SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS.versusUNION TERRITORY, CHANDIGARH

                    (2011] 7 S.C.R. 41


               SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS.                        A
                             v.
            UNION tERRITORY, CHANDIGARH
        (Criminal Appeal Nos.1254-1255 of 2011)
                       JULY 4, 2011
                                                              B
         [AFTAB ALAM AND R.M. LODHA, JJ.]

    Penal Code, 1860:

      s. 302134 - Murder - Circumstantial evidence - Extra- c
judicial confession - Conviction of three accused by trial court
- Affirmed by High Court - HELD: The first circumstance of
deceased seen being chased by accused not established -
 The witness who claims that the main accused made
confession to him, tried to save· one of the accused and 0
implicate another person in his place and thus, his evidence
cannot be relied upon - The recovery of blood stained jacket
of the main accused is of no consequence ·as his blood
sample was not taken to ascertain his blood group - Theft of
money and clothes of main accused cannot be said to make
out sufficient motive for him to kill the deceased - Besides, E
 there was nothing on record as against the remaining two
 accused - On the materials on record, there may be some
 suspicion against the accused, but,. the suspicion, howsoever
 strong, cannot take place of proof .:. · Conviction of accused
 persons is· based on completely insufficient evidence and, as F
 such, is set aside - Evidence - Circumstantial evidence -
 Extra-judicial confession - Recovery of blood stained articles
- Proving of - Criminal Law - Motive.

   · The appellants were prosecuted for commission of G
an offence punishable u/s 302 IPC. The prosecution case
was that on 29.3.2001 at about 8:30 p.m., PW-14, PW-9 and
one 'JS' were present near the GPO,' Sector 17,
Chandigarh; accused-appellant no.2 (A-2) was also
                            41                            H
    42       SUPREME COURT REPORTS            [2011] 7 S.C.R.


A   present there. At that time accused-appellant no. 1 (A- I)
    and accused-appellant no.3 (A-3) came there. A•1 was
    agitated as his money and clothes were stolen. He
    accused A-2 of committing the theft and an altercation
    took place between them. A-2 told A-1 that he had not
B   stolen his money or the other articles and it might have
    been the work of 'DR' (the deceased). It was at this stage
    that 'DR' also arrived at the scene. A-1 caught hold of
    'DR' by his neck and asked him to return his money and
    clothes otherwise he would kill him. A scuffle took place
c   between the two but 'DR' got himself freed and ran away
    from there. The three accused went after him yelling and
    shouting that they would not spare him. The following
    day, at about 8:30 A.M. 'DR' was found lying injured near
    the local bus stand on the rear side of Neelam Cinema,
    situate at Sector 17 market. There were injuries on his
D
    head and face. He was sent to hospital where he died.
    The three accused were put on trial for the murder of 'DR'.
    The trial court relied on the circumstances: (i) the
    deceased was last seen being chased by the appellants
    yelling at him and shouting that they would not spare him
E   (ii) extra judicial confession of A-1 before PW-10, (iii)
    recovery of the blood-stained jacket (Ext. PS) of A-1 from
    under the seat of the rickshaw on the basis of the
    disclosure statement (Ex. PU) made by him; and (iv)
    motive for the accused to commit the offence. It
F   cynvicted all the three accused u/s 302/ 34 IPC and
    sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for life and a
    fine of Rs.5,000/- each .. The appeals filed by the accused
    were dismissed by a division bench of the High Court.
    Aggrieved, the accused filed the appeals.
G
         Allowing the appeals, the Court
        HELD: 1.1. From the ante mortem injuries on the
    body of the deceased as coming to light from the medical
    evidence and the objects found at the spot where the
H              ;
. SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,         43
                 CHANDIGARH

body was found lying, it is quite clear that his death was A
homicidal. But, there is no ocular evidence of the
commission of the offence and the prosecution case is
based entirely on circumstantial evidence. [para 7-8] [49-
C-D]                                  ,
                                                            B
     1.2. On the issue of last seen, the prosecution
examined PW-9, PW-14 and PW-15. Though 'JS' had also
been cited earlier as one of the witnesses on this point,
he was not examined before the court. The first statement
of PW-9 suggests that the deceased and the accused had C
gone in the direction completely opposite to where his
body was found 12 hours later. His second statement is
thaythe deceased and the accused had gone in opposite
directions. His third statement, in answer to the court
question, is of course that the deceased and the accused
                                                            0
had gone in the direction of Nee lam Cinema._ It is also to
be noted that in his first two statements he only mentions
the names of A-1 and A-2, but does not name 'A-3' whom
he mentions only in his third statement in reply to the
question by the court. The vacillations in the deposition
of PW-9 cannot be brushed aside as · "minor E
discrepancy", as has been done by the High Court,
especially when it is to form the basis for life sentences
to three persons.[para 10, 13 and 15] [50-C; 51-D-E; 52-
A]
                                                        F
     1.3. PW-14 was declared hostile and was cross-
examined by the prosecution. He was examined' on 14-
1-2003, 8.4.200'3 and 18.9.2003. Each time he gave
contrary statements. Thus, he is not a trustworthy
witness and no reliance can be placed on his testimony. G
[para 16-19] [52-B-H; 57-B-C]

    1.4. PW-15 did not at all support the prosecution case
on the point of last seen and he did not even identify the
accused present in 'court. He was declared hostile by the
prosecution. However, significantly, in his cross- H
    44      SUPREME COURT REPORTS             [2011] 7 S.C.R.


A   examination by the defence, he stated that he had
    appeared as a prosecution witness in two NDPS cases
    (which were investigated by the same police officer who
    initially investigated the instant case). He further stated
    that the spot where the injured was running did not have
B   any lightpoint and that he did not see any person hitting
    the injured. [para 20] [53-D-F]

       1.5. On a careful consideration of the evidences of
  PWs 9, 14 and 15, the accused can not be said to be
  connected with the commission of the offence on the
C basis of the quarrel that is said to have taken place in the
  evening of 29.3.2001 between A-1 and the deceased. On
  the basis of the depositions of PWs 9 and 14 what can
  be said to have been established is only that while they
  were all present near the GPO, Sector 17, a quarrel and a
D scuffle had. taken place between A-1 and the deceased
  whom he accused of stealing his money and clothes. But
  the further story that when the deceased freed himself
  from the grip of A-1 and ran away towards Neelam Cinema
  he was pursued by all the accused shouting that they
E would not spare him is completely unacceptable on the
  basis of their evidences. The failure to establish that part
  of the story leaves a wide gap in the prosecution case
  and weakens it considerably. [para 22] [53-H; 54-A-C]

F       2. As regards the extra-judicial confession said to
  have been made by A-1 before P W 10, A-1, in his
  statement u/s 313 Cr PC, of course, denied having made
  any confessional statement. From the evidence of PW-10
  it is evident that in the examination-in-chief he was trying
G to implicate 'JS' (who was not an accused in the case)
  and was trying to save A-3. He was declared hostile and
  was cross-examined by the prosecution. In his cross-
  examination by the defence, he admitted that A-1 was not
  known to him personally. Admittedly, the alleged
  confessional statement was oral and it was not recorded
H
 SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,              45
                CHANDIGARH

in writing. An extra judicial confessional statement made       A
orally before a pers,0n with whom the maker of the
confession has no intimate relationship is not a very
strong piece of evidence and in any event it can only be
used for corroboration. PW- 10 appearing particularly
anxious to implicate 'JS' in place of A-3, his testimony        B
loses any credibility.[para 23-27) [54-0-H; 55-A-E]
    S. Aru/ Raja v. State of Tamil Nadu 2010 (9) SCR 356 =
(2010) 8 sc.c 233 - relied on
     3.1. So far as the recovery of the bloodstained jacket     C
of A-1 from under the seat of a rickshaw is concerned,
no effort was made to take the blood sample of A-1 and
it is not known what is his blood group. Moreover, the
jacket was recovered from a rickshaw standing out in the
open where it was accessible to anyone. In the                  D
circumstances, the recovery of the bloodstained jacket,
on its own is a ci'rcumstance too fragile to bear the
burden of the appellants' conviction for murder. [para 29-
30) [56-8~01
                                                                E
     3.2. Likewise, the fact that A-1 had got his money and
clothes stolen and he believed that the deceased f1ad
committed the theft, normally, cannot be said to make out
sufficient motive for him to kill the deceased. In any event,
motive alone can hardly be a ground for conviction. [para
                                                                F
31] [56-F-G]

     3.3. On the materials on record, there may be some
suspicion against the accused but, the suspicion,
howsoever strong, cannot take the place of proof.
Therefore, the conviction of the appellants is based on . G
completely insufficient evidence and is wholly
unsustainable. The quality of the prosecution evidence
is too poor to satisfactorily establish any of the first three
circumstance$ for holding the appellants guilty of the
offence of murder. As none of the three circumstances H
    46       SUPREME COURT REPORTS           [2011) 7 S.C.R.


A   were sufficiently proved, there is no question of taking
    them as links forming an unbroken chain that would lead
    to the only possible inference regarding the appellant's
    guilt. [para 32-33] [56-G-H; 57-A-C]

8      3.4. So far as A-2 and A-3 are concerned, it is a case
  of no evidence inasmuch as apart from the first, the
  remaining three circumstances are not relatable to them
  at all. The second circumstance in the case was the extra
  judicial confession made by A-1, which could not be
  fastened upon A-2 and A-3 for holding them guilty of
C murder. Recovery of the bloodstained jacket of A-1, the
  third circumstance obviously does not relate to A-2 and
  A-3 in any manner. Equally, the theft of the money and
  clothes of A-1, would be no motive for the other two
  accused to assault the deceased much less to kill him.
D [para 33, 37 and 38] [57-C; 59-B-D]

         Ammini v. State of Kera/a 1997 (5) Suppl. SCR 181   =
    (1998) 2 SCC 301 and the other in Prakash Dhawal Khaimar -
                                                    =
    v. State of Maharashtra 2001 (5) Suppl. SCR 612 (2002)
E   2 sec 35 - relied on.

        4. Thus, the conviction of the appellants cannot be
    sustained. The judgments and orders of the High Court
    and the trial court are completely unsustainable and, as
F   such, are set aside. The appellants are acquitted of the
    charges. [para 39] [59-D-E]
                       Case Law Reference:
         2010 (9) SCR 356            relied on     para 27
G        1997 (5) Suppl. SCR 181     relied on     para 34
         2001 (5) Suppl. SCR 612     relied on     para 34
        CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
    Nos. 1254-1255 of 2011.
H
 SUNILRAI@ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,                    47
              CHANDIGARH
    From the Judgment & Order dated 5.3.2008 of the High A
Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Appeal
No. 523-DB and 580-DB of 2006.

    Shirin Khajuria for the Appellants.

     Manpreet Singh Doabia (for Sudarshan Singh Rawat) for B
the Respondent.

    The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

     AFTAB ALAM, J. 1. Leave granted.
                                                                    c
     2. The three appellants are serving life sentences for
committing murder of one Dile Ram. They were never on bail
and have, thus, completed over ten years of incarceration. We,
therefore, intended to grant leave in the case and release the
appellants on bail. But, the counsel for the respondent stated D
that once released on bail it will be almost impossible to get
hold of the appellants. We, accordingly, proceeded to hear the
case on merits at the stage of special leave itself and at the
conclusion of hearing we are dismayed to find that the
appellants were convicted and sentenced on completely E
insufficient evidence.

      3. The appellants are migrant workers who came to
Chandigarh from different parts of the country in search of
livelihood and were trying to eke out a living by working as
rickshaw pullers. Appellant no.1, Sunil Rai alias Paua (accused F
no.1) had his money and clothes stolen by someone breaking
open the lock of the box under the passenger seat of the
rickshaw and the quarrel that took place, as a result of it, is said
to be at the root of the alleged offence.
                                                                     G
      4. According to the prosecution case, on March 29, 2001
at about 8:30 p.m. Arun Kumar (PW-14), Shailendra Kumar
Pandey (PW-9) and one Jaspreet Singh alias Chikna were
present near the GPO, Sector 17, Chandigarh. Appellant no.2,
Sher Bahadur alias Sheru (accused no.2) was also present H
    48        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2011] 7 S.C.R.


A there. At that time Sunil Rai and appellant no.3, Ram Lal
  (accused no.3) came there. Sunil Rai was agitated as his
  money and clothes were stolen. He accused Sher Bahadur of
  committing the theft and an altercation took place between
  them. Sher Bahadur told Sunil Rai that he had not stolen his
B money or the other articles and it might have been the work of
  Dile Ram. He also told Sunil Rai that he would make Dile Ram
  return his money and clothes. It was at this stage that Dile Ram
  also arrived at the scene coming from the side of Jagat
  Cinema. Sunil Rai caught hold of Dile Ram by his neck and
c asked him to return his money and clothes otherwise he would
  kill him. A scuffle took place between Sunil Rai and Dile Ram
  but the latter got himself freed and ran away from there. The
  three accused went after him yelling and shouting that they would
  not spare him. 12 hours later, at about 8:30 in the morning of
D March 30, 2001, an unidentified person was found lying in a
  badly injured condition at a spot near the local bus stand on
  the rear side of Neelam Cinema, situate at the sector 17 market.
  There were injuries on his head and face. At the spot where
  he lay there was a pouch of liquor (Ex. P32), a piece of brick
  (Ex. P1 ), a piece of stone (Ex. P2) and another piece of hard
E concrete. The blood flowing from the injuries had stained the
  earth at the spot, a sample of which was collected and
  produced in court as Ex. P3.

          5. The injured was sent to hospital where he died. He was
F   later identified as Dile Ram who, according to the prosecution,
    was last seen the previous evening, fleeing away with the
    appellants in pursuit yelling and shouting threats at him.

        6. The three accused were put on trial for the murder of
  Dile Ram before the Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, who by
G judgment dated June 12, 2006 passed in Sessions Case no.02
  of July 30, 2001 convicted all of them under section 302 read
  with section 34 of the Penal Code and by orders dated June
  13 & 15, 2006, sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for
  life and a fine of Rs.5,000/- each with the direction that in default
H
  SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,                49
          CHANDIGARH [AFTAB ALAM, J.]
of payment of fine they would undergo rigorous imprisonment        A
for 1 year. The appellants went to the High Court in t~o
separate appeals, one by Sunil Rai (Criminal Appeal no.580-
DB of 2006) and the other by the other two appellants (Criminal
Appeal no.523-DB of 2006). Both the appeals were heard
together and were dismissed by a division bench of the High        B
Court by judgment and order dated March 5, 2008. The matter
is now before this Court in appeal by grant of special leave.

     7. From the ante mortem injuries on the body of Dile Ram
as coming to light from the medical evidence and the objective     C
findings at the spot where the body was found lying, it is quite
clear that his death was homicidal. But, the question remains
regarding the culpability of the three appellants.

    8. It may be stated at the outset that there is no ocular
evidence of the commission of the offence and the prosecution      D
case is based entirely on circumstantial evidence. There are
four circumstances relied. upon by the prosecution and
accepted by the trial court and the High Court to hold the
appellants guilty of the offence. These are as under:
                                                                   E
    I. The deceased was last seen being chased by the
    appellants yelling at him and shouting that they would not
    spare him (paragraphs 20 and 21 of the High Court
    judgment).

     II. Sunil Rai made an extra judicial confession before PW-    F
     10, Chander Shekhar, President of the Rickshaw Pullers'
     Union telling him that he along with Sher Bahadur and Ram
     Lal hit Dile Ram with brickbats and stones at about
     9:00pm in the night between March 29 and 30, 2001,
   . causing injuries to him that led to his death (paragraphs     G
     22, 23 and 24 of the High Court judgment).

    Ill. The recovery of the blood-stained jacket (Ex. P8) of
    Sunil Rai, appellant no.1 from under the seat of the
    rickshaw on the basis of the disclosure statement (Ex. PU)
                                                                   H
    50        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2011] 7 S.C.R.


A        made by him and that was seized under seizure memo
         (Ex. PV) (paragraph 27 of the High Court judgment).

         IV. There was motive for the accused to beat and even kill
         Dile Ram (paragraph 25 of the High Court judgment).

B        9. Let us now examine the evidences in support of each
    of the four circumstances enumerated above.

         10. On the issue of last seen, the prosecution examined
    Shailendra Kumar Pandey as PW-9, Arun Kumar as PW-14
c   and Harish Kumar Bansal as PW-15. Though Jaspreet Singh
    had also been cited earlier as one of the witnesses on this
    point, he was not examined before the Court.

         11. PW-9, in course of his examination-in-chief stated that
    as he (Dile Ram) was able to free himself from the hold of Sunil
D   Rai:

              "Dile Ram ran towards Jagat Theatre. Pauya and
         Sheru and Ram Lal ran after Dile Ram."

E        In cross examination he stated as follows:

         "Dile Ram went towards Neelam Theatre whereas Sheru
         and Pauya went towards Jagat theatre."

         In reply to a question by the court, he said:
F
         "Chikna and Arun ran towards Jagat theatre. Pauya, Sheru
         and Ram Lal ran after the deceased towards Neelam
         theatre.•

                                                 (emphasis added)
G
         12. It needs to be recalled here that the spot where Dile
    Ram was found next morning lying in an injured condition, was
    near the local bus stand, on the rear side of Neelam Cinema.
    It has also come on record that the place where the quarrel took
H   place between the accused and the Dile Ram and from where
  SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,                  51
          CHANDIGARH [AFTAB ALAM, J.]
Dile Ram ran away, allegedly being chased by them, is at a           A
large square and Neelam theatre and Jagat theatre are at its
two opposite ends, at a distance of about 1km from each other.
Sub-Inspector, Ramesh Chand Sharma, PW-17 in his
deposition said:
                                                                     B
     "... It is correct that if one comes from Jag at Theatre and
     goes to Neelam Theatre he has to pass police post of
     Neelam Chowki. Subway of Neelam is at a distance of
     50 yards from the police post. Sor:ne one always remains
     at police post of Neelam. After 8/9p.m. only 1/2 persons
     remain in the police post. It is wrong to say that 12 persons   C
     remain deputed at the police post. ... "

       13. Thus, the first statement of PW-9 suggests that the
 deceased and the accused had gone in the direction
 completely opposite to where his body was found 12 hours            D
 later. His second statement is that the deceased and the
 accused had gone in opposite directions. His third statement,
 in answer to the court question, is of course that the deceased
 and the accused had gone in the direction of Neelam Cinema.
·It is also to be noted that in his first two statements he only     E
 mentions the names of accused nos.1 and 2, that is, Sunil Rai
 and Sher Bahadur but does not name Ram Lal whom he
 mentions only in his third statement in reply to the question by
 the court.

     14. The High Court has tried to explain the vacillating         F
statements of PW-9 by observing as follows:

     "It appears that Shailender Kumar Pandey, PW9,
     inadvertently made a statement that Dile Ram (deceased)
     ran towards Jag at Cinema, instead of. Nee lam Cinema           G
     and the accused chased him. Such a minor discrepancy,
     cannot be given any weight, since a period of more than
     one year, and four months, from the date of altercation,
     referred to above, had lapsed when Shailender Kumar
     Pandey PW9 appeared in the court as a witness."                 H
    52        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2011] 7 S.C.R.


A       15. To our mind the vacillations in the deposition of PW-9
    cannot be brushed aside as "minor discrepancy" especially
    when it is to form the basis for life sentences to three persons.

         16. With all the inconsistencies, on the issue of last seen
    PW-9 happens to be the best prosecution witness and the
8
    position becomes far worse when we come to the other two
    witnesses. PW-14 was first examined on January 14, 2003. In
    course of his examination-in-chief, he stated as follows:

         "... all of a sudden Diley Ram freed himself from the
C        clutches of Pauya and ran towards Neelam Cinema
         located in sector 17. All the three accused i.e. Pauya alias
         Sunil Rai, Sheru and Ram Lal also chased Diley Ram and
         as they were chasing they said they will kill him ... ."

0         17. His cross examination did not take place on that date
    but it was done later on April 8, 2003. In cross examination he
    stated as follows:

         "... The deceased was under the influence of liquor on the
         day of occurrence and some others had also taken liquor.
E        It is correct that Dilay Ram was insisting for more liquor
         whereas the others were saying that they will not consume
         liquor. Dilay Ram was demanding money for buying more
         liquor. Then they all left that place. Dilay Ram left towards
         Nee/am theatre and the accused present in the court went
F        towards Jagat theatre .... "

                                                  (emphasis added)

          18. After his cross examination, the prosecution declared
    him 'hostile' and filed a petition seeking permission to cross
G   examine him. The court allowed the petition by order dated July
    11, 2003 and granted permission to the prosecution to cross
    examine PW-14, whereupon his cross examination by the
    prosecution took place on September 18, 2003. In this round
    he again went back to his earlier statement and stated as
H   follows:
 SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,                   53
         CHANDIGARH [Af-TAB ALAM, J.]
    " ... Dilay Ram ran towards Neelam Theatre and all the           A
    accused present in the court today ran after him ...

    . . . I say that deceased ran towards Neelam theatre and
    the accused followed him. It is correct that earlier I had
    mentioned in my statement regarding Jag at Theatre."             B

     19. The only explanation for these contrary statements
appears to be that each time during the gap between his
depositions in court he came under the influence of the one or
the other side and made the statements to please the respective
sides. To us, he is not a trustworthy witness and we are unable      C
to place any reliance on his testimony.

     20. PW-15 did not at all support the prosecution case on
the point of last seen and he did not even identify the accused
present in court. He was declared hostile by the prosecution.        o
There is one thing, however, quite significant about PW-15. In
cross examination by the defence, it was suggested that he was
a tout and a stock witness for the police. In reply to the
suggestion, he stated as under:

    ·... It is wrong to say that I am a police tout. It is correct   E
    that I have been shown as a witness in case FIR.52
    dt.12.8.2K under NDPS Act. It is correct that I also
    appeared as a prosecution witness registered under
    NDPS Act under FIR No.228 dt.15.5.2000. It is correct that
    both these cases were investigated by S.I. Ramesh                F
    Chand. It is correct that the spot where the injured was
    running does not have any light point. I have not seen any
    person hitting the injured."

     21. Ramesh Chand Sharma, S.I. was the investigating             G
officer of the case before the investigation was taken over by
DSP Arjun Singh Jaggi, PW-20. Ramesh Chand Sharma was
examined in the case as PW-17.

    22. On a careful consideration of the evidences of PWs
9, 14 and 15, we are unable to see how the accused can be            HI
        54        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 (2011] 7 S.C.R.


    A said to be connected with the commission of the offence on
      the basis of the quarrel that is said to have taken place in the
      evening of March 29, 2001 between Sunil Rai and Dile Ram.
      On the basis of the depositions of PWs 9 and 14 what can be
      said to have been established is only that while they were all
    B present near the GPO, Sector 17, a quarrel and a scuffle had
      taken place between Sunil Rai and Dile Ram whom he accused
      of stealing his money and clothes. But the further story that when
      Dile Ram freed himself from the grip of Sun ii Rai and ran away
      from there to-wards Neelam Cinema he was pursued by all the
    c accused who were shouting that they would not spare him is
      completely unacceptable on the basis of their evidences. The
      failure to establish that part of the story leaves a wide gap in
      the prosecution case and weakens it considerably.

           23. Coming now, to the extra judicial confession said to
    D have been made by Sunil Rai before Chander Shekhar,
      President, Rickshaw Pullers' Union, Sunil Rai, in his statement
      under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, of
      course, denied having made any confessional statement.
      Chander Shekhar was examined as PW-10. In the examination-
    E in-chief he stated that on April 1, Sunil Kumar went to him at
      about 3 in the afternoon and disclosed that he along with some
      others had committed a blunder by killing Dile Singh in course
      of a fight. He added that Sunil disclosed to him that Jaspreet
      Singh and Sher Bahadur had also joined him in assaulting the
    F deceased.

             24. It is, thus, evident that in course of his examination-in-
        chief, he was trying to implicate Jaspreet Singh (who was not
        an accused in the case) and was trying to save Ram Lal who,
        according to the prosecution, was accused no.3.
I   G
              25. At that stage he was declared hostile and on being
        cross examined by the prosecution, he said that Sunil had told
        him that he along with Sher Bahadur and Ram Lal had caused
        injuries to Dile Ram by hitting him with brickbats and stones.
    H
· SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,                  55
          CHANDIGARH [AFTAB ALAM, J.]
     26. In further cross examination by the defence, he              A
admitted that Sunil was not known to him personally but all
rickshaw pullers were known to him as he was the President
of one of the three Unions of Rickshaw Pullers of Chandigarh.
In cross examination by the defence, he once again replaced
Ram Lal by Jaspreet Singh and stated that Sunil Rai had               B
disclosed to him that he along with Sher Bahadur and Jaspreet
Singh had thrown stones at the deceased causing injuries to
him leading to his death. Evidently, PW-10 does not have much
regard for truthfulness.

    127. Admittedly, the alleged confessional statement was           C
oral and it wc:s not recorded in writing. Admittedly, Sunil Rai
had no personal acquaintance, much less any intimacy with
PW-10. An extra judicial confessional statement made orally
before a person with whom the maker of the confession has
no intimate relationship is not a very strong piece of evidence       D
and in any event it cail only be used for corroboration (See S.
Arul Raja v. State of Tamil Nadu, (2010) 8 SCC 233
paragraphs 48-56). In this case with PW- 10 appearing
particularly anxious to implicate Jaspreet Singh in place of Ram
Lal, it further loses any credibility. Further, in the confessional   E
statement allegedly made before PW-10 there is an inherent
improbability. The "disclosure" made by Sunil Rai before PW-
10 did not indicate the place where the assault on Dile Ram
took place but it gave the time of the assault as 9.00pm. In the
evidence of PW-17 it hc:s come that Neelam Police Chowl<i is          F
3t a distance of 50 yards from the Neelam sub-way. The police
post is naturally manned twenty four hours even though,
according to PW-17, after 8-9 pm only one or two persons
remain on the post. The occurrence took place on March 29.
At the end of March, 9.00pm is not a very late hour when an           G
occurrence of this kind taking place near the local bus stand
and the parking place for rickshaws, behind a cinema theatre
and at a distance of no more than 50 yards should normally go
completely unnoticed by any one, including the policemen at the
poiice post.                                                          H
    56        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2011) 7 S.C.R.


A        28. For the aforesaid reasons we find it impossible to rely
    upon the evidence of PW-10 and, thus, goes the extra judicial
    oral confession by Sunil Rai.

       29. This leaves us with the remaining two circumstances,
  that is to say, the recovery of the bloodstained jacket of Sunil
8
  Rai from under the seat of a rickshaw and motive. According
  to the report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (Ext.
  PA) the pair of pants, shirt, vest, and under-pants taken off from
  the body of Dile Ram were stained with human blood of 'B'
  group; the blood .group of the sample of blood taken from the
c deceased was also 'B'. And the stains on the jacket recovered
  from under the seat of the rickshaw were also of the same
  group of human blood. The report further indicated that though
  there were stains of human b!ood on the piece of brick and the
  sample of earth collected from the spot where the body of Dile
D Ram was found it was not possible to ascertain the blood group.
  The piece of concrete and the stone piece had no blood stains.

       30. No effort was made to take the blood sample of Sunil
  Rai and it is not known what is his blood group. Moreover, the
E jacket was recovered from a rickshaw standing out in the open
  where it was accessible to anyone. In the aforesaid
  circumstances, the recovery of the bloodstained jacket, on its
  own is a circumstance too fragile to bear the burden of the
  appellants' conviction for murder.
F         31. Likewise, the fact that Sunil Rai had got his money and
    clothes stolen and he believed that Dile Ram had committed
    t:ie theft, normally, cannot be said to make out sufficient motive
    for him to kill Dile Ram. In any event, motive alone can hardly
    be a ground for conviction.
G
         32. On the materials on record, there may be some
    suspicion against the accused but as is often said suspicion,
    howsoever, strong cannot take the place of proof. We,
    therefore, find and hold that the conviction of the appellants is
H
 SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,                 57
         CHANDIGARH [AFTAB ALAM, J.]
based on completely insufficient evidence and is wholly A
unsustainable.

     33. It is seen above that the quality of the prosecution
evidence is too poor to satisfactorily establish any of the first
three circumstances for holding the appellants guilty of the 8
offence of murder. As none of the three circumstances were
sufficiently proved, there is no question of taking them as links
forming an unbroken chain that would lead to the only possible
inference regarding the appellant's guilt. But before parting with
the records ,of the case, we must sadly observe that so far as
appellant nos.2 and 3 are concerned, it's a case of no evidence C
inasmuch as apart from the first the remaining three
circumstances are not relatable to them at all.

     34. The second circumstance in the case as noted above
was the extra judicial confession made by Sunil Rai, appellant     D
no.1. It is seen above that PW-10, before whom the confession
was allegedly made, tried his best to shield Ram Lal and to
implicate in his place Jaspreet Singh. Nonetheless, the High
Court deemed fit to use the extra judicial confessional
statement made orally by Sunil Rai as substantive evidence not     E
only against him but against appellant nos.2 and 3 as well. In
our view, the High Court was completely wrong in using the
alleged confessional statement made by Sunil Rai against
appellant nos.2 and 3. For taking into consideration the
confessional statement of Sunil Rai against the other two          F·
appellants the High Court has relied upon two decisions of this
Court. One in Ammini v. State of Kera/a (1998) 2 SCC 301
and the other in Prakash Dhawal Khairnar v. State of
Maharashtra, (2002) 2 SCC 35. In our view, both the decisions
have no application to the facts of this case. In both cases the   G
confessions were neither oral nor extra judicial. In both cases
confessional statements were made before a Magistrate and
were reduced to writing .. In Prakash Dhawal Khairnar, the
Judicial Magistrate, first class, before whom the maker of the
confession was produced not only gave him the due warni.!Jg        H
    58        SUPREME COURT REPORTS               (2011] 7 S.C.R.


A   but also allowed him 24 hours time to think over the matter. It
    was only after he was produced the following day that the
    Magistrate recorded his statement under section 164 of the
    Code of Criminal Procedure. In Prakash Dhawal Khaimar, the
    confessional statement was not retracted either.
B
         35. In Ammini, the facts were entirely different from the
    present. The accused had entered into a conspiracy in
    pursuance of which several unsuccessful attempts were earlier
    made before the victims were eventually killed. In the trial for·
    the crime the accused were charged separately under section
C   120-B, apart from section 302 read with section 34 of the Penal
    Code. One of the charges being under section 120-B, the
    confessional statement by one accused was used against the
    others on the basis of section 10 of the Indian Evidence Act. In
    the present case there was no allegation of any conspiracy and
D   there was no charge under section 120-B of the Penal Code.

         36. In PrC1kash Dhawal Khaimar too, one of the charges
    against the two accused being father and son was under
    section 120-B of the Penal Code. But the son, the maker of
E   the confession was acquitted of the charge under section 120- .
    B of the Penal Code. In that circumstance, the question arose
    whether the confessional statement of the son could be used
    against the other co-accused, his father for maintaining his
    conviction under section 302 of the Penal Code. This Court
F   pointed out that the conviction of the father under section 302
    of the Penal Code was based on a number of circumstantial
    evidences that were independently established and the
    confessional statement of the son was not used as a
    substantive piece of evidence. In paragraph 20 of the judgment,
G   this Court observed as follows:

         "20. In this case, the High Court has not relied upon the
         confessional statement as a substantive piece of evidence
         to convict Accused 1. It has been used for lending
         assurance to the proved circumstances. The High Court
H        held that the proved circumstances would not involve
  SUNIL RAI @ PAUA & ORS. v. UNION TERRITORY,                   59
          CHANDIGARH [AFTAB ALAM, J.]
     Accused 2 for the offence punishable under Section 302           A
     IPC and the circumstantial evidence does not establish that
     there was any common intention or conspiracy between
     the father and the son to commit the offence .... "

     37. It is, thus, clear that the extra judicial confession of     8
Sunil Rai could not be fastened upon the other two appellants
for holding them guilty of murder and the. High Court was quite
wrong in using the confessional statement of Sunil Rai as a
circumstance agairist the other two appellants.

      38. Recovery of the bloodstained jacket of Sunil Rai, the       C
third circumstance obviously does riot relate to appellant nos.2
and 3 in any manner. Equally, the theft of the money and clothes
of Sunil Rai would be no motive for the other two accused to
assault Dile Ram, much less to kill him.
                                                                      D
      39. Thus, seen for any angle the conviction of the appellants
  cannot be sustained. The judgments and orders of the High
  Court and the trial court are completely unsustainable. The two
 judgments are set aside. The appellants are acquitted of the
. charges and are directed to be released forthwith unless            E
  required in connection with any other case.

     40. In the result the appeals are allowed.
 R.P ..                                        Appeals allowed.