SMT. SHAKILA ABDUL GAFAR KHANversusVASANT RAGHUNATH DHOBLE AND ANR.

A                   SMT. SHAKILA ABDUL GAFAR KHAN
                                 v.
                VASANT RAGHUNATH DHOBLE AND ANR.

                               SEPTEMBER 8, 2003

B              [DORAISWAMY RAJU AND ARJJJT PASAYAT, JJ.]

          Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973-Section 190(J)(a)-Private
    complaint-Delay in filing of-Consequences of-Complaint filed alleging
    death due to custodial violence-Complaint filed more than one year after
C   the alleged violence-Explanation given that the complainant was unaware
    of the legal proceedings to be undertaken and that she was representing
    to the higher authorities-Held, explanation not credible-Indian Penal
    Code-Section 302.

           Criminal Trial-Evidence-Discrepancy in-Disbelieving the
D evidence-Necessity of-Held, the courts should attempt to separate truth
    from falsehood-Only when it is not possible to do so or when an entirely
    new case comes up in doing so, the evidence should be rejected in toto-
    lndian Penal Code-Section 302.

           Criminal Trial-Evidence-Discrepancy in-Normal and material
E discrepancies-Distinction between-Effect of-Indian Penal Code-Section
    302.

          Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973-Section 54-Medical
    examination-Right of the accused to-Duty of the Magistrate in case of
F   a complaint of torture or maltreatment in police custody-Magistrate
    should inform the accused about his right to get examined by a medical
    practitioner.

       Criminal Trial-Non-supply of documents-Effect of-Held, non-
  supply of documents to the accused may not per se be prejudical-Courts
G must give a definite finding whether prejudice is caused due to non-supply
  of documents or not.

         Criminal Trial-Cross-examination-Denial ofopportunity of-Effect
    of-Court examines few police-witnesses as court-witnesses-Said witnesses
H   not examined in respect of the facts of the case-Accused not given
                                      426
      SHAKILA ABDUL GAFAR KHAN v. VASANT RAGHUNA TH DHOBLE            427

opportunity ofcross-examining the witnesses-Court permitting the accused     A
to lead his own evidence-Held, the mere denial of cross-examination
cannot per se be a vulnerable factor.

     Criminal Trial-Custodia/ violence-Proof of-Courts should not be
swayed by technicalities-Attempt should be made by the courts to probe       B
the case and arrive at the truth-True evidence from /el/ow police officers
not normally forthcoming-Insistence on proof beyond reasonable doubt
not required-Courts should take realistic approach.

      Constitution ofIndia, 1950-Article 142-Compensation-Grant a/-
Custodial violence-16 simple injuries on the body of the deceased-No         C
F.l.R. registered by po/ice-Complainant filing criminal complaint against
a police officer-Police officer acquitted-Acquittal upheld but
compensation granted to the family of the deceased-Direction issued to
make an inquiry and take action against the erring officials.
                                                                             D
     Constitution of India, 1950-Article 21-Right to life and liberty--
Meaning of-Held, such right includes right to live with human dignity--
Custodial violence violates that right.

     The deceased-husbaud of the petitioner was arrested on 14.10.1983
on allegation of causing grievous hurt. On 15.10.1983, at around 8.30        E
a.m., the complainant (PWl) allegedly noticed that her deceased-
husband was being dragged out of a police van near his house by the
accused-respondent, along with some other police officers. The
complainant noticed that the deceased was being beaten by a hockey
stick by the accused while the other police officers were holding the        F
deceased and pulling hair of the deceased. The assault allegedly
continued for more than an hour and when one hockey stick broke,
another hockey stick was brought from the van and the assault
continued. The occurrence was also witnessed by PW 2 and PW 5.

     The complainant complained about the incident to the higher             G
police authorities but no action was taken. The deceased was taken to
the hospital on 15.10.1983. On 16.10.1983, the deceased was produced
before the Remand Magistrate allegedly in a pathetic condition and
was granted bail on 16.10.1983 itself. Thereafter, the deceased was
admitted in a hospital. The history sheets recorded by the <toctor did       H
    428                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A not mention the name of the accused. The deceased died while he was
    in the hospital. The complainant alleged that before dying, the deceased
    made an oral dying declaration before the pros~cution witnesses
    implicating the accused. The doctor conducting post mortem found 16
    simple injuries on the body of the deceased.
B         The complainant made representations to the higher police
    authorities, the Prime Minister and the President but nothing came out
    ofit. No F.I.R. was registered by the police. Ultimately, the complainant
    filed a private complaint on 12.12.1984 against the accused-respondent.

C        In the trial apart from the witnesses examined by the complainant
    and the accused, the court examined three police officials as court-
    witnesses. CWl admitted that no F.I.R. was registered on the complaint
    of the complainant but stated that he had made an inquiry and
    submitted his report. The matter was reported to higher authorities to
D   order independent inquiry by the crime branch. The opportunity to
    cross-examine the court-witnesses was not granted to the accused.

         The trial court convicted the accused. On appeal, the High Court
    set aside the conviction and acquitted the accused.

E        The complainant filed appeal against the order of the High Court
    before this Court. Upholding the acquittal of the accused-respondent
    and disposing of the appeal with certain observations on custodial
    violence, the Court.

F       HELD : 1.1. Though, delay per se may not affect credibility of
    complainant's version, each individual case has to be treated to see
    whether delay has been properly explained. (445-G-HJ

          1.2. The High Court has rightly held the delay in filing of the
    complaint to be a vulnerable circumstance. The private complaint was
G   filed after a long lapse of time. If there was inaction to deal with
    information lodged with the police in October 1983, there was no reason
    for the complainant to wait for more than one year to approach the
    Court by making a private complaint. The plea that the complainant
    was not aware of the legal modes to be adopted is unacceptable. In the
H   complaint petition itself it has been stated that legal advice was sought in
      SHAKILA ABDUL GAFAR KHAN v. VASANT RAGHUNATH DHOBLE                429

the matter immediately after the occurrence and the legal notices were          A
sent by advocates. That being so, plea that the remedies available in law
were unknown to the complainant is unbelievable. (445-G, 446-A-B)

       2.1. It is the duty of the Court to separate grain from chaff. Falsity
of particular material witness or material particular would not ruin it         B
from the beginning to end. The maxim "falsus in uno falsus in omnibus"
has not received general acceptance nor has this maxim come to occupy
the status of rule oflaw. It is merely a rule of caution. All that it amounts
to is that in such cases testimony may be disregarded, and not that it
must be disregarded. The doctrine merely involves the question of weight
of evidence which a Court may apply in a given set of circumstances, but        C
it is not what may be called 'a mandatory rule of evidence'. The doctrine
is a dangerous one specially in India for ifa whole body of the testimony
were to be rejected, because witness was evidently speaking an untruth
in some aspect, it is to be feared that administration of criminal justice
would come to a dead-stop. Witnesses just cannot help in giving                 D
embroidery to a story, however, true in the main. Therefore, it has to be
appraised in each case as to what extent the evidence is worthy of
acceptance, and merely because in some respects the Court considers the
same to be insufficient for placing reliance on the testimony of a witness,
it does not necessarily follow as a mater oflaw that it must be disregarded     E
in all respects as well. (446C-G)

     Nisar Ali v. The State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR (1957) SC 366; Sohrab
slo Beli Nayata and Anr. v. The State of Madhya Pradesh, [1972) 3 SCC
751 and Ugar Ahir & Ors. v. The State of Bihar, AIR (1965) SC 277,
relied upon.                                                                    F
     2.2. Where it is not feasible to separate truth from falsehood,
because grain and chaff are inextricably mixed up, and in the process of
separation and absolutely new case has to be reconstructed by divorcing
essential details presented by the prosecution completely from the context      G
and the background against which they are made, the only available
course to be made is to discard the evidence in toto. (447-B]

    Zwinglee Arial v. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR (1954) SC 15
and Balak.a Singh v. The State of Punjab, AIR (!975) SC 1962, relied
upon.                                                                           H
    430                  SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A         2.3. Normal discrepancies in evidence are those which are due to
    normal errors of observation, normal errors of memory due to lapse
    of time, due to mental disposition such as shock and horror at the time
    of occurrence and those are always there however honest and truthful
    a witness may be. Material discrepancies are those which are not
B   normal, and not expected of a normal person. Courts have to label the
    category to which a discrepancy may be categorised. While normal
    discrepancies do not corrode the credibility of a party's case, material
    discrepancies do so. (447-C-D]

         State of Rajasthan v. Smt. Kalki and Anr., AIR (1981) SC 1390;
C   Krishna Machi and Ors. v. State of Bihar Etc., JT (2002) 4 SC 186;
    Gangadhar Behera and Ors. v. State ofOrissa, (2002) 7 Supreme 276 and
    Rizan and Anr. v State of Chhattisgarh, (2003] 2 SCC 661, relied on.

          2.4. The present case is a case where it is really difficult to
D separate the grain from the chaff. If really there was merciless beatings
    with such brutal force that a hockey stick broke and the beating was
    given for more than one hour, the result would not have been 16 simple
    injuries with no fractures or internal rupture. Further, if the condition
    of the accused was so severe that he was not able to even stand on
E   15.10.1983 morning as claimed, it is not explained as to how the
    Magistrate who granted bail did not notice the condition or how even
    no grievance was made by the deceased before him. (447-F-G)

         3. There is a requirement under Section 54 of the Code of
F   Criminal Procedure which deals with a right of an arrested person to
    bring to the notice of the Court about torture or assault. The provision
    provides for an examination of an arrested person by medical
    practitioner at the request of the arrested person and it is a right
    conferred on the arrested person. In case the arrested persons are not
    aware of the right, and on account of ignorance are unable to exercise
G   that right even though they have been tortured or mat-treated by the
    police in the lock-up, the Magistrate has been directed to inform the
    arrested person about this right in case he has any complaint of any
    torture or mal-treatment in police custody. (447-G, H, 448-A, Bl

H         Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra, (1983) 2 sec 96, referred to.
      SHAKILAABDULGAFARKHAN v. VASANTRAGHUNATHDHOBLE                   431

     4. Mere non-supply of documents may not be considered                    A
prejudicial. The Court has to give a definite finding about the prejudice
or otherwise. (448-C)

     Noor Khan v. State of Rajasthan, (1964] 4 SCR 521. relied upon.

      5. If the Court has permitted the accused to lead the evidence the      B
mere denial of cross-examining the court-witnesses by the accused
cannot be per se a vulnerable factor. In the present case, the three
police officials were not required to speak about the case at hand in
general. They were in fact required to state about certain documents
in terms of section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. (448-D, E]         C
     Mohan/al Shamji Soni v. Union of India and Anr., (1991) Supp. 1
sec 271, referred to.
    6. The High Court was not justified in saying that the register           D
which contained the original entries regarding the post mortem
examination was not to be taken note of. (448-F]

     Vijender v. State of Delhi, (1997] 6 SCC 171, distinguished.

      7. The evidence PWs I, 2 and 5 shows even some doubtful features        R
about their presence at the place of occurrence. It is quite iniprobable
that PW I saw PWs 2 and 5 together to witness the assault. The oral
dying declaration is also unbelievable if PWs 1, 2 and 5 had really seen
the assaults they would not have asked the deceased as to how he
sustained injuries. The doctor examined the deceased stated that he did       F
not implicate the accused, specifically did not tell his name. Taking
totality of circumstances, the High Court was right in directing
acquittal of the accused. (449-D, E, G]

      8.1. The Courts exist for doing justice to the persons who are
affected. The Trial/First Appellate Courts cannot get swayed by               G
abstract technicalities and close their eyes to factors which need to be
positively probed and noticed. The Court is not merely to act as a tape
recorder recording evidence, overlooking the object of trial i.e. to get
at the truth, and oblivious to the active role to ~e played for which there
is not only ample scope but sufficient powers conferred under the Code        H
    432                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A of Criminal Procedure. It has a greater duty and responsibility i.e. to
    render justice, in a case where the role of the prosecuting agency itself
    is put in issue. [450-C-DI

          Jennison v. Backer, [19721 1 All E.R. 1006, referred to.

B         8.2. When an ordinary citizen makes a grievance against the
    mighty administration, any indifference, inaction or slumber will tend
    to paralyse by such inaction or lethargic action of the Courts and erode
    in stages the faith, ultimately destroying the justice delivery system of
    the country itself. Doing justice is the paramount consideration and
C   that duty cannot be abdicated or diverted by manipulative red
    herrings. [450-H, 451-A)

         8.3. The post mortem report reveals 16 injuries, though of simple
    nature. If none of these injuries was sustained by the deceased into
D   police custody, there was no necessity of bringing the deceased to the
    hospital on 15.10.1983. The Court could have asked the police as to
    what was the necessity for doing so. [450-A, BJ

          9. No explanatfon has been offered as to why no F. I. R. was
    registered. It needs no reiteration that ifit is brought to the notice of the
E   police that somebody had beaten the deceased, the F. I. R. was to be
    registered. The permissible area of application of mind is limited to
    finding out existence of a cognizable offence, and nothing beyond that. It
    is fairly well settled position in law that even at the time of taking
    cognizance the Court is not required to find out which particular person
F   is the offender, cognizance is taken of offence. The course adopted by the
    police official tends to make a mockery of law. [445-A, B, D, E]

         10. This Court issued the following directions finding the present
    case to be a fit case for exercise of jurisdiction under Article 142 of
G   the Constitution of India. [451-Al

          10.1. The State Government is directed to pay compensation of
    Rs. 1,00,000 to the mother and the children of the deceased. The
    amounts are to be paid kept in fixed deposit, and only the interest shall
    be allowed to be drawn by the mother and the children. This amount
H   of compensation shall be as a palliative measure and does not preclude
      SHAKILAABDULGAFARKHAN v. VASANTRAGHUNATHDHOBLE                 433

the affected person(s) from bringing a suit to recover appropriate          A
damages from the State Government and its erring officials if such
remedy is available in law. [451-A-Cj

     10.2. An inquiry should be conducted by the Head of the Police
force of the State under the direct control of the Chief Secretary of the
State to find out as to who were the persons responsible for the injuries   B
on the body of the deceased. If on further inquiry-11nd on the basis of
materials collected it appears that the accused who is being acquitted
had a role to play, it shall be open to the authorities to initiate
proceedings for action and the same shall be taken notwithstanding the
order of his acquittal. [451-D to F]                                        C
     10.3. Action should also be taken against the officials who did not
register the F. I. R. and the authorities who were requested to conduct
the crime branch inquiry but yet do not appear to have done anything
in the matter. (451-F-G)
                                                                            D
      11.1. Article 21 of the Constitution of India which is one of the
luminary provisions in the Constitution of India and is a part of the
scheme for fundamental rights occupies a place of pride in the
Constitution. The Article mandates that no person shall be deprived
of his life and personal liberty except according to the procedure
established by law. This sacred and cherished right i.e. personal liberty   E
has an important role to play in the life of every citizen. Life or
personal liberty includes a right to live with human dignity. There is
an inbuilt guarantee against torture or assault by the State or its
functionaries. It is therefore difficult to comprehend how torture and
custodial violence can be permitted to defy the rights flowing from the     F
Constitution. The dehumanising torture, assault and death in custody
which have assumed alarming proportions reason serious questions
about the credibility of rule of law and administration of criminal
justice system. The community rightly gets disturbed. The cry for
justice becomes louder and warrants immediate remedial measures.            G
                                                               (436-B-F)

      11.2. The diabolic recurrence of police torture resulting in a
terrible scare in the minds of common citizens that their lives and
liberty are under a new and unwarranted peril because guardians of
law destroy the human rights by custodial violence and torture and          H
    434                  SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.
A invariably resulting in death. The vulnerability of human rights
    assumes a traumatic torture when functionaries of the State whose
    paramount duty is to protect the citizens and not to commit gruesome
    offences against them, in reality perpetrate them. (436-H, 437-A-B)

         Raghubir Singh v. State of Haryana, AIR (1980) SC 1087; Gauri
B   Shankar Sharma v. State of U.P., AIR (1990) SC 709; Bhagwan Singh
    and Anr. v. State of Punjab, [1992) 3 SCC 249; Smt. Ni/abati Behera @
    Lalita Behera v. State of Orissa and Ors., AIR (1993) SC 1960; Pratu/
    Kumar Sinha v. State ofBihar and Anr., [1994) Supp. 3 SCC 100; Kewal
    Pati (Smt.) v. State of U.P. and Ors., (1995] 3 SCC 600; Jnder Singh v.
C   State ofPunjab and Ors., (1995) 3 SCC 702; State ofMP. v. Shyamsunder
    Trivedi and Ors., [1995) 4 SCC 262 and Shri D.K. Basu v. State of West
    Bengal, JT (1997) 1 SC 1, referred to.

          11.3. The exaggerated adherence to and insistence upon the
D   establishment of proof beyond every reasonable doubt by the
    prosecution, at times even when the prosecuting agencies are themselves
    fixed in the dock, ignoring the ground realities, the fact situation and
    the peculiar circumstances of a given case, often results in miscarriage
    of justice and makes the justice delivery system suspect and vulnerable.
    Tortures in police custody, which of late are of the increase, receive
E   encouragement by this type of an unrealistic approach. The courts
    must not lose sight of the fact that death in police custody is perhaps
    one of the worst kind of crimes in a civilised society, governed by the
    rule of law and poses a serious threat to an orderly civilised society.
    The courts must, therefore, deal with such cases, in a realistic manner
F   and with the sensitivity which they deserve, otherwise the common man
    may tend to gradually lose faith in the efficacy of the system of
    judiciary itself, which if it happens will be a sad day, for anyone to
    reckon with. (437-G, H, 438-B, D-E)

          11.4. The Government and the legislature must give serious thought
G to the recommendation of the Law Commission and bring about
    appropriate changes in the law not only to curb the custodial crime but
    also to see that the custodial crime does not go unpunished. (439-8)

          11.5. At the same time there seems to be disturbing trend of
H increase in cases where false accusations of custodial torture are made,
    SHAKILA ABDUL GAF AR KHAN 1·. VASANT RAGHUNATil DHOBLE [PASAYAT, J.] 435

trying to take advantage of the serious concern shown and the stern               A
attitude reflected by the courts while dealing with custodial violence.
It needs to be carefully examined whether the allegations of custodial
violence are genuine or are sham attempts to get undeserved benefit
masquerading as victims of custodial violence. (439-D, E)

    CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No.                         B
857 of 1996.

    From the Judgment and Order dated 22/23 and 26.2.96 of the Bombay
High Court in Cr!. A. No. 127 of 1994.

      S.B. Sanyal, S. M. Jadhav, Himanshu Gupta and Bhaskar Y Kulkarni            C
for the Appellant.

     V.S. Kotwal, Shekhar Naphde, Unni Krishnan, Rishi Agarwal for
E.C. Agrawala, Arun Pednekar and Ravindra Keshavrao Adsuro for the
Respondents.
                                                                                  D
     The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

      ARIJIT PASAYAT, J. : "If you once forfeit the confidence of our
fellow citizens you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that
you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all
the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time", Said Abraham          E
Lincoln. This Court in Raghubir Singh v. State of Haryana, AIR (1980)
SC 1087, took note of these immortal observations while deprecating
custodial torture by the police.

      Custodial violence, torture and abuse of police power are not peculiar      F
to this country, but it is widespread. It has been the concern of international
community because the problem is universal and the challenge is almost
global. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 which marked
the emergence of a worldwide trend of protection and guarantee of certain
basic human rights stipulates in Article 5 that "No one shall be subjected
to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".            G
Despite this pious declaration, the crime continues unalJated, though every
civilized nation shows its concern and makes efforts for its eradication.

    If it is assuming alarming proportions, now a days, all around it is
merely on account of the devilish devices adopted by those at the helm of         H
    436                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A affairs who proclaim from roof tops to be the defenders of democracy and
    protectors of peoples' rights and yet do not hesitate to condescend behind
    the screen to let loose their men in uniform to settle personal scores,
    feigning ignorance of what happens and pretending to be peace loving
    puritans and saviours of citizens' rights.

B
          Article 21 which is one of the luminary provisions in the Constitution
    oflndia, 1950 (in short the 'Constitution') and is a part of the scheme for
    fundamental rights occupies a place of pride in the Constitution. The
    Article mandates that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal
    liberty except according to the procedure established by law. This sacred
C   and cherished right i.e. personal liberty has an important role to play in
    the life of every citizen. Life or personal liberty includes a right to live
    with human dignity. There is an inbuilt guarantee against torture or assault
    by the State or its functionaries. Chapter V of the Code of Criminal
    Procedure, 1973 (for short the 'Code') deals with the powers of arrest of
D   persons and the safeguards required to be followed by the police to protect
    the interest of the arrested person. Articles 20(3) and 22 of the Constitution
    further manifest the constitutional protection extended to every citizen and
    the guarantees held out for making life meaningful and not a mere animal
    existence. It is therefore difficult to comprehend how torture and custodial
E   violence can be permitted to defy the rights flowing from the Constitution.
    The dehumanizing torture, assault and death in custody which have
    assumed alarming proportions raise serious questions about the credibility
    of rule oflaw and administration of criminal justice system. The community
    rightly gets disturbed. The cry for justice becomes louder and warrants
F   immediate remedial measures. This Court has in a large number of cases
    expressed concern at the atrocities perpetuated by the protectors of law.
    Justice Brandies's observation which have become classic are in following
    immortal words:

                  "Government as the omnipotent and omnipresent teacher
G            teaches the whole people by its example, if the Government
             becomes a law breaker, it breeds contempt for law, it invites every
             man to become a law into himself'. (in (1928) 277 U.S. 438,
             quoted in (1961) 367 U.S. 643 at 659).

H         The diabolic recurrence of police torture resulting in a terrible scare
    SHAKILA ABDUL GAFAR KHAN 1·. VASANT RAGHUNATif DHOBLE [ PASAYAT, J.] 437

in the minds of common citizens that their lives and liberty are under a A
new and unwarranted peril because guardians of law destroy the human
rights by custodial violence and.torture and invariably resulting in death.
The vulnerability of human rights assumes a traumatic torture when
functionaries of the State whose paramount duty is to protect the citizens
and not to commit gruesome offences against them, in reality perpetrate. B
them. The concern which was shown in Raghubir Singh 's case (supra)
more than two decades back seems to have fallen to leaf ears and the
situation does not seem to be showing any noticeable change. The anguish
expressed in Gauri Shanker Sharma v. State of UP., AIR (1990) SC 709,
Bhagwan Singh and Anr. v. State of Punjab, [1992] 3 SCC 249, Smt.
Nilabati Behera@Lalita Behera v. State of Orissa and Ors., AIR (1993) C
SC 1960, Pratul Kumar Sinha v. Staie of Bihar and Anr., [1994] Supp.
3 SCC 100, Kewal Pati (Smt.) v. State of V.P. and Ors., [1995] 3 SCC
600, Inder Singh v. State of Punjab and Ors., [1995] 3 SCC 702, State of
MP. v. Shyamsunder Trivedi and Ors., [1995] 4 SCC 262 and by now
celebrated decision in Shri D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, JT (1997) D
 I SC I seems to have caused not even any softening attitude to the inhuman
approach in dealing with persons in custody.

      Rarely in cases of police torture or custodial death, direct ocular
evidence of the complicity of the police personnel alone who can only          E
explain the circumstances in which a person in their custody had died.
Bound as they are by the ties of brotherhood, it is not unknown that the
police personnel prefer to remain silent and more often than not even
pervert the truth to save their colleagues - and the present case is an apt
illustration - as to how one after the other police witnesses feigned          F
ignorance about the whole matter.

     The exaggerated adherence to and insistence upon the establishment
of proof beyond every reasonable doubt by the prosecution, at times even
when the prosecuting agencies are themselves fixed in the dock, ignoring
the ground realities, the fact-situation and the peculiar circumstances of a   G
given case, as in the present case, often results in miscarriage of justice
and makes the justice delivery system suspect and vulnerable. In the
ultimate analysis the society suffers and a criminal gets encouraged.
Tortures in police custody, which of late are on the increase, receive
encouragement by this type of an unrealistic approach at times of the courts   H
    438                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A as well because it reinforces the belief in the mind of the police that no
    hann would come to them if one prisoner dies in the lock-up because there
    would hardly be any evidence available to the prosecution to directly
    implicate them with the torture. The courts must not lose sight of the fact
    that death in police custody is perhaps one of the worst kind of crimes in
B   a civilized society, governed by the rule of law and poses a serious threat
    to an orderly civilized society. Torture in custody flouts the basic rights
    of the citizens recognized by the Indian Constitution and is an affront to
    human dignity. Police excesses and the maltreatment of detainees/under
    - trial prisoners or suspects tarnishes the image of any civilised nation
C   and encourages the men in 'Khaki' to consider themselves to be above the
    law and sometimes even to become law unto themselves. Unless stem
    measures are taken to check the malady of the very fence eating the crops,
    the foundations of the criminal justice delivery system would be shaken
    and the civilization itself would risk the consequence of heading, towards
    total decay resulting in anarchy and authoritarianism reminiscent of
D   barbarism. The courts must, therefore, deal with such cases in a realistic
    manner and with the sensitivity which they deserve, otherwise the common
    man may tend to gradually lose faith in the efficacy of the system of
    judiciary itself, which if it happens will be a sad day, for any one to reckon
    with.
E
        Though Sections 330 and 33 I of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for
  short the 'IPC') make punishable those persons who cause hurt for the
  purpose of extorting the confession by making the offence punishable with
  sentence up to IO years of imprisonment, but the convictions, as experience
  shows from track record have been very few compared to the considerable
F increase of such onslaught because the atrocities within the precincts of the
  police station are often left without much traces or any ocular or other
  direct evidence to prove as to who the offenders are. Disturbed by this
  situation the Law Commission in its I 13th Report recommended amendments
  to the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (in short the 'Evidence Act') so as to
G provide that in the prosecution of a police officer for an alleged offence
  of having caused bodily injuries to a person while in police custody, ifthere
  is evidence that the injury was caused during the period when the person
  was in the police custody, the court may presume that the injury was caused
  by the police officer having the custody of that person during that period
H unless the police officer proves to the contrary. The onus to prove the
    SllAKILA ABDUL GAF AR KHAN ''· VASANT RAGHUNATll DllOBLE [ PASAYAT, J.] 439

contrary must be discharged by the police official concerned. Keeping in          A
view the dehumanizing aspect of the crime, the flagrant violation of the
fundamental rights of the victim of the crime and the growing rise in the
crimes of this type, where only a few come to light and others don't, the
Government and the legislature must give serious thought to the
recommendation of the Law Commission and bring about appropriate                  B
changes in the law not only to curb the custodial crime but also to see that
the custodial crime does not go unpunished. The courts are also required
to have a change in their outlook approach, appreciation and attitude,
particularly in cases involving custodial crimes and they should exhibit
more sensitivity and adopt a realistic rather than a narrow technical
approach, while dealing with the cases of custodial crime so that as far as       C
possible within their powers, the truth is found and guilty should not escape
so that the victim of the crime has the satisfaction that ultimately the
majesty of law has prevailed.

      But at the same time there seems to be disturbing trend of increase         D
in cases where false accusations of custodial torture are made, trying to take
advantage of the serious concern shown and the stem attitude reflected by
the courts while dealing with custodial violence. It needs to be carefully
examined whether the allegations of custodial violence are genuine or are
sham attempts to gain undeserved benefit masquerading as victims of               E
custodial violence. The case in hand is unique case in the sense that
complainant filed a complaint alleging custodial torture while the accused
alleged false implication because of oblique motives.

      Respondent-Vasant Raghunath Dhoble (hereinafter referred to as the
'accused') faced trial on the basis of a private complaint filed by the           F
appellant Shakila. The Additional Sessions Judge, Greater Bombay, found
the accused guilty of offence punishable under Section 304 Part II IPC and
sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and to pay
a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/-. In default of payment of fine he was to undergo
21 months imprisonment. In appeal, the Bombay High Court found that               G
the prosecution has failed to establish the accusations and directed
acquittal. The complainant has filed this appeal.

     Accusations of the complainant sans unnecessary details are as
~~:                                                                               H
    440                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A       On 14.10.1983 Abdul Gafar (hereinafterreferred to as the 'deceased'),
  the husband of the complainant was arrested in respect of CR.No. 559/83
  at D.N. Nagar Police Station on the allegation that he had caused grievous
  hurt to one Vishnu Sone Bhuwas. The deceased informed his wife
  (complainant) that he was required to go to the police station in connection
B with a case, as he had scuffle with some persons. On 15.10.1983, the
  complainant having found that deceased had not returned home in the
  night of 14.10.1983 came out of her house to search for her husband.
  Around 8.30 a.m., she noticed that police van on the main road vis. Link
  Road was being parked on the road side. The accused who was then
  attached to the D.N. Police Station came out of the van along with some
C police constables and they were dragging the deceased. The complainant
  noticed that the condition of her husband was not very sound, and he was
  not even able to stand up. The complainant was sure that he had been
  assaulted in the previous night, apparently in police custody. The accused
  was carrying a hockey stick in his hands and continued to beat the
D deceased in the presence of complainant and other persons. The other
  constables were holding the hands of the deceased and tried to make the
  deceased stand. The accused continued to give blows by the hockey stick.
  The constables pulled the hair of the deceased while he was being beaten
  by the accused. Having been informed about the assaults, Smt. Khairunissa,
E mother of the deceased (PW-2) and Shamsunissa, sister of the deceased
  (PW-5) came to the spot. They had also witnessed the assaults on the
  deceased. When the complainant (PW-I), PW-2 and PW-5 tried to
  intervene, they were also threatened. The assaults continued for a very long
  time for more than an hour and when one of hockey sticks which was being
F used by the accused broke, another hockey stick was brought out from the
  van and assaults continued. In the evening, PWs I and 2 made attempts
  to move the police authorities at D.N. Nagar Police Station and met one
  Assistant Commissioner of Police (Mr. Irani) and senior Police Inspector
  (Mr. Chaglani) and requested them to render medical assistance to the
  deceased. But there was no cooperation and although the deceased was in
G a bad physical condition, he was taken to the hospital on 16. l 0.1983 around
  11.00 a.m. The deceased was produced before the Remand Magistrate and
  was released on bail. After his release the deceased was taken to the
  hospital and was admitted in Cooper Hospital at about 4.00 p.m. and as
  his condition worsened he was transferred to K.E.M. Hospital on 17. I 0.1983.
H Subsequently, he expired. PWs. I, 2 and 5 made complaint to the police
    SHAKILA ABDUL GAF AR KHAN v. VASANT RAGHUNATH DHOBLE [ PASAY AT, J.] 441

officials against the accused holding him responsible for the death due to      A
the assaults during the period from 14.10.1983 to 16.10.1983. Their
statements were recorded, but no action was taken. Though the complainant
made the representations to various authorities including the Commissioner
of Police on 20.10.1983 that also did not yield any result. The complainant
(PW- I) claims to have been made representations to the Prime Minister          B
and the President of the country. As a last resort, a private complaint was
made before the Metropolitan Magistrate, I 0th Court, Andheri on
12.12.1984. The case was committed for sessions trial by an order dated
5.1.1987.

      Nine witnesses were examined to prove the prosecution version. The        C
accused pleaded innocence and raise implication. He produced three
witnesses to substantiate his plea of innocence. Three witnesses were
examined as court witnesses. They were the police officials attached to the
D.N. Nagar Police Station. On consideration of the materials on record, as
noted above, the trial Court found the accused guilty but the judgment of       D
conviction and sentence was set aside by the High Court, which found
certain circumstances to be of great importance corroding the credibility
of complainant's version. Essentially the circumstances are as follows:

      The complaint was lodged after more than one year of the alleged date     E
of occurrence without any plausible explanation for the delay. The version
given by PWs 1, 2 and 5 regarding the merciless assaults by the accused
were incredible inasmuch as the doctor who conducted post mortem found
16 injuries on his body and had opined the cause of death to be acute renal
failure. Certain documents were not supplied to the accused and thus
caused great prejudice to the accused and use of those materials by the trial   F
Court to find the accused guilty did not meet the requirements of law. The
evidence of PWs I, 2 and 5 when read together improbabilises the stand
that they had seen the beatings alleged to have been given by the accused
to the deceased. In the first report there was no mention about the assaults
on 14.10.1983. The doctor who had examined the deceased had noted the           G
medical history of the accused, but the name of the accused was not
specifically indicated though the accused and the deceased were known to
each other intimately. In the report as alleged, name of the accused did
not figure. The claim of oral dying declaration to have been made by the
deceased was not indicated in the first report. The original post mortem        H
    442                  SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A report having not been placed on record, the evidence of PW-7 who
    admittedly did not conduct the post mortem is inadmissible. It was highly
    improbable that after having given a thorough beating to the deceased, the
    police officials would bring the deceased in a pathetic condition to a spot
    near his house and would continue the assaults in the presence of people
B   of the locality. Opportunity was net granted to cross-examine the court
    witnesses. Accordingly, High Court set aside the conviction.

          In support of the appeal, Mr. S.B. Sanyal, learned senior counsel
    submitted that the case involved police officials and the evidence brought
    on record by the complainant should not have been lightly brushed aside
C   by conclusions which are not supportable in law. In case of a custodial
    torture, the onus is on the police official to prove his innocence. At every
    stage an attempt was made to shield the accused and investigation was not
    done properly. The complainant's plea for justice was very casually dealt
    with and ignored. It is not that the complaint was inactive, and on the
D   contrary she had moved the high dignitaries and finding that no justice has
    been done filed a private complaint. The oral dying declaration has been
    erroneously kept out of consideration and by making surmises presence of
    PWs I, 2 and 5 has been doubted and their evidence has been discarded.
    The evidence of PWs 2 and 5 have been discarded because one Shamin
E   who was sent by PW-I was not examined. It was clearly explained in
    evidence that she was absent from the locality and therefore was not
    examined. Another conclusion of the High Court that PW-2 does not refer
    to the presence of PW- I at the spot is an erroneous conclusion and has been
    arrived at by mis-reading of the evidence. The credible evidence of PWs
     I, 2 and 5 has been totally discarded without any plausible basis. The
F   medical evidence has also been misread by the High court. No prejudice
    has been caused by the non-supply of the documents; and on the contrary,
    cross examination has been conducted on the basis of documents which
    were supplied belatedly. Merely because there were some exaggerations
    in the evidence of PWs I, 2 and 5, that cannot affect the credible evidence
G   tendered by them and even keeping out the exaggerations the residual
    evidence is sufficient to sustain conviction. Merely because the court
    witnesses were not permitted to be cross examined, that is really of no
    consequence because their evidence was not considered by the trial Court
    for recording conviction. Merely because casualty medical register was not
H   produced, that is also not a factor to discard the register containing the
    SHAKILA ABDUL GAF AR KHAN "· VASANT RAGHUNA Til DHOBLE [ PASAYAT, J.] 443

original reports of which a copy of the report was produced. Non-supply A
of the copies of the statement did not per se cause prejudice. Strong
reliance was placed on a decision of this Court in Noor Khan v. State of
Rajasthan, [1964] 4 SCR 521 for the said purpose.

      It was also submitted that the entire object of the State machinery was
to protect the police officials. Even if it was not possible to collect more    B
material, even the evidence on record was sufficient to find the accused
guilty and by adopting a technical approach, contrary to the principles laid
down by this Court, the acquittal should not have been directed.

       Mr. Arun Pednekar while adopting the arguments of Mr. Sanyal took        C
the stand that even if the materials more or less fell short of the required
standard, one factor cannot be over -looked that the police officials did
not take any action as required under law. Even if for the sake of arguments
it is conceded that the materials are not sufficient to convict the accused,
yet the State has a duty to explain as to under what circumstances a            D
particular person in custody suffered injuries and in appropriate cases its
functionaries can be directed to bring it to the notice of the State
Government to pursue the matter further.

      In response to the stands taken by the complainant, Mr. V.S. Kotwal,
learned senior counsel appearing for the accused-respondent No. I submitted     E
that the complainant has not come to the Court with clean hands. Instead
she tried to abuse the process of the Court by bringing false accusations.
Accused and the deceased were friends and there is no reason as to why
he would assault the deceased, and instead he would have tried to protect
him in the connected case where the deceased was an accused. What is            F
 alleged is not in line with the normal human conduct. The belated
 complaint without any explanation for the delay has been rightly thrown
out by the High Court. The injuries noticed by the doctor who examined
the deceased before his death did not show the involvement of the accused.
In fact, at no stage at the beginning the complainant has particularly named
the accused. Even in the history sheets recorded by the doctor, name of         G
the accused did not figure. Interestingly, it was stated that the police had
assaulted. Even in the initial reports given by PWs. 1, 2 and 5 name of
t.he accused was not indicated, though he is known to PW I and the
deceased intimately. Further, accusations were not against the accused
alone, two other police officials were allegedly there giving beatings to the   H
    444                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A deceased. Interestingly, in the private complaint filed, no definite role is
    ascribed to others and they have not been arrayed as accused. It is not a
    case of mere exaggeration or embellishment; it is a totally false plea
    advanced. One significant factor is that the accused was granted bail on
    16.10.1983. The complainant has stated in the complaint petition that when.
B   the deceased was produced .in Court, he was in a pathetic condition. If that
    be so, it is unbelievable that the Magistrate who granted bail would not
    have noticed this and would not have required the deceased to undergo
    medical treatment or examination. It is not the case of the complainant that
    any grievance was made before the Magistrate about police torture.

C         In the complaint petition, there is one significant statement about one
    Surya Prakash Singh witnessing the assaults on 14.10.1983. Though his
    name is indicated in the list of witnesses strangely his evidence has not
    been tendered by examining him as a witness. Though a writ petition was
    filed by the complainant before the High Court, in that there was no
D   allegation of the torture. Dr. Pankaj Joshi (DW-3) who examined the
    deceased on 15.10.1983, did not notice any injury of serious nature except
    three superficial injuries. Before him also the deceased has not made any
    statement about having been assaulted by the accused.

          The court witnesses who were police officials were not permitted to
E be cross examined by the accused. This is clearly contrary to the law as
    laid down by this Court in Mohan/al Shamji Soni v. Union of India and
    Anr.. [I 991] Supp 1 SCC 271. Had the opportunity been granted, the truth
    would have been revealed.

          The so-called oral dying declaration has rightly been discarded. If
F the witnesses knew that it was the accused who had assaulted the deceased,
    there was no necessity of asking the deceased as to how he came to be
    injured. In the statement recorded on 18.10.1983, the na!Jle of the accused
    as assailant has not been indicated. In short the stand was that the accused
    has rightly been acquitted.
G
          Learned counsel appearing for the State of Maharashtra submitted
    that the prosecution has not been partisan. It has produced all the materials
    which were required to be produced before the Court, and inferen\:es were
    drawn from the materials available on record.

H         Before coming to the innocence or otherwise of the accused, two
    SHAKILA ABDUL GAFAR KHAN "· VASANT RAGHUNA TI! DHOBLE [ PASAYAT, J.] 445

disturbing features which have attracted our notice needs to be noticed.            A
Firstly, no explanation has been offered as to why no FIR was registered.
Learned counsel for the State of Maharashtra submitted that the statements
      /

given by PWs 1, 2 and 5 were treated to be in terms of Section 174 of
the Code and, therefore, no FIR was registered. To say the least, the stand
is fallacious. It needs no reiteration that if it is brought to the notice of       B
the police that somebody had beaten the deceased, the FIR was to be
registered. An interesting explanation has been given by CW-I. He has
stated that the statements were recorded in terms of Section 174 of the Code
and in order to report to the coroner as regards the circumstances of the
death. At that point of time the sentiments were high. The allegations were         C
looked into and the matter was reported to the higher authorities to order
independent Crime Branch inquiry. This witness also stated that he had also
made enquiries from the accused and other police officials and tried to
obtain their version. The witness stated that he had personally questioned
the accused and two other PSI, and he perused the papers, medical
certificate and station diary etc. and submitted his report through ACP             D
Irani. The official acted as if he was deciding the guilt or otherwise of an
accused. The permissible area of application of mind is limited. to finding
out existence of a cognizable offence, and nothing beyond that.

      It is a fairly well settled position in law that even at the time of taking   E
cognizance the Court is not required to find out which particular person
is the offender, and the cognizance is taken of offence. The course adopted
by the official certainly tends to make a mockery of law. The official stated
that he had requested the higher authorities to conduct crime branch
enquiry. It has not been shown as to what was the outcome of such enquiry,
if any. We will revert back to this aspect after dealing with the question          F
whether accused is guilty.

      The High Court has rightly observed that the private complaint was
filed after a long lapse of time. If there was inaction to deal with
information lodged with the police in October 1983, there was no reason             G
for the complainant to wait for more than one year to approach the Court
by making a private complaint. Though, delay per se may not affect
credibility of complainant's version, each individual case has to be tested
to see whether delay has been properly explained. Mr. Sanyc.1 referred to
the explanation given about the complainant having approached the Prime             H
    446                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.
A Minister and the President. It was submitted that the complainant was not
    aware of the legal modes to be adopted, and therefore in good faith was
    writing to the Prime Minister and the President. This plea is clearly
    unacceptable. In the complaint petition itself it has been stated that legal
    advise was sought in the matter immediately after the occurrence and the
B   legal notices were sent by advocates. That being so, plea that the remedies
    available in law were unknown to the complainant is unbelievable. The
    High Court has, therefore, rightly held this to be a vulnerable circumstance.

         Coming to the acceptability of the evidence of PWs l, 2 and 5 it is
    not merely a case of exaggeration or embellishment.
c          It is the duty of Court to separate grain from chaff. Falsity of
    particular material witness or material particular would not ruin it from the
    beginning to end. The maxim "falsus in uno falsus in omnibus" has no
    application in India and the witnesses cannot be branded as liar. The maxim
D   ''falsus in uno falsus in omnibus" has not received general acceptance nor
    has this maxim come to occupy the status of rule of law. It is merely a
    rule of caution. All that it amounts to, is that in such cases testimony may
    be disregarded, and not that it must be disregarded. The doctrine merely
    involves the question of weight of evidence which a Court may apply in
    a given set of circumstances, but it is not what may be called 'a mandatory
E   rule of evidence'. See Nisar Alli v. The State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR ( 1957)
    SC 366.

        The doctrine is a dangerous one specially in India for if a whole body
  of the testimony were to be rejected, because witness was evidently
F speaking an untruth in some aspect, it is to be feared that administration
  of criminal justice would come to a dead-stop. Witnesses just cannot help
  in giving embroidery to a story, however, true in the main. Therefore, it
  has to be appraised in each case as to what extent the evidence is worthy
  of acceptance, and merely because in some respects the Court considers
  the same to be insufficient for placing reliance on the testimony of a
G witness, it does not necessarily follow as a matter of law that it must be
  disregarded in all respects as well. The evidence has to be shifted with care.
  The aforesaid dictum is not' a sound rule for the reason that one hardly
  comes across a witness whose evidence does not contain a grain of untruth
  or at any rate exaggeration, embroideries or embellishment. (See Sohrab
H s/o Beli Nayata and Anr. v. The State of Madhya Pradesh, [1972] 3 SCC
   SHAKILAABDULGAFARKHAN 1•. VASANTRAGHUNATHDHOBLE[PASAYAT,J.) 447

751 and Ugar Ahir and Ors. v. The State of Bihar, AIR (1965) SC 277.             A
An attempt has to be made to, as noted above, in terms of felicitous
metaphor, separate grain from the chaff, truth from falsehood. Where it is
not feasible to separate truth from falsehood, because grain and chaff are
inextricably mixed up, and in the process of separation an absolutely new
case has to be reconstructed by divorcing essential details presented by the     B
prosecution completely from the context and the background against which
they are made, the only available course to be made is to discard the
evidence in toto, (See Zwinglee Ariel v. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR
(1954) SC 15 and Ba/aka Singh and Ors. v. The State of Punjab, AIR
(1975) SC 1962. As observed by this Court in State of Rajasthan v. Smt.
Kalki and Anr., AIR (1981) SC 1390, normal discrepancies in evidence are         C
those which are due to normal errors of observation, normal errors of
memory due to lapse of time, due to mental disposition such as shock and
horror at the time of occurrence and those are always there however honest
and truthful a witness may be. Material discrepancies are those which are
not normal, and not expected of a normal person. Courts have to label the        D
category to which a discrepancy may be categorized. While normal
discrepancies do not corrode the credibility of a party's case, material
discrepancies do so, These aspects were highlighted recently in Krishna
Machi and Ors. v. State of Bihar etc., JT (2002) 4 SC 186, Gangadhar
Behera and Ors. v. State of Orissa, (2002) 7 Supreme 276 and Rizan and
Anr. v. State ofChhattisgarh, (2003] 2 sec 661).                                 E
      It is a case where it is really difficult to separate the grain from the
chaff. If really there was merciless beatings with such brutal force that a
hockey stick broke and the beating was given for more than one hour, the
result would not have been 16 simple injuries with no fractures or internal      p
rupture. There is another vital factor which corrodes complainant's plea.
If the condition of the accused was so severe that he was not able to even
stand on 15,10.1983 morning as claimed, it is not explained as to how the
Magistrate who granted bail did not notice the condition or how even no
grievance was made by the deceased before him. There is a requirement
under Section 54 of the Code which deals with a right of an arrested person      G
to bring to the notice of the Court about torture or assault. The provision
provides for an examination of an arrested person by medical practitioner
at the request of the arrested person and it is a right conferred on the
arrested person. As this Court had noticed that iP many cases the arrested
persons are not aware of the right, and on account of ignorance are unable       H
                                                                                   '
    448                  SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A to exercise that right even though they have been tortured or mat-treated
    by the police in lock up, a direction was given in Sheela Barse v. State
    of Maharashtra, [1983] 2 SCC 96 to the Magistrates requiring them to
    inform the arrested persons about this right in case he has any complaint          •
    of any torture or maltreatment in police custody. This apparently was not
B   done by the deceased and it is a serious flaw to the complainant version.
    It is not the case of the complainant that such a grievance was made and
    the Magistrate did not take note of it. There are several inferences noticed
    by the High Court; and one of them is non supply of documents. Section
    208 of the Code deals with the requirements of furnishing documents to
    the accused. Of course, it has rightly been submitted by Mr. Sanyal that
C   mere non supply of documents may not be considered prejudicial but the
    Court has to give a definite finding about the prejudice or otherwise. This
    aspect was highlighted in Noor Khan's case supra.

          Coming to the plea that refusal to grant permission to cross examine
    was impermissible in law, the parameters have been indicated in Mohan/al
D   Shamji 's case supra. If the Court has permitted the accused to lead the
    evidence the mere denial of cross-examining the man by the accused
    cannot be per se a vulnerable factor. In the present case, the three police
    officials were not required to speak about the case at hand in general. They
    were in fact required to state about certain documents in terms of Section
E   174 of the Code. It is of course true-that wher.. the permission has been
    granted to cross examine, the accused could have produced some materials
    to support his case. We need not go into this aspect in detail because the
    trial Court itself has permitted the accused to lead rebuttal evidence.

          Though the High Court was not justified in saying that the register
F which contained the original entries regarding the post mortem examination
    was not to be taken note of, learned counsel for the accused submitted that
    copy of the post mortem report cannot be accepted in evidence. Strong
    reliance was placed on a decision of this Court in Vijender v. State ofDelhi
    [ 1997] 6 SCC 171 where the original post mortem report was not produced
G   and the doctor was not examined. A close reading of the decision shows
    that it was referred in a different factual context and on the facts of the
    case it was held that the production of the original post mortem report and
    the examination of the doctor was necessary. While saying so, the
    principles of Section 32 of the Evidence Act were recognized and it was
    noted that it was an appropriate case where logic of the said provision can
H   be applied.
    SHAKILA ABDUL GAF AR KHAN 1·. VASANT RAGHUNA TH DHOB LE [ PASAYAT,J.] 449

     Coming to the evidence of PWs 1, 2 and 5 it is to be noted that apart         A
from the exaggeration about the assaults, evidence shows even some
doubtful features about their presence.

      In the initial statement given on 18. l 0.1983 PW- I has stated that after
seeing the beatings by the accused she sent one person to call her mother-         B
in-law to the spot and returned to her home. If that be so, it is quite
improbable that she saw PWs 2 and 5 together to witness the assaults.
Though the High Court was not justified in doubting the version of PWs
I, 2 and 5, because one Shamin was not examined, that actually would not
dilute the conclusion regarding evidence of PWs 2 and 5 about the alleged
beatings on 15.10.1983 being extremely fragile. So far as the beating on           C
14.10.1983 is concerned, the complainant's case is based on what one
Surya Prakash Singh allegedly told her and the oral dying declaration. As
rightly submitted by learned counsel for the accused, Surya Prakash Singh
has not been examined and there is no material to otherwise link the
accused with the alleged beatings on 14.10.1983. The oral dying declaration        D
also is unbelievable if the PWs I, 2 and 5 had really seen the assaults they
would not have asked the deceased as to how he sustained injuries. This
improbabilises the claim of oral dying declaration. Coupled with this fact
is the non mention of the accused's name in the medical report. The doctor
who examined the deceased stated that he did not implicate the accused,            E
specifically did not tell his name. Non-mention of accused's name may not
in all cases be a vulnerable factor. But in the factual background, it
certainly assumes importance. Deceased made omnibus statement about
assaults by the police. It is not brought on record that the accused
alone had assaulted the deceased. On the contrary, according to the                F
evidence of PW-I, two constables had accompanied the accused and also
had assaulted the deceased. Surprisingly they were not made accused in
the complaint.

      Taking totality of the circumstances it is clear that the High Court was
right in directing acquittal of the accused. We decline to interfere with the      G
judgment of acquittal.

      But before we part with the case, there are several factors which have,
at the threshold, drawn our attention. There are several loose ends, which
as admitted by the prosecution, were not taken note of. Even according to          H
    450                    SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A the version of the accused, the deceased was taken to the hospital and was
    examined by DW-3. What was the occasion for this being done still
    remains shrouded in mystery. The post mortem report reveals 16 injuries,
    though of simple nature. If none of these injuries was sustained by the
    deceased in police custody, there was no necessity of bringing the deceased
B   to the hospital on 15.10.1983 at 11.00 a.m. CW-2 has admitted that he had
    taken the deceased for examination by DW-3. The Court could have asked
    him as to what was the necessity for doing so. That admittedly has not been
    done.

          The Courts exist for doing justice to the persons who are affected.
C The Trial/First Appellate Courts cannot get swayed by abstract technicalities
    and close their eyes to factors which need to be positively probed and
    noticed. The Court is not merely to act as a tape recorder recording
    evidence, overlooking the object of trial i.e. to get at the truth, and oblivious
    to the active role to be played for which there is not only ample scope but
D   sufficient powers conferred under the Code. It has a greater duty and
    responsibility i.e. to render justice, in a case where the role of the
    prosecuting agency itself is put in issue.

          As Pithily stated in Jennison v. Backer, [ 1972] 1 All E.R. I 006, "The
E law should not be seen to sit limply, while those who defy it go free and,
    those who seek its protection lose hope". Courts have to ensure thataccused
    persons are punished and if deficiency in investigation or prosecution is
    visible or can be perceived by lifting the veil trying to hide the realities
    or covering the deficiencies, deal with the same appropriately within the
F   framework of law. Justice has no favourite, except truth. It is as much the
    duty of the prosecutor as of the Court to ensure that full and material facts
    are brought on record so that there might not be miscarriage of justice.

          Though justice is depicted to be blind, as popularly said it is only a
    veil not to see who is the party before it while enforcing law and
G   administrating justice and not to ignore or turn the mind/attention of the
    Court from the cause or lis before it, in disregard of its duty to prevent
    injustice being done. When an ordinary citizen makes a grievance against
    the mighty administration, any indifference, inaction or slumber will tend
    to paralyse by such inaction or lethargic action of the Courts and erode in
H   stages the faith, ultimately destroying the justice delivery system of the
    SHAKILA ABDUL GAF AR KHAN ,,, VASANT RAGHUNA TH DHOBLE [ PASAYAT,J,) 451

country itself Doing justice is the paramount consideration and that duty         A
cannot be abdicated or diverted by manipulative red herrings, We consider
this to be a fit case for exercise of our jurisdiction under Article 142 of
the Constitution, We direct the State Government to pay compensation of
Rs, 1,00,000 to the mother and the children of the deceased, We are not
granting any compensation to the widow because she appears to have re-            B
married. A sum of Rs. 25,000 be given to the mother and balance to the
children, The amounts are to be paid kept in fixed deposit, and only the
interest shall be allowed to be drawn by the mother and the children. If
the children are minors, the fixed deposit shall be made in their names
through a proper legal guardian till they attain majority. This amount of         C
compensation shall be as a palliative measure and does not preclude the
affected person(s) from bringing a suit to recover appropriate damages
from the State Government and its erring officials if such a remedy is
available in law. The suit it goes without saying, if filed, shall be decided
in accordance with law, uninfluenced by any finding, observation or
conclusion herein. We further direct that an enquiry be conducted by the          D
Head of the Police force of the State under the direct control of the Chief
Secretary of the State, to find out as to who were the persons responsible
for the injuries on the body of the deceased. The starting point of course
would be the enquiry as to the necessity for taking the deceased to the
hospital on 15.10.1983 where DW-3 examined him. If on further enquiry             E
and on the basis of materials collected it appears that the accused who is
being acquitted had a role to play, it shall be open to the authorities to
initiate proceedings for action and the same shall be taken notwithstanding
the order of acquittal passed by the High Court and affirmed by us. This
is so, because on the materials now placed on record the acquittal was            F
justified. Action will also be taken against the officials who did not register
the FIR and the authorities who were requested to conduct the crime branch
enquiry but yet do not appear to have done anything in the matter. Our
awarding compensation also shall not be considered as a factor to decide
either way as to whether any particular official was responsible for
custodial torture. The appeal stands dismissed with the aforesaid                 G
observations.

B.K.M.                                                     Appeal dismiss~d.