Supreme Court of India
PONNUSAMYversusSTATE OF TAMIL NADU
- Citation
- 2008 INSC 482
- Decided
- 10 April 2008
- Disposal
- Dismissed
- Bench
- S B SINHA
Holding
A voluntary extra‑judicial confession that leads to the discovery of the victim’s body, when corroborated by circumstantial and forensic evidence, is sufficient to uphold a conviction for murder.
Summary
The appellant, Ponnusamy, was married to Selvi and after a dispute over land she disappeared. He made extra‑judicial confessions to several villagers, admitting that he had murdered her and thrown her body into a canal. Following his confession, the police recovered the decomposed body, which was identified by jewellery, a key, and forensic superimposition. The trial court convicted him under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC based on the confession and circumstantial evidence; the High Court affirmed the conviction. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that the confession was voluntary, led to the discovery of the body, and, together with the circumstantial and forensic evidence, proved the appellant’s guilt. The Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the life sentence and the two‑year sentence for concealing evidence.
Issues considered
- The admissibility and evidentiary value of an extra‑judicial confession.
- Whether the delay in lodging the FIR vitiates the prosecution case.
- Whether circumstantial evidence, including identification of the body, is sufficient to sustain a conviction for murder.
- Whether the absence of a hyoid‑bone fracture negates a finding of strangulation.
- Whether the forensic identification of the body is reliable.
Legislation cited
- Indian Evidence Act, 1872s. 27
- Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 201, s. 302
Subjects
extra‑judicial confessioncircumstantial evidencedelay in FIRidentification of dead bodyhyoid boneforensic identificationmurderIPC 302IPC 201
Judgment
[2008] 6 S.C.R. 303
~
> PONNUSAMY A
v.
STATE OF TAMIL NADU
(Criminal Appeal No. 429 of 2006)
APRIL 10, 2008
B
[S.B. SINHA AND HARJIT SINGH BEDI, JJ.]
--+·
Evidence:
Circumstantial evidence - Extra judicial confession -
Husband killed wife and threw her body in canal - Few days c
later made extra judicial confession - Dead body recovered
from canal on disclosure statement made by him - Mother of
deceased identified dead body- Conviction of husband based
on circumstantial evidence - Justification of:;.. Held: Justified
- Confession of husband led to discovery of facts which show D
his connection with commission of crime - Since wife died in
unnatural circumstances while she was in company of
husband, he was expected to offer explanation thereof- Lack
of explanation would be circumstantial evidence against him
- Also, medical evidence did not negate prosecution case - E
Penal Code, 1860 - s.302.
Medical evidence - Hyoid bone - Absence of fracture in
- Held: Not a proof to show that there was tio strangulation.
Criminal trial - FIR - Delay in filing - Effect on F
""!
prosecution case.
Prosecution case was that the deceased was living
with her mother after she separated from her first husband
PW-9. The appellant demanded 2 acres of land in order to
marry deceased. A deed of gift was executed in favour of G
deceased by her father. As appellant's request for
. ---
registration of property in his name was not acceded to,
he left the house of PW-1 after 3 days of marriage. After a
year he intended to live with deceased. As the deceased
303 H
304 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 6 S.C.R.
A also agreed to the said proposal, they left the house of
PW-1 on 5.3.1997. She was not seen thereafter.
On 10.3.1997, appellant met PW-2 and informed him
that deceased had gone away from his house. The next
day, PW-10 saw appellant at the bus stop. When PW-1 O
8 questioned the deceased's whereabouts, appellant
disclosed that he murdered her on 9.3.1997. He also
confessed before the Village Administrative Officer PW-
18. The police refused to register the FIR against appellant
as the dead body of deceased was not recov~red and
C there was no other evidence with regard to the murder.
The dead body was recovered on 14.3.1997 from
canal. Thereafter, FIR was registered. PW-1 identified the
dead body on the basis of a talisman, which was found
on her hand, .as also on identification of her saree. A key
0
was found tagged in the saree. On enquiry made by PW-
22, in regard to the lock for which the key was used, it
was stated that the lock was fitted to a trunk. The trunk
was brought. The key was fitted in the lock of the trunk. It
opened with the said key. PW-18, the Village
E Administrative Officer, in the meantime took the appellant
.to the Tahsildar, PW-19. Not only he confessed that he
had murdered his wife and thrown the dead-body in the
canal but also produced a 'thali chain' , M.0. 1 and ear
rings, M.0.2 belonging to the deceased. Confessional
F statement of the appellant was reduced into writing.
Sessions Court convicted appellant on the basis of
·circumstantial evidence. High Court upheld the
convic:tion. Hence the present appeal.
Dismissing the appeal, the Court
G
HELD: 1. Indisputably, some delay took place in
lodging the FIR. Till 11.3.1997, PW-1 or PW-2, were not l •
sure about the death of the deceased. Only when an extra
judicial confession was made by the appellant, an attempt
H was made to lodge a FIR by PW-1. The contention that
PONNUSAMY v. STATE OF TAMIL NADU 305
the statement to the said effect, purported to have been A
made, by PW-1 should not be relied upon as no officer
from the police station had been examined to establish
the said fact, cannot be accepted for more than one
reason. PW1 is a rustic villager. She is an illiterate lady.
According to her, she had been turned away from the B
police station on the premise that no dead body was
--+ recovered or there being no other evidence relating to her
death. No exception to such a statement can be taken.
The courts cannot be oblivious of such conduct on the
part of the police officers. Apathy on the part of the police c
officers to accept complaints promptly is well known
phenomena. [Paras 13, 14] [313-D, E, F, G]
2. Voluntary statement made by the appellant to PW-
2 on 10.3.1997 that the deceased had been missing was
found by both the courts below to be untrue. They were D
searching for the deceased earlier but without success.
Only on the disclosure statement made by the appellant
before PW-10· and the police officer having refused to
· record the FIR, search was made for the body on the bank
of the canal. The Investigating Officer, Village E
. Administrative officer as also other prosecution witnesses
, clearly proved the discovery of a dead body. Identification
of the dead body on the basis of the manglasutra, saree
as also the silver ring on the toe of the deceased is not in
dispute. Significantly, a key was also recovered. PW-22, a F
responsible officer, with a view to satisfy himself as
rega~ds the identity of the dead body, with reference to
the key tied at the end of the saree, asked PW-2 to bring
the trunk and found it to be of the lock put on the said
trunk. [Paras 12, 14] [313-C, D; 314-A, B, CJ
G
3.1 The Chemical Examiner opined that during
superimposition, it was observ.ed that the skull could very
well belong to the female individual seen in the
photograph. The said report has been proved. Its veracity
is not disputed. There is no cogent reason to doubt its H
306 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 6 S.C.R.
A correctness thereof. Appellant is said to have thrown the
dead-body in the canal. The fact that there was sufficient "'
water in the canal has also been established. In a situation
of this nature, a presumption about the knowledge of the
appellant in regard to location of the dead body of
B deceased can be drawn. His confession led to a discovery
of fact which had a nexus with commission of a crime.
[Paras·15,16] [314-F, G, H; 315-A)
3.2. It is true that the autopsy surgeon, PW-17, did
not find any fracture on the hyoid bone. Existence of such
c a fracture lead to a conclusive prooi" of strangulation but
absence thereof does not prove contra. [Para 20) [316-C]
Taylor's Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence
Thirteenth Edition, pages 307-308; 'Journal of Forensic
Sciences' Volume 41; Modi's 'Medical Jurisprudence and
D
Toxicology' Twenty-Third Edition at page 584 - referred to.
3.3. The dead-body was decomposed with maggots
all over it. Other marks of strangulation which could have
been found were not to be found in this case. The dead
E body was found after a few days. Therefore, medical
evidence does not negate the prosecution case. [Para
25] [319-A, BJ
4. Ordinarily if wife was found missing, the husband
would search for her. If she has died in an unnatural
F situation when she was in his company, he is expected
to offer an explanation therefor. Lack of such explanation
on the part of the appellant itself would be a circumstantial
evidence against him. [Para 18] [315-F, G]
State of Maharashtra v. Suresh (2000) 1 SCC
G
471; Trimukh Maroti Kirkan v. State of Maharashtra (2006) 10
SCC 681; Raj Kumar Prasad Tamarkar vs. State of Bihar and
Anr. (2007) 1 SCALE 19 - relied on.
5. There cannot be any doubt that extra judicial
). .
H
PONNUSAMY v. STATE OF TAMIL NADU 307
[S.S. SINHA, J.]
• >- confession is evidence of weak nature. However, not only A
an extra judicial confession was made by the appellant
before PW-10, the same was also made before PW-11. The
jewellery which had been put on by the deceased was
produced by the appellant. Only upon the disclosure made
by the appellant that the dead body had been thrown in B
the canal, a search was made and it was found. The dead
--1· body was also identified to be that of the deceased. There
is no reason to differ with the findings of the trial Judge
as also the High Court that the extra judicial confession
was voluntary or truthful. [Paras 26, 28] [319-B, C, D, E, F;
320-C, D]
c
I
Ku/dip Singh and Anr. v. State of Punjab (2002) 6 SCC
757; Vinayak Shivajirao Pol v. State of Mahasrashtra (1998)
2 sec 233 - relied on.
CRIMINALAPPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal D
No. 429 of 2006.
From the final Judgment and Order dated 23.06.2005 of
the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Crl. A. No. 937/1998
A.TM. Rangaramanujam, V. Balaji and P.N. Ramalingam E
for the Appellant.
R. Shunmugasundaram, V.G. Pragasam, S. Joseph
Aristotle and Prabu Ramasubramanian for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by F
....., S.B. SINHA, J. 1. This appeal is directed against the
judgment and order dated 23rd June, 2005 passed by a Division
Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Criminal
Appeal No. 937 of 1998 whereby and whereunder an appeal
from a judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the 1st G
Additional District Judge-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate, Erode
dated 12th October, 1998 in S.C. No. 93of1998 convicting the
··~ appellant herein for commission of an offence under Section
302 of the Indian Penal Code as also under Section 201 thereof
and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life H
308 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 6 S.C.R.
A and two years respectively, was dismissed.
2. Deceased Selvi was the wife of the appellant. She was
earlier married to one Easwaran, PW-9. Allegedly Easwaran
had married one Balamani and after divorcing her, he married
the deceased. He, however, continued to have relations with
8 Baiamani. He purported to have divorced Balamani by a letter.
The deceased was living with her mother Ramathal, PW-1.
Appellant thereafter married the deceased. He had been
informed, about the fact of the earlier marriage of the deceased.
He agreed to the proposal of marriage but wanted two acres of
C land. A Deed of Gift in favour of the deceased was executed by
her father. Appellant wanted the same to be registered in his
name. His request was not acceded to. He left the house of
PW-1 after three days of marriage. A year thereafter, he intended
to live with the deceased and approached Thangavel, PW-2,
D therefor. As the deceased also agreed to the said proposal,
they left the house of PW-1 on 5th March, 1997. She was not
seen thereafter. Allegedly in the morning of 10th March, 1997,
the appellant met PW-2 and informed him that the deceased
had gone away from his house on that date. A search for her
E was carried out. On the next date, the appellant was seen at the
Sevoor bus stop. Kannan Naicker, PW-10 was also present
there. He asked the appellant and questioned the deceased's
whereabouts, in response whereto he allegedly disclosed that
he had murdered her on 9th March, 1997. PW-10 allegedly
F bec::ime panicky. He became sick. He then requested
Arunachalam@ Mani, PW-11, to take him to a doctor. When
they returned from the doctor's clinic, they found the appellant
in the office of the Village Administrative Officer, PW-18. He
purported to have made a confession again before PW-18 that
G he had murdered Selvi before PW-18. He also had a packer of
paper in his hand.
3. PW-10 then requested PW-11 to inform PVV-2 about
the matter. On receiving the said information an attempt was
made to lodge a First Information Report at Sathyarnangalam
H police station. The First Information Report was refused to be
PONNUSAMY v. STATE OF TAMiL N,A.DLJ 309
[S.B. SINHA, J.]
,f
registered thereat in the absence of any dead body or any other A
evidence with regard to the murder. A search was conducted
for the dead body. On the bank of L.B.P. canal dead body was
found on 14th March, 1997 which fell within the jurisdiction of
Kadathur police station. A complaint was made before
Ramasamy, Inspector of Police, PW-13, at 10.30 a.m. on the B
same day, whereupon a First Information Report was registered
under Section 302 and Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
Investigation was taken up by PW-22, the Deputy
Superintendent of Police of Gobichettipalayam.
4. PW-1 identified the dead body on the basis of a C
talisman, which was found on her hand, as also on identification
of her saree. A key was found tagged in the saree. The key was
removed. On a query enquiry made by PW-22, in regard to the
lock for which the key was used, it was stated that the lock was
fitted to a trunk. The trunk was brought. The key was fitted in the D
lock of the trunk. It was opened with the said key.
5. An inquest was conducted. The dead body was also
subjected to postmortem examination. In the said report it was
stated :-
E
"Highly decomposed with maggots all over the body. Teeth
1/3 nose, eye, mouth absent. Thorax : No fracture ribs.
Heart : Partially decomposed: Lungs '. Decomposed.
Hyoid Bone : Intact. Stomach, Liver, Spleen and Kideny :
Partially liquefied with greenish discolouration. Intestine, F
Bladder and Uterus : Partially decomposed. Head : No
fracture skull. Brain : Completely liquefied."
6. PW-18, the Village Administrative Officer, in the
meantime took the appellant to the Tahsildar, PW-19. Not only
he confessed that he had murdered his wife and thrown the G
dead-body in the canal but also produced a 'thali chain', M.O. 1
and ear rings, M.0.2 belonging to the deceased. Confessional
statement of the appellant was reduced into writing. He was
thereafter produced before the Judicial Magistrate.
H
310 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 6 S.C.R.
~
~
A 7. Admittedly, there was no eye witness to the occurrence.
8. The entire prosecution case is based on circumstantial
evidence. The Learned Sessions Judge in his judgment found
the following circumstances to arrive at his conclusion with
regard to the guilt of the appellant. :-
B
1) Deceased was last seen in his company on 5th
March, 1997.
2) She was not seen in anybody else's company
between 5th March, 1997 and 10th March, 1997.
c
3) Appellant made an extra judicial confession not only
before PW-2 but also before PWs. 10 & 18.
4) On the basis of his confession that the dead body
had been thrown in L.B.P. canal a search for the
D dead body was made and recovered.
5) Dead body was that of a female. It was identified to
be that of the deceased with reference to the
manglasutra and some other jewellery which were
found on her person. Photograph of the deceased
E was superimposed on the photograph of the dead-
body and it was found to be that of her.
6) Appellant produced the belongings of the deceased
before the Village Administrative Officer, PW-18,
F which admittedly belonged to her.
9. The appeal preferred thereagainst by the appellant has
been dismissed by the High Court by reason of the impugned
judgment.
10. Mr.A.TM. Rangaramanajam, learned Senior Counsel
G
appearing on behalf of the appellant, in support of the appeal
would submit:- ). .
1) It was improbable that the appellant had confessed
his guilt before PW-2.
H
PONNUSAMY v. STATE OF TAMIL NADU 311
f .>-·
[S.S. SINHA, J.)
2) The purported extra judicial confession by the A
appellant before PW-10 should not be relied upon,
having regard to the latter's conduct, inasmuch, he
did not report thereabout to the police on the pretext
of his becoming sick in respect of which no material
was brought on record. B
3) Post-mortem report clearly established that the body
recovered was in a highly decomposed stage which
was, thus, not in a position to be identified, and, in·
that view of the matter, the corpus delicti having not
b_een proved, the impugned judgment cannot be c
.sustained.
4) No fracture having been found on hyoid bone, it is
evident that the deceased did not die of strangulation
which was the positive case of the prosecution.
D
.....
5) No explanation having been furnished for the delay
in lodging the First Information Report, the entire
prosecution case is suspicious.
6) Conduct of the prosecution witnesses and in
particular that of PW-1, PW-2 and PW-10 is such, E
that would lead to the conclusion that they are not
trustworthy witnesses.
7) Extra judicial confession, in any event, being a weak
evidence, it was obligatory on the part of the F
prosecution to lead evidence corroborating thereto.
8) Extra judicial confession in any event being contrary
to or inconsistent with the medical report, it would
not be safe to rely thereupon.
G
10. Mr. R. Shunmugasundaram, learned Senior Counsel
·:.,. appearing on behalf of the State, on the other hand urged :-
1) The dead body having been identified with reference
to manglasutra, key and saree, the courts below
rightly held that the dead-body was that of the H
312 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 6 S.C.R.
A deceased 'Selvi'.
2) The jewellery items which were handed over by the
appellant himself in a packet, were identified by PW-
1 when she was afforded an opportunity to do so.
B 3) It is not correct to contend that PW-10, despite extra
judicial confession made before him, did not take
any step in that behalf as he had immediately sent
PW-·11, Mani, to inform PW-2 thereabout. It is
thereafter only, that they went to the police station.
C 4) Sufficient explanation had been offered by PW-1, in
regard to the delay in lodging of the First Information
Report, having regard to the fact that
Sathyamangalam police station had refused to record
the First Information Report in the absence of the
D dead body and/or any other record. A First Information
Report was lodged only after the dead body was
seen and identified with reference to the talisman,
M.0.4; key, M.O. 5 and the silver ring which was
found on her toe.
E 5) Thiru Devarajan, who examined himself as PW-22,
and was working as Deputy Superintendent of Police,
was a witness to the identification of the dead-body
to be that of Selvi from the ninji, "dayath" tied on the
hand and from the key tied to the end of the saree.
F Only at his instance, the trunk was brought and the
lock opened with the key.
6) Requisition, Ext.P.3, was made by the
Superintendent of the police for chemical test and
the Chemical Text Report, Ext.P.5 categorically
G
established the identity of the deceased.
7) Absence of fracture on the hyoid bone itself would ~•
not lead to the conclusion that the deceased did not
die of strangulation as medical jurisprudence
H suggests that only in a fraction of such cases, a
PONNUSAMY v. STATE OF TAMIL NADU 313
#
,. [S.8. SINHA, J.]
fracture of hyoid bone is found. A
11. The. relationship of the appellant with that of the
deceased is not in dispute. That they were married and
immediately thereafter started living in the house of P-1 is also
not denied or disputed. It further stands established that PW-2
is the husband of Rukmani, another daughter of PW-1. It has B
also not been disputed that the deceased was earlier married
to Easwaran, PW-9. The prosecution has also brought on record
a Deed of Gift dated 25th January, 1996 executed by the husband
of PW-1 in favour of the deceased. There is also no serious
dispute that the appellant did not maintain any relationship with c
the deceased for about a year. They were last seen together on
5th March, 1997, when they travelled together from the house of
PW-1.
12. Voluntary statement made by the appellant to PW-2
D
on 10th March, 1997 that she had been missing was found by
both the courts below to be untrue.
13, Indisputably, some delay took place in lodging the First
Information Report. Till 11th March, 1997 PW-1 or for that matter
PW-2, was not sure about the death of the deceased. Only when E
an extra judicial confession was made by the appellant, an
attempt was made to lodge a First Information Report.
14. The contention of the learned counsel that the statement
to the said effect, purported to have been made, by PW-1 should
not be relied upon as no officer from the police station had been F
examined to establish the said fact, cannot be accepted for more
than one reason. PW1 is a rustic villager. She is an illiterate
lady. According to her, she had been turned away from the police
station on the premise that no dead body was recovered or
there being no other evidence relating to her death. No exception G
to such a statement can be taken. The courts cannot be oblivious
~~ of such conduct on the part of the police officers. Apathy on the
part of the police officers to accept complaints promptly is well
known phenomena.
H
314 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 6 S.C.R.
A They were searching for the deceased earlier but without
success. Only on the disclosure statement made by the appellant
before PW-10 and the police officer at Sathyamangalam police
station having refused to record the First Information Report,
they started searching for the body on the bank of the canal.
B The Investigating Officer, Village Administrative officer as also
other prosecution witnesses , clearly proved the discovery of a
dead body. Identification of the dead body on the basis of the
manglasutra, saree as also the sliver ring on the toe of the
deceased is not in dispute. Significantly, a key was also
c recovered. PW-22, a responsible officer, with a view to satisfy
himself as regards the identity of the dead body, with reference
to the key tied at the end of the saree, asked PW-2 to bring the
trunk and found it to be of the lock put on the said trunk.
15. Attempts on the part of the prosecution to establish
D identity of the dead body to be that of the deceased did not
stop there. It was sent for opinion of a Chemical Examiner. It
was opined:-
"During superimposition, the following observations were
made:-
E
a) The anthroposcopic land mark on the fact in item 1
and those on the skull item 2 fitted fairly well.
b) The outline of the face in item 1 and the outline of
skull item 2 were found to be in fair congruence.
F
OPINION
The skull item 2 could very well have belonged to the female
individual seen in photograph item 1."
G The said report has been proved. Its' veracity is not
disputed before us. We do not find any cogent reason to doubt
its correctness thereof. i.. •
16. Appellant is said to have thrown the dead-body in the
canal. The fact that there was sufficient water in the canal has
H also been established. In a situation of this nature, a presumption
PONNUSAMY v. STATE OF TAMIL NADU 315
[S.B. SINHA, J.]
~ }
about the knowledge of the appellant in regard to location of the A
dead body of 'Selvi' can be drawn. His confession led to a
''
~
discovery of fact which had a nexus with commission of a crime.
17. This Court in State ofMahasrashtra vs. Suresh: (2000)
1 sec 471 opined :-
B
~ "26. We too countenance three possibilities when an
accused points out the place where a dead body or an
incriminating material was concealed without stating that
it was conceded by himself. One is that he himself would
have concealed it. Second is that he would have seen c
somebody else concealing it. And the third is that he would
have been told by another person that it was concealed
there. But if the accused declines to tell the criminal court
that his knowledge about the concealment was on account
of one of the last two possibilities the criminal court can
D
presume that it was concealed by the accused himself.
This is because accused is the only person who can offer
the explanation as to how else he came to know of such
concealment and if he chooses to refrain from telling the
court as to how else he came to know of it, the presumption
is a well justified course to be adopted by the criminal E
court that the concealment was made by himself. Such an
interpretation is not inconsistent with the principle
embodied in Section 27 of the Evidence Act.
18. We have to consider the factual background of the F
....,.,
present case in the light of the relationship between the parties.
If his wife was found missing, ordinarily, the husband would
search for her. If she has died in an unnatural situation when she
was in his company, he is expected to offer an explanation
therefor. Lack of such explanation on the part of the appellant
G
itself would be a circumstantial evidence against him.
~~ 19. In Trimukh Maruti Kirkan vs. State of Maharashtra :
(2006) 10 sec 681, it was observed:-
"22. Where an accused is alleged to have committed the
H
316 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 6 S.C.R.
A murder of his wife and the prosecution succeeds in leading
evidence to show that shortly before the commission of
crime they were seen together or the offence takes placed
in the dwelling home where the husband also normally
resided, it has been consistently held that if the accused
B does not offer any explanation how the wife received injuries
or offers an explanation which is found to be false, it is a
strong circumstance which indicates that he is responsible
for commission of the crime.
[See also Raj Kumar Prasad Tamarkar vs. State of Bihar
C and another : 2007 (1) SCALE 19].
20. It is true that the autopsy surgeon, PW-17, did not find
any fracture on the hyoid bone. Existence of such a fracture lead
to a conclusive proof of strangul::ition but absence thereof does ,
not prove contra.
0
In Taylor's Principles and Practice of Medical
Jurisprudence, Thirteenth Edition, pages 307-308, it is
stated :-
" The hyoid bone is 'U' shaped and composed of five
E
parts : the body, two greater and two lesser horns. It is
relatively protected, lying at the root of the tongue where
the body is difficult to feel. The greater horn, which can be
felt more easily, lies behind the front part of the strip-
muscles (sternomastoid}, 3 cm below the angle of the
F lower jaw and 1.5 cm from the mid line. The bone ossifies
from six centres, a pair for the body and one for each horn.
The greater horns are, in early life, connected to the body
by cartilage but after middle life they are usually united by
bone. The lesser horns are situated close to the junction
G of the greater horns in the body. They are connected to the
body of the bone by fibrous tissue and occasionally to the
greater horns by synovial joints which usually persist ).."'
throughout life but occasionally become ankylosed.
Our own findings suggest that although the hardening of
H
PONNUSAMY v. STATE OF TAMIL NADU 317
[S.S. SINHA, J.]
I. r the bone is related to age there can be considerable A
variation and elderly people sometimes show only slight
ossification.
From the above consideration of the anatomy it will be
. appreciated that while injuries to the body are unlikely, a
grip high up on the neck may readily produce fractures of B
~- the greater horns. Sometimes it would appear that the
local pressure from the thumb causes a fracture on one
side only.
While the amount of force in manual strangulation would c
often appear to be greatly in excess of that required to
cause death, the application of such force, as evidenced
by extensive external and soft tissue injuries, make it
uriusual to find fractures of the hyoid bone in a person
under the age of 40 years.
D
As stated, even in older people in which ossification is
incomplete, considerable violence may leave this bone
intact. This view is confirmed by Green. He gives
interesting figures : in 34 cases of manual strangulation
the hyoid was fractured in 12 (35%) as compared with the E
classic paper of Gonzales who reported four fractures in
24 cases. The figures in strangulation by ligature show
that the percentage of hyoid fractures was 13. Our own
figures are similar to those of Green."
22. In 'Journal of Forensic Sciences' Volume 41 under the F
"\ Title- Fracture of the Hyoid Bone in Strangulation : Comparison
of Fractured and Unfractured Hyoids from Victims of
Strangulation, it is stated :-
''The hyoid is the U-shaped bone of the neck that is fractured
G
in one-third of all homicides by strangulation. On this basis,
postmortem detection of hyoid fracture is relevant fo the
....~ diagnosis of strangulation. However, since many cases
lack a hyoid fracture, the absence of this finding does not
exclude strangulation as a cause of death. The reasons
H
318 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 6 S.C.R
A why some hyoids fracture and others do not may relate to
the nature and magnitude of force applied to the neck,
age of the victim, nature of the instrument (ligature or hands)
used to strangle, and intrinsic anatomic features of the
hyoid bone. We compared the case profiles and
B xeroradiographic appearance of the hyoids of 20 victims
of homicidal strangulation with and without hyoid fracture
(n = 10, each). The fractured hyoids occurred in older
victims of strangulation (39 ± 14 years) when compared
to the victims with unfractured hyoids (30 ± 10 years). The
c age-dependency of hyoid fracture correlated with the
degree of ossification or fusion of the hyoid
synchondroses. The hyoid was fused in older victims of
strangulation (41 ± 12 years) whereas the unfused hyoids
were found in the younger victims (28 ± 10 years). In
addition, the hyoid bone was ossified or fused in 70% of
D
all fractured hyoids, but, only 30% of the unfractured hyoids
were fused. The shape of the hyoid bone was also found
to differentiate fractured and unfractured hyoids. Fractured
byoids were longer in the anterior-posterior plane and
were more steeply sloping when compared with
E unfractured hyoids. These data indicate that hyoids of
strangulation victims, with and without fracture, are
distinguished by various indices of shape and rigidity. On
this basis, it may be possible to explain why some victims
of strangulation do not have fractured hyoid bones."
F
23. Mr. Rangaramanajam, however, relied upon Modi's
'Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology', Twenty-Third Edition
at page 584 wherein a difference between hanging and
strangulation has been stated. Our attention in this connection
G has been drawn to point No.12 which reads as under :-
Hanging Strangulation
Fracture of the larynx and Fracture of the larynx and
trachea - Very rare and that trachea - Often found also
too in judicial hanging. hyoid bone.
H
PONNUSAMY v. STATE OF TAMIL NADU 319
[S.B. SINHA, J.]
24. A bare perusal of the opinion of the learned Author by A
Jt itself does not lead to the conclusion that fracture of hyoid bone,
is a must in all the cases.
25. We must also take into consideration the fact that the
dead-body was decomposed with maggots all over it. Other
marks of strangulation which could have been found were not to B
be found in this case. The dead body was found after a few
~ days. We are, therefore, of the opinion that medical evidence
does-not negate the prosecution case .
. 26. There cannot be any doubt that extra judicial confession c
is evidence of weaks nature as has been held in Ku/dip Singh
and another vs. State of Punjab : (2002) 6 SCC 757
However, it must also be noticed that therein, not only the
confession made by the appellant was found to be unbelievable,
even the recovery of the dead body, pursuant to the disclosure D
statement made, was also found to be so. There was no other
evidence oh record on the basis of which the conviction of the
~
appellant could be sustained.
In this case, however, not only an extra judicial confession
was made by the appellant before PW-10; the same was also E
made before PW-11. The jewellery which had been put on by
l......_
the deceased was produced by the appellant. Only upon the
disclosure made by the appellant that the dead body had been
thrown in the canal, a search was made and it was found. The
dead body was also identified to be that of the deceased.
27. In Vinayak Shivajirao Pol vs. State of Mahasrashtra :
F
(1998) 2 SCC 233 this Court opined :-
"10. There is no ambiguity in the above statement. It shows
that the appellant killed his wife. Both the Courts have G
found that the statement was made voluntarily by the
appellant. The sequence of events shows that at the time
)~
when the appellant made a confession, neither he nor the
military authorities had any knowledge of the recovery of
the headless trunk of the appellant's wife. The military H
320 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008) 6 S.C.R.
A authorities were in no way biased or inimical to the ~
appellant. Nothing is brought out in the evidence in respect
of the military officers which may indicate that they had a
motive for attributing an untruthful statement to the
appellant. The statement has been proved by one of the
B officers to whom it was made. The said officer has been
examined as PW 32. A perusal of the evidence shows
that the vague plea raised by the appellant that the ):-
statement was obtained from him on inducement and
promise is not true. In such circumstances it is open to the
c Court to rest its conclusion on the basis of such statement
and no corroboration is necessary."
28. WE! have been taken through the evidence of PW-10
and PW-18. We have no reason to differ with the findings of the
learned trial Judge as also the High Court that the extra judicial
D confession was voluntary or truthful. We, therefore, are of the
opinion that no case has been made out for interference with
the impugned judgment. The appeal fails and is dismissed
accordingly.
D.G. Appeal dismissed.
E
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