Holding

The High Court erred in convicting the appellant; the prosecution evidence was unreliable and the chain of circumstantial evidence was incomplete, warranting acquittal.

Summary

Surinder Pal Jain was charged with murdering his wife, Usha Jain, with the prosecution relying solely on circumstantial evidence such as a neighbor's call, dogs of a dog squad pointing to the accused, alleged injuries on the accused, and a purported disclosure statement leading to the recovery of the victim's ornaments. The Sessions Court found the prosecution's evidence unreliable, especially the contradictory testimonies regarding the disclosure statement and recovery, and acquitted the appellant. The Delhi High Court reversed this acquittal, holding that the circumstantial evidence formed a complete chain establishing guilt. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that the High Court failed to appreciate the serious discrepancies, contradictions, and lack of motive, rendering the chain of circumstantial evidence incomplete. Consequently, the Supreme Court set aside the conviction, reinstated the acquittal, and discharged the appellant's bail bond.

Issues considered

Whether the prosecution proved the appellant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt on the basis of circumstantial evidence.
Whether the alleged disclosure statement and recovery of ornaments are reliable and can form part of the chain of circumstantial evidence.
Whether the absence of a motive necessitates a higher degree of scrutiny of the circumstantial evidence.
Whether the High Court was justified in overturning the Sessions Court's acquittal.

Legislation cited

Indian Evidence Act, 1872s. 27
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 203, s. 302, s. 460

Subjects

murdercircumstantial evidencedisclosure statementdog squadreliability of witnessesabsence of motiveacquittalconviction reversalIndian Penal CodeEvidence Act

Judgment

A SURINDER PAL JAIN
v.
DELHI ADMINISTRATION

MARCH 5, 1993

B (DR. A.S. ANAND AND N.P. SINGH, JJ.)

Indian Pe11al (:ode, 1860:

Sections 203 and 302-Appellant accused of murdering his wife-No
C eye witness of occurrence-Prosecutio11 case based on circumstantial
evidence-Disclosure statement of accused and recovery of ornaments of
deceased in pursuance thereof-Dogs of dog squad pointing to appel-
lant-Sessio11s Court acquitti11g accused-High Court setti11g aside acquittal
and convicting appellant-Held When case based on circumstantial
evidence-Motive assumes perti11ent significa11ce-Finding of guilt recorded by
D High Court not sustai11able in law.

The appellant and his wife went to sleep in the back varandah of
their house on the fateful night of 25th/26th July, 1976 w~ile the appellant's .
brother alongwith his wife and children went to sleep separately in their
bed-room in the same house. The Police Control Room was informed over
E
the telephone by a neighbour Sulekh Chand Jain at 4.55 A.M. that an
incident had taken place in the house and on receiving the telephone
message, the S.I. made a record of it in the daily diary and passed on the
information to the duty ollicer at the police station, who deputed an A.S.I.
to proceed to the spot for investigation. After reaching the spot, the A.S.I.
F informed the police station on telephone that a murder had taken place.
The information was recorded and the SHO immediately left for the spot
-
alongwith S.I. The police party arrived at the spot at about 5.35 a.m. and
took charge of the investigation. The appellant was present near the
dead-body and on interrogation, the appellant informed the police party
G that his brother and family had retired for the night in their bed room at
about 10.00 P.M. and he alongwith his wife had slept in the back verandah,
and that when he got up at 3.45 A.M. he noticed that his wife had been
murdered by somebody by strangulation while committing the theft of the
gold chain, eartops and golden bangles that she was wearing.

H The crime team as well as the dog squad were summoned. Both the
226
SURlNDER PAL v. DELHI ADMN. 227

dogs of the dog squad were first let loose and after picking up the smell A
from the lock lying in the comer of the back courtyard and from the spot,
went to the room where the appellant was sitting and each of the dogs
pointed towards him by turn. That raised a suspicion against the appel·
lant. The SHO then asked the appellant to remove his shirt and found that
the appellant had injuries in the nature of bruises etc. on the front part
B
of his, body, on the chest, as well as Oll his back. The appellant ""s
thereafter taken for further interrogation to the police station, and in the
presence of the Sub Inspector, PWI and .PW2 he made a disclosure
statement to the effect that he had concealed the golden chain and the
bangles in his bathroom and in pursuance of the disclosure statement, the
appellant led the police party to the bathroom of his house and after c
removing the cover from the drain hole, took out the golden chain and the
bangles and handed them oyer to SHO. The appellant was placed under
arrest. After the disclosure statement was made the case which was
originally registered under Section 460 IPC was converted into one under
Section 302 read with section 203 IPC.
D
After completion of the investigation, the challan was filed against
the appellant and he was tried for offences under Section 302/203 !PC in
the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge. The prosecution sought to
. establish the case against the appellant on the basis of circumstantial
evidence, there being no eye-witness of the occurrence. The circumstances E
·y set up by the prosecution were : (i) information to the police at 4.55 A.M
given by a neighbour and not the appellant; (ii) that information that a
murder had taken place was not given but intimating the happening of an
incident; (iii) The accused having slept at night in the verandah with the
deceased after having locked the collapsable door of the verandah from F
inside; (iv) The deceased and accused were last seen together; (v) The dogs
of the dog squad having pointed out to the accused after picking up scent
from the lock; (vi) The ornaments which were on the person of the
deceased "'·bile she \\'as sleeping, and found 1nissing \Vhen sht' was dis-
covered dead, were recovered from the drain hole of the bath room G
attached to the bed room of the accused in consequence of and in pur-
suance to the disclosure statement made by the accused; (vii) injuries
found on the person of the accused in the nature of abrasions, cona
)·
tusions, and (viii) the accused having given false information to the police
h)' means of his statement Ext. PS. H
228 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A The Sessions Judge after carefully analysing the aforesaid cir-
·~
cumstances held that the prosecution· has entirely failed to prove any of
the circumstances set up against the accused, much less to establish the
chain of circumstances, so as to bring out a nexus between the crime and
the accused, and acquitted the appellant for the offences under Section
302/203 IPC.
B
The State appealed to the High Court and a Division Bench
reveresed the order of acquittal of the appellant. The High Court held that
the circumstances formed a chain and the sequences were so complete by
themselves that one was left in no manner of doubt that the appellant alone
c had committed the crime. The appeal was allowed, the order of acquittal
was set aside, and the appellant was sentenced to undergo rigorous im-
prisonment for life under Section 302 IPC, and also to undergo rigorous
imprisonment for a period of one year under Section 203 IPC.

In the appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the
D appellant that the approach of the High Court was totally erroneous and
that a well considered and well reasoned judgment of the Trial Court was
upset by the High Court by drawing inferences which were not available
from the record and by ignoring material discrepancies and infirmities in
the prosecution evidence, which not only did not establish various cir-
E cumstances but which also showed that the chain of circumstantial
evidence was wholly incomplete. It was further contended that the appel- "(
Ian! had been roped in on the basis of misguided suspicion and that the
circumstances relied upon by the prosecution were not exclude the
hypothesis, other than that of the guilt of the appellant. The appeal was
conteste~ by the State submitting that some of the circumstances like the
F pointing out of the appellant by the dogs of the Dog Squad, the disclosure
statement and thr recovery of ornaments as a consequence thereof, and
the presence of injuries on the person of appellant, were of such a con- ~
ch1sive and clinching nature that they left no doubt that the appellant had
committed the crime, and this was fortified when the appellant had made
G the attempt to mislead the investigating officer by giving a false version
with a view to screen hin1self.

Allowing the appeal, and setting aside the judgment of the High .i..
Court convicting the appellant, this Court,

H HELD : 1. The High Court did not properly appreciate the prosecu-
SUR!NDER PAL 1·. DELHI ADMN. 229

ti on evidence while reversing the well considered judgment of the Sessions A
Judge. On independent appraisal of the evidence, the prosecution evidence
relating to the disclosure statement and the recovery of ornaments is not
only discrepent and contradictory but also suffers from glaring infirmities
and improbabilities rendering it unsafe to rely upon the same.
[244H, 245B]
B
2. The Sessions Judge was perfectly justified in acquitting the appel-
lant of all the charges and the reasoning given and the findings recorded
are sound, cogent and rrasonable. The High Court was not justified to set
aside those findings on surmises and conjectures. The finding of guilt
recorded against the appellant by the High Court is not sustainable in law
and the prosecution has not established the case against the appellant
c
beyond a reasonable doubt. [2498]

3(a). In a case based on circumstantial evidence, motive assumes
pertinent significance as existence of the motive is an enlightening factor
in a process of presumptive reasoning in such a case. The absence of D
motive, however, puts the court on its guard to scrutinise the circu1nstan-
ces more carefully to ensure that suspicion and conjecture do not take
place of legal proof.

3(b). In a case based on circumstantial evidence, the settled law is
that the circumstances fron1 which the conclusion of guilt is drawn should
E
be fully proved and those circu1nstances must be conclusive in nature.
Moreover, the established facts should. be consistent only with the
hypothesis of the guilt of the accused alone and totally inconsistent with
his innocence. [238E-F]
F
4. No motive has been established by the prosecution for the appel-
.A lant to commit the murder of his wife and the evidence of Tara Chand
father of the deceased as well as the sister of the deceased and the tenants
living in the same house disclose that the relations between the husband
ami wife were cordial. [238E)
G
5. The circumstance of the disclosure statement and the consequent
recovery pursuant thereto of the ornaments belonging to 'the deceased is
of' such an incriminating nature that if found established by reliable and
trust-worthy evidence, it would go a long way to furnish proof of the guilt
of the appellant and connect him with the crime and if the evidence in H
\

"'
230 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993[ 2 S.C.R.

A support of that circumstance is found to be not reliable, the entire chain
of cirmmstantial evidence will snap so badly as to affect the credibili!y of
the prosecution case as a whole. [238G-H)

6. According to the prosecution after the appellant had been taken
to the police station by the investigating oflicer he was interrogated after
B being placed under arrest. He voluntarily made a disclosure statement
Ex.PC. The disclosure statement was recorded by the SHO and has been
attested by Kuldip Kaul PWI, SI Dalip singh PW6 and Harnaik Singh
PW2. Pursuant to the disclosure statement, the appellant is alleged to have
""
led the police party to th• recovery of the ornaments from a drain-hole in
c his bathroom. The recovery memo Ex.PF was prepared at the spot and was
attfsted by PW6, PWI and PW2 besides the Investigating Otlicer. [239A-B]

7. According to the appellant, however, he had made no disclosure '-(
statement nor Ied the police party to the recovery of the ornaments as
alleged, and according to the defence version, the missing ornaments had
D in fact been recovered by the police party around 11 A.M. during search
from the service lane, from underneath a slab, near the boundary wall and
at that time the appellant and Jagminder Dass .Jain were also present. This
defence version is supported by the evidence of DW2, Tara Chand, father
of the deceased. [242D-E]
E --...,·
8. The Sessions Judge carefully considered the evidence led by the
prosecution "ith regard to the disclosure statement and the recovery of
ornaments. It was found that the evidence of Hamaik Singh PW2, who
according to DWll Sunder Lal constable of police station Defence Colony,
had been earlier also cited as a witness for the prosecution in a case
F investigated by Harmit Singh the then Sub-Inspector of police and the
present Investigation Officer was not reliable and that the Investigating
Ofticer had not told the truth when he bad deposed that he did not know A
Harnaik Singh earlier. The Sessions Judge also found the evidence or PWl
Kuldip Kaul as not reliable or trustworthy and disbelieved his testimony
by giving cogent reasons after properly appreciating the evidence led by
G
the prosecution. The defence version \\ith regard to the recovery found as
mnre probable and it was opined that the investigating otlicer bad created
false cluses and fabricated false evidence. [243H, 244A-B-DJ /...(

9. The High Court on the other ha11d did not deal with the various
H discrepancies and contradictions appearing in the prosecution evidence

·,
J.
SURINDER PAL 1·. DELHI ADMN. 231

.... relating to the making of tlte disclosure statement and the recovery of the A
ornaments, but place reliance on the testimony of Kuldip Kaul PWl and
Harnaik Singh PW2 to hold that the disclosure statement and the recovery
had been made in the manner suggested by the prosecution. [244G)

10. There is contradiction between the evidence of Kuldip Kaul PWl
and the 1.0. as to the place where Kuldip Kaul signed the recovery memo. B
hr According to the 1.0.. it was signed at the spot while according to Kuldip
Kaul PWl, he had returned to the police station and there signed the
recovery memo. After carefully analysing the evidence, it is found that
Kuldip Kaul PWl was a convenient witness and his evidence does not
appear to be trustworthy. [2458-CJ c
11. As regards the recovery of ornaments also, there is a very serious
; ' infirmity which emerges from the testimony of Harnaik Singh PW2. Con-
)" trary to what the 1.0. and the other witnesses stated, Harnaik Singh PW2
deposed that the ornaments were taken out by the Sardarji 1.0. from the
drain bole and not by the appellant. This probabilises the defence version D
that the ornaments had been recovered during the search and were with
the 1.0. when the ritual of the recovery under Section 27 of the Evidence
Act was performed. The contradictions in the evidence of the 1.0. and S.I.
Dalip Singh PW6 as to who had weight the ornaments after their alleged
recovery also casts doubt on the correctness of the prosecution story and E
'¥ the bonafides of the investigation. [24SG-H)

12. Having regard to the serious discrepancies, contradictions and
the attempt of the Investigating Ollicer to create false clues and fabricate
false evidence, the Sessions Judge was ptrfectly justified in rejecting the
prosecution evidence relating to the disclosure statement Ex. PC and the F
consequent recovery of the ornaments. [247C]
-~-
13. The prosecution has failed to establish that the appellant did
make the disclosure statement as alleged by the prosecution or led to the
recovery of the ornaments belonging to the deceased in the manner sug-
gested by the prosecution. This piece of circumstantial evidence, therefore,
G
has not at all been established, much less conclusively. [247D]
)".
14. Though with the ruling out of the circumstance relating to the
recovery of the ornaments as not having been established conclusively, the
chain of the circumstantial evidence snaps badly, there are some other H
232 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A circumsrances also in the prosecution case which milirate against its .__.
correctness. Admittedly, the nail clippings of the nails of the deceased had
been taken by the police. Th~re was also recovery of the hair from near the
cot where the dead body was l~ing and the removal of the hair from the
scalp of the appellant by the 1.0. for the purpose of their comparison. The
report of the chemical examiner has not connected the hair recovered from
B
the cot with those of the appellant. There is no material on the record --,;..
either to show that the nail clipping had any blood, which could have
tallied with the blood group of the appellant. Thus, both the nail clippings
and the hair have failed to connect the appellant with the crime. [247F-H]

c 15. The possibility that the entire case was built up on suspicion after
the dogs of the dog squad pointed towards the appellant connot be ruled
out. Since, the appellant had slept in the verandah near the cot where the
''

'"'
dead body of his wife was found; had locked the collapsahle door with the
recovered lock before going to sleep and had himself been close to the dead
body before the police came, the picking up of the smell by the dogs and
D pointing towards the accused could not be said to be a circumsrance which
could exclude the possibility of guilt of any person other than that of the
appellant or be compatible only with hypothesis of guilt of the appellant.
The pointing out by the dogs could as well lead to a misguided suspicion
that the appellant had committed the crime. [248E-F]
E
16. The explanation of the appellant regarding the injuries on his
person as having been caused by the police is also quite plausible because ""'
according to the father of the deceased, the sister of the deceased, the
tenants of the house and other neighbours who had reached the spot, the
appellant was wearing only a vest and the pY,jama and no shirt and there
F
were no inarks of injuries on his body before he was taken to the police
station. The prosecution case regarding the presence of injuries on the ,......,
person of the deceased also therefore, is quite doubtful. [248G-H]

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No.
G 123 of 1985.

From the Judgment and Order dated 12.11.84 of the Delhi High ,...,(
Court in State Criminal Appeal No. 71 of 1978.

H R.K. Garg and Rajendra Prasad Singh for the Appellant.
- SURINDER PAL v. DELHI ADMN. [ANAND, J.] 233

N.N. Goswamy and Ashok Bhan for the Respondent. A

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

DR. ANAND, J. This appeal by special leave, is directed against the
judgment of the High Court of Delhi dated 12th of November 1984, setting B
x aside an order of the Additional Sessions Judge New Delhi, acquitting the
appellant of an offence under Section 302/203 !PC.

The prosecution case is that on the fateful night of 25th/26th July,
1976, the appellant and his wife, Usha Jain, went to sleep in the back
verandah of their house situated at P-5, Green Park Extension, New Delhi C
while his brother M.P. Jain alongwith his wife Sharda and children went to
sleep separately in their bed-room in the same house. Police Control Room
was informed over the telephone by Sulekh Chand Jain at 4.55 AM. that
an incident had taken place at P-5, Green Park Extension and on receiving
the telephone message, S.I. Mauji Ram made a record of it in the daily D
diary and passed on the information to the duty officer at police station
Hauz Khas. AS! Maha Singh was deputed .to proceed to the spot for
investigation of the case. After reaching the spot, the said AS! Maha Singh
informed the police station on telephone that a murder had taken place.
The information so provided was recorded by AS! Mangal Sen in the daily .
diary Whereupon SHO Harmit Singh immediately left for the spot E
alongwith SI Dalip Singh, SI Moti Singh, Constable Bhawani Dutt and
Constable Randhir Singh. The police party arrived at the spot at aboul5.35
a.m. and took charge of the investigation. The appellant was present near
the dead-body which had been covered by a Dhoti and on interrogation,
the appellant informed the police party that his brother and family had F
retired for the night in their bed room at about 10.00 p.m. and he alongwith
his wife had slept in the back verandah. Before going to sleep, he had
locked the collapsable door of the back verandah. The wife of the appellant
was wearing a gold chain on her neck, eartops in her ears and golden
bangles on her wrists besides glass bangles. At about 1.30 a.m., the appel-
lant felt thirsty and asked his wife to give him water and after some time G
when he felt chilly, he went inside the room. He slept in the room while
his wife kept sleeping outside. At about 3.45 a.m., the appellant got up to
urinate and when he went outside the room, he found that his wife was
lying on the cot ·::0.1> her face upwards but her clothes were in a loose
condition and ,iJ. " s almost naked upto the thighs. On going closer to H
111
234 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A the cot, he found her tongue protruding and on touching her, he found her --..\
dead. He noticed some scratches on her face and neck and also discovered
that the golden chain which was on her neck and golden bangles were
missing from her body. According to the appellant, his wife had been
murdered by somebody by strangulation while committing the theft of the
golden chain and the bangles. He started screaming and his brother, the
B
brother's wife as well as some neighbours came there. Since, his telephone -;.
was found to be out of order, police was informed at his request by Sulekh
Chand, another neighbour, from his telephone. The parents of the
deceased, living in Sonepat were also conveyed the tragic news on
telephone through their neighbours. The statement of the appelldnt which
c revealed a case of lurking house trespass, with a view to commit offence
of theft and murder, was recorded as Ex. P5 and a case under Section 460
!PC was registered. The statement of the appellant Ex. P5, was despatched
by SHO Harmit Singh to the police station with his endorsement for "(
registration of a case under Section 460 !PC. Formal FIR was registered
by AS! Mangal Sen at the police station and the same was received back
D
by the SHO at the house of the appellant at about 6.45 a.m. The crime
team as also the dog squad were summoned. Both the dogs of the dog
squad were first let loose to pick up the smell and according to the AS!
Ranbir Singh, in-charge of the dog squad, the dogs after picking up the
smell from the lock lying in the corner of the back courtyard and from the
E spot, went to the room where the appellant was sitting and each of the dogs ...,
pointed towards him by turn. That raised a suspicion against the appellant. '
According to the SHO, he then asked the appellant to remove his shirt and
found that the appellant had injuries in the nature of bruises etc. on the
front part of his body, on the chest, as well as on his back. Since the
F appellant had told the police that the bangles of his wife were identical to
the bangles of Sharda, the wife of his brother M.P. Jain, who also is the
sister of the deceased, the SHO took into possession four bangles from A
Sharda also for comparing the same in case the stolen property was
recovered. The appellant was thereafter taken for further interrogation to
the police station. Before proceeding lo the police station, the SHO had
G effected recoveries of various articles including some hair, lying near the
dead body on the cot. The appellant had produced the key at the asking
of the SHO, which purported to be the key of the lock which had bee-i ,--.(_
found lying in the back court-yard and the same was taken into possession.
The lock was also taken into possession but it did not appear to have been
H
).
SURINDER PAL '" DELHI ADMN. [ANAND, J.] 235

broken or tampered with. The recovery of the key was witnessed amongst A
others by Kuldip Kaul PWl who was present in the crowd outside the home
of the appellant. The inquest proceedings were conducted by SI Moti Singh
and the body was thereafter sent for post-mortem examination.

At the police station, during interrogation, the appellant was placed
under arrest arid in the presence of SI Dalip Singh PW6, Kuldip Kaul PWl
B
and Harnaik Singh PW2, he made a disclosure statement, Ex. PC, to the
effect that he had concealed the golden chain and the bangles in his
bathroom and in pursuance of the disclosure statement, the appellant led
the police party to the bathroom of his house and after removing the cover
from the drain hole, took out the golden chain and the bangles and handed c
the same over to SHO Harmit Singh in presence of the witnesses. Recovery
memo, Ex.PF was prepared and the golden chain and the bangles after
being duly weighed were sealed separately and the seal was handed over
to Kuldip Kaul PWL The appellant was sent for medical examination, after
memo of his personal search Ex.PE was prepared. Dr. Dharam Pal PW15 D
found as many 18 injuries on the person of the appellant consisting of
bruises and abrasions on the nose, chest, arm shoulder and on the umbilical
region. The injuries were stated to have been caused by blunt weapon.

The post-mortem on the dead body of Usha Jain was conducted on
27.7.1976 at 9.00 a.m. by Dr. Bharat Singh PW-4 and according to the E
postmortem report Ex.PL, all the injuries found on the person of the deceased
were ante-mortem and the same were possible by thrott.ling the deceased and
that the death of Usha Jain was caused by asphyxia resulting from throttling.
The deceased was carrying 7th month pregnancy at the time of her death.
F
After the disclosure statement was made by the appellant leading to
the recovery of the ornaments and after noticing injuries on his person, the
case which was originally registered under Section 460 !PC was converted,
into one under Section 302/203 IPC. The SHO during the course of
investigation also took sample hair of the appellant and sent the same
alongwith the hair recovered from the cot of the deceased to the Central G
"orensic Science Laboratory. The nail clippings of the deceased were also
sent for analysis to CFSL. Site plan, Ex.PO, was also prepared during the
investigation. After completion of the investigation, challan was filed
against the appellant and he was sent up for trial for offences under Section
302/203 !PC in the court of Additional Sessions Judge, New Delhi. H
236 SUPREME COURT REPORTS {1993] 2 S.C.R.

A There being no eye-witness of the occurrence, the prosecution sought
to establish the ease against the appellant on the basis of circumstantial
evidence. The circumstances set up by the prosecution against the appel-
lant during the trial were :

(i) information to the police at 4.55 AM given by a
B neighbour and not the appellant;

(ii) that information not specifically givmg out that a
murder had taken place and simply intimating happen-
. ing of an incident;
c (iii) The accused having slept alone at night in the veran-
dah with the deceased after having locked the collap-
sable door of that verandah from inside and that lock
having been found in the corner of the back courtyard
in the morning without being tampered with;
D
(iv) The deceased and accused were last seen together,

(v) The dogs of the Dog Squad having pointed out the
accused after picking up scent from that lock;

E . (vi) The ornaments which were stated to be on the person
of the deceased while she was sleeping, and which were
found missing when she was discovered dead having
been recovered from the drain hole of the bath room
attached to the bed room of the accused in conse-
quence of and in pursuance of a disclousre statement
F
made by the accused;

(vii) injuries found on the person of the accused in the
nature of abrasions, contusions and lastly;

G (viii) the accused having given false information to the
police by means of his statement Ext. PS"'

The learned Sessions Judge carefully analysed each of the c1r-
cumstance and finally observed :

11
H 0n a resume of the analysis of prosecution evidence, and
•

SURINDER PAL "· DELHI ADMN. [ANAND, J.] 237

on a very careful appraisal of all the facts and circumstan- A
ces set up by the prosecution, I am of my earnestly
considered view that the prosecution in this case has
entirely failed to prove any of the circumstances set up
against the accused, much less to establish the chain of
circumstances, so as to bring out a nexus between the
B
crime and the accused."

The appellant was, therefore, acquitted of the offences under Section
302/203 !PC.

On an appeal by the State, a division bench of the High Court C
reversed the order of acquittal of the appella~t. The High Court held that
the circumstances formed a chain and sequences so complete by themsel-
'r ves that one was left in no manner of doubt that the appellant and the
appellant alone had committed the crime. The appeal was accepted and
the order of acquittal was set aside. The appellant was sentenced to
undergo rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 302 !PC and also to D
undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year under Section 203
!PC. Both the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

Appearing for the appellant, Mr. R.K. Garg, the learned senior
counsel submitted that the approach of the High Court was totally er-
roneous and that a well considered and well reasoned judgment of the Trial
E
Court was upset by the High Court by drawing inferences which were not
available from the record and by ignoring material discrepancies and
infirmities in the prosecution evidence which not only did not establish
various circumstances but which also showed that the chain of circumstan-
tial evidence was wholly incomplete. Learned counsel for the appellant F
submitted that the appellant had been roped in on the basis of misguided
suspicion and that the circumstances relied upon by the prosecution were
not of any conclusive nature and they did not exclude the hypothesis, other
than that of the guilt of the appellant. It was emphasised that the inves·
tigating officer had created false clues and suppressed material which went G
against the prosecuting version and supported the defence version. He
ar 0 ued that the High Court should have drawn adverse inference against
the prosecution for not producing the first informant and withholding the
evidence of the father of the deceased.

Mr. N.N. Goswami, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. Ashok H
238 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 11993) 2 S.C.R.

A Bhan, advocate, on the other hand submitted that some of the circumstan-
ces like the pointing out of the appellant by the dogs of the Dog Squad,
after picking up the scent from the plaee of occurence; the disclosure
statement and the recovery of ornaments as a consequence thereof at the
instance of appellant and the presence of injuries on the person of appel-
lant, were of such a conclusive and clinching nature that they left no doubt
B that the appellant had committed the crime. It was submitted that the
appellant had made attempt to mislead the investigating officer by giving
a false version with a view to screen himself. According to the learned
counsel the established circumstance could only lead to the hypothesis
consistent with the guilt of the appellant and not with his innocence.
c
We shall now consider various circumstances with a view to deter-
mine whether the circumstances alleged against the appellant have been
established and the chain of evidence is so complete as to lead to no other "(
hypothesis except the one consistent with the guilt of the accused.

D
There is no motive established in this case by the prosecution for the
appellant to commit murder of his wife and the evidence of Tara Chand
father of the deceased as well as the sister of the deceased and the tenants
living in~ the same house disclosed that the relations between the husband
and wife were cordial. In a case based on circumstantial evidence, motive
E assumes pertinent significance as existence of the motive is an enlightening
factor in a process of presumptive reasoning in such a case. The absence
of motive, however, puts the court on·its guard to scrutinise the circumstan-
ces more carefully to ensure that suspicion and conjecture do not take
place of legal proof.
F
Since, the disclosure statement and the consequent recovery pursuant
thereto of the ornaments belonging to the deceased has been considered to be
one of the most important piece of circumstantial evidence in the case not only
by the High Court but has also before us by the learned counsel appearing for
the State, we shall first consider that circumstance. This circumstance is
G indeed of such an incriminating nature that if found to have been established
by reliable and trustworthy evidence, it would go a long way to furnish proof of
the guilt of the appellant and connect him with the crime and on the other
hand, if the evidence in support of that circumstance is found to be not
reliable, the entire chain of circumstantial evidence will snap so badly as to
H affect the credibility of the prosecution case as a whole.
SURINDER PAL v. DELHI ADMN. [ANAND, J.] 239

According to the prosecution after the appellant had been taken to A
the police station by the investigating officer he was interrogated inter-
rogated after being placed under arrest. He voluntarily made a disclosure
statement Ex.PC. The disclosure statement was recorded by the SHO and
has been attested by Kuldip Kaul PW-1, SI Dalip Singh PW-6 and Harnaik
Singh PW2. Pursuant to the disclosure statement, the appellant is alleged
B
to have led the police party to the recovery of the ornaments from a
drain-hole in his bathroom. The recovery memo Ex.PF was prepared at the
spot and was attested by SI Dalip Singh PW-6, Kuldip Kaul PW-1 and
Hnrnaik Singh PW-2 besides the Investigating Officer. We shall, therefore,
first analyse the evidence of the witnesses of the disclosure statement and
the recovery memo. c
Inspector Harmit Singh, PW-19, SHO, while deposing about the
disclosure statement and the consequent recovery of the ornaments at the
pointing out by the appellant, stated that he interrogated the appellant in
presence of Dalip Singh, Kuldip Kaul and Harnaik Singh PWs at the police D
station at about 1.45 p.m. and in their presence the appellant made the
disclosure statement Ex. PC and then led the party to his house and
pointing out the drain hole in the bath room, the appellant took out from
that drain hole, three golden bangles and one golden chain, which were
weighed separately and while golden bangles were put in one packet the
golden chain was put in another packet and the seal used to seal both the E
packets was handed over to Kuldip Kaul PWI. The recovery memo Ex.PF
was prepared at the spot which was signed by the witnesses then and there
at about 2 or 2.30 p.m. In his cross-examination, the Investigating Officer
denied the suggestion that the bangles and the chain were recovered from
under-neath a slab in the service lane in the presence of the appellant and F
Jagminder Dass Jain and a memo had been prepared which was signed by
them. He also stated· that he did not call any goldsmith to weigh the
ornaments because he had taken with him the measure and the scale. He
then asserted that "Kuldip Kaul did not come back with me to the police
1 station when I came back in the evening after recoveries of the ornaments
etc. had been effected at the spot. I recorded statement of Kuldip Kaul at G
the spot after recoveries. That was a complete statement of his and I
recorded only one statement of his on that day. Kuldip Kaul left from the
spot and we were still there when he left."

Regarding Harnaik Singh PW2, the 1.0. stated "I had gone out to H
240 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A look for another witness and I found at that time Harnaik Singh reversing
his taxi in the compound ef the police station and then I summoned him.
He had told me that he had dropped a passenger and was taking out his
taxi. I did not see passenger going inside. There are 60/70 quarters at the
back of the police station and that passengers might have gone to any of
those quarters. The disclosure statement was made by the accused in his
B
presence. I had read out the papers to Harnaik Singh before getting his
signature. In fact, it was written in his presence and whatever were dictated
by the accused was within his hearing. It is incorrect to suggest that disclosure
statement was already writte11 and I got signatures of Hamaik Singh without
explaining to him the document and assuring him to sign on. my tmst." The
C witness also asserted that he had seen Harnaik Singh for the first time only
at about 2 or 2.30 p.m. outside the police station while reversing the taxi
and did not know him from before. Let us now examine as to what the
other witnesses have to say in this regard.

D Kuldip Kaul PWl, while admitting that he was present outside the
house of the appellant in the morning at about 6.30 a.m. when the police
party had reached there and had offered himself to join the investigation,
went on to say that after the SHO had lifted the shirt of the appellant and
found 15-20 marks of scratches on the chest of the appellant, they all came
to the police station along with the appellant. He added that while they
E were sitting at the police station, Harnaik Singh PW2 also came there along
with SHO Harmit Singh and after some initial hesitation, the appellant
disclosed that he had kept one golden chain and three bangles which his
wife was wearing, in the drain-hole of the bath room of his house and he
could show the same to the police and get them recovered. He deposed
F that disclosure statement Ex.PC was prepared at the police station and was
signed by him as well as by the other witnesses present there. Thereafter 1
the appellant was arrested and he led the police party to his house where
he pointed out the drain-hole in the bath room and after removing the
cover of the drain hole, the appellant took out from inside the drain hole,
a golden chain and three golden bangles and handed over the same to SHO
G Harmit Singh. Memo of recovery Ex.PF was prepared and was signed by
the witnesses. With a view to assert his independence and that he had no
earlier connection with the 1.0., he stated "! came to know SHO Harmit
Singh since March, 1976, when I organised a function of Youth Congress
and had contacted the SHO for arrangements for the said function./ have
H never gone t9 the 11olice station in any other connection or regarding public
}
SURINDER PAL v. DELHI ADMN. [ANAND, J.] 241

giievances. I have 11ot orga11ised a11y other functio11 i11 the area except the 011e A
stated above." Regarding the signing of the recovery memo at the house of
the appellant and his leaving for his house from there as was deposed to
by the Investigating Officer, Kuldip Kaul PWl stated "l had come back with
the police to P.S. after the recovery of the omame11ts and there at about 3.30
p.m. my statement was recorded by the police and l came back home at about
B
4 p.ni."

Harnaik Singh PW2 giving his version regarding the disclosure state-
ment and the consequent recovery stated "About 4-1/2 or 5 months back

- at about 2/2.30 p.m. I had taken a passenger in my taxi to the ·quarters of
P.S. Hauz Khas. When I was coming back after dropping the passenger C
one police officer, Sardarji, who was standing at the gate of the P.S. called
me, and took me inside the P.S. There is one room, besides the police were
one Mr. Kaul PWl and Surinder Pal Jain, accused present in court. Then
in the room that Sardalji police officer took up one paper which had been
prepared already a11d asked me to sign, sayi11g that they have to conduct some D
inquiry in the case. 771en that Sardalji told me to accompa11y the police paTty
to Green Park. Then we went there besides the police party and myself
PWl and the accused were also there: On reaching the house in Green
Park the accused led the police party to the bath room and I also followed
them in to the both room. Then the Sardalji took out three ba11gles a11d one
gold chai11 from the gutter of the bath room. 17te Sardalji took those three E
ba11g/es from the gutter 011 being told by the accused." He asserted that he
did not at all know the Sardarji police officer prior to that date and that

-
he had gone to the police station for the first time on that day. During the
cross- examination he admitted that "771e co/lfe11ts of memos Ex.PC and
Ex.PF were 1101 read out to me but l was told by the police that the weight of F
things recovered and the recovery was being written in those pajJers."

,A_
AS! Maha Singh, PW5, who had arrived at the spot al the earliest
and had sent information to his senior officers including SHO Harmil
Singh and had kept a guard at the spot. During the cross-examination
admitted that "Kuldip Kaul and Harnaik Singh witnesses had come there G
before 7 a.m."

/- SI Dalip Singh PW6, who had also accompanied the SHO to the
house of the appellant at about 6.30 a.m. stated "whe11 we reached Ku/dip
Kaul and Hamaik Si11gh witnesses were present. AS/ Maha Singh was already H
242 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A there." The witness also deposed about the interrogation of the appellant
and the recording of the disclosure statement at the police station in his
presence and the subsequent recovery of the ornaments and the prepara-
tion of the recovery memo PF in the presence of Kuldip Kaul and Harnaik
Singh PWs. Contrary to what Harnaik Singh PW said, this l'.itness deposed
"the accused himself took out three bangles and one golden chain from the
B
main-hole and handed them over to the SHO." The witness during the
cross-examination stated "The ornaments were weighed by some goldsmith
who was called there by the SHO. I do not know whether that goldsmith also
signed the possession memo or not."

C The above is the entire prosecution evidence relating to the making
of the alleged disclsoure statement by the appellant and the consequent
recovery under Section 27 of the Evidence Act at his instance.

According to the appellant, however, he had made no disclosure
D statement nor led the police party to the recovery of the ornaments as
alleged. According to the defence version, the missing ornaments had in
fact been recovered by the police party around 11 a.m. during search from
the service lane, from underneath a slab, near the boundary wall and at
that time the appellant and Jagminder Dass Jain were also present. This
defence version is supported by the evidence of DW2, Tara Chand, father
E of the deceased. The presence of this witness is admitted at the spot by the
Investigating team, as was natural being the father of the deceased. His
testimony assumes significance as in the normal course of events, he would

F
be the last person to screen the real offender who murdered his daughter.
Tara Chand DW2 stated that the police had interrogated him and he had
told the LO. that the appellant and the deceased had good relations with
each other and. that he had never received any complaint of any dispute or
difference between them from his daughter. Thal he had also married of
-
his other daughter with the brother of the appellant, M.P. Jain and that
both the sisters alongwith their husbands were living together in the same
house. Deposing about the sequence of events at the house of the appcl-
G !ant, the witness stated "Then at about 10.30 a.m. the police took into
possession four golden bangles from Sharda but I cannot say as to from
where she had produced them, whether she was wearing them or she had
brought them from the house. I had seen her just producing them. She had
handed over those bangles to the same Sardarji police officer who had
H talked to me and at that time we were in the drawing room. The police
•

SURINDER PAL v. DELHI ADM)'/. [ANAND, J.] 243

had been told that the bangles which Usha was wearing and which were A
missing were of the same type which were with Sharda and there upo11 they
co11ducted search for the articles i11 and arou11d the house, with the bangles
in hand, They went out towards the back side. Persons who were inside the
house and also S.P. Jain accused (had joined the search party). I came to
know that three missing bangles a11d one chain had been fou11d out from
B
underneath a slab at the back of the house. I came to know at about 11.30
a.m. that these thi11gs had been recovered and after about 1/2 hour of that
the police took in jeep M .P. Jain, S.P. Jain and Sharda Jain to the police
station. Police told me that they were taking all the three for interrogation."
During the cross-examination he asserted, "After the police had take11
Sharda's four bangles in hand _and they went around looking for the stole11 c
bangles I was in the vara11dah by the side of the dead body and kept on
observing the sce11e and I saw that after sometime the same sub-i11spector who
had the four bangles i11 ha11d was coming from outside from the back side
a11d had three bangles and 011e chai11 in the other ha11d. Some 517 persons
from the public who were already inside the house had gone outside with D
the police and they also came back with the police after recovery of the
ornaments. I leanit fro111 thent that those oma1nents had been found fro1n
underneath a slab and sometime after myself wem out a11d saw that spot. The
three bangles and chain were loose and were not found in any cloth." He
categorically denied the suggestion that the appellant had led the police
party to the bath room on that day and had got recovered form the drain E
hole of the bath room, the three bangles and the golden chain.

Shri Jagminder Dass Jain appeared as DW12. He !eves in the same
locality as the appellant and had gone to the house of the appellant soon
after 6 a.m. on learning that some murder had taken place. Deposing about F
the recovery of ornaments, he stated that the SHO after taking into
possession the bangles from Sharda went outside towards the back lane
~-.
and the witness accompanied the SHO and the crime team along with some
others. He stated that dwi11g the course of the search of the back lane and
from undemeath a slab, one gold chain and three golden bangles were
recovered. The recovered bangles were compared with the other which had G
been earlier produced by Sharda a11d a memo of the recovery· was prepared
by the police and was sig11ed by the witness as well as the appella11t.

The learned Sessions Judge carefully considered the evidence led by
the prosecution with regard to the disclosure statement and the recovery H
244 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1993] 2 S.C.R.

A of ornaments. She found the evidence of Harnaik Singh PW2, who accord- -J..
ing to DWll Sunder Lal constable of police station Defence Colonly, had
been earlier also cited as a witness for the prosecution in a case inves-
tigated by Harmit Singh the then Sub-Inspector of police and the present
Investigating Officer was not reliable and that the Investigating Officer had
B not told the truth when he had deposed that he did not know Harnaik
Singh earlier. That Harnaik Singh had on his own showing signed the ');-
disdosure statement after it had already been written and that the appel-
lant had not made any disclosure statement in the presence of Harnaik
Singh PW2, who had been introduced being a convenient witness.

c The learned Sessions Judge also found the evidence of PWl Kuldip
Kaul as not reliable or trustworthy and disbelieved his testimony by giving
cogent reasons after properly appreciating the evidence led by the prosecu-
tion. She found the defence version with regard to the recovery as more
probable and opined that the investigating officer had created false clues
D and fabricated false evidence. The learned Sessions Judge observed :

"!, therefore, cannot bring myself at all to accept the
prosecution case about any disclosure having been made
by the accused or having led to recovery of missing orna-
E ments in pursuance to this disclosure, and I am con-
strained to say that the 1.0. has made unabashed attempt
to fabricate false evidence to bring on record incriminat-
ing evidence against the accused whcim he had tied down
for the offence u/s 302 !PC and went to the extent of
introducing false witnesses, preparing fabricated
F recoveries, replacing them by original recoveries."

The High Court on the other band did not deal with the various
discrepancies and contradictions appearing in the prosecution evidence
G relating to the making of the disclosure statement and the recovery of the
ornaments. ·The High Court placed reliance on the testimony of Kuldip
Kaul PWl and Harnaik Singh PW2 to hold that the disclosure statement
and the recovery had been made in the manner suggested by the prosecu-
tion .. In our opinion, the High Court did not properly appreciate the
prosection evidence while reversing the well considered judgment of the
H learned Sessions Judge.
SURJNDER PAL v. DELHI ADMN. [ANAND, J.] 245

)-- On our independent appraisal of the evidence we find that the A
prosecution evidence relating to the disclosure statement and the recovery
of ornaments is not only discrepent and contradictory but also suffers from
glaring infirmities and improbabilities rendering it unsafe ,to rely upon the
same.

B
There is contradiction between the evidence of Kuldip Kaul PWl
and the 1.0. as to the place where Kuldip Kaul signed the recovery memo.
According to the LO. it was signed -at the spot while according to Kuldip
Kaul PWl, he had returned to the police station and there signed the
recovery memo. Again, while Kuldip Kaul attempted to show that he had
met the 1.0. just .once and did not know him earlier, the 1.0. has given a c
direct lie to it. After carefully analysing the evidence, we find Kuldip Kaul
PWl was a convenient witness and his evidence does not appear to be
..,.. trustworthy. Same is our opinion about Harnaik Singh PW2. Whereas both
Harnaik Singh PW2 and the 1.0. want the Court to believe that they did
not know each other earlier and that 1.0. had seen Harnaik Singh for the D
first time on that day only at the police station, there is abundant material
on the record to show nc' nly that Harnaik Singh had earlier been cited
as witness by the same 1.0. while posted as Sub-Inspector at another police
station, Harnaik Singh PW2 was also present outside the house of the
appellant alongwith Kuldip Kaul PWl as early as on 6.30 AM on that day.
Harnaik Singh PW2 also exposed his unreliability when he admitted during E
the cross-examination that the disclosure statement had not been made by
the appellant in his presence at the police station but that he had signed a
statement which had already been prepared, thus, giving a lie not only to
Kuldip Kaul PW! but also to the 1.0. who have deposed to the contrary.
F
As regards the recovery of ornaments also, there is a very serious
~ .. infirmity which emerges from the testimony of Harnaik Singh PW2. Con-
trary to what the 1.0. and the other witnesses stated, Harnaik Singh PW2
deposed that the ornaments were taken ollf by the Sardarji 1.0. from the
drain hole and not by the appellant. This probabiliscs the defence version G
that the ornaments had been recovered during the search and were with
the 1.0. when the ritual of the recovery under Section 27 of the Evidence
Act was performed. The contradictions in the evidence of the 1.0. and SJ.
Dalip Singh PW6 as to who had weighed the ornaments after their alleged
recovery also casts doubt on the correctness .of the prosecution story and
the bonafides of the investigation. H
246 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A The learned Judges of the High Court noticed the evidence of ~
Harnaik Singh as regards the manner of his signing the disclosure state-
ment and the alleged recovery of ornaments and observed :

"Harnaik Singh PW2 even though cited as a witness of the
disclosure statement, does not subscirbe to it and obvious-
B
ly, as stated by Harmit Singh, he was only brought to the
police station after the first interrogation was conducted.
In any event we think that a person like Harnaik Singh
PW2 who is not prepared to subscribe to a part of the
prosecution case to which he was not a witness could not
c but be a truthful witness and there is absolutely no reason
not to believe his version that these ornaments were
recovered at the pointing out of the accused and were
drawn from the drain hole by the accused himself."

D We are unable to appreciate this approach of the High Court. The Court
seems to have made a virtue out of a vice. Whle deposing about the
recovery of the ornaments from the drain hole of the bath room Harnaik
Singh PW2 belied the entire prosecution case when he stated that after the
appellant had led the police party to the bath room "the Sardalji took out
three bangles and one golden chain from the gutter of the bath room". The
E High Court did not advert to this aspect of the evidence at an. Kuldip Kaul --r
PWl who was also disbelieved by the learned Sessions Judge and in our
opinion rightly, had also exposed the extent of falsehood indulged into by
the investigating officer with regard to the time and place where the witness
attested the memo of recovery of the ornaments but the High Court did
F not deal with the said circumstance also in its proper perspective and on
the other hand unjustifiably criticised the Sessions Judge for her adverse
comments on the veracity of the prosecution case. Obviously, the investigat-· ->....
ing officer had associated Kuldip Kaul PWl not only because he was known
to the SHO but also because he was a convenient witness who was
prepared to sign the recovery memo at the police station at 3.30 PM, after
G the police party had returned from the house of the appellant. The glaring
discrepancies and contradictions noticed above have rendered the evidence
of Kuldip Kaul PWl, Harnaik Singh PW2 and the Investigation Officer ~
Harmit Singh PW19 untrustworthy and unreliable. On the other hand, we
find that the defence version regarding the recovery of ornaments is more
H probable and is supported by independent witnesses including Tara Chand
. SURINDER PAL v. DELHI ADMN. (ANAND, J.J 247

DW2 father of the deceased whom the 1.0. did not produee as a prosecu- ·A
tion witness. Despite searching cross-examination nothing was elicited to
created any doubt on the veracity of Tara Chand DW2, the father of the
deceased, who, as already stated, would be the last person to screen the
real murderer of his daughter. The evidence of Tara Chand DW2 has
impressed us and we find that the version given by him, in the facts and B
circumstances of th,e case, was more probable.

In view of the serious discrepancies, contradictions and the attempt
of the Investigating Officer Hanni! Singh to create false clues and fabricate
evidence, ·we are of the opinion that the learned Sessions Judge was
perfectly justified in rejecting the prosecution evidence relating to the C
disclosure statement Ex. PC and the consequent recovery of the ornaments. •
The prosecution has failed to establish that the appellant did make the
disclosure statement as alleged by the prosecution or led to the recovery
of the ornaments belonging io the decea,ed in the manner suggested by
the prosecution. This piece of circumstantial evidence, therefore, has not D
at all been established, much less conclusively.

In a case based on circumstantial evidence, the settled law is that the
circumstances from which the conclusion of t,'llilt is drav.n should be fully
proved and those circumstances must be conclusive in nature. Moreover,
the established facts should be. consist~t only with the hypothesis of the E
guilt of the accused alone and totally inconsistent with his innocence.

Though with the ruling out of the circumstance relating to the
recovery of the ornaments as not liavin8 been established conclusively, the
chain of the circ~stantial evidence snaps badly, we find that there are F
some other cirwmstances also in the prosecution case which militate
against its correctness. Admittedly, the nail clippings of the nails of the
deceased had been taken by the police. There was also recovery of the hair
from near the cot where the. dead body 'was l}ing and the romoval of the
hair from the scalp of the appellant by the 70. for the pfilposc of their G
comparison. The report of the chemical examiner has not connected the
hair recovered from the rot with those of the appellant. There is no
material on the record either to show that the nail clipping had any blood,
which could have tallied with the bl~od group of the appellant. Thus, both
the nail clippings and the hair have failedtn connect the appellant v.ith the •
crime. H
248 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A The information about the incident was given by Sulekb Chand Jain . -..J..
DW13 an immediate neighbour, of the decased who informed the police
at 4.55 AM on the request of the appellant about the occurrence. Sulekh
Chand Jain was not examined by the prosecution and was instead examined
by the defence and has appeared as DW13. He deposed that he had
B conveyed the information, as given to him by the appellant and other
inmates of that house, regarding the murder of the deceased to Moti Ram
PWll at police station Hauz Khas on telephone. The record of the
information conveyed by him at the police station was, however, cryptic
and no explanation has been furnished as to why the recorded report wa5
so cryptic. In answer to a question in the cross-examination, the witness
c naturally expressed his ignorance as to why the report had been recorded
in the manner in whic.h it was recorded. That was natural. This explanation
was required to be furnished by the police witnesses rather than DW13.
Though he was subjected to incisive cross-examination, nothing emerged
from the evidence of DW13 which may show that he had not conveyed the
D information of murder having been committed to the police. Under these
circumstances, the argument of Mr. Garg that the report was designedly
left vague to enable the investigating agency to fill in the blanks latter
cannot be dismissed as wholly unplausible particularly when we have
noticed the conduct of the Investigating Officer during the investigation.
E The possiblility that the entire case was built up after the dogs of the dog
squad pointed towards the appellant cannot be ruled out. Since, the
appellant had slept in the verandah near the cot where the dead body of
his wife was found; had locked the collapsable door with the rocovered
lock before going to sleep and had himself been close to the dead body
F before the police came, the picking up of the smell by the dogs and pointing
towards the accused could not be said to be a circumstance which could
exclude the possibility of guilt of any person other than that of the appellant
or be compatible only with hypothesis of guilt of the appellant. The
pointing out by the dogs could as well lead to a misguided suspicion that
the appellant had committed the crime. The explanation of the appellant
G regarding the injuries on his person as having been caused by the police is
also quite plausible because according to the father of the deceased, the
sister of the deceased, the tenants of the house and other neighbours who
had reached the spot, the appellant was wearing only a vest and the pyjama
H and no shirt and there were no marks of injuries on his body before he was
SURINDER PAL v. DELHI ADMN. [ANAND, J.) 249

taken to the police· station. The prosecution case regarding the presence A
of injuries on the person of the deceased also, therefore, is quite doubtful.

On an independent appraisal of the evidence on the recqrd, we have
therefore unhesitatingly come to the conclusion that the learned Sessions
Judge was perfectly justified in acquitting the appellant of all the charges
and the reasoning given and the findings recorded by her are sound, cogent B
and reasonable. The High Court was not justified to set aside those findings
on surmises and conjectures. The finding of guilt recorded against the
appellant by the High Court is not sustainable in law and we, agree with

- the learned Sessions Judge that the prosecution has not established the
case against the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt. We, accordingly, set
aside the judgment of the High Court convicting the appell<1Dt for the
C

offence under Section 302/203 IPC. The appeal is allowed and the appel-
lant acqmtted of both the charges. The appellant is on bail, his bail bonds
shall stand discharged.

N.V.K. Appeal allowed.