Holding

The evidence of PW 1 was deemed reliable, the delay in the identification parade did not invalidate the conviction of accused No. 1, and consequently his acquittal was set aside while the acquittals of accused Nos. 3 and 5 were upheld.

Summary

The State appealed the High Court's acquittal of three accused in the murder of trade‑unionist lawyer Ram Subba Reddy. The Supreme Court examined whether the daughter’s (PW 1) testimony was reliable despite allegations of self‑inflicted injuries, the delay in the identification parade, and the absence of her statement in the record. It held that contemporaneous documentary evidence and medical testimony established PW 1’s presence and that her injuries were sustained while defending herself, not self‑inflicted. The Court found no justification for the High Court’s rejection of her identification of accused No. 1, and therefore set aside his acquittal, while upholding the acquittal of accused Nos. 3 and 5 on the basis of reasonable doubt. The appeal was partially allowed, restoring the conviction and sentence of accused No. 1 and confirming the acquittals of the others.

Issues considered

The credibility and reliability of PW 1’s testimony, including the nature of her injuries.
The effect of the delay in conducting the identification parade on the identification of accused Nos. 3 and 5.
Whether the absence of PW 1’s statement in the record (Section 162 CrPC) renders it inadmissible.
The applicability of Sections 148, 149, 302, 324 and 120B IPC to the accused.
The propriety of the High Court’s acquittal of accused No. 1.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 162, s. 313
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 120B, s. 148, s. 149, s. 302, s. 324

Subjects

murdercriminal conspiracyidentification paradeself‑inflicted injurybenefit of doubtevidence reliabilityIPC sections 148 149 302 324 120BCrPC sections 162 313

Judgment

STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH
A
v.
DR. M.V. RAMANA REDDY AND ORS.

AUGUST 14, 1991

B [A.M. AHMADI AND M.M. PUNCHHJ, JJ.]

Indian Penal Code-Sections 148, 302 and 324-Acquittal of
accused-Whether valid and proper on the evidence adduced.

Delay in holding identification parade-Effect of.
c One Ram Sobba Reddy, an advocate, politician and a trade-
unionist, was murdered on the night between 14th and 15th April, 1975,
at his house in Proddatur, when the deceased is stated to have received
fatal blows by lethal weapons whilst his daughter (PW 1), sleeping
nearby received injuries when she attempted to go to help her father.
D According to the prosecution, Accused No. 1 (Respondent No. 1), was a
friend and a regular visitor to the house of the deceased, till they fell out
on account of trade union activities. Accused No. 1 was the President of
the workmen's unions of Andhra Cotton Mills, Proddatur, Interna-
tional Packaging Company, Proddatur and Transport Workers,
espousing the cause of workmen and directing their union activities
E while the deceased, a practising Advocate represented the manage-
ments of these companies and tendered legal advice to them in connec-
tion with the various labour problems arising in those companies. The
d'eceased who was a lawyer for the companies had advised the accused
No. 1 not to resort to violence for settlement of industrial disputes. The
fact that infuriated accused No. 1 further was the help which the
F deceased agreed to provide to PW 11 for setting up an office of INTUC
in his own office. This was intended to counter the militant activities of
Accused 1 who was in control of most of the labour unions in the town.

According to the prosecution at about 3.30 a.m. on the day of
occurrence, PW 1 who was sleeping on the terrace of the house nearby
G her father, woke up hearing the cries of her father ans saw accused 1
with 6 or 7 others stabbing her father with daggers. She raised an alarm
and tried to go to rescue her father but she was prevented by three of
them from getting up; accused No. 3 bad gagged her mouth with bis '
hand and had pinned her down to the cot. Thereafter accused 5 tried to
stab her with a dagger twice but on both the occasions she warded off
H the blows and in the process sustained injuries on her left index fmger,

600
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY 601

thumb and palm extending to another finger. Aller the assailants left,
A
she got down and informed her mother PW 2 about the incident; she
opened the door to PWs 3 and 4, who were sleeping· outside. She sent a
message to the police through PW 5, her neighbour, as telephone lines
were cut. The police took np investigation and 19 persons including the
respondents were put up for trial before the Additional Sessions Judge,
Cuddapah on different charges e.g. criminal conspiracy, rioting and B
murder, etc. The learned trial judge came to the conclusion that the
prosecution had failed to establish the charge of criminal conspiracy
under Section 120B, I.P.C. It accepted the testimony of PWs 1to5 and
held (i) that the incident occurred at ,3.30 a.m. on the terrace of the
residence of the deceased; (ii) the injuries borne on the fingers of PW 1
were not self-inflicted as suggested by defence and (iii) that the intima-
tion of the incident was the police without loss of time. Accordingly the
c
trial Judge convicted Accused Nos. 1 and 3 under Sections 148 and 302
and Sec. 324 with the aid of Section 149, I.P.C. and accused No. 5
under Section 148, 302 and 324, I.P .C. and sentenced all the three to
life imprisonment for murdering Ram Sobba Reddy and to rigorous
imprisonment for 3 years under section 148, IPC. The other 16 accused D
were acquitted. The convicted persons appealed to the High Court and
the State filed an application for enhancement of the sentence imposed
on Accused No. 1 to capital punishment. The High Court allowed the
appeal by the convicted persons and acquitted them. Hence this appeal
by the State against the order of acquittal, by special leave. The High
Court held that the evidence of PW 1 is tainted in that the names of E
accused 2 and 4 who were strangers to her figure in her statement Exh.
P-1 and further her statement regarding identity of Accused 3 and 5 was
unacceptable. The High Court therefore found the evidence led by the
prosecution untrustworthy and thus acquitted the accused appellants
before it. ·
F
Partly allowing the appeal, this Court,

HELD: On the question of presence of PW 1 in Proddatur on the
date of the incident, apart from the oral evidence of PWs 1 to 3 and 5,
there is the documentary evidence .in the form of the entry Ex. 56
recorded by PW 24 in the general diary on April 15, 1975 at about 4-30 G
; a.m. That entry was made on the information supplied by PW 5. It is
clearly stated therein by PW 5 that he had been told by PW 1 that her
father was murdered at his residence. It was on receipt of this informa-
tion that the police went to the house of the deceased, drew up the
inquest report and recorded the statements of those present there
including PW 1. The presence of PW 1 is, therefore clearly established H
602 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1991] 3 S.C.R.

by this document prepared within an hour from the time of the incident.
A
This contemperaneous docmnent corroborates the oral evidence of the
aforesaid witnesses. [614A-CJ

The High Court failed to realise that when an injury is on an
accessible part of the body, which the individual can himself reach,
B such an injury could also be self-inflicted and when a medical witness is
asked if it was possible to self-inflict it he would have to answer in the
affirmative unless the direction of the injury or such other factors show
otherwise. But merely because the medical officer says that they could
be self-inflicted, there is no reason to jump to such a conclusion unless
circumstances establish such a possibilicy. In the present case there was
hardly any opportunity to self-inflict them. Her not being a left hander
c should make no difference because she is bound to use that hand to
ward off the blows if her assailant is on that side of her bed. The High
Court was not justified in concluding that PW l had self inflicted the
wounds found on her left hand. This conclusion of the High Court is, to
say the least, wholly conjectural and totally against the weight of evi-
D dence on record. [615F-616AJ

Once it is accepted that PW l had slept on the terrace and had
sustained the injuries in the incident, her evidence regarding the
identity of accused No. l who was quite well known to her cannot be
doubted. [616GJ
E
The evidence of PW 1 is that when she heard the cries of her father
she woke up and saw accused No. 1 and six or seven others belabouring
him. This means that she did not know and could not identify the
companions of accused No. 1. However, when she tried to raise an ).
alarm three of the assailants approached her and pinned her down to
F the bed, and one of them threatened to stab her. He did carry out his
threat as is evidenced from the injuries sustained by her. She was able
to identify two of them at the identification parade held on May 23,
1975. This is proved through the evidence of PW 14 who conducted the
test identification parades. Now accused Nos. 3 and 5 had surrendered
before the Court on May 13, 1975. PW 14 received the requisition for
G arranging a test identification parade on May 17, 1975. The identifica-
tion parade was actually held on May 23, 1975. There is no valid expla- ~
nation tendered by the prosecution for the delay in holding the identifi-
cation parades. The High Court was reluctant to place absolute reliance
on the evidence of PW 1 regarding the identity of accused Nos. 3 and 5.
In the absence of a valid explanation for the delay, the Court did not
H think that this approach of the High Court can be said to be manifestly
wrong to call for intervention. [617A-EJ

'
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY [AHMADI, l.J 603

The Court, in the result, partly allowed the appeal in so far as it
A
related to original Accused No. I-respondent No. 1 set aside the High
Court's order acquitting him and restored the order of trial Judge
convicting and sentencing him. The Court affirmed the High Court's
order of acquittal passed in respect of other accused, giving them the
benefit ofdouht. [617E-G)

State of Jammu and Kashmir v. Hazara Singh & Anr., [1980)
Suppl. SCC 641, referred to.

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
No. 7 of 1979.

From the Judgment and Order dated 13.2.1978 of the Andhra
c
Pradesh High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 812 of 1976 and 807 of
1977.

K. Madhava Reddy, TVSN. Chari, Narashima P.V.P.L. and Ms.
M. Gupta for the Appellant. D

R.K. Garg, T. Rama Moh~n Raj, N.M. Popli and V.J. Francis
for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
E
AHMADI, J, Ram Subba Reddy, an advocate, politician (an
ex-MLA) cum trade unionist was done to death when he was sleeping
on the terrace of his house in Proddatur, District Cuddapah, on the
night bet\veen 14th and 15th April, 1975. The incident in questl:on
occurred at about 3.30 a.m. in which, apart ·trom the deceased Ram
Subba Reddy having received fatal blows by lethal weapons, his F
daughter PW 1 Krishnaveni, aged about 24 years, received in juries
when she attempted to go to help her father. As many as 19 persons
were put up for trial before the learned Additional Sessions Judge,
Cuddapah on different charges. Original accused Nos. 1 and 7 to 19
were charged for criminal conspiracy under section 120B; original
accused Nos. 1 to 6, 12 and 13 were charged for rioting with deadly G
weapons under section 148; original accused No. 16 was charged under
section 147 along with original accused Nos. 1 to 6, 12 and 13; original·
accused Nos. 1 to 6, 12 and 13 were also charged for murder under
section 302; the said accused alongwith original accused No. 16 were
also charged under section 302/ 149; original accused No. 5 was
charged under section 324 and he as well as original accused Nos. 1 to H
604 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1991] 3 S.C.R.

A 4, 6, 12, 13 and 16 were charged under section 324/149, I.P.C. To bring
home the charges against them the prosecution mainly relied on the
testimony of PW 1 Krishnaveni, PW 2 Venkata Subbamma, widow of
the deceased, PW 3, Venkat Rami Reddy and PW 4 Kasireddy
Sambasiva Reddy, both of whom it is claimed were sleeping on the
ground floor of the house of the deceased and PW 5 Annapu Reddy
B Venkata Subba Reddy, a neighbour who arrived at the scene of inci-
dent on hearing the commotion and who at the instance of PW 1
lodged the FIR Exh. P-56 at about 4.30 a.m. The learned Additional
Sessions Judge accepted the evidence of PWs 1, 2, 3 and 5, PW 4
having turned hostile, and convicted original accused Nos. 1 and 3
under section 148 and section 302 and 324 with the aid of section 149,
l.P.C. and original accused No. 5 under sections 148, 302 and 344,
C I.P.C., substantively. All the three of them were sentenced to life
imprisonment for murdering Ram Subba Reddy and to rigorous impri-
so.-ment for 3 years under section 148, I.P.C. No separate sentence
was imposed for causing injuries to PW 1. The rest were acquitted of
all the charges levelled against them. No appeal was preferred to the
D High Court against their acquittal but the three convicted accused
preferred an appeal to the High Court challenging their conviction
while the State appealed for enhancement of the sentence of accused
No. 1 from life imprisonment to capital punishment. The High Court
doubted the testimony of PWs 1, 2, 3 and 5 and their capacity to
identify the assailants and, therefore, acquitted them of all the charges
E levelled against them. Consequently the State's appeal for enhance-
ment of accused No. l's sentence. also failed. While the State has
preferred this appeal against the order of acquittal of original accused
Nos. l, 3 and 5, no appeal has been preferred against the dismissal of
the State's appeal for enhancement of the accused No. l's sentence. A
few facts leading to this appeal may be noticed.
F
The deceased was a practising lawyer and a congressman. He was
a member of the Legislative Assembly during the 1967-1972 term. He
had his own house in which he resided. Accused No. I, a medical
practitioner, was a trade union activist belonging to the Communist
Party of India (Marxist-Leninist group) and weilded considerable
G influence among the working classes. Accused No. 2 was a lower divi
sion clerk in the judicial department, District Cuddapah, but was on
leave at the material time. He was a close associate of accused No. 1.
Accused Nos. 3 <md 5 were employees of Andhra Cotton Mills, Proddatur,
while accused Nos. 4 and 6 were employees of International Packaging
Company, Proddatur, and took part in trade union activities. In the
H first quarter of 1974 the workers of the International Packaging Com-
•
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY (AHMADI, J.] 605

pany had served the management with a charter of demands and
A
accused No. 1, who was the President of the Union had served the
management with a strike notice on the failure of the negotiations
which the management countered by declaring a lock-out. Thereafter
PW 21 Jutura Ramaniah partner of the company was assaulted on the
night of March 30, 1974 for which a case was registered against accused·
No. 1 and his companions. The deceased who was a lawyer for the B
company is stated to have advised accused No. 1 not to resort to
violence for settlement of such industrial disputes. As the deceased
was representing the company the relations between the deceased and
accused No. 1 which were cordial were soured and the latter stopped
visiting the former. In the month of November 1974, on the advise of
the deceased, the management brought workers from Bangalore and
started the factory .. However the workers' union could prevail upon
c
those workers not to report for work and the unit again Game to a
standstill within aboµt ten days of commencement. The dispute was
referred to the arbitration 9f three persons but they could not resolve
it on account of the uncompromising attitude ·of the workers led by
accused No. 1. D

While this unrest continued trouble started brewing·with. the
transport workers union of which accused No. 1 was the President
·striking work. Here too the management was represented by the
deceased. The atmo•phere in the township was surcharged and tense.
With the intervention of the State Minister the despute between the E
transport workers and the owners was settled but so far as the Interna-
tional Packaging Company is concerned its employees did not partici-
" pate in the meeting called by the Minister. A warrant for the detention
of accused Nq. 1 under MISA was issued on February 14, 1975 but the
same could not be executed as he went underground. On the advice of
the Minister the management unilaterally opened the factory w.e.f. F
March 19, 1975. The deceased had throughout taken a very active
interest in ensuring the starting of the factory notwithstanding the
stand taken by the union. The m1ion had also complained about the
unilateral imposition of certain conditions on the workmen but to no
avail. The workers began to report for work though the union was not
reconciled. On the other hand since the warrant for accused No. l's G
arrest could not be executed a warrant for the attachment of his pro-
perties was issud on April 9, 1975.

PW 11 M. Sajjana, Assistant Station Master, Cuddapah, had
started an INTUC branch at Cuddapah sometime in December, 1973.
Under its banner a youth conference was organised on January 26, H
606 . SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1991] 3 S.C.R .

1975. PW 11 presided over that conference and a decision was taken to
.A explore the possibility of starting an INTUC branch at Proddatur with
the help of the deceased. Pursuant thereto PW 11 and others visited
Proddatur on March 27, 1975 to discuss the matter with the deceased.
The deceased promised all possible help and agreed to provide space
for the office of INTUC in his own office. Ultimately to counter the
B militant activities of accused No. 1 who was in control of most of the
labour unions in the town a decision was taken to start an !NTUC
branch in Proddatur w.e.f. April 19, 1975. Pamphlets were issued in this
behalf soliciting the co··operation of workers and others. This was the
last straw on the camel's back.

The physical condition of the place of occurrence may be noticed
c to appreciate the ocular evidence. The house faced southward and lay
along a public road wit.h open space in the front covered by a com-
pound wall in the front with !10 such wall on the remaining three sides.
In the front was a verandah and thereafter came the drawing room in
which was installed a telephone. Further to the north was a room and
D beyond that was a hall. Then came another covered verandah with a
tin-sheet sloping roof at a height of about 7 feet from the ground level.
This was the ground floor accommodation. The staircase leading to the
terrace was situate in the hall. This staircase opened in a room leading
to the open terrace. This terrace room had an asbestos sheet projec-
tion whereunder there was an electric bulb. The terrace had a parapet
E wall all round of the height of about 3 feet. On the south-west side of
the terrace room along the parapet wall there existed a 24 feet long
pial of the height of 20 inches and width of 18 inches. A window in the
western wall had a cement shade 4 feet x 2 feet in size. Adjacent to
that window was a telephone pole hardly five feet away from the wall
with the upper end hardly 6-1/2 inches from the cement shade. The
F prosecution case is that this telephone pole was used by the assailants
to launch the atiack on the deceased.

The family of the deceased comprised of his wife PW 2, two
daughters, one of whom was married and lived with her husband and
the other PW 1 was a medical student, and three sons none of whom
G was in town on that day. PW 1 was studying in the third year at
Kakinada and had come home as the college was closed from April 12
to April 20, 1975. PW 1 deposed that on the date of the incident after
dinner she and her parents chit-chatted for sometime and thereafter
her father went to the terrace as it was summer and retired for the
night. She continued to talk with her mother and in the meantime PWs
H 3 and 4 arrived. They carried their beddings to the verandah and slept
,~
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY (AHMADI, J.] 607
•
there. PW 3 used to sleep at their house since the last r uuples of years

~
A
whereas PW 4 came there occasionally. After they le '. for the veran-
dah the witness closed the ground floor door to the house, carried an
anatomy book and went to the terrace to sleep. She read in the ter,ace
light which was under the asbestos projection and then went to bed on
the cot laid for her keeping the light on as was the usual practice. Her
mother did not sleep on the terrace as she was not allowed to climb the B
stairs since she had recently undergone an operation. Her father was
sleeping on the bed laid on the floor wearing a banian. A hurricane
lantern was also kept lighted on account of frequent power failures. At
about 3.30 a.m. she woke up hearing the cries of her father and saw
~-
accused No. 1 and 6 or 7 others stabbing her father with daggers. She
raised an alarm and tried to go to the rescue of her father but she was
prevented by three of them from getting ·up. According to her accused c
No. 3 had gagged her mouth with his hand and had pinned her down to
the cot. Thereafter accused No. 5 tried to stab her with a dagger twice
but on both the occasions she warded off the blows and in the process
sustained in juries on her left index finger, thumb and palm region

.-<
extending to another finger. Till the assailants had finished with her 0
father she was pinned down to her bed and thereafter the assailants
went to the west, climbed the parapet wall and went down the terrace.
She then ran down crying that accused No. I, whom she knew since
·-
quite sometime, and his companions had killed her father. She woke
up her mother and informed her of what had happened. On hearing a
knock on the main entrance to the house, she opened the door and E
found PWs 3 and 4 holding a torch. On inquiry she told them that
accused No. 1 and his companions had killed her father and she too
was injured. She _learnt from them that they had seen accused No. 1
" and 4 or 5 others slide down the telephone pole situated to the west of
the house. She then tried to contact the police on phone but found that
the same was disconnected. Since PW 5 a neighbour was there she F
requested him to go to the police station and fetch the police. On
receipt of information a Sub-Inspector of police and a few constables
arrived by about 5.00 or 5.30 a.m. to whom she narrated the incident
whereupon her statement was recorded which has been introduced on
record as Exh. P-1. The Sub-Inspector held the inquest on the dead
,, body between 7.00 and 10.30 a.m., drew up a panchnama of the scene G
of occurrence, attached the anatomy text book and other blood stained
articles from the terrace, including the electric bulb from the socket of
the electric holder on the terrace. At the identification parade held
later she identified accused Nos. 3 and 5 as the companions of accused
No. !. In cross-examination she denied the suggestion that accused
Nos. 3 and 5 were shown to her while they were in the sub-jail before H
608 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1991] 3 S.C.R.

she was asked to identify them. It transpires from her cross-examina-
A
tion that the defence case WffS that she had not slept on the terrace,
that the cut injuries on her left hand were self-int1icted and that she
was falsely implicating accused Nos. 3 and 5 as they had supported her
rival Padma in a college election when she was in the B.Sc. dass. It was
also suggested that photographs of accused Nos. 3 and 5 were shown to
B her from a group photo obtained from A.C. Mills Union Office. It may
be mentioned thai the suggestions made to this witness in regard to the
identity of accused Nos. 3 and 5 are self contradictory in the sense that
if the suggestion that she was falsely involving these two accused
because they had helped Padma who contested the election acainst her
is correct it would follow that they were known to her since long in
which case there would be no need to point them out to her while they
c were in the sub-jail or to show their photographs to her. Suffice it to
say that nothing very striking, except minor contra.dictions, has been
elicited in her cross-examination which would shake her credibility.
PW 2, her mother, corroborates her say in regard to the incident and
the involvement of accused No. I. PW 3 has deposed that since he and
D PW 4 anticipated danger to the life of the deceased on account of the
disturbed management-labour relationship they slept at the house of
the deceased. PW 3 states that he saw eight persons sliding down the
\ telephone pole. Amongst them were accused Nos. I to 5 and S. V.
\ Subbarayadu whom he identified as accused No. 6. PW 4 has stated
that on the date of the incident he had heard about the murder when
E he was at his residence at about 4.30 a.m. He was treated as hostile and
was allowed to be cross-examined by the prosecution. PW 5, whose
house was only about 100 yards away, .deposed that when he was
sleeping on his terrace he heard cries at about 3.30 a.m. and went to
the house of the deceased. PWs I to 4 were present the.re alongwith
other neighbours. PWs I and 2 were weeping while PWs 3 and 4 were
F trying to console them. PW I asked him to inform the police that her
father was murdered. He then went and informed the police about tlie
incident and returned with the police to the scene of offence. Thus the
evidence of this witness also corroborates PW I.

The inquest was held between 7.00 and 10.30 a.m. The state-
G ments .of PWs I to 5 were also recorded and certain articles were
attached from the terrace. These included blood stained bed-sheets, v
pillows, towel, shawl, shrit, etc., and Cunningham's text book on
human anatomy which PW 1 was reading before going to bed. The
telephone connection was found snapped and there were drops of
blood from the place where the dead body was found till the drawing
H room downstairs where the telephone was installed which corrobo-
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY (AHMADI, J.j 609

rated the story of PW 1. The banian worn by the deceased was blood
A
stained and had cuts corresponding to injuries found on the chest of
the deceased. Several other articles found on the person of the
deceased were blood stained. There were as many as 33 injuries on the
person of the deceased which is clearly indic~tive of the involvement of
a group of persons in the killing. This stands corroborated by the
post-monem report. On the cot which was occupied by PW 1 there B
were blood drops on the bed, bed cover and bed sheet. The reports of
the Chemical Analyser and Serologist, Exhs. P-18 and P-19, show that
all the articles were stained with human blood. A lantern was burning
nearby and the electric light on the terrace was also on. This inquest
panchnama Exh. P-6 leaves no room for doubt that the incident occur-
red on the terrace portion of the residence of the deceased.
c
PW 1 was medically examined by the medical officer PW 13 on
the same day at about 11.45 a.m. She had incised wounds on the left
index finger 1/2" x 1/4", on the left hand below the wrist l" x 1/8" x
1/8", on che middle of the left palm 1" x 1/8" x 1/8" and on the little
finger of left hand 1/2" x 1/8" x 1/8". This would indicate that she D
received these injuries while trying to ward off the blows.

ldenfication parades were held on May 23, 1975. In the first one
accused Nos. 7, 10 and 11 were made to stand with non-suspects, in the
second parade accused Nos. 12, 13 and 16 were made to take their
positions along with several others and in the last parade accused Nos. E
17, 18 and 19 were concerned. PW 1 could not identify any one from
amongst the said accused persons in all the three parades. Out of the
three parades PW 3 identified all the three accused of the second
parade. In the evening an identification parade was held concerning
accused Nos. 2 to 6 and 9. PW 1 could identify accused Nos. 3 and 5
while PW 3 could not identify any of them. F

The defence of all the accused was of total denial and false
involvement. In fact accused No. 1 contended that he was out of
station from May 13, 1975 and learnt of the murder on his return·to
Proddatur. When he learnt of his false involvement he surrendered
before the Court. Accused Nos. 12, 13 and 16 contended that they G
were shown to PW 3 before the identification parade while accused
Nos. 3 and 5 pleaded that the police had taken a group photograph in
which they figured from the union office and had shown it to PW I.
Accused Nos. 7, 11, 14, 15, 17 and 19 were not examined under seciion
313 of the Criminal Procedure Code as no evidence incriminating them
was tendered on record. No defence witness came to be examined. H
610 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1991] 3 S.C.R.

The learned Additional Sessions Judge, Cuddapah, came to the
A
conclusion that the prosecution had failed to establish the charge of
criminal conspiracy under section 120B, l.P.C. He came to the conclu-
sion that the evidence on record, however, indicated that accused Nos.
I to 6 had a direct and strong motive to kill the deceased and the
likelihood of the others having shared their feelings could not be ruled
B out altogether. The direct testimony of PWs 1 to 5 and the other
circumstantial evidenc"e adverted to earlier established beyond any
manner of doubt that the incident occurred at 3.30 a.m. on the terrace
of the residence of the deceased. The learned Judge held that intima-
tion of the incident was given to the police without loss of time and PW
1 had lodged her complaint by about 6.00 a.m. when the police came
to the scene of occurrence alongwith PW 5 who had gone to call them.
c The suggestion that in juries found on the person of PW 1 were self-
inflicted or that PW 2 was giving false evidence as she was promised
financial help to the tune of Rs.1,50,000 were brushed aside by the
learned Judge as totally imaginary and unfounded. The learned Judge,
however, did not treat PW l's complaint Exh. P-1 as admissible in
D evidence as he-came to the conclusion that it was hit by section 162 of
the Code since information regarding the incident had reached the
police station through PW 5. The learned trial Judge, therefore,
accepted the evidence of PWs 1, 2, 3 and 5 as reliable and convicted
them as stated earlier while acquitting their companions.

E The said three convicted accused preferred an appeal, being
Criminal Appeal No. 812 of 1976, in the High Court. State also prefer-
red an appeal for awarding capital punishment to accused No. 1, being
Criminal Appeal No. 807 of 1976. The State's appeal came to be
dismissed and that is where the matter rests. However, the appeal by
the convicted accused came to be allowed and the appellants were
F acquitted. It is against the said order of acquittal that the State has
approached this Court by way of special leave. It would, therefore, be
proper to ascertain the grounds on which the impugned order of the
High Court is founded.

The High Court came to the conclusion that the complaint of PW
G 1 was not recorded at the time it purports to have been for if it were so
it would not have reached the concerned Magistrate as late as 1.40
p.m. In that case even the inquest report Exh. P-6 would not have
been delayed till 10.55 p.m. The explanation for the delay found in
Exh. P-25 cannot be accepted at its face value. The evidence of PW 1 is
tainted, in that, although she knew accused No. 1 as he visited her
H father quite often the rest of the assailants were total strangers and yet
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY [AHMADI, J.J 611

the names of accused Nos. 2 and 4 appear in her statement Exh. P-1
which goes to show that she was tutored into giving their names. That A
according to the High Court raises a serious doubt regarding her
trustworthiness. On the question of identity of accused Nos. 3 and 5,
the High Court points out that even before the identification parade
she had told the Magistrate that she would be able to identify only two
persons and later pointed an accusing finger at accused Nos. 3 and 5 at B
the identification parade. This. says the High Court, reinforces the
defence version that she was shown the group photo before she was
called to identify the accused persons. The identification parade was
delayed upto May 23, 1975 as till then the photograph was not .secured
by the police. In the circumstances the High Court did not find the
evidence of PW 1 regarding the identity of accused Nos. 3 and 5
acceptable. The High Court also held that the injuries on the left hand c
of PW I were in all probability self-inflicted, more so because she is
not a left-hander. So also the absence of blood stains on the bed lying
on the floor of the terrace casts a serious doubt regarding her version
of the incident. The High Court found the prosecution story that the
electric light as well as the kerosene lamp were kept on throughout the D
night rather unusual. Jn this view of the evidence, the High Court did
not consider PW 1 a truthful witness. As regards PW 3 the High Court
found his version that he slept at the residence of the deceased since
sometime unacceptable. It also noticed that PW 3 claimed to know
accused Nos. 1 to 6 by their names and he gave out those names to
the police and yet he could not identify any of them at the test identifi· E
cation parade. For this reason the High Court did not place reliance on
his evidence. The High Court, therefore, found the evidence led by the
prosecution untrustworthy and acquitted the accused/appellants.
Hence the present appeal.

Mr. Madhav Reddy, the learned counsel for the appellant-State F
contended that the presence of PW 1 at the time of the incident was
not only deposed to by PWs 2 and 3 but also by PW 5. The presence of
PW 3 at the house at about 4.30 a.m. is deposed to even by the hostile
witness PW 4. He, therefore, submitted that the presence of PWs 1 to
5 is clearly established and is reinforced by the evidence of PW 13, the
medicalman, who examined PW 1 at the Government Hospital at G
about 11.45 a.m. on the same day. The Sub-Inspector PW 24 also
deposes that PW 5 had told him that PW 1 had sent him to report the
murderous assault on her father. He submitted that once the presence
of PWs I and 3 was established there was no reason· to doubt their
testimony merely because PW 3 was honest enough not to falsely
· nvolve any one by pointing an accusing finger at the identification H
612 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1991] 3 S.C.R.

parade. He submitted that even PW 1 was honest enough to identify
A
only two persons, namely, accused Nos. 3 and 5, whom she had an
occasion, to see near her cot on the terrace. To reject her evidence as
regards the identity of these two accused on the specious plea that their
photographs were shown to her before the identification parade would
be, to say the least, unjust. If she could be shown the photograph why
B not PW 3 also ! He also submitted that it was preposterous to hold that
the injuries found on the left hand of PW I were self-inflicted. The
absence of blood on the bed sheet of the bed on the floor of the terrace
clearly explained that the deceased must have rolled onto the terrace
floor where the presence of blood was noticed. He, therefore, submit-
ted that the High Court had reversed the well reasoned judgment of
C the trial court on totally imaginary grounds which had resulted in
grave miscarriage of justice.

Mr. R.K. Garg, learned counsel for the respondents/accused,
submitted that this Court should not interfere with the decision of the
High Court unless it finds the view taken by the High Court as
D perverse and wholly improper, resulting in miscarriage of justice. Jn
support he cited State of Jammu & Kashmir v. Hazara Singh & Anr.,
I 1980] Supp. SCC 641. He also submitted that the investigating agency
had shown extra zealousness as the deceased was a prominent lawyer
and an ex-MLA. Supporting the view of the High Court he urged that
the presence of PW 1 was highly doubtful and in any case it would be
E risky to rely on her interested testimony regarding the identity of
accused Nos. 3 and 5. The absence of blood on the bed shows that the
same was planted after the event to concoct the story that PW l was
sleeping on the cot and not downstairs with her mother PW 2 who had
recently undergone an operation. Once the evidence of PW 1 is
excluded there is no direct testimony since PW 3 had not identified any
F of the accused at the identification parades. In short he supported the
judgment of the High Court and prayed that we should not interfere in
exercise of our extra-ordinary powers under Article 136 of the
Consriwtion.

The motive for the commission of the crime was the industrial
G unrest occasioned on account of the strike by the workers of the Inter-
national Packaging Company and later by the transport workers.
Indisputably accused No. 1 commanded considerable clout over the
employees of various industrial units such as the International Packag-
ing Company, Andhre Cotton Mills and the transport industry in Prod-
uatur. Accused No. l was championing the cause of the workmen~
H during the prolonged agitation and strike by the workers of the Inter-,
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY [AHMADI, J.] 613

national Packaging Company and also spearheaded the agitation by
A
the transport workers. The deceased was the lawyer for the manage-
ments and was considered the main obstacle in the realisation of the
workers· demands. There was, therefore, animosity between the
deceased and accused No. 1. This is niore than clear from the oral
evidence of PWs 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 21 to 23 and from the documentary
evidence tendered as Exhs. P-2 to P-5, P-30 to P-37 and P-40 to P-55. B
In view of this overwhelming documentary evidence which corrobo-
rates the ocular evidence of the aforesaid prosecution witnesses, it is
established beyond any manner of doubt that the rivalry between the
trade unions headed by accused No. 1 and the managements advised
by. the deceased had assumed ugly proportions. The starting of the
JNTUC branch at Proddatur with the active participation of the
deceased was perhaps the last straw on the camel's back which c
worsened the relations between accused No. land the deceased. This
is the motive according to the prosecution for th~ crime in question.
But as has often been commented bitter animosity can be a double
edged weapon which may be instrumental for deliberate false involve-
ment or for the witnesses wrongly inferring and strongly believing D
(without having actually witnessed it) that the crime must have been
committed by the rival group. This possibility has to be kept in mind
while evaluating the pros.ecution evidence regarding the involvement
of accused No. 1 and his companions in the commission of the crime.

There is no dispute regarding the description of the residential E
house of the deceased and .the location of the telephone pole to the
west thereof. It is not disputed that the said pole could be conveniently
used for slidding down from the terrace. So also the fact that the
telephone connection was snapped is not put in issue. The fact that the
incident occurred on the terrace is not disputed but the fact that the
deceased was sleeping on the floor and PW 1 was sleeping on the cot is F
disputed. It was suggested in the course of cross-examination of the
prosecution witnesses that the deceased alone was sleeping on the cot
on the terrace and PW 1 was in fact not in town and even if she was iii
town she must have been sleeping with PW 2. Lastly the fact that the
deceased died a homicidal death on receipt of as many as 33 id juries is
not disputed. The find of human blood on the various articles at.tached G
by the police, i.e. those worn by the deceased as well as PW 1 and
those found lying on the terrace, is clearly established by the reports
Exhs. P-18 and P-19 which h.ave not been questioned. It is in this
background that we must consider if the High Court has committed
any grave error requiring interference under Article 136 of the
Constitution. H
614 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1991) 3 S.C.R.

On the question of presence of PW 1 in Proddatur on the date of
A
the incident, apart from the oral evidence of PWs l to 3 and 5, there is
the documentary evidence in the form of the entry Exh. 56 recorded by
PW 24 in the general diary on April 15, 1975 at about 4.30 a.m. That
entry was made on the information supplied by PW 5. It is clearly
stated therein by PW 5 that he had been told by PW 1 that her father
B was murdered at his residence. 1t was on receipt of this information
that the police went to the house of the deceased, drew up the inquest
report and recorded the statements of those present there including
PW l. The presence of PW 1 is, therefore, clearly established by this
document prepared within an hour from the time of the incident. This
contemporaneous document corroborates the oral evidence of the
aforesaid witnesses. She was examined by the medical officer PW 13
c on the same day at about 11.45 a.m. In addition thereto, the find of the
Anatomy book and slippers on the terrace, al~ lends assurance to the
prosecution evidence in this behalf. Therefore, even if it is assumed
that the time of recording her statement Exh. P-1 is not correctly
recorded, her presence at the scene of offence at the material time is
D established beyond a shadow of doubt.

Accu.sed No. 1 was a friend of the deceased till they fell out. He
was a regular visitor to the house of the deceased and, therefore. PW 1
knew him quite intimately. She has frankly admitted that others were
strangers but she was able to identify accused Nos. 3 and 5 because
E she had an opportunity to see them from close quarters when they
were near her cot. The existence of a cot and a bed on the terrace is
indicative of the fact that two persons were sleeping on the terrace.
There were only three family members present on the date of the
occurrence, one of whom was PW 2 who had undergone surgery only
recently and was advised not to climb the stairs. It is, therefore,
F obvious that the deceased and PW 1 slept on the terrace. The submis-
sion that the bed on the floor was planted is based on the fact that
there was no blood on the bed-sheet of that bed. But this submission
overlooks the existence of blood drops nearabout the bed. The dead
body of the victim was also found lying on the terrace floor nearby.
The High Court relied on the photograph Exh. D-4 for holding that
G the bed was fresh and unused. But as is apparent from the. cross-
examination of PW 24 that the said photograph shows "the bed-sheet
spread over the bed on the cot is tucked beneath tne bed". Thus t:'e
said photograph is not of the bed on the floor. The High Court seems
to have misread the evidence. Secondly, it is clear that the de_ad body
was lying at some distance from the bed suggesting that the deceased Jlllllll
H h •d mlkd ""' do•log " ' olgl" °' lo <ho roooo of " ' ""''. Tho •
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY [AHMADI, J.j 615

other articles lying nearby e.g. towel, shawl, etc. were blood stained
and there were fresh drops of blood between the dead body and the
A
western waif leading to the telephone pole. Since there were only three
family members one of wbom, PW 2, had undergone an operation in
the recent past, it is difficult to understand how PW 1 alone could shift
tbe dead body of her father from the cot to the place where it was
found to concoct eviden.ce against the accused. It is too much to attri- · B
bute such intelligence to PW 1 or for that matter PW 3 also. If the dead
body which was bleeding had in fact been shifted there would have
been blood drops from the cot to the place where it was found.
Besides, where was the time for the entire exercise? PW 5 was sent to
call the police and he had returned with the police after his report was
entered in the general diary at 4.30 a.m. It, therefore, seems difficult C
to believe that the bed on the floor was planted to support the prosecu-
tion version that PW 1 slept on the terrace that night.

The medical officer PW 13 found four incised wounds on the left
hand of PW 1, possible by a sharp cutting weapon like a dagger or
knife. These injuries were indeed minor in nature. The High Court has D
concluded that the possibility of these injuries being self-inflicted can-
not be ruled out. PW 1 says she received these injuries in the process of
warding off the blows aimed at her. PW 13 also deposes that these
injuries could have been received while trying to ward off the blows on
her. Thus the medical evidence supports her say. However, in cross-
examination he stated that all the four injuries were cut injuries and E
not stab wounds. In response to a suggestion made in cross-examina-
tion he stated that the possibility of the injuries being self-inflicted was
not an impossibility. Merely from this suggestion and PW 1 not being a
left hander the High Court concluded that the possibility of the
injuries being self-inflicted could not be ruled out. With respect, the
High Court failed to realise that when an in jury is on an accessible part F
of the body which the individual can himself reach, such an injury
could also be self-inflicted and when a medical witness is asked if it was
possible to self-inflict it he would have to answer in the affirmative
unless the direction of the injury or such other factors show otherwise.
But merely because the medical officer says that they could be self-
inflicted, there is no reason to jump to such a conclusion unless G
circumstances establish such a possibility. In the present case there was
hardly any opportunity to self-inflict them. Her not being a left.hander
should make no difference because she is bound to use that hand to
ward off the blows if her assailant is on that side of her bed. We,
therefore, feel that the High Court was not justified in concluding that
PW 1 had self-inflicted the wounds found on her left hand. With H
616 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1991] 3 S.C.R.

respect, this conclusion of the High Court is, to say the least, wholly
A conjectural and totally against the weight of evidence on record.

The delay in sending the FIR Exh. P-1 to the Magistrate has been
seriously commented upon by the High Court while rejecting the exp-
lanation given in Exh. P-25. This comment has lost its significance as
B the said document has not been admitted in evidence by both the
courts below on the ground that it is hit by section 162 of the Code. We
would have examined the explanation if that document had formed
part of the record. Any way that cannot impinge on the. credibility of
PW I if her evidence is otherwise acceptable, which we find it is.

On the question of identity it is clear from the evidence of PW 1
c that accused No. l was known to her quite well since before the inci-
dent. She could, therefore, have no difficulty in identifying him even
in poor light. Immediately after the accused fled she ran down and
informed her mother that accused No. 1 and his companions had killed
her father. Since PW I had not disclosed the name of accused No. las
D one of the assailants to PW 5, the latter did not speak about him to the
police and hence his name does·not appear in the FIR recorded at 4.30
a.m. Accused No. I pleaded an alibi which he miserably failed to
probabilise. The absence of names of assailants in the general diary
entry mad.eon the basis of information supplied by PW 5 at the behest
of PW I has weighed considerably in the High Court doubting the
E version regarding the involvement of accused No. I in the commission
of the crime. It must. however, be realised that PW 1 had disclosed the
name of accused No. I at the earliest point of time when the complaint
Exh. P-1 and the inquest report Exh. P-6 were recorded. It must also
be realised that PW l was under terrible strain at that time. Not only
had this young girl lost her father in a ghastly assault, she had also to
I' look after her ailing mother and console her. She frantically tried to
. Inform the police on telephone but found the instrument dead with the
wires snapped. She, therefore, asked this young boy aged about 16
years. PW 5, to go to the police station and fetch the police. There was
hardly any time to give details of the incident. Under the circums-
tances the absence of the name of accused No. 1 as one of the assai-
G !ants in the entry made in the general diary at the instance of PW 5 is
quite understandable. Once it is accepted that PW l had slept on the
terrace and had sustained the injuries in the incident, her evidence
regarding the identity of accused No. 1 who was quite well known to
her cannot be doubted. We are, therefore, of the view that the High
Court was not justified in disturbing the view taken by the trial court
H in this behalf.
STATE OF A.P. v. DR. REDDY [AHMADI, l.l 617

That takes us to the question of the involvement of accused Nos.
3 and 5. The evidence of PW 1 is that when she heard the cries of her A
father she woke up and saw accused No. 1 and six or seven others
belabouring him. This means that she did not know and could not
identify the companions of accused No. 1. However, when she tried to
raise an alarm, th1ce of the assailants approached h.er and pinned her
down to the bed, and one of them threatended to stab her. He did B
carry out his threat as is evident from the injuries sustained by her. She
was able to identify two of them at the identification parade held on
May 23, 1975. This is proved through the evidence of PW 14 who
conducted the test identification parades. Now accused Nos. 3 and 5
,.._. had surrendered before the court on May 13, 1975. PW 14 received the
requisition for arranging a test identification parade on May 17, 1975. C
The identification parade was actually held on May 23, 1975. There is
no valid explanation tendered by the prosecution for the delay in
holding the· identification parades. The defence has suggested in the
cross-examination of PW 1 and PW 25 that in the meantime the ac-
cused who were in custody were shown to the witnesses and the police
had secured a group photograph in which accused Nos. 3 and 5 figured D
to facilitate their identification. The High Court was, however, re-
luctant to place absolute reliance on the evidence of PW I regarding
the identity of accused Nos. 3 and 5. In the absence of a valid explana-
tion for the delay we do not think that this approach of the High Court
can be said to be manifestly wrong to call for our intervention.
E
In the result this appeal is partly allowed insofar as it relates to
original accused No. 1 i.e., respondent No. 1 before us. The High
Court's order acquitting him is set aside. The appeal is, however,
dismissed so far as original accused Nos. 3 and 5 i.e., respondent Nos.
2 and 3 before us are concerned. We restore the order of conviction
and sentence of original accused No. !-respondent No. !-recorded F
by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Cuddapah for his involve-
ment in the crime with several other unknown persons. We, however,
give the benefit of doubt to original accused Nos. 3 and 5, i.e., respon-
dent Nos. 2 and 3 and confirm the order of their acquittal recorded by
the High Court. The original accused No. !-respondent No. 1 will
submit to his bail forthwith. The bail bonds in respect of other two G
respondents will stand cancelled.

Y.L. Appeal partly allowed.