appraisal of
the evidence and is sound. (808-F, H, 809-A]

2. The Maxim falsus in uno falsus in omnibus cannot be mechanically
B applied and the mere fact that the evidence of some of the prosecution
witnesses was found unsafe for convicting the co-accused, is by itself no j.-
ground for rejecting the whole body of their testimony. It only puts the

--
court ~nits guard to carefully scrutinise their'evidence. (809-C]

c commotion
3. In cases, where large number of persons are involved and in the
injuries are caused to the prosecution \iritnesses and others, it .......
becomes the duty of the court to determine the common intention which
could be attributed to those accused who stand conVicted, where some of --t-
their co-accused stand acquitted and the State chooses not to file any
appeal against their acquittal. With a view to determine the common
D intention, the nature of injuries, the background of the incident an.d the
nature of the weapons used to cause the injuries besides other factors are
required to be properly considered and appreciated. [869-H, 810·A]

4. Ir common intention to cause.death had been established in the
case, the prosecution would not have been required to prove which of the
E injuries was caused by which accused to sustain the conviction of the
accused with the aid of Section 34 IPC, but in a case like this, where five ~

of the co-accused stand acquitted and the common intention to cause death
is not established beyond a reasonable doubt, the prosecution must estab-

F
lish the exact nature of the injuries caused to the deceased by the accused
with a view to sustain the conviction of that accused for inflicting that
.....
particular injury. [812 G-H, 813-A]

5. It is the case of the prosecution that the injuries were caused to <---
~.
the deceased not only by the appellants but by the other accused also, who
stand acquitted. In the face of this evidence it cannot be postulated that
G the two appellants alone caused all the injuries to the deceased and that \-
too with the common intention to cause bis death. If the accused bad the
intention to cause death of the deceased, they would have probably come
armed with mere formidable weapons. The seat of the injuries as also their
I
nature fortifies this view because most of the injuries were on non-vital _A
~

H parts of the body. Therefore, it cannot be said that the appellants have had
JAYARAMAN v. STATE (ANAND, J.) 797

the intention of causing the death of the deceased or even. causing such A
bodily injury as was likely to cause death. Therefore, neither of them can .
be convicted under Section 30.2/34 IPC. (811-D,812-C-E, 813-8]

5.1. However, the offence of the appe~lants would squarely fall under
Section 304 Part II IPC because they can be attributed with the knowledge
that their act was likely to cause death or to cause such bodily injury as B
was likely to cause death, since a number of injuries had been caused and,
the head injury was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause
death. Accordingly, they can only be held guilty of committing culpable
homicide not amounting to murder. (813. C~D, 81.2 F]

I
6. Consequently, appellants' conviction is altered to one under Sec- C
tion 304 Part II. However, as each of the appellants had suffered imprison·
ment for more than five years as .under-trial prisoners and during the
trial and on conviction it is not now desirable to send them back to jail
after they have been on bail for more 'than a decade and particularly when
during that period ~othing has been brought to the. notice of the Court to D
show that they had indulged in any criminal activity. Therefore, .their
sentence is reduced to the period of imprisonment already undergone by
them. (813 E, 813 G-H, 814-A]

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal App~al
Nos. 66-67 of 1978. E
From the Judgment and Order dated 15.9.1976 of the Madras High
Court in Criminal Appeal No. 209 of 1975.

N.T. Vanamamalai, R.K. Grag, VJ. Francis, A. Sasidharan and V.
Subramaniam for the Appellants. F

K. V. Venkataraman and K.V. Viswanathan for ~he Respondent.

The Judgement of the Court was delivered by

DR. A.S. ANAND, J. Trade union rivalry and fight for leadership, G
power and influence .in the trade union, claimed the life of Prathab
Chandran on 15th of June 1972 at the Simpson Plant Sembium. For the
said murder of Prathab Chandran, Ex. Vice-President of the Peravai
A. .. Workers' Union, seven accused were arrayed on seven charges and tried
by the learned Sessions Judge, Madras Division who vide judgment dated H
798 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992) 2 S.C.R.

A 29th March 1975 acquitted all the accused of the charge of criminal
conspiracy under Section 120 B read with Section 302 IPC. All the accused
other than accused No.2 and accused No.3 (hereinafter referred to as A-
2 and A-3) were acquitted of the other charges framed against them and
conviction was recorded against A-2 and A-3 under Section 302 read with
Section 34 IPC and each one of them was ·.sentenced to suffer rigorous
B imprisonm:ent for life. A-2 and A-3, namely, Nadodi Jayaraman (A-2] and
Dilli Bai [A-3) filed an appeal against their conviction and sentence in the
High Court of Madras. A Division Bench of that Court, vide judgment
dated 15th September 1976, dismissed their appeal, thereby upholding their
conviction and sentence. Both A-2 and A-3 preferred special leave peti-
C tions (Crl.) in this Court and on 1st February 1978, special leave was
granted. Hence these appeals.

Before proceeding, further, it would be relevant to note that both the
appellants, A-2 and A-3, along with five acquitted co-accused, A-1, A-4,
D A-5, A-6 and A-7, had been charged firstly, for criminal conspiracy to cause
the murder of Prathab Chandran, punishable under Section 120_,..B read
with Section 302 IPC and secondly, for the murder of Prathab Chandran,
in furtherartce of common intention to kill him punishable under Section
302 read with Section 34 IPC. A-1 was charged with abetment of murder,
punishable under Section 302 read with Section 109 IPC; A-4 was charged
E for voluntarily causing hurt to PW-19 Munuswami, punishable under Sec-
tion 320 IPC; A-2, A-3 and A-6 were charged for voluntarily causing hurt
to PW-21, Gopalakrishnan, in furtherance of their common intention,
punishable under Section 324 read with Section 34 IPC; A-5 and A-6 were
charged for voluntarily causing hurt to PW-23, Gajendra Babu in fur-
.F therance of their common intention punishable under Section 324 read with
Section ·34 IPC, and A-6 was charged for voluntarily causing damage to the
motor-cycle of Prathab Chandran deceased, punishable under Section 435
--
IPC. Except for recording the conviction of A-2 and A-3 for an offence
under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC, all other charges against the
accused including A-2 and A-3 failed and since there has been no appeal
G against the acquittal of the co-accused of A-2 and A-3 or against A-2 and
A-3 in respect of their acquittal for the other offences, we need not detain
ourselves to reproduce the fmdings of the courts below in respect of
various ~barges which had been framed against all the accused· persons.

H The case of the prosecution is that Simpson Group of Companies
JAYARAMAN v. STATE [ANAND, J.) 799

had nine factories at the relevant time. There was a labour union known A
as Simpson Companies Workers' Union and one Kattur Gopal wa5 its
President. Prathab Chandran deceased, an inspector working in Plant III,
was one of its Vice-Presidents. This Union was attached to what is called
the "D.M.K. Peravai". The deceased was one of the prime promoters of the \
said Peravai. Kuchelar A-1 was elected as the president and Nododi
Jayaraman A-2 [one of the appellants herein] was elected the Vice-Presi-
B
dent of the Simpson Group of Companies Workers' and Staff Union. The
elections had taken place by secret ballot on 27.4.1972. Madhavan A-5 and
Sailam A-4 had been elected as Assistant Secretary and Executive Com-
mittee Member of the Union respectively. Amuldoss alias Devadoss, A-6,
and Devarajan, A-7, were elected as group leaders. Kucbelar A-1, con- C
a
sidered Prathab Chandran deceased as posing serious threat to the power
and influence, hitherto exercised by him in the Labour Union Movement.
This rivalry between A-1 group and Prathab Chandran group in the trade
union leadership, resulted in the occurrence on 15.6.1972, when Prathab
Chandran was murdered. D
The evidence regar~ing existence of rivalry between .Prathab
Chandran deceased and A-1 has been furnished at the trial by PW-1
Varadan and PW-8 Abdul Khader. According to their version in April
19~4, A-1, Kuchelar was elected President of the Ashok Leyland Workers' E
Union. It was alleged that owing to the "go slow" policy advocated by A-1,
the management of the Ashok Leyland closed the factory. A meeting of
various trade unions was convened and in the all party meeting held on
29.5.1972, it is alleged that the deceased in the course of his speech in the

- meeting stated that A-1 should be removed from the Presidentship of the
union as be creates a situation, whenever, he becomes President of any F
union necessitat\ftg the closure of the factory, to the detriment of the
workers' interest. It was decided at that meeting that the Ashok Leyland ·
Factory workers should resume work on 31.5.1972. Earlier an Association
had been formed called Ashok Leyland Workers' Welfare Protection Front
and the deceased Prathab Chandran was its promoter. From the evidence G
of PWs-1, 2 and 3, the prosecution so'ught to establish that on 315.1972, the
group belonging to A-1 went to Ashok Leyland Factory in order to create
galata in case the workers resumed work as per the directions given by
Prathab Chandran deceased, at the all party meeting. On the intervention
of PW-2, and untoward situation was avoided. On 9.6.1972, the Executive
Committee of the Ashok Leyland workers' Union passed a 'no-confidence' H
800 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992) 2 S.C.R.

A motion against A-1 and removed him from the Presidentship and instead
elected PW-1 as the President of the Union. On 11.6.1972, when A-1 came
to the Ashok Leyland Factory, he learnt that Prathab Chandran deceased
was responsible for his removal from the Presidentship of Workers' Union
and the election of PW-1 as its President. A-1, thereupon, told his sup-
porters and others that Prathab Chandran deceased had been giving lot of
B trouble and that he should be finished. Prosecution has led evidence to
show that there had been some incidents earlier also resulting in a show
down between Prathab Chandran group and the A-1 group, including the
incident of hoisting the flag by Prathab Chandran deceased at Nantham-
pakkam Surgical Instruments Factory on 19.5.1972. The prosecution also
C led evidence to show as to how A-1 lost the Presidentship of the Union of
W.S. Insulators Employees and Prathab Chandrcui managed to wield in-
fluence with the labour and members of the union of the w.s. Insulators
Employees when he formed a rival union called W.S. Insulators Workers'
and Stct!f Union on 6.3.1972. The prosecution also led e.vidence in support
D of its case that there was rivalry between Prathab Chandran group and A-1
group in matters relating to trade union activities. The prosecution has
established on the record, as was found by the learned Sessions Judge and
the Division Bench of the High Court Qf Madras, that there was trade
union rivalry between A-1 group and Prathab Chandran group and that
A-1 nurtured grudge against Prathab Chandran deceased. It is also the.
E prosecution case .that on 14.6.1972, at the request of Prathab Chandran
deceased, Raju PW-11, gave a draft notice Ex.P-3 to Ganeshan PW-12 for
printing of the pamphlet relating to a meeting to be held under the auspices

-
of the Welfare Committee at 11.00 a.m. on 18.6.1972. Raju PW-11 gave fifty
copies of the notice to Balaraman PW-22 for distributing the same amo~t
F ·the workers !lJld took upon himself to distribute the rest of the pamphlets.

It is further the prosecution case that .on the fateful day, 15.6.1972,
Prathab Chandran deceased left his house for the factory at about 3.30 p.m.
on his motor-cycle bearing registration No.MDS-9200, belonging to his
brother ·Ramachandran PW-18, who was then staying with him. Ravindran
G PW-13 accompanied the deceased and was riding on the pillion.. At about
4.00 p.m. they reached Simpson Factory. Vadivellu, PW-14, a worker of
Addison Paints and c;hemicals asked for a loan of Rs.200 from the
deceased, who promised to give it to him on getting the incentive money. I

The deceased signed an incentive slip, Ex.P-9, and gave it to A
H Panchapakesan and proceeded towards Plant II, where he was working as
JAYARAMAN v. STATE [ANAND, J.] 801

..... an Inspector. The pamphlet relating to the meeting of 18.6.1972, had earlier A
" been distributed by Balaraman PW-22

Earlier at about 3.45 p.nf. on 15.6.1972, A-2, who was working in
Plant II and A-3, a worker in Plant III, came armed with iron rods and
asked PW-22 to stand on the work table and questioned him as to why he B
-( had distributed the pamphlets. At that point of time A-4, a member of the
staff in Plant n, also came there armed with an iron pipe. A-2 told.A-4
that Prathab Chandran was bound to come there on hearing that PW-22
had been made to stand on the table and he called A-5 to A-7 to come
_,_ there so that when Pra!hab ·Chandran comes he should be finished then
f and there, as per the "instructions" of Kuchelar A-1. In the meantime, A-5 c
to A-7 also came there variously armed with iron rods and iron pipes.
•)..-- Prathab Chandran deceased then arrived ~t Plant II and pulled PW-22 by
hand and asked him to get down. A-2 then declared that they knew that
Prathab ·Chandran would come there and that they were waiting for him
· when A-3 shouted that they had decided to finish him. A-2 to A-7, D
thereupon started beating Prathab Chandran with iron rods and iron pipes.
PW-23 and PW-21 intervened to preve"tl.t the assault and they also received
injuries at the hands of A-5 and A-6 respectively with iron rods and iron
pipe. A-2, A-3 and A-6 gave beating to PW-21 also and at that point of
time Prathab Chandran attempted to escape through the western entrance
of Plant II towards Plant III. A-2 to A-7 chased him carrying iron rods and E
'r iron pipes in their hands and exhorting "do away with him-don't leave
(

him". They obstructed Prathab Chandran at the entrance to Plant III when
Munuswamy PW-19 pleaded with them not to beat Prathab Chandran. A-4,
- thereupon, gave _a first blow on the nose of PW-19 while A-6 gave a blow
with iron pipe on his back. Prathab Chandran turned around and ran along F
the road in between Plants II and III. towards the eastern side. He was
chased by A-2 to A-7, and when Prathab Chandran eoter.ed the eastern
~~. entrance to Plant II, A-2 and A-3 obstructed him and gave beating to him
on his head and other parts of the body indiscriminately with th.e iron rods
which they were carrying. A-4 and A-7 then shouted that the supporters
of Pratruib Chandran should also be caught. A-5, however, dropped the G
iron rod be had with him and left the place.. As a result of the beating
received by Prathab Chandrao at the hands of the accu~ed, he fell down.
After Prathab Chandran had fallen down, he was put on a stretcher ~y
A PWs 26 and 27 and taken to the first aid room. At the first aid centre after
rendering first aid to the injured the Medical Officer asked them to rush H
802 SUPREME COURT REPuRTS [1992] 2 S.C.R.

A Pr~thab Chand.ran to the General Hospital. An attempt was made by some _>.-
of the accused persons to -prevent· the removal of Prathab Chand.ran to the
hospital. However, later on, A-5 came there and said that A-1, Kuchelar,
had given permission for the removal of Prathab Chandran to the Hospital,
where he was later on removed in a police van.
B
PW-38, the Industrial Relations Officer in Simpson Group of Com-
panies received a phone call at about 4.30 p.m. on 15.6.1972 from a person
disclosing his identity as Gajendra Babu who informed him that there was
some trouble in Plants II and III at Sembium. and that Prathab Chand.ran
had been beaten by Nadodi Jayaraman, Dilli Bai and three or four others.
C PW-38 was further told by the said Gajendra Babu to make arrangements
for taking Prathab Chand.ran to the Hospital and its was the Industrial
Ralations Officer PW-38 who, thereupon, contacted the Police Control
Room on phone and asked them to rush to the Sembium Simpson Group
of Companies. Ramachandran, PW-41, Head Constable on duty in the
D Police Control Room received a message from PW-38 at 4.34 p.m. from
telephone No.83773 to the effect that the workers in Plants II and III of
· Simpson Company at Sembium were engaged in rioting and immediate
· action might be taken. The _message was recorded in the register and
communication of the information was sent to the higher authorities and
Police Control Room as well. PW-44 Assistant Commissioner (Law and
E Order) Western Range received the message from the Police_ Control
Room at about 4.35 p.m. on 15.6.1972 and rushed to the main entrance of
the Simpson Group of Companies, Sembium reaching there at about 4.45
.· p.m.. He found that there was a crowd of workers comprising about 3000
· workers shouting slogans and they prevented him from entering the
· F · Simpson Estate. At about 5.10 p.m., the Deputy Commissioner of Police,
[Law & Order] North also came there with some additional force but the
crowd still continued to be boisterous and violent. They pelted stones and
.. brick-bats at the police. The Commissioner of Police himself arrived at 6.00
1Gil: imd warned the ~owd that if they failed to ~ve way, he would use
force. A pick up van was thereupon allowed to enter the Simpson Estate
G and it returned with nine injured persons at about 6.30 p.m. Since, the mob
continued to be violent, the Commissioner of Police ordered a mild lathi
charge after the. management had declared that the factory would remain
closed on 15th and 16th of June 1972. Later, in the evening, PW-44 I
A
rounded up 63 persons including A-2, A-4, A-5, and A-7 from amongst tbe
H rioting crowd at about 10.00 p.m. and handed them over to Sub-Inspector
JAYARAMAN v. STAIB [ANAND, J.] 803

of Police, [Law & Order], when he came there in connection with FIR in A
Crime No.919of1972. PW-44 gave a special report, EX-P.42, to Inspector
Kothandap~i of Crime Branch, Madras. PW-46 Inspector Dasaratha
• I
Raman of Crime Branch went to the ESI Hospital along with PW-42 and
PW-40 and found PW-23 and Gajendra Babu in Ward No.11. He recorded
the statement of PW-23 and registered a case in Crime No.919 of 1972 B
relating to FIR Ex.P-45. He directed the arrest of the six accused persons
mentioned in the statement. PW-45 to whom A-2 and A-5 were handed
over by PW-42 took them to the Commissioner's Office at about 1.00 a~m.
on the night intervening 15th and 16th of June 1972 and as they reached
the Commissioner's Office in the van at about 2.00 a.m., A-2 and A-5
jumped from the van and ran towards the canteen inside the C
Commissioner's office with a view to eacape. They were chased and since
they resisted their arrest, force was used and they were over-powered. They
sustained certain injuries in that incident. PW-45 gave the special report
Ex.P-43 for the said incident to the.Inspector and a case was registered in
Crime No.494 of 1972 under Section 224 IPC against A-2 and A-5. The D
injured A-2 and A-5 were taken to Kilpauk Medical College for treatment.

At about 7.30 p.m. on 15.6.1972, PW-33, the Casualty Medical Officer
attached to the General Hospital examined Prathab Chandran and found
him dead. He prepared an injury ,statement and sent the report, Ex.P-16,
to the out-post in the General Ho~pital and sent the body of the deceased E
to the mortuary.

PW-37, Dr. C.B. Gopalakrishnan conducted post-mortem examina-
tion on the dead-body ofPrathab Chandran at about 1.45 a.m. on 16.6.1972,
and found the following injuries of the body of the deceased:
F
1. Transverse laceration over front of right knee 3 x 1 ems.

/'
2. Laceration 2 x 1 ems. oblique over front of middle of right leg.

3. Laceration 4 x 2 ems. bone deep just above front of right ankle.

-
" G
4. Bruising outer aspect of lower portion of middle of right leg 3
x 2 x 1 ems.
5. Bruising of right ankle and foot outer aspect 6 x 3 x 1 ems.

6. Laceration of the left ankle near medial mollelus 3 x 2 x 1 H
804 SUPREME COURT REPORTS . [1992] 2 S.C.R.

A ems. >--
7. Laceration inner aspect of left leg just above the ankle 3 x 2
x 1 ems.
..
8. 2 ems. above injury No.? laceration 4 x 2 x 1 ems.
B
9.

10.
Contusion middle of front of left leg 3 x 2 x 1 ems.

Laceration 4 x 2 ems. bone deep over front of left leg below
>-
-
left knee.
........
c 11: Laceration 3 x 2 ems. bone deep front of left knee. ,,..-
u. Contusion middle of outer aspect of left forearm 2 x 1 x lJ2
~-
ems.
13. Contusion 8 x 2 x 2 ems. middle of .outer aspect of iight arm.
D
14. Contusion 12. x 2 x 1 ems. middle of front of right arm.

15. Laceration. 1-112 x 1 ems. muscle deep outer aspect of right
elbow.

E
~

. 16. ·Bruising of lower portion of right arm_ out aspect 1-1/2 x 1
x 1 ems. ----.,.-
'
11.· Bruising out aspect of middle of right forearm 5 x 3 x 2 ems.

F
18. .Bruising outer aspect of front of right side of chest 3 x 2 x 1
ems.
-
19. 4 ctiis below injury No.18, bruising 2 x 1 x 1 ems.
..,_. _,[.
20. Inegular laceration 3 x 2 ems. bone deep right side of face

G
near right side of nose.
.
21. Laceration frontal region near the inner end of right eyebrow
2 x 1 cnis. bone deep.

22. Laceration back of left ~~ of frontal region 5 x 2 ems. bone '
..A..
deep fissured fracture lll ems. vertical of frontal bone extends
H into base with comminuted fracture ?f left orbital plate.
JAYARAMAN v. STATE [ANAND, J.) . 805

,.._J 23. Laceration 4 x 1 ems. bone deep verticle right temporal region A
' 2 ems. above right ear.
~

2i. Laceration of right occipital region 3 x l ems. muscle deep.

25. Laceration of temporal region just above right ear 1 x 1/2 ems.
· muscle deep. B
~
26. Laceration 3 x 2 ems. muscle deep back and middle of lower
part of right thigh.
._._ 27. Bruising middle of back of right thigh 4 x 2 ems. muscle deep.
·1- c
28. Bruising back of middle of left thigh 5 x 3 ems. muscle deep.
'
.)-
29. Bruising right side of abdomen lower part 3 x 1 ems. muscle
~ deep.

30. Bruising right side of chest 5 x 4 ems. muscle deep. D

31. Bruising of right side of back. extend into front of chest 10 x
4 ems. muscle deep.

,- 32. Bruising top and back of right shoulder 5 x 2 ems. muscle
deep. Edges of the lacerations were contused. Sub .dural
haemorrhage over the whole of left cert?bral hemisphere and
E

base of brain subarachnoid haemorrh~e over left frontal
region.

Post Mortem Certificate, Ex.P-26 was issued by the Doctor who F
opined that the deceased had died due to shock and haemorrhage on
a~unt of multiple injuries and that injury No.22 was sufficient to cause
death in the ordinary course of nature. The rest of the injuries on the.
deceased were found to be simple in nature. The Doctor further ,opined
that subarachnoid haemorrhage over the left frontal region and subdural
.haemorrhage over the whole of the left cerebral hemisphere and the base G
of the brain were the corresponding internal injuries to external injury
No.22. He went on to add that all the injuries could have been caused by
blunt weapon and that death could have oceurred at about 5.10 p.m. on
/~, 15.6.1972 and the injuries sustained at about 4.45 p.ID. The Doctor also
opined that the deceased could have survived for about an hour and might H
806 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992] 2 S.C.R•.

A have become :un.~ous after the receipt of the head injury ie. injury
No.22. The Doctor went on to say that all the injuries on the deceased,
without injury No.22, could not have by themselves caused his death and
that all those injuries might have precipitated his death occasioned by
injury No.22.
B The story as unfolded by the P!Osecution at the trial, thus, goes to >--
show that the occurrence on 15.6.1972 t?ok place in three p~~ The first
part centres around the work table incident in Plant No.II when PW-22
wa-; made to stand on the table and the deceased came there and was
attacked by A-2 to A-7. PWs 21 and 23 had also_ received some beating
C during this part of the incident. The second part, relates to the chase of
Prathab Chandran by A-2 to A-7, as he ran out through the western
I
entrance of Plant II towards Plant III and' re-entered Plant II from the -("
eastern side. The third part of the occurrence concerns the happenings
inside Plant II at the eastern entrance where the deceased Prathab
D Chandran was1 assaulted as a result whereof he had fallen down. All the
_ three parts of the occurrence were sought to be established by the prosecu-
tion by producing more than six eye witnesses. Some of the eye witnesses
deposed only about the first part of the occurrence while the other eye
witnesses deposed about the second and the third part. The learned
Sessions Judge after an appraisal of the evidence relied upon the testimony
E of PWs 19, 21, 22, 25, 26 and 27 to bold that A-2 and A-3 had assaulted
deceased Prathab Chandran on account of their rivalry and that Prathab
Chandran succumbed to the injuries caused by all the accused _persons

-
generally and A-2 and A-3 in particular. The learned Sessions Judge,
however, disbelieved the theory of conspiracy as alleged by the prosecution
F and also discredited the 'exhortations' allegedly uttered by A~ 1 on various
occasions. He also disbelieved the utterances alleged to have been made
by some of the accused during the first and second part of the occurrence
and opined that various utterances had been attributed to the accused
persons with a view to establish criminal conspiracy and that part of the
prosecution evi4ence was only an embellishment. None of the accused were
G found guilty of the injuries alleged to have been caused by them to some
of the prosecution witnesses. The testimony of the prosecution witnesses
was, thus, not accepted in toto. Conviction was recorded only against A-2
and A-3 for an offence under Section 302/34 IPC.

H The Division Bench of the High Court, after reappraisal of the
JAYARAMAN v. STATE [ANAND, J.) 807
evidence and hearing learned counsel for the parties at length, found A
themselves in 'complete agreement' with the learned Sessions Judge in
disbelieving the charge of criminal conspiracy as put up by PWs 4, 7, 10,
20 and 30. The High Court did not agree with the submission made on
behalf of the appellants that the acquittal of A-5 to A-7 of all the charges
was sufficient reason for disbelieving the prosecution witnesses against A-2 B
and A-3 also. After analysing the evidence, the High Court found that
though the learned Sessions Judge was not justified in accepting the plea
of alibi as set up by A-5 but since no appeal had been filed against his
acquittal, the finding of the Sessions Judge with regard to the acquittal of

.....
j
A-5 could not be interfered with. With regard to. the participation of A-6
and A-7 in the assault, the High Court found, contrary !O the findings of C
the Sessions Judge, .that there was enough material on the record to
establish the participation of A-6 and A-7 but again held that since no·
appeal had been preferred against their acquittal, therefore, it was un-
necessary to deal with the question of their participation. The High Court
noticed that the prosecution witnesses were partisan and therefore closely D
scrutinised the evidence of the eye witnesses with a view to determine the
complicity of A-2 and A-3 in the murder of Prathab Chandran deceased.·
The Division Bench relied upon the testimony of PWs 19, 21, 22, 25, 26
and 27 and found:

"absolutely no hesitation in believing the evidence of these E
witnesses, though partisan in character, in as much as they have
come forward with the true picture of the incidents that oc-
curred in Simpson Groups, Sembium on the fateful day."

- The High Court then went on to observe:

"Thus, the evidence let in by the prosecution and discussed
F

above, clearly and clinchingly proves the complicity of the
appellants in the crime. On the basis of the evidence of the
eye-witnesses discussed in the foregoing paragraphs, it can be
safely concluded that it was the appellants who, with iron rods, G
dealt blows on the head of Prathab Chandran at the entrance
of Plant II, which, according to the prosecution is the third part
of the occurrence."

A' and then after discussing the medical evidence confirmed the convic-
tion and sentence imposed upon both the appellants. H
808 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (19'12) 2 S.C.R.

A M/s. N.T. Vanamamalai and R.K. Garg, the learned senior advocate,
~
who have appeared for the appellants before us vehemently argued that
since the main_ charge of conspiracy against all the accused had failed; the
witnesses who had supported that charge could not be believed to sustain "
the conviction of A-2 and A-3. Learned counsel argued that A-2 and A·3
had been falsely implicated, since they were leaders of the rival Union and
B on the basis of material on record their implication with the aid of Section
~ ..;
34 IPC was in fact an attempt to finish the union and the partisan prosecu-
tion witnesses had a motive to falsely implicate them. Learned counsel
_emphasised that the absence of names in the FIR Ex.38 was indicative of
the fact that scope had been tethherein so as to implicate non-assailants ,.....,..
c also and A-2 and A-3, were falsely implicated on account of trade union
x
rivalry. Great emphasis was laid by learned counsel for the appellants on
the partisan character of the eye witnesses and it- was urged that with the
acquittal of A-1 and A-4 to A-7 of all the charges, the conviction of A-2 ~-
and A-3 had also become vulnerable and since the prosecution witnesses
had been disbelieved qua A·l and A-4 to A-7 even with regard to the asault
D
on Pra~ab Chandran, they could not be relied upon to convict the appel·
Iants.

That Prathab Chandran -died on account of the injuries received by
him in the occurrence on 15th June 1972, is not in dispute. It also is not a
E matter of conject,ure to say that the prosecution witnesses are partisan in
character. As a matter of fact, both the learned Sessions Judge as well as --,:
the Division Bench of the High Court were conscious of the fact that the
eye witnesses were partisan in character and it was for that reason that

F
both the courts had scrutinised their evidence closely and in great details
in order to satisfy themselves with regard to the truth or otherwise of their
evidence in so far as the involvement of A-2 and A-3 is concerned. We are
-
in agreement with the appraisal of evidence by the High Court. This Court,
in an appeal by special leave, when the two courts below have concurred
in their conclusions does not ordinarily reassess the eVidence and we, -r- .·
therefore, had to decline the invitation of the learned counsel for the
-----
G appellants to reappraise the entire evidence the third time. We, however,
with a view to satisfy ourselves about the nature of the offence, in the facts
and circumstances of the case, scrutinised those parts of the deposition of
the prosecution witnesses which dealt with the assault on Prathab
Chandran deceased. After going through the relevant evidence and hearing A.
H learned counsel for the parties, we are of the view that the conclusion, with
JAYARAMAN v. STA1E [ANAND, J.]

regard to the assault on the deceased by A-2 and A-3, as recorded by the A
learned Sessions Judge and confirmed by the learned Division Bench is
based on proper appraisal of the evidence and is sound. The High Court
took pains and made conscientious efforts to scrutinise the evidence relat-
ing to the complicity of A-2 and A-3 and rightly rejected the argument that
since some of the co-accused had been acquitted, against whose acquittal B
no appeal had been preferred by the State, the evidence of the prosecution
witnesses so disbelieved could not be relied upon to· sustain the conviction
of A-2 and A-3 either. This Court has time out of number pointed out that
the Maxim falsus in uno falsus in omnibus cannot be mechanically applied
and the mere fact that the evidence of some of the prosecution witenesses
was found unsafe for convicting the co-accused, is by itself no ground for C
rejecting the whole body of their testimony. It only puts the court on its
guard to carefully scrutinise their evidence. As already noticed, we are
·satisfied with the appraisal of evidence by the courts below and find no
reason to doubt the involvement of A-2 and A-3 is so far as the assualt on
Prathab Chandran deceased is concerned.
D
Faced with this situation, learned counsel for the appellants argued
that the conviction of both the appellants for an offence under Section
. 302/.34 IPC was in the facts and circtlmstances of the case· not sustainable.
It was submitted that it could not be said with any amount of certainty that,
the blow given by A-2 or A-3 was by itself fatal or who out of ~e two E

r caused the fatal blow as that the same was caused with the intention of
causing death. It was submitted that though the deceased had s~ered as ·
many as 32 injuries, it was only one injury which had proved fatal according
to the medical opiiiion ~d therefore the appellants could not be attributed
with the intention of Causing such bodily injury either which could cause. F
the death and therefore their conviction for an offence under Section
302134 IPC was not warranted. Learned counsel emphasised that the nature
of inj'1ries, taken as a: vdtole could only clothe A-2 and A-3 with the
intention to give beating t9~·~e.. deceased and~ not with any intention to kill
him and they could be hqa;~cyfor an offtiice under Section 325/34 IPC
only. .· ,,.,_ . G

In cases, where large/ii.umber of persons are iilvolved and in the
commotion injuries are ~used•t9.the prosecution witnesses
and others, it
becomes the duty of thC com't tO detemiine the common intention which 1

could be attributed to those accused who stand convicted, where some of H
810 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992) 2 S.C.R.

A their co-accused stand acquitted and the State chooses not to file any
appeal against their acquittal. With a view to determine the common
intention, the nature of injuries, the background of the incident and the
nature of the weapons used to cause the injuries besides other factors are
required to be properly considered. and appreciated.

B
The manner in which the occurrence in three parts took place has
been adverted to by the prosecution witnesses. They have deposed about
the assault on the deceased in the different parts of the occurrence and
·the role played by A-2 and A-3. According to Gopal Krishnan, PW-21 in
the first part of the occurrence, "all the six of them {accused] beat Prathab
C Chandran alternatively". He then narrated about the chase given to Prathab
Chandran by·a11 the siic accused and stated that at Plant III, A-2 and A-3
gave injuries to the deceased. To the similar effect is the statement of
PW-22 Balaraman, who stated that "these six persons [A-2 to A-7] beat
Prathab Chandran by iron rods and iron pipes and the beating fell on him".
D . He also deposed that at the entrance of gate to Plant No.III, A-2 and A-3
caused injuries to the deceased. K. Krishnan, PW-24, deposed that when
· Pratliab Chandran had .been assaulted by all the accused and ran towards
Plant Ill, he was chased by all of them carrying iron rods and pipes in their
hands. Subramaniam, PW-25, also deposed to the same effect as PW-21.
Ganpatilingam, PW-26, apart from stating that all the six persons A-2 to A-7
E gave beating to the deceased Prathab Chandran and that A-2 and A-3 gave
him beating alternatively, when he entered Plant II also deposed that A-2
.and A-3 had· even threatened those who were trying to carrying the
deceased on a stretcher to the Hospital, which part of the story was rightly
not believed by the courts below. Raman, PW-27; deposed that "the above
F said six persons beat Prathab~handran repeatedly with rods and pipes." He
went on to add that after Prathab Chandran escaped and ran to. Plant III,
-
. the above said six persons having pipes and rods in their hands chased him
shouting "don't spare him, be~t him and kill him." This witness, however,
gave a lie to the .statement of the earlier witnesses when he deposed that
--~-
when he was carrying the stretcher, he was not obstructed by accused A-2
G and A-3. PW-38 R. Vishwanathan, who was the Industrial Relations Office~
of the Simpson Group ·of Companies at the relevant time and was the
person who telephoned the Police ~d set the investigating agency into.
motion, while deposing as to how He was informed on telephone about
the occurrence stated that Gajen~ Babu had telephoned to him and
H said:
JAYARAMAN v. STATE [ANAND, J.) 811

"Nadodi Jayaraman, Delli Bai and three or four workers beat A
Prathab Chandran. When I tried to prevent I was also beaten.
Inform police and make arrangements to take Prathab
Chandran to hospital."

• Gajendra Babu, who telephoned to PW-38, had appeared as a wit-
ness during the inquest proceedings and his statement was recorded, which
B
~
forms a part of tee Inquest Report, Ex.P-46. He had stated that the six
accused had joined together and given beating to Prathab Chandran and that

- J
those who tried to prevent assault on the deceased were also beaten.
Referring to the third part of the occummce, he stated that "again these six
people, pushed Prathab Chandran with iron rods, shouting don't leave him,
kill him".
c
~
From the evidence as noticed above, it emerges that according to the
prosecution case itself the injuries were caused to the deceast:.d Prathab
Chandran not only by A-2 and A-3 but by the other accused also, who D
stand acquitted. In the face of this evidence it cannot be postulated that
the two appellants alone caused all the injuries to the deceased and that
too with the common intention to cause his death. A critical analysis of the
injuries received by the deceased, which have been extracted elsewhere in
the judgment, goes to show that the deceased had suffered 15 lacerations,
E
y- 12 bruises and five contusions. Injuries 1 to 11 had been caused on his legs,
knees, ankle etc., while injuries 26 to 29 were on the thigh and lower part
of the abdomen. Injuries 12 to 11 and 32 had been caused on the forearm,

- elbow and the possibility of those injuries having been received by the
deceased while trying to ward of{ the blows on the vital parts of his body
cannot be ruled out. The remaining injuries were two bruises on the front .F
and on the right side of the chest and two lacerations of 2x 1 ems. near the
-h - right side of the nose and the inner end of the right eyebrow. There were
two lacerations on the right temporal region and one on the right occipital
region. It was only injury No.22 viz. "laceration on the back of the left side
of the frontal region, 5x2 ems. bone deep, fissured fracture 10 ems. vertical G
of frontral bone; extending to base with communated fracture of the left
orbital place'', which was found to be sufficient to cause death in the
ordinary course of nature. According to the medical witness all the injuries,
Aexcept injury No.22, were simple in nature and could not have by themsel-
ves caused death but those injuries could have precipitated the death. H
--.
J""\
812 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992). 2 S.C.R.

A Since, the evidence of the prosecution unmistakably asserts that injuries
had been caused to the deceased by all the six accused and some injuries
had been caused exclusively by A-2 and A-3 alternatively, during the third
part of the occurrence, it cannot be said with certainty that the intention
of the accused was to cause death of Prathab Chandran deceased. This is
B more so because according to the medical evidence the deceased had died
"due to shock and haemorrhage on account of multiple injuries", and
according to the prosecution version all the seven accused had caused the
injuries and not only A-2 and A-3. The accused party was armed according
to· the prosecution evidence, with iron rods and pipes and not "with ·any
other lethal weapon. If the accused had the intention to cause death of the
c deceased, they would have probably come armed with more formidable
weapons. Again, looking to the nature of injuries, which except for injury
No.22, were only simple and no other grievous injury was even caused, it
appears to us that the accused possibly wanted to chastise the deceased
for his trade union activities. The seat of the injuries as also their nature
D fortifies our view. According to the prosecution case itself, after Prathab
Chandran had fallen down in the third part of the incident, none of the
accused took advantage and caused any other injury to him. Most of the
· injuries, as already noticed, were on non-vital parts of the body. From the
evidence and circumstances of. the case, the appellants do not appear to
E have had the intention clusing the death of the deceased or even causirig
such bodily injury as was likely to cause death. They can at the best be
attributed with the knowledge· that their act was likely to cause death or to
cause such bodily injury as was likely to cause death, since a number of
injuries had been caused and injury No.22 was sufficient in the ordinary
F .course of nature to cause death. It is not a5 if A-2 and A-3 alone were
· armed with iron rods and pipes, with which the injuries were caused and
their acquitted co~accused were unarmed. The acquitted co-accused, ac-
, cording to the prosecution evidence, were also armed with irori rods and
pipes and a.s such it would be hazardous to guess as to which blow was
.caltsed by which accused. If common intention to cause death had been
G established in' the case, the prosecution would not have been required to
prove which of the injuries was caused by which accused to sustain the
conviction of the accused with the aid of Section 34 IPC, but in a case like
this, where five of the co-accused stand acquitted and the common inten-
tion ~~ cause death is not established beyond a reasonable doubt, the
H

....I
I
JAYARAMAN v. STATE [ANAND, J.] 813

prosecution must establish the exact nature of the injuries caused to the A
deceased by the accused with a view to sus_tain the conviction of that
accused for inflicting that particular injury. The evidence on the record
does not lead to the conclusion that A-2 and A-3 alone caused all the
injuries to the deceased with the intention to cause his death. The broad
circumstances of the case impel us to hold that the common intention of B
~, A-2 and A-3 was not to cau:;e the death of the victim and therefore neither
of them can be held guilty of the offence under Section 302134 IPC. Since,
the deceased did succumb to the injuries, caused collectively, the appei-
lants can only be held guilty of committing culpable homicide not amount-

- ing to murder. The a~ can be said to have been committed by the accused
with the knowledge that it was likely to cause death or to cause such bodily C
injury as was likely to cause death of Prathab Chandran. Learned counsel
">- _for the appellants have not been able to persuade us to subscribe to the
view that A-2 and A-3 can only be clothed with the intention of causing
grievous hurt, punishable under Section 325/34 IPC. The offence of the
appellants would, in our opinion, squarely fall under Section 304 Part II D
IPC. Thus, setting aside the conviction of the appellants for an offence
under Section 302134 IPC, we alter their conviction and hold them both
I guilty of the offence under Section 304 Part II IPC.

Coming now to the question of sentence. The occurrence took place E
almost twn decades ago, on 15th June 1972. The appellants faced the trial
fand were convicted by the learned Sessions Judge Vide Judgment dated
29th March 1915 and thereafter their appeal against coviction and sente!lce

- remained pending and was dismissed by the High Court on 15th September
1976. Special leave was granted on 1st February 1978, and on 28th Novem-
ber 1978, the appellants were directed to be released on bail vide this
Court's ord(!r made in Criminal Misc. Petition No.2495 of 1978. On behalf
F

of the appellants, we were informed that as under-trial prisoners and
• ~ during the trial and on conviction, each of the appellants had suffered
imprisonment for more than five years. In our opinion, therefore, it is not
now desirable to send the appellants back to jail after they have been on G
bail also for more than a decade and during this period, nothing has been
brought to our notice to show that they had indulged in any criminal
activity. Therefore, while convicting them for the offence under Section 304
i. Part II IPC, we sentence each of the appellants to suffer rigorous imprison-
/'- ment for the period already undergone by them.
I H
814 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992] 2 S.C.R.

A To the limited extent noticed above, both the appeals shall stand
allowed. The appellants need not surrender to the bail bonds which shall ).-
stand discharged.

T.N.A. Appeals allowed.

---
x

-