SAYED DARAIN A.HSAN @ DARAINversusSTATE OF WEST BENGAL & ANR.

                        [2012] 2 S.C.R. 546


A              SAYED DARAIN A.HSAN @ DARAIN
                                  v.
               STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ANR.
               (Criminal Appeal No. 1195 of 2006)

                         MARCH 22, 2012
B
        [A.K. PATNAIK AND SWATANTER KUMAR, JJ.]

        IND/AN PENAL CODE, 1860:

c      s.302134 - Victim stated to have been shot dead by 8-10
  persons - Two accused prosecuted and convicted and
  sentenced to life - One of the accused filing the appeal - Held:
  High Court has rightly sustained the conviction of the
  appellant on the evidence of four eyewitnesses as
0 corroborated by the medical evidence.
        EVIDENCE:

       !Expert evidence - Oral testimony that 8-10 persons 'fired
  at the victim from their revolvers - From the dead body, one
E 303 rifle bullet recovered - Held: FSL report is clear that the
  fire aims used by the appellant and his associates were
  improvised firearms capable of firing .303 rifle cartridges -
  Considering the evidence on record and the opinions of
  experts, there is no doubt that the deceased has not been
F shot by a rifle from a long distance but by improvised or
  country-made handguns capable of firing .303 rifle cartridges
  from a short distance.

        Te§t Identification parade - Failure to conduct TIP - Held:
  Appellant and the four eyewitnesses belonged to the same
G locality and the eyewitnesses knew the appellant before the
  incident and were able to immediately identify the appellant
  at the time of the incident - It is only if the appellant was a
  stranger to the eyewitnesses that test identification parade
  wo1.1/d have been necessary at the time of investigation.
H                                546
 SAYED DARAIN AHSAN@ DARAIN v. STATE OF                 547
          WEST BENGAL & ANR.
    CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, 1973:                           A
     s.313 - Examination of accused - Plea that FSL report
was not put to accused in his examination uls 313 - Held: The
evidence of 10 was recorded by the court in the presence of
the appellant and the FSL report was marked as Ext. 14 and
the court had also put it to the appellant during his
                                                               8
examination that the seized articles were sent to the Forensic
Science Laboratory, yet the appellant has stated in his reply
before the court that he was not aware - Thus, although the
content of the said report was not put to the appellant in his
examination uls 313, Cr.P.C., the appellant was not in any way C
prejudiced - Penal Code, 1860 - s.302134.

     The appellant and another accused were charged
with an offence punishable uls 302134 IPC. The
prosecution case was that at about 9.45 P.M. on                 o
11.2.2001, the victim was encircled by 8-10 persons and
shot dead. PWs 3,4, 5 and 7, who were the local
residents, identified the two accused. The trial court
convicted and sentenced them to imprisonment for life
uls 302/34 IPC. The High Court dismissed the appeal filed       E
by the appellant.

     In the instant appeal, it was, inter alia, contended for
the appellant that the ocular evidence of PWs 3, 4, 5 and
7 being inconsistent with the medical evidence, ought
not to have been relied upon, as the witnesses deposed          F
before the court that the appellant and his associates all
fired at the deceased from their revolvers, but the medical
evidence revealed that the deceased had sustained only
one bullet injury and the bullet recovered from the dead
body was that of a .303 rifle. The case of the appellant was    G
that 'R', the younger brother of the deceased, got him
killed for the property and set up his (R's) friends as
witnesses against the appellant and, therefore, all the
eye-witnesses being interested witnesses should not
have been believed.                                             H
    548       SUPREME COURT REPORTS           [2012] 2 S.C.R.


A         Dismissing the appeal, the Court

         HELD: 1.1 The consistent version of all the four
    eyewitnesses, namely PW-3, PW-4, PW-5 and PW-7 is that
    the appellant and his associates fired at the deceased.
    PW-12, the doctor who carried out the post mortem on
8   the dead body, stated that in his opinion the death was
    due to the effects of gun shot injury which was ante-
    mortem and homicidal in nature. This obviously refers to
    injury No.7. Regarding injury No.6, he has stated that it
    was not possible for him to say that the injury was
C   caused by grazing by the bullet or not. Thus the medical
    evidence is also clear that the death of the deceased was
    caused by a bullet injury. The medical evidence clearly
    supports and does not contradict the ocular evidence of
    PW-3, PW-4, PW-5 and PW-7 that the deceased was killed
D   by the gun shots fired by the appellant and his
    associates. In the facts of the instant case the, medical
    evidence does not go so far as to rule out all possibility
    of the ocular evidence being true. Hence, the ocular
    evidence cannot be disbelieved. [para 7-9] [557-E-F; 558-
E   E-F; 559-D]

      Abdul Sayeed vs. State of Madhya Pradesh 2010 (13)
              =
  SCR 311 (2010) 10 SCC 259; Ram Narain Singh vs. State
  of Punjab 1976 (1) SCR 27 = (1975) 4 SCC 497; State of
  Haryana vs. Bhagirath 1999 (3) SCR 529 = (1999) 5 SCC 96;
F Solanki Chimanbhai Ukabhai vs. State of Gujarat (1983) 2
  SCC 174; Mani Ram vs. State of UP. 1994 (1) Suppl. SCR
  63 = (1994 Supp (2) SCC 289; Khambam Raja Reddy vs.
  Public Prosecutor 2006 (6) Suppl. SCR 446 = (2006) 11 SCC
  239; State of UP. vs. Dinesh 2009 (2) SCR 1175 = (2009)
G 11 SCC 566; and State of UP~ vs. Hari Chand 2009 (7) SCR .
    149 = (2009) 13 sec 542 - relied on

      1.2 Though according to the eyewitnesses the
  assailants had fired from revolvers, the FSL report dated
H 04.06.2001 is clear that the fire arms used by the appellant
  SAYED DARAIN AHSAN@ DARAIN v. STATE OF               549
           WEST BENGAL & ANR.
and his associates were improvised firearms capable of A
firing .303 rifle cartridges. Considering the evidence on
record and the opinions of experts there is no doubt that
the deceased has not been shot by a rifle from a long
distance but by improvised or country-made handguns
capable of firing .303 rifle cartridges from a short B
distance. PW-3 has described these as guns, whereas ,
PW-5 has described these as revolvers because he has
not been able to distinguish a revolver from a country-
made handgun. PW-4 and PW-7 are silent on whether the
appellant and his associates have used guns or revolvers. c
Some of these eyewitnesses have said that all the
assailants fired but they could not have known how many
projectiles were actually ejected from these defective
improvised firearms as a result of firing. One bullet has
been recovered from the occipital region of the deceased 0
and another bullet and an empty cartridge have been
recovered from the place of occurrence. Therefore, the
fact that the other bullets were not recovered either from
the body of the deceased or from the place of occurrence
does not belie the prosecution story that the appellant
and his associates fired and killed the deceased. (para 10 E
and 12] [559-D-E; 560-E; 561-B-E]

    Firearms in Criminal Investigation & Trials Fourth
Edition by Dr. B.R. Sharma published by the Universal
Law Publishing Co. - referred to.                             F

     1.3 There is no material on record to support the plea
that 'R', the younger brother of the deceased, had actually
killed him and had set up the witnesses against the
appellant and that PW-3, PW-4, PW-5 and PW-7 were             G
directly or indirectly connected with him and were all
interested witnesses. At the time of the incident, PW-3 and
PW-4 were chatting separately and PW5 and PW-7 were
gossiping in front of the shop of PW-6 near the place of
occurrence. All the four eyewitnesses were of the locality
in which the incident took place and their evidence           H
   550     SUPREME COURT REPORTS            [2012] 2 S.C.R.


A would show that they have stated whatever they have
  actually observed. Although, during cross examination
  the defence has suggested to these witnesses that their
  evidence implicating the appellant is false, the defence
  has not been able to create a reasonable doubt about the
B veracity of their evidence. Therefore, it cannot be
  accepted that the four eyewitnesses were directly or
  indirectly connected with the younger brother of the
  deceased and had implicated the appellant for the
  offence at his instance and he was the man behind the
c killing of the deceased. [para 13] [561-F-H; 562-A-B]
       1.4 As regards the plea that no Test Identification
  Parade was held at the time of investigation, it is
  significant to note that the appellant and the four
  eyewitnesses belonged to the same locality. The
D eyewitnesses knew the appellant before the incident and
  were able to immediately identify him at the time of the
  incident. It is only if the appellant was a stranger to the
  eyewitnesses that the Test Identification Parade would
  have been necessary at the time of investigation. [para
E 14] [562-C-E]

       1.5 So far as the plea that the FSL Report dated
  04.06.2001 was not put to the appellant in his examination
  u/s 313 Cr.P.C. is concerned, it is evident that PW-24, the
F investigating officer, has stated in his evidence that he
  received four Forensic Science Laboratory Reports on
  different dates and he has been cross examined on
  behalf of the appellant. The evidence of PW-24 was
  recorded by the court in the presence of the appellant and
  the FSL report dated 04.06.2001 was marked as Ext.14
G and the court had also put it to the appellant during his
  examination that the seized articles were sent to the
  Forensic Science Laboratory, yet the appellant has stated
  in his reply before the court that he was not aware. The
H appellant could have stated if he had anything to say on
  the report dated 04.06.2001. Thus, although the content
  SAYED DARAIN AHSAN@ DARAIN v. STATE OF               551
           WEST BENGAL & ANR.
of the said report was not put to the appellant in his       A
examination u/s 313, Cr.P.C., the appellant was not in any
way prejudiced. [para 15) [562-F-G; 563-A-C)

    State of Punjab v. Swaran Singh 2005 (1) Suppl. SCR
786 =AIR 2005 3114 - relied on.
                                                             B
     1.6 The High Court has held in the impugned
judgment that all the eyewitnesses have given a vivid and
true account of the incident; that they had seen the
occurrence on close range and as they were residents
of the locality they had no problem in identifying the       C
assailants; that there was nothing on record suggesting
that they nurtured ill feeling and harboured enmity
against the appellant; and that the evidence of the
eyewitnesses is consistent and finds due corroboration
from the post mortem report. In the considered opinion       o
of this Court, the High Court has rightly sustained the
conviction of the appellant on the evidence of four
eyewitnesses as corroborated by the medical evidence.
[para 16) [563-E-F]

     State of Punjab v. Rajinder Singh 2009 (13) SCR 609 =   E
(2009) 15 SCC 612; Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of
Maharashtra 1985 (1) SCR 88 = (1984) 4 SCC 116; Gamini
Bala Koteswara Rao & Ors. v. State of Andhra Pradesh
                                   =
through Secretary 2009 (14) SCR 1 (2009) 10 SCC 636 -
cited.                                                       F

                   Case Law Reference:
   1994 (1) Suppl. SCR 63     cited           para 5
   2009 (13) SCR 609          cited           para 5         G
   1985 (1) SCR 88            cited           para 5
   2009 (14) SCR 1            cited           para 6
   2010 (13) SCR 311          relied on       para 9
                                                             H
    552       SUPREME COURT REPORTS             [2012] 2 S.C.R.


A         1976 (1) SCR 27           relied on        para 9
          1999 (3) SCR 529          relied on       para 9
          (1983) 2 sec 114          relied on       para 9
          1994 (1) Suppl. SCR 63    relied on        para 9
B
          2006 (6 ) Suppl. SCR 446 relied on        para 9

          2009 (2) SCR 1175         relied on        para .9
          2009 (7) SCR 149          relied on        para 9
c         2005 (1) Suppl. SCR 786 relied on          para 15

      . CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
    No. 1195 of 2006.

o       From the Judgment & Order dated 12.05.2006 of the High
    Court at Calcutta in C.R.A. No. 244 of 2003.

       S.S. Sanyal, Rauf Rahim, Yadunandan Bansal, Abhijit P.
  Medh, Chanchal Kr. Ganguli, Soumitra Chosh Choudhary, B.P.
  Yadav, Abhijit Sengupta, Pijush K. Roy, Mithilesh Kumar S. for
E the appearing parties.

          The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

      A.K. PATNAIK, J. 1. This is an appeal by way of special
F leave under Article 136 of the Constitution of India against the
  judgment dated 12.05.2006 of the High Court of Calcutta in
  C.R.A. No.244 of 2003 affirming the conviction of the appellant
  under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal
  Code (for short 'IPC') as well the sentence of life imprisonment
G imposed on the appellant by the trial court and dismissing the
  appeal of the appellant.
       2. The facts briefly are that an FIR was lodged with the
  Officer-in-charge of the Garden Reach Police Station, Calcutta,
  on 11.02.2001 at about 10.18 P.M. by Md. Rashid Khan. In the
H FIR, Rashid stated that on 11.02.2001 at about 9.45 P.M. when
   SAYED DARAIN AHSAN@ DARAIN v. STATE OF                    553
      WEST BENGAL & ANR. [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]

 he was sitting along with Md. Shamim Ansari at the junction of     A
·Iron Gate Road and Risaldar Gate Road and gossiping, Md.
 Jahangir alias Mughal walked along Iron Gate Road towards
 Garden Reach Road at about 9.50 P.M. Suddenly, they heard
 a sound of firing from the side of Iron Gate Road and both went
 there running and saw that eight to ten persons had encircled      B
 Mughal and were firing at him again and again. Mughal fell down
 on the street and the assailants fled away from the spot in
 different directions and he could recognize the appellant as one
 of the assailants. Thereafter, Rashid and Shamim and some
 people who had gathered from neighbouring areas took Mughal        c
 to Hannan Nursing Home at B-79, Iron Gate Road, where
  Mughal was declared dead. The Officer-in-Charge of the Police
  Station registered a case under Sections 120B/302, IPC, and
 25(1 B)(a)/27 of the Arms Act against the appellant and directed
  Sub-Inspector B.C. Sarkar to take up the investigation of the     0
  case. After investigation, chargesheet was filed against the
  appellant and Abuzar Hossain under Section 302/34, IPC, and
  the case was committed to the Sessions Court for trial.
     3. At the trial, the prosecution examined as many as 24
witnesses. Rashid was examined as PW-3 and Shamim was               E
examined as PW-4. Both PW-3 and PW-4 supported the
prosecution case as narrated in the FIR. Besides these two
eyewitnesses, two more eyewitnesses, who on 11.02.2001 at
about 9.00 P.M., were gossiping in front of a shop near the
place of occurrence, Yusuf and Jahid, were examined as PW-          F
5 and PW-7 and they also supported the prosecution case as
narrated in the FIR. The trial court, after considering the
evidence of the four eyewitnesses as well as the medical and
other evidence on record, held that both the accused persons,
the appellant and Abuzar Hossain, were guilty of the offence        G
under Section 302/34, IPC. The trial court also heard the parties
on the question of sentence and sentenced each of the two
accused persons to suffer life imprisonment and also each of
the accused persons to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- and in default
to suffer R.I. for one more year. Aggrieved, the appellant filed
                                                                    H
    554      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012]'2 S.C.R.


A C.R.A. No.244 of 2003 before the High Court but the High Court
  dismissed the appeal and affirmed the conviction and sentence
  imposed on the appellant by the trial court.
          4. Mr. S.B. Sanyal, learned senior counsel for the
    appellant, submitted that the ocular evidence of PW-3, PW-4,
8
    PW-5 and PW-7 ought not to have been believed because it
    is inconsistent with the medical evidence in the present case.
    He submitted that these witnesses have said before the Court
    that the appellant and his associates surrounded the deceased
    and all of them fired at the deceased but the medical evidence
C reveals that there was only one bullet injury on deceased. He
    further submitted that as per the Forensic Science Laboratory
    report dated 04.06.2001, the bullet fired was of a .303" rifle,
    but the eyewitnesses have said that the assailants had fired
    from revolvers. He submitted that if a rifle has been actually used
D to kill the deceased, the firing must have taken place from a
    long distance and not from a short distance as alleged by the
    eyewitnesses. He further submitted that the truth is that Raju,
    who was the younger brother of the deceased, was interested
  . in the property of the deceased, who was a wealthy person, and
E it is Raju who had killed the deceased and had set up the
    witnesses against the appellant. He submitted that evidence on
    record establishes that Raju and PW-3 reside in the same
    premises and PW-4 is a close friend of PW-3, PW-5 knew Raju
    since his boyhood and PW-7 was a close friend of both PW-4
F as well as Raju and PW-5 and PW-7 are friends. He
    vehemently argued that all the eyewitnesses were, therefore,
     interested witnesses and should not have been believed. He
    further argued that no Test Identification Parade was held at the
    time of investigation and it was not possible for the witnesses
G to identify the appellant as one of the persons who fired at the
    deceased.
       5. Mr. Sanyal cited the decision of this Court in Mani Ram
  & Ors. v. State of UP. [1994 Supp.(2) SCC 289] for the
  proposition that where the direct evidence was not supported
H by the expert evidence, it would be difficult to convict the
                .~

  SAYED DARAIN AHSAN @ DARAIN v. STATE OF                     555
     WEST BENGAL & ANR. [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
accused on the basis of such evidence. He also relied on State        A
of Punjab v. Rajinder Singh [(2009) 15 SCC 612] in which it
was held that the, prosecution story was doubtful because there
was clear inconsistency between medical evidence and ocular
evidence. He submitted that the report dated 04.06.2001 of the
Forensic Science Laboratory was not put to the appellant in his       B
examination under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure
Code (for short 'Cr.P.C.'). He cited the decision of this Court
in Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra [(1984)
4 sec 116] in which it has been held that the circumstances,
which were not put to the accused in his examination under            c
Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, have to
be completely excluded from consideration. According to Mr.
Sanyal, therefore, this is a fit case in which the appellant should
be acquitted of the charges under Section 302/34, IPC, and
the judgments of the High Court and the trial court should be
                                                                      0
set aside.

     6. Mr. Chanchal Kumar Ganguli, learned counsel
appearing for the State, on the other hand, strongly relied on
the evidence of eyewitnesses, namely, PW-3, PW-4, PW-5, and
PW-7 who had all supported the prosecution case. He                   E
submitted that a.II the eyewitnesses have named the appellant
as the person who was holding a gun and who shot the
deceased. He referred to the report dated 04.06.2001 of the
Forensic Science Laboratory which clearly revealed that the two
bullets (Ext.B & I) were fired through an improvised fire arm,        F
one hit the deceased in the occipital region and the other
grazed the deceased in the temporal region. He also referred
to the seizure ljst Ext.-2 to show that an empty cartridge and
one bullet head were also found at the place of occurrence. He
submitted that the contention of Mr. Sanyal that the report dated     G
04.06.2001 of the Forensic Science Laboratory was not put to
the appellant in his examination under Section 313, Cr.P.C.,
is not correct. He referred to the question put by the trial court
to the appellant in which it was brought to the notice of the
appellant that the 1.0. sent the seized articles to the Forensic      H
    556       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2012] 2 S.C.R.


A Science Laboratory after completion of the investigation and
  only thereafter the chargesheet was filed against the appellant._
  He cited the decision in Gamini Bala Koteswara Rao & Ors.
  v. State of Andhra Pradesh through Secretary [(2009) 10 SCC
  636] in which this Court has taken a view on facts that the
s medical evidence did not in any way contradict the ocular
  evidence. He submitted that there is no inconsistency between
  the ocular evidence and the medical evidence in this case and
  this Court should also accept the ocular evidence of the four
  eyewitnesses who had seen the appellant firing at the
c deceased.
      7. We may first deal with the arguments of Mr. Sanyal that
  the medical evidence in this case is such as to make the
  prosecution story as told by PW-3, PW-4, PW-5 and PW-7
  improbable. We extract hereinbelow the relevant portions of the
D evidence of PW-3, PW-4, PW-5 and PW-7:
                                                                       f

          "PW-3 - I heard a sound of firing in the direction of 8-35, "
          Iron Gate Road. On hearing this we ran towards the 8-35, :
          Iron Gate Road and found Daren with 8/10 others
          surrounded Mogal from all sides. Daren and his
E
          associates were armed with gun. They uttered in a single
          voice that Mogal should be finished. Saying this they fired
          at Mogal, Mogal fell on the ground with bullet injury.
          PW-4 - After some time I heard a sound of firing from the
F         direction of 8-35, Iron Gate Road. I myself and Rashid ran
          a few distance and found Daren and eight or ten others.
          Some of them Mughal from behind and no by the side of
          Mughal. They all uttered in a voice that Mughal should be
          finished. Saying this Daryen and his associates started
G         firing upon Mughal. As a result of such firing Mughal fell
          on,the B-35, Iron Gate Road.
          PW-5 - I found also Mughal Bhai coming from the side of
          Bangalee Bazar and when he arrived near the mouth of
          the lane at B-35, Iron Gate Road at that time Daryen,
H         Abuzar Hossain and other associates Daryen detained
  SAYED DARAIN AHSAN@ DARAIN v. STATE OF                      557
     WEST BENGAL & ANR. [A.K. PATNAfK, J.]
    Mughal Bhai. There were about 8/10 persons armed with             A
    revolvers. The Daryen and his associates surrounded
    Mughal from his left side and back side. One of those 8/
    1O persons fired from the revolver and then Daryen and
    Abuzar Hossain said to his associates to kill Jahangir @
    Mughal. Immediately all the persons fired upon Jahangir           B
    @ Mughal. I could identify only Daryen and Abuzar Hossain
    (identified on the dock). Mughal instantly fell down on the
    ground.

    PW-7 -At about 9.50 p.m. I found that Mughal Bahi was             C
    coming from the side of Bangalee Bazar towards
    ourselves and when he reached near B-35, Iron Gate Road
    at that time Daryen and Abuzar Hossain and others
    encircled Mughal from his behind and side. Out of those
    persons somebody fired. Then Daryen, Abuzar and others
    abusd filthily Mughal and started firing at random and fired      D
    about 617 times. They also uttered, "Saleko Khatam Kar
    do". (identified the accused Daryen and Abuzar on the
    dock)."
It will be clear from the evidence of PW-3, PW-4, PW-5 and            E
PW-7 that the consistent version of all the four eyewitnesses
is that the appellant and his associates fired at the deceased
and as a result the deceased fell down.

    8. The medical evidence of this case is of Dr. Amitava
Das, PW-12, who carried out the post mortem on the dead               F
body of deceased. He has stated that on the dead body of the
deceased he found the following injuries:
    "1. Injury abrasion 1"x %" over left forehead. 1 % left to mid-
    line and %" above left eye-brow.
                                                                      G
    2. Abrasion -1"x %"over left side of face just above the
    monistic and 2" left to mid-line.

    3. Abrasion - 2"x1" over interior aspect of lower part of
    right chest-wall 9" below rig~t clavicle and 2 %" right to        H
    interior mid-line.
    558       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012] 2 S.C.R.


A         4. Graze abrasion-4"x1" over posterior aspect of lower part
          of right arm and right elbow.
          5. Graze Abrasion 1Yz" x 1" over posterior aspect of left
          elbow.
B        6. One lacerated wound - Yi" x Y-i" into bone over right side
         temporal region, 1" right of outer of Canvas of right eye
         and 4" above the right angle of mandible and 5.5" above
       . right heel with evidence of gutter fracture involving outer
         table of right temporal bone-might have been caused by
c        a grazing bullet.
          7. One wound of entrance of gun-shot injury of size Yz" to
          Yi" more or less oval in shape with radish margin with
          abrasion 0.2" surrounding it with brushing underneath with
          evidence of no protrusion of fat and evidence of turning of
D         body hair was placed over right side of posterior aspect
          of neck just below the hair border just right to posterior
          mid-line 1" below external occipital pursuance 5 ft.2" above
          right heel."
E He has also stated that in his opinion the death was due to the
  effects of gun shot injury which was ante-mortem and homicidal
  in nature. This obviously refers to injury No.7. Regarding injury
  No.6, he has stated that it was not possible for him to say that
  the injury was caused by grazing by the bullet or not. Thus the
F medical evidence is also clear that the death of the deceased
  was caused by a bullet injury. The medical evidence clearly
  supports and does not contradict the ocular evidence of PW-
  3, PW-4, PW-5 and PW-7 that the deceased was killed by the
  gun shots fired by the appellant and his associates.
G      9. In a recent judgment in Abdul Sayeed vs. State of
  Madhya Pradesh [(2010) 10 SCC 259] this Court after
  considering its earlier decisions in Ram Narain Singh vs. State
  of Punjab [(1975) 4 SCC 497], State of Haryana vs. Bhagirath
  [(1999) 5 SCC 96], Solanki Chimanbhai Ukabhai vs. State
H of Gujarat ((1983) 2 SCC 174], Mani Ram vs. State of U.P.
   SAYED DARAIN AHSAN @ DARAIN v. STATE OF                    559
      WEST BENGAL & ANR. [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
  ((1994 Supp (2) SCC 289], Khambam Raja Reddy vs. Public             A
  Prosecutor ((2006) 11 SCC 239], State of U.P. vs. Dinesh
. ((2009) 11 sec 566 and State of U.P. VS. Hari Chand [(2009)
  13 sec 542] has held:
     "though the ocular testimony of witness has greater
     evidentiary value vis-a-vis medical evidence when medical        B
     evidence makes the ocular testimony improbable, that
     becomes a relevant factor in the process of evaluation of
     evidence. However, where the medical evidence goes so
     far that it completely rules out all possibility of the ocular
     evidence being true, the ocular evidence maybe                   C
     disbelieved".
In the facts of the present case, as we have seen, the medical
evidence does not go so far as to rule out all possibility of the
ocular evidence being true. Hence, the ocular evidence cannot
                                                                      0
be disbelieved.
      10. We now turn to the submission of Mr. Sanyal that as
per the Forensic Science Laboratory Report dated 04.06.2001
the bullet was of .303" rifle whereas the eyewitnesses have said
that the assailants had fired from revolvers. PW-12 who carried       E
out the post-mortem on the dead body of the deceased has
stated that 8 articles were preserved after the post mortem and
these included skin from wound of entry and foreign body
(bullet). PW-24 who took up further investigation of the case has
deposed that on 16.02.2001 he received sealed packets                 F
collected from CMOH, Alipore during autopsy like blood, foreign
body (bullet) hair etc. and on 16.04.2001 he sent these articles
to Forensic Science Laboratory and thereafter received the
reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory on different
dates. The report dated 04.06.2001 of the Forensic Science            G
Laboratory contains the result of examination of some of these
articles. These articles are an envelope marked A containing
one deformed fired case of a .303" rifle cartridge (Ext. A), an
envelope marked B containing one fired-nose bullet of .315"/
Bmm caliber (Ext. B), the glass Phial marked I containing one         H
    560       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012] 2 S.C.R.


A fired metal jacketed bullet of improvised make having dark
  brown bloody stains (Ext. I) and a glass phial J containing semi-
  solid substance said to be a piece of human skin (Ext. J). The
  results of the examination of these articles as given in the report
  dated 04.06.2001 of the Forensic Science Laboratory are as
B follows:

          'The physical condition of ext.A suggested that it was used
          for firing through an improvised firearm capable of firing
          .303" rifle cartridges.

          Although exhibits B and I were not of identical calibers but
c         both were found to have been fired through improvised
          firearm. The scratch mark-patterns on B and I were found
          to match characteristically while compared under
          microscope. Hence it was revealed that both the exhibits
          B and I were fired through the same improvised firearm.
D
         No opinion could be given on exhibit J as it was unfit for
       . any examination."

  The report dated 04.06.2001 of the Forensic Science
E Laboratory thus is clear that the fire arms used by the appellant
  and his associates were improvised firearms capable of firing
  .303" rifle cartridges.

        11. Dr. B.R. Sharma in his book on Firearms in Criminal
  Investigation & Trials published by the Universal Law Publishing
F Co., Fourth Edition, has in Chapter 11 on "Improvised
  Firearms" classified country-made firearms with reference to
  the ammunition used in them: 12 bore firearms and .303
  firearms. Dr. Sharma has also classified country-made firearms
  according to the manner in which they are fired: shoulder
G firearms or the handguns. Dr. Sharma has stated that country-
  made firearms are non-standard firearms and they are not
  tested or proved for their fire-worthiness and are, therefore,
  usually imperfect contrivances. He has also stated that the poor
  construction of the firearms affects the firing process in many
H respects and sometimes the incomplete combustion inhibits a
  SAYED DARAIN AHSAN@ DARAIN v. STATE OF                      561
     WEST BENGAL & ANR. [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]

~complete and proper development of pressure and the                 A
projectiles do not acquire standard velocities or striking
energies.
       12. Considering the evidence on record and the opinions
of experts we have discussed, we have no doubt that the
                                                                     8
deceased has not been shot by a rifle from a long distance but
by improvised or country-made handguns capable of firing .303
rifle cartridges from a short distance. PW-3 has described these
as guns, whereas PW-5 has described these as revolvers
because he has not been able to distinguish a revolver from a
country-made handgun. PW-4 and PW-7 are silent on whether            C
the appellant and his associates have used guns or revolvers.
Some of these eyewitnesses have said that all the assailants
fired but they could not have known how many projectiles were
actually ejected from these defective improvised firearms as a
result of firing. One bullet has been recovered from the occipital   D
region of the deceased and another bullet and an empty
ca!1ridge have been recovered from the place of occurrence:
Hence, in the present case, the fact that the other bullets were
not recovered either from the body of the deceased or from the
place of occurrence does not belie the prosecution story that        E
the appellant and his associates fired and killed the deceased.
      13. We may now consider the argument of Mr. Sanyal that
Raju who was the younger brother of the deceased had actually
killed the deceas~d and had set up the witnesses against the
                                                                     F
appellant and that PW-3, PW-4, PW-5 and PW-7 were directly
or indirectly connected with Raju and were all interested
witnesses. We do not find any material on record to support
the contention of Mr. Sanyal that Raju was behind the killing of
the deceased. The witnesses PW-3 and PW-4 were chatting
at the junction of Risaldar Gate Road and Iron Gate Road and         G
PW5 and PW-7 were gossiping in front of the shop of PW-6.
All four eyewitnesses were of the locality in which the incident
took place and happened to be at the place of occurrence at
the time of the incident and their evidence would show that they
have stated whatever they have actually observed. Although,          H
    562      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                (2012] 2 S.C.R.


A   during cross examination the defence has suggested to these
    witnesses that their evidence implicating the appellant is false,
    the defence has not been able to create a reasonable doubt
    about the veracity of their evidence. We cannot therefore
    accept the submission of Mr. Sanyal that the four eyewitnesses
s   were directly or indirectly connected with Raju and had
    implicated the appellant for the offence at the instance of Raju
    who was the man behind the killing of the deceased.

       14. We also do not find any merit in the submission of Mr.
  Sanyal that as no Test Identification Parade was held at the time
C of investigation, the eyewitnesses could not have identified the
  appellant as one of the persons who fired at the deceased. The
  appellant, PW-3 and PW-4 were residents of Iron Gate Road,
  which was the part of the Garden Reach Police Station. PW-5
  and PW-7 were residents of Bichali Ghat Road which is also
D part of the same Police Station Garden Reach. Hence, the
  appellant and the four eyewitnesses belonged to the same
  locality and the four eyewitnesses knew the appellant before
  the incident and were able to immediately identify the appellant
  at the time of the incident. It is only if the appellant was a
E stranger to the eyewitnesses that Test Identification Parade
  would have been necessary at the time of investigation.

       15. Coming now to the submission of Mr. Sanyal that the
  Report dated 04.06.2001 of the Forensic Science Laboratory
F was not put to the appellant in his examination under Section
  313 Cr.P.C., we find that PW-24 has stated in his evidence that
  he has received four Forensic Science Laboratory Reports on
  different dates and PW-4 has been cross examined on behalf
  of the appellant. We also find from the examination of the
  appellant under Section 313 Cr. P.C. that the court did put a
G question to him that PW-24 who took up further investigation
  of the case sent the seized articles to the Forensic Science
  Laboratory including articles collected from ACMOH Alipore
  and after completion of investigation submitted charge-sheet
  against both the accused persons under Sections 302/34 IPC
H and sought a reply from the appellant. The evidence of PW-24
   SAYED DARAIN AHSAN @ DARAIN v. STATE OF                  563
      WEST BENGAL & ANR. [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
  was recorded by the Court in the presence of the appellant and   A
. the report dated 04.06.2001 of the Forensic Science
  Laboratory was marked as Ext.14 on 24.02.2003 and the Court
  had also put it to the appellant during his examination on
  04.03.2003 that the seized articles were sent to the Forensic
  Science Laboratory, yet the appellant has stated in his reply    B
  before the Court that he was not aware. The appellant could
  have stated on 04.03.2001 if he had anything to say on the
  report dated 04.06.2001 of the Forensic Science Laboratory.
  Thus, although the content of the report dated 04.06.2001 of
  the Forensic Science Laboratory was not put to the appellant     c
  in his examination under Section 313, Cr.P.C., the appellant
  was not in any way prejudiced. In State of Punjab v. Swaran
  Singh (AIR 2005 3114), this Court has held relying on the
  earlier decisions of this Court that where the accused was not
  in any way prejudiced by not giving him an opportunity to
                                                                   0
  answer specifically regarding evidence which was recorded in
  his presence, such evidence cannot be excluded from
  consideration by the Court.
      16. We find that the High Court has held in the impugned
 judgment that all the eyewitnesses have given a vivid and true    E
 account of the incident and had seen the occurrence on close
 range and as they were residents of the locality they had no
 problem in identifying the assailants and there was nothing on
 record suggesting that they nurtured ill feeling and harboured
 enmity against the appellant and that the evidence of the         F
 eyewitnesses was consistent and finds due corroboration from
 the post mortem report. In our considered opinion, the High
 Court has rightly sustained the conviction of the appellant on
 the evidence of four eyewitnesses as corroborated by the
 medical evidence.                                                 G
     17. In the result, we find no merit in the appeal which is
 accordingly dismissed.

 RP.                                       Appeal dismissed.
                                                                   H