Holding

The Supreme Court held that the eye‑witness testimony and medical evidence are consistent, motive need not be proved, and the prosecution proved the murder beyond reasonable doubt, thereby upholding the conviction.

Summary

The case involved three accused who were alleged to have strangled a rickshaw puller, Bhanwar Singh, using a cloth rolled into a rope. Two constables on night patrol heard the victim’s cries, entered the guest house and saw the assault, catching two of the accused while the third escaped by scaling a wall. The prosecution presented eye‑witness testimony, a prompt FIR, and medical evidence showing a ligature mark consistent with the cloth used. The Sessions Judge acquitted the accused, but the High Court convicted them; the accused appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court examined whether the ocular testimony conflicted with the medical findings, whether the lack of proved motive required acquittal, and whether the constables were indeed on duty. It held that there was no inconsistency between the eye‑witness and medical evidence, that motive need not be proved when other evidence is reliable, and that the constables were on patrol duty. Consequently, the prosecution’s case was found to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and the convictions were upheld.

Issues considered

Whether the eye‑witness testimony is inconsistent with the medical evidence regarding the ligature mark and the cloth used.
Whether the failure to prove a motive for the murder warrants acquittal.
Whether the constables who testified were on night patrol duty as claimed.
Whether the omission of the assailants' names in the initial telephonic message affects the credibility of the prosecution.
Whether the dimensions of the cloth and the ligature mark are compatible.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 161, s. 313
Indian Evidence Act, 1872s. 3, s. 8
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 302, s. 34
Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970s. 2

Subjects

murderSection 302 IPCSection 34 IPCeye‑witness testimonymedical evidencemotivationconsistency of evidenceconvictionappellate jurisdiction

Judgment

A THAMAN KUMAR
v.
r-
~
STATE OF UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH

MAY 6, 2003

B [S. RAJENDRA BABU AND G.P. MATHUR, .IJ.]

Penal Code, 1860-Section 302 read with Section 34-Evidence Act,
1872-Section 3-Murder-Appreciation of evidence-Prosecution case-
Reliability of-Prosecution case that constables on patrolling duty witnessed
c accused strangulating deceased to death by rolling over bed sheet around his
neck-Acquit/al-Conviction by High Court-Justification of- Held: Since
there is no inconsistency between testimony of eyewitnesses and medical
evidence, there is documentary evidence and also FIR lodged promptly,
prosecution case proved beyond any shadow ofdoubt-Thus High Court rightly
D set aside the acquit/al-Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate
Jurisdiction) Act, 1970, section 2.

Evidence Act, 1872:

Sections 8 and 3-Murder-Motive-Failure to prove by prosecution-
E Held: If ocular evidence is trustworthy and corroborated by medical evidence,
failure to prove motive is ofno consequence-Accused person can be convicted

Section 3-0cular testimony and medical evidence-Conflict between-
Reliability of-Discussed.

F According to the prosecution, accused persons strangulated deceased-
rickshawpuller to death by rolling over the bedsheet around his neck.
Constables who were on patrol duty heard shrieks raised by the deceased
when they passed in front of the deceased's house. They witnessed the
incident. Thereafter, they caught A 2 and A-3 on the spot but A-1 managed
to escape by scaling the rear boundary wall. Constables then informed
G about the incident at mid night to police post by telephone. Sub-inspector
came to the spot and recorded the statement of one of the constables.
Thereafter FIR was registered. Sessions Judge framed charges under
Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC against accused. Sessions Judge
disbelieving the prosecution case acquitted the accused, however, High
H 1190
r
r
THAMAN KUMAR''· STATE OF UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH 1191
Court convicted them. Hence the present appeal. A
A-I contended that the injury found on the body of the deceased could
not have been caused in a manner deposed to by the eye-witnesses; and
that the chadar produced in Court was converted into a rope by twisting
and according to the witness, the thickness of the same in the middle was
about 6/7 ems and the ligature mark on the neck of the deceased was 1/2 B
cm in width and this was not possible.

A-2 and A-3 contended that Session Judge rightly gave benefit of
doubt to appellants and acquitted them and High Court erred in reversing
the findings; that the prosecution has failed to prove any motive on the C
part of appellants to commit crime; that the roaster of duty of constable
was withheld by the prosecution, therefore, it is not possible to accept their
version that they were on patrol duty; that in the first telephonic message
given to police post at mid night the names of the assailants were not
mentioned; and that having regard to the height of rear wall and fencing
A-1 could not have manage to run away by scaling the same. D

Dismissing the appeals, the Court

HELD: I. In the instant case there is no inconsistency between the
testimony of the eye-witnesses and the medical evidence and the case of E
the prosecution does not suffer from any infirmity on that account.
Prosecution has succeeded in establ.ishing its case against accused-appellants
beyond any shadow of doubt and the view taken by the Sessions Judge was
wholly perverse which was rightly set aside by the High Court.
(1202-G; 1204-F, GI
F
2. The connict between oral testimony and medical evidence can be
of varied dimensions and shapes. There may be a case where there is total
absence of injuries which are normally caused by a particular weapon.
There is another category where though the injuries found on the victim
are of the type which are possible by the weapon of assault, but the size
and dimension of the injuries do not exactly tally with the size and G
·dimension of the weapon. The third category can be where the injuries
found on the victim are such which are normally caused by the weapon of
assault but they are not found on that portion of the body where they are
deposed to have been caused by the eye-witnesses. The same kind of
inference cannot be drawn in the three categories of apparent conmct in H
1192 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003] 3 S.C.R.

A oral and medical evidence enumerated above. hi the first category it may
legitimately be inferred that the oral evidence regarding assault having been
made from a particular weapon is not truthful. However, in the second and

-
third category no such inference can straightway be drawn. The manner
and method of assault, the position of the victim, the resistance offered by
him, the opportunity available to the witnesses to see the occurrence like
B their distance, presence of light and many other similar factors will have
to be taken into consideration in judging the reliability of ocular testimony.
11202-B-DI

Anil Rai v. State of Bihar, 1200117SCC318 and Punjab Singh v. State
c of Haryana, (19841 Supp. SCC 233, relied on.

3.1. The documentary evidence and also the promptness with which
the FIR was lodged, its copy was sent to llaqa Magistrate and the body
was sent to the mortuary lends assurance to the truthfulness of the
prosecution case. The doctor opined that the injury on the hand of A 2
D was possibly having been caused due to pulling of bed sheet could not be
ruled out. The post-mortem report of deceased shows that there was a
ligature mark encircling whole of neck .The doctors opined that the death
occurred due to asphyxia caused by strangulation. Thus, the testimony of
eye-witness that they saw accused strangulating the deceased finds complete
corroboration from the medical evidence on record. (1200-A-q
E
3.2. If the actual commission of crime-strangulation of the deceased
had not been seen by anyone, assailants would not take the risk of being
seen and apprehended while carrying the dead body and placing it in the
garage. The assailants would have left the body where the crime was
F committed and would have slipped away. Therefore, the defence case that
some one else placed the dead body in the garage of the kothi is not at all
worthy of belief. Such a defence has been tal•en by the accused only for
the purpose of explaining the presence of the body of deceased in the garage
and the arrest of A-2 and A-3 on the spot. Further much less producing
any evidence, the accused-appellants have not even given any suggestion
G in the cross-examination of the constable as to why they had given false
statement to implicate them in a serious case like murder and also there is
no evidence on the record which may even remotely suggest that constables
had any grouse against the appellants. (1200-E-G(

H 3.3. It has come in evidence that the chadar was about 1-1/2 cm long
...
THAMAN KUMAR v. STATE OF UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH 1193
and 1 mtr wide. In fact it was not a full chadar or· a bed sheet but was a A
piece of cloth, which is sometimes used by ordinary people like rickshaw
pullers to cover their face during winters especially in night. If the said
piece of cloth is converted into a rope by rolling it over, its diameter will
very much depend upon the fact as to how strongly and tightly it is rolled
over and if it is tightly rolled over in the shape of a rope, its diameter will B
be much less than 617 ems. and the ligature mark on the neck of the
deceased would be of still lesser dimension. The width of the ligature mark
would very much depend upon the type of the cloth, how tightly and
strongly it was rolled over and was converted into a rope and how soon it
was removed. In the instant case, the cotton cloth used for strangulating
was removed immediately as the witnesses reached the spot and caught hold C
of the assailants. In such circumstances the width of the ligature mark could
be much smaller and need not tally with the diameter of the rope.
(1201-C, D; 1202-E; 1201-H; 1202-AI

Modi's Medical Jurisprudence (Twenty-Second Edition) p-263, referred
~ D

3.4. The brother of the deceased is the only witness examined on the
point of motive who turned hostile and did not support the prosecution case.
There is no such principle or rule of law that where the prosecution fails
to prove the motive for commission of the crime, it must necessarily result E
in acquittal of the accused. Where the ocular evidence is found to be
trustworthy and reliable and finds corroboration from the medical
evidence, a finding of guilt can safely be recorded even if the motive for
the commission of the crime has not been proved. Therefore, in the absence
of any evidence on the point of motive the other reliable evidence available
on record which unerringly establishes the guilt of the accused cannot be F
discarded. (1203-A-C(

State of Himachal Pradesh v. Jeet Singh, (1999( 4 SCC 370 and Nalhuni
Yadav and Ors. v. Slate of Bihar and Anr., (1998( 9 SCC 238, referred to.

3.5. An entry was made at night on the date of incident in daily diary G
report of police post to the effect that constables had been assigned night
patrol duty, thus the submission that the roster of duty of prosecution
witnesses-constables was withheld by the prosecution and, therefore, it
cannot be accepted that they were on patrol duty. (1203-G(

• H
1194 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 12003 I 3 S.C.R.

A 3.6. It is true that in the entry made at mid night in the daily diary
report, the names of the assailants were not mentioned and only the fac<
that three persons were assaulting a person was recorded. Constable has
stated that he gave telephonic mes~age about the incident at Police Post
and made a request for sending some police force. Sub Inspector made the
B entry and proceeding to the spot along with some other police constables.
This was not FIR of the incident but merely an entry made regarding the
departure of the police personnel to the place of occurrence and, therefore,
the non-mention of the names of the assailants in this entry cannot have
any bearing. (1204-A-Cf

C 3.7. Prosecution witness-draftsman has stated that the back boundary
wall was 3 feet and 7-1/2 inch high and, thereafter, there was a barred wire
fence which was 1-112 meter in height. While running away it is quite
possible that A-1 jumped to the other side by merely scaling over the brick
wall without scaling the barred wire fencing. He was a young man of 25
years in age and scaling over the wall was not a difficult proposition for
D him. 11204-DJ

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No.
425 of 1996.

From the Judgment and Order dated 26.2.1996 of the Punjab and
E Haryana High Court in Crl. A. No. 53 DBA of 1991.
WITH
(Crl. A. No. 427 of 1996)

F Sushi! Kumar, M.N. Rao, R.K. Talar, Y.P. Dhingra, A.P. Jyothish,
Ms. Deepali and Goodwill lndeevar for the Appellant.

Ms. Kamini Jaiswal and Ms. Shomila Bakshi for the Respondent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
G G.P. MA THUR, J. These appeals under Section 2 of Supreme Court
(Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970 have been
preferred against the judgment and order dated 27.3.1996 of High Court of
Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh by which the appeal preferred by the
State was allowed and the judgment of acquittal passed by the leamed Sessions
H Judge, Chandigarh was set aside and the appellants were convicted under
r
THAMAN KUMAR" STATE OF UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH [MATHUR, J.] ) J95

Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and were sentenced to imprisonment A
for life and a fine of Rs. 2,000 each and in default to undergo Six months
RI,

The case of the prosecution in brief is that the appellant Ashok Kumar
(A-1) is owner of house no.138 in Sector 35, Chandigarh which had been
convened into a guest house known as Friends Guest House .Thaman Kumar B
(A-2) and Rajesh Singh (A-3) were employed as servants in the aforesaid
guest house, The deceased Bhanwar Singh was a rickshaw puller and he used
to bring customers to the guest house for which Ashok Kumar (A-1) used to
Pay him commission. Sometimes he used to sleep in the garage of the guest
house. A considerable amount towards commission, it is alleged, had fallen C
due regarding which he made a demand in the night of 23.12.1989 and a
dispute took place. At about 12.30 p.m. in the night A-2 and A-3 strangulated
Bhanwar Singh by tying a chadar which had been rolled in the shape· of a
rope around his neck and pulling it from the two ends. At that time, A-I sat
over the chest of the deceased and had caught his both the hands firmly so
that he may not be in a position to offer any resistance. Constables Ram D
Mehar and Suresh Kumar, who had been assigned patrol duty in Sector 35
were passing in front of house no. 138 and heard shrieks raised by deceased
Bhanwar Singh. They entered the house after opening the front gate and saw
the incident happening in the grange in which electric light was on and the
doors were slightly open. They caught hold of A-2 and A-3 on the spot but E
A- I managed to escape by scaling the rear boundary wall. Suresh Kumar
then gave information about the incident at about 1.05 hours to Police Post
in Sector 36 by telephone. Surender Kumar, SI, then came to the spot, took
stock of the situation and recorded the statement of Ram Mehar, Constable.
He then gave a Rukka to Suresh Kumar, Coi:istable which he took to the
Police Station in Sector 39 on the basis of which an FIR was registered at F
02.20 a.m, on 24.12.1989. Surender Kumar, SI, also held inquest on the body
of the deceased Bhanwar Singh. The body was sealed and was sent for post-
mortem examination. After completing investigation, he submitted charge-
sheet against all the three accused.

The Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Chandigarh by his order dated G
16.4.1990 committed the case to the Court of Sessions. The learned Sessions
Judge framed charge under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC against all
the three accused who denied the case of the prosecution and claimed to be
tried. The prosecution in support of its case examined 11 witnesses including ·
2 eye-witnesses and filed some documentary evidence. Ashok Kumar (A-1) H'. .
1196 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 12003] 3 S.C.R.
A in his st~tement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. denied the case of the prosecution,
but admitted that the guest house in Kothi No. 138, Sector 35 was run by his
brother Om Prakash and he also looked after the same. He stated that when
he was sleeping in his house, Rajesh Singh (A-3) came there at about 12.30

B
in the night and informed him about the presence of a dead body in the
garage of the guest house. He then went to the guest house and after 'seeing
-'·
the dead body, he informed the police, which came there and arrested him
and other co-accused on the spot at that very time in spite of their protests.
Thaman Kumar (A-2) also denied the case of the prosecution and stated that
he and Rajesh Singh were working in the guest house and used to sleep in
a room, which was situate on the back side of the garage. Rajesh Singh
C awoke him at about mid-night and told that a dead body was lying in the
garage. Rajesh Singh then went to inform the owner of the guest house and
thereafter A- I came there, who informed the police. The Police then came to
the spot and arrested all the three accused. Rajesh Singh (A-3) also gave a
similar statement.

D The learned Sessions Judge disbelieved the case of the prosecution and
acquitted all three accused by his judgment and order dated 22.8.1990. Feeling
aggrieved, the State of Union Territory at Chandigarh preferred an appeal
which was allowed by the High Court by the judgment and order dated
27.3.1996 and all the three accused were convicted and sentenced as mentioned
earlier.
E
We have heard Shri Sushil Kumar, learned Senior Advocate for A-1,
Shri M.N. Rao, learned Senior Advocate for A-2 and A-3 and Ms. Kamini
Jaiswal, Advocate for the State and have gone through the entire evidence on
record. Before we deal with the contentions raised by learned counsel for the
appellants, it will be convenient to take note of the evidence which has been
F
adduced by the prosecution.
......
PW.4 Ram Mehar, Constable, has stated that he along with Constable
Suresh Kumar had been assigned patrol duty. in Sector 35 in the night
intervening 23rd and 24th December, 1989. He left the Police Post at 10.00
G p.m. and after going around the market in Sector 35 and 35-B, they were
passing near Kothi No. 138 in Sector 35 at about 12.30 in the night (00.30
hours on 24.12.1989). After hearing shrieks from inside the Kothi, both of
them entered the compound after opening the front gate and saw that in the
garage, where there was electric light, two persons namely A-2 and A-3 were
strangulating Bhanwar Singh by tying a bed sheet around his neck and A-I
H was sitting on his chest and was pressing his arms. After seeing the police .'
THAMAN KUMAR 1·. STATEOFUNIONTERRITORYOFCHANDIGARH [MATHUR,!.] J J97
personnel, A-I ran away by scaling the· rear boundary wall. A-2 and also A- A
3 tried to run away but they were caught on the spot. He gave information
about the incident to Police Post in Sector 36 by telephone. Some time
thereafter, PW. I I Surender Kumar, SI, came there, who recorded his statement,
which is Ex.PH. He was given a Rukka by PW.I I which he carried to Police
Station, Sector 39 and on the basis of the same, the FIR of the occurrence
was formally registered at 2.20 a.m. on 24.12.1989. The other eye-witness B
examined by the prosecution is PW 5, Suresh Kumar, Constable. He has
given exactly similar statement and has corroborated the version given by
PW.4 Ram Mehar Constable.

PW.I Dr. P.N. Gupta of General Hospital Sector 16, examined accused C
Thaman Kumar (A-2) on 24.12.1989 and found the following injury on his
person:

"Reddish contusion situated on ulna aspect of right hand (inner). The
contusion size was diffused of about 5 cm x 2 cm.

Nature of injury was simple, caused by blunt weapon and probable D
duration was within six hours."

After seeing the 'Chadar' Ex.Pl, the witness stated that the possibility
of the injury having been caused as a result of pulling of the same could not
be ruled out. The post-mortem on the body of the deceased Bhanwar Singh E
was conducted jointly by Dr. A.S. Gill, Senior Medical Officer and PW.2 Dr.
G. Dewan Medical Officer, General Hospital Sector 16. The following ante-
mortem injury was found on the body of the deceased :

"Ligature mark brown coloured encircling whole of neck measuring
39 ems, all around the neck I \2 ems. on the sides and back and 2 p
ems. in front of the neck anteriorly placed on the thyroid cartilage
horizontally margins were irregular, ecchymosed and base of ligature
was dry and parchment like and membranous. On cut Section there
were multiple ecchymotic spots on subcutaneous tissue and muscles.
Thyroid cartilages was broken cricoid cartilage was also broken.
G
Larynx and trachea-Mucosa of larynx and treachae were conjested
and showed multiple petichial spots. Both right and left lungs were
conjested. Stomach was empty and healthy."

In the opinion of the Doctors, death was caused due to asphyxia caused
by strangulation. The post-mortem report has been proved by PW.2 Dr. G. H
1198 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 3 S.C.R.

A" Dewan.
PW.7 Sardara Singh, who is the brother of the deceased, was examined
in order to prove the motive for the commission of the crime, but he did not
support the case of the prosecution and turned hostile. He denied to have
given any statement to the police to the effect that the deceased Bhanwar
B Singh used to take persons to the guest house for which he was paid
commission by the owners and that A-1 owed him Rs. 42,000 towards the
aforesaid amount. PW.8 Mohinder Singh, Head Constable, Police Post, Sector
36 proved the extracts of Daily Diary Report (DOR) of 23rd and 24th
December, 1989, which have been marked as Ex. PK, EX.PL, EX. PM and
C EX.PN. PW.9 Jasbir Singh in-charge of Police Post, Sector 36, deposed that
he had gone to the spot at 3.30 a.m. on 24.12.1989 and at that time PW. 11,
Surender Kumar, SI, was present and was investigating the case. He further
deposed that A-1 was produced by Gurnam Singh, a member of village
Panchayat, on 24.12.1989 and he was taken into custody. PW. 11 Surender
Kumar, SI in police Post Sector 36 deposed that he received a telephonic
D message at about 1.05 a.m. on 24.12.1989 from PW .4, Ram Mehar, Constable
from Kothi No. 138, Sector 35, and thereafter the rushed there along with
some other constables. He found the dead body of Bhanwar Singh lying on
the floor of the garage and a rolled over bed sheet was lying near the head
of the dead body. A-2 and A-3 were also present on the spot in the custody
E of the two constables. He then recorded the statement of PW .4, Ram Mehar,
which was read over to him and after he has signed the same, it was sent to
the Police Station, Sector 39 and a formal FIR was recorded. He has further
deposed that he held inquest on the body of the deceased, took the bed sheet
. and other articles into his possession and sent the body of Bhanwar Singh for
post-mortem examination. He also sent A-2 for medical examination as there
F was an injury on his hand. He has given details of the various steps taken by
him during the investigation of the case. PW. 10, KIP Singh, SHO of Police
Station, Sector 39, has deposed that after receiving information, he went to
the Friends Guest House in Sector 35 and found that Surender Kumar, SI was
already present there and was conducting investigation of the case. He has
G further deposed that after completing the investigation he prepared the charge-
sheet and submitted the same. PW. 3 Jaswant Singh is draftsman, who
prepared the site plan, Ex. PG on the pointing out of Surender Kumar and has
proved the same.

According to the statements of A-2 and A-3 under Section 313 Cr.P.C.
H both were working in the guest house and both of them used to sleep in a
THAMAN KUMAR v. STATEOFUNIONTERRITORYOFCHANDIGARH [MATHUR,J.] 1199

I
. I
room on the back side of the'garage. At about mid-night A-3 woke up and A
after finding that a dead body was lying in the garage informed A-2 about
it and also went to infonn the owner of the guest house. Sho1tly thereafter,
A-I came to the guest house and· infonned the police and it was thereafter
that the police came to the spot and arrested all of them. A-1 has also stated
that after getting infonnation about the presence of a dead body in the garage B
.. of the guest house from A-3 he came there at 12.30 in the night and informed
the police, which arrived on the scene and arrested all of them. Thus, A-2 and
A-3 admit their presence and further all the three accused also admit the
presence of the dead body of deceased Bhanwar Singh in the garage of the
guest house. But, according to their version, the police arrived at the scene
on the information given by A-1. The version of prosecution, however, is C
that PW.4 Ram Mehar and PW.5 Suresh Kumar heard some shrieks when
they were passing in front of the guest house (Kothi No. 138) and they saw
the accused strangulating the deceased Bhanwar Singh in the garage. It is to
be examined as to which of the two versions is correct. Ex. PK is copy of_
entry no.45 made at 9.30 p.m. on 23.12.1989 in DDR of Police Post Sector D
36 and it records that Constables Ram Mehar and Suresh Kumar had been
deputed for night patrol duty in Sector 35. Ex.PL is the copy of entry made
at 1.05 a.m. on 24.12.1989 in DDR of Police Post Sector 36 and it records
that Constable Ram Mehar had given infonnation on telephone that some
fight was going on and three persons had assaulted a man in Kothi No. 138
in Sector 35. After receiving this information Surender Kumar, SI, along E
with some other police personnel were sent to the place of occurrence. PW.
4 has stated that he searched for a telephone in the guest house and it took
him about 20-25 minutes to find the same as rooms in the guest house were
bolted from inside. The entry made in DDR of Police Post Sector 36 at 1.05
a.m. corroborates the testimony of PW 4 and P. W5. It may be noticed that
at the time when this information was given by PW. 4, other police personnel F
were not present on the spot as PW. 11 Surender Kumar, SI came there
subsequently. The two constables could not have cooked up a false story
regarding three persons assaulting a man in the short period which elapsed
between their reaching there and in giving telephonic information at about
1.05 a.m. Ex. PM is copy of the entry made at 2.20 a.m. on 24.12.1989 in G
DDR No. 52 of Police Station Sector 39 regarding lodging of the FIR of the
incident on the basis of which a case was registered as Crime ·No. 303 of
1989 under section 302 read with ·section 34 IPC. Ex. PH/12 is the copy of
the FIR and it bears an endorsement that a copy of the same was received by
the Ilaqa Magistrate at 4.00 a.m. on 24.12.1989. These documents have been
proved by PW. 8 Mohinder Singh. The statement of PW. 2 Or. G. Dewan H
1200 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003) 3 S.C.R.

A shows that the dead body was deposited in the mortuary at 4.15 a.m. on
24.12.1989. The fact that the copy of the FIR was received by the llaqa
Magistrate at 4.00 a.m. conclusively establishes that the FIR containing full
details of the prosecution version of the incident had been actually lodged
much earlier. The documentary evidence and also the promptness with which
the FIR was lodged, its copy was sent to llaqa Magistrate and the body was
B sent to the mortuary lends great assurance to the truthfulness of the prosecution
case. The medical evidence on record also corroborates the testimony of the
eye-witnesses. Surender Kumar, SI had noticed an injury on the hand of A-
2. PW.I Dr. P.N. Gupta, examined A-2 on 24.12.1989 and found a reddish
contusion 5 cm x 2 cm in size on the unla aspect of right hand (inner) and
C in his opinion, possibility of the aforesaid injury been caused due to pulling
of bed sheet could not be ruled out. The post-mortem report of deceased
Bhanwar Singh shows that there was a ligature mark encircling whole of
neck measuring 39 ems. all rounds the neck. The doctors who conducted the
post-moterm examination clearly opined that the death occurred due to
asphyxia caused by strangulation. Thus, the eye-witness account finds complete
D corroboration from the medical evidence on record.
The accused have lead no evidence in support of their defence. Even
otherwise, the plea taken by them in their statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C.
appears to be highly improbable and unnatural. It has come in evidence that
E the distance of the garage is 14.70 meters from the front gate which comes
to nearly 48 ft. It does not appeal to reason that if the actual commission of
crime, namely, strangulation of the deceased had not been seen by anyone,
why would the assailants take the risk of being seen and apprehended while
carrying the dead body and placing it in the garage. The assailants would
have left the body where the criine was committed and would have slipped
· F away. Therefore, the defence case that some one else placed the dead body
in the garage of the kothi is not at all worthy of belief. To our mind, such
a defence has been taken by the accused only for the purpose of explaining
the presence of the body of deceased Bhanwar Singh in the garage and the
arrest of A-2 and A-3 on the spot. It is important to note that much less
G producing any evidence, the accused-appellants have not even given any
suggestion in the cross-examination of the eye-witnesses (PW.4 and PW.5)
as to why they had given false statement to implicate them in a serious case
like murder. There is not even an iota of evidence on the record which may
even remotdy suggest that PW.4 or PW.5 had any grouse against the
appellants or any cause to implicate them falsely. In our opinion the evidence
H on record clearly establishes the case of the prosecution against the appellants
THAMAN KUMAR 1·. STA TE OF UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH [MA THUR,!.] J20 J

beyond any shadow of doubt. A
Shri Sushi! Kumar, learned Senior Advocate has strenuously urged that
the injury found on the body of the deceased could not have been caused in
a manner deposed to by the eye-witnesses and thus there is a conflict between
the medical evidence and ocular testimony. At the time when the statement
of PW.2 Dr. G. Dewan was recorded, the chadar was produced in Court and B
the same was converted into a rope by twisting and according to the witness,
the thickness Of the same in the middle was about 6/7 ems. Learned counsel
has submitted that the ligature mark on the neck of the deceased was 1/2 cm
in width and this was not possible from a chadar, the thickne.ss of which after
twisting and converting into a rope came to about 6/7 ems. We are unable to C
.accept the submission made. It has come in evidence that the chadar was
about 1-112 meter long and I meter wide. This shows that in fact it was not
a full chadar or a bed sheet but was a piece of cloth, which is sometimes used
by ordinary people like rickshaw pullers to cover their face during winters
especially in night. If the said piece of cloth is converted into a rope by
rolling it over, its diameter will very much depend upon the fact as to how D
strongly and tightly it is rolled over. If a piece of cloth which is only one
meter in width is tightly rolled over in the shape of a rope, its diameter will
be much less than 6/7 ems. and the ligature mark on the neck of the deceased
would be of still lesser dimension.

In. Modi's Medical Jurisprudence (Twenty-Second Edition) in the E
Chapter "Deaths From Asphyxia" while dealing with the topic of "Post-
mortem Appearance" especially regarding "Ligature Mark'', the learned author·
has stated as under on page 263:

"Ligature mark is a well-defined and slightly depressed mark F
corresponding roughly to the ·breadth of the ligature, usually situated
low down in the neck below the thyroid cartilage, and encircling the
neck horizontally and completely.

The pattern of the ligature may also be seen. Very often, there are G
abrasions and ecchymoses in the skin adjacent to the marks. In some
cases, the mark in· the neck may not be present at all, or may be very
slight, ifthe ligature used is soft and yielding like a stocking or scarf,
and if it is removed soon after death .................."
H
1202 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 3 S.C.R.

A In the present case, the cotton cloth' used for strangulating was removed
immediately as the witnesses reached the spot and caught hold of the assailants.
In such circumstances the width of the ligature mark could be much smaller
and need not tally with the diameter of the rope.

The conflict between oral testimony and medical evidence can be of
B varied dimensions and shapes. There may be a case where there is total
absence of injuries which are normally caused by a particular weapon. There
is another category where though the injuries found on the victim are of the
type which are possible by the weapon of assault, but the size and dimension·
of the injuries do not exactly tally with the size and dimension of the weapon.
C The third category can be where the injuries found on the victim are such
which arc nomially caused by the weapon of assault but they are not found
on that portion of the body where they are deposed to have been caused by
the eye-witnesses. The same kind of inference cannot be drawn in the three
categories of apparent conflict in oral and medical evidence enumerated above.
In the first category it may legitimately be inferred that the oral evidence
D regarding assault having been made from a particular weapon is not truthful.
However, in the second and third category no such inference can straightway
be drawn. The manner and method of assault, the position of the victim, the
resistance offered by him, the opportunity available to the witnesses to see
the occurrence like their distance, pr~sence of light and many other similar
E factors will have to be taken into consideration in judging the reliability of
ocular testimony.

The width of the ligature mark would very much depend upon the type
of the cloth, how tightly and strongly it was rolled over and was converted
into a rope and how soon it was removed. In Punjab Singh v. State of
F Haryana I 1984] Supp sec 233 it was held that if direct evidence is satisfactory
and reliable, the same cannot be rejected on hypothetical medical evidence.
Again in Anil Rai v. State of Bihar (200 l] 7 SCC 318 it was held that if
medical evidence when properly read shows two alternative possibilities but
not any inconsistency, the one consistent with the reliable and satisfactory
statements of the eye-witnesses has to be accepted. We are in respectful
G agreement with the view taken in the above cases. We are, therefore, clearly
of the opinion that in the case in hand there is no inconsistency between the
testimony of the eye-witnesses and the medical evidence and the case of the
prosecution does not suffer from any infirmity on that account.

Shri Sushi! Kumar has drawn our attention to certain findings recorded
H I
THAMAN KUMAR t'. STA TE OF UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH [MATHUR, J.] 203

by"the learned Sessions Judge and has urged that he had rightly given benefit A
of doubt to the appellants and the High Court committed manifest error of
law in reversing the aforesaid findings and convicting and sentencing the
appellants while hearing an appeal against acquittal. The learned counsel has
urged that the prosecution has failed to prove any motive on the part of the
appellants to commit the crime. It is true that the only witness examined on B
the point of motive namely PW. 7 Sardara Singh, who is brother of the
deceased, turned hostile and did not support the prosecution case. In his
statement under Section 161 Cr.P.C. he had said that the deceased used to get
commission for bringing customers to the guest house and he owed about Rs.
42,000 in that account and some dispute had taken place with the owner
when he had demanded his money. However, in his statement in Court he C
denied to have given any such statement. There is no such principle or rule
of law that where the prosecution fails to prove the motive for commission
of the crime, it must necessarily result in acquittal of the accused. Where the
ocular evidence is found to be trustworthy and reliable and finds corroboration
from the medical evidence, a finding of guilt can safely be recorded even if
the motive for the commissio·n of the crime has not been proved. In State of D
Himachal Pradesh v. Jeet Singh, (1999] 4 SCC 370 it was held that no doubt
it is a sound principle to remember that every criminal act was done with a
motive but its corollary is not that no offence was committed ifthe prosecution
failed to prove the precise motive of the accused to commit it, as it is almost
an impossibility for the prosecution to unreveal the full dimension of the E
mental disposition of an offender towards the person whom he offended. In
Nathuni Yadav and Ors. v. State of Bihar and Anr., (1998) 9 SCC 238 it was
held that motive for doing a criminal act is generally a difficult area of
prosecution as one cannot normally see into the mind of another. Motive is
the emotion which impels a man to do a particular act and such impelling
cause need not necessarily be propottionately grave to do grave crimes. It F
was further held that many a murders have been committed without any
known or prominent motive and it is quite possible that the aforesaid impelling
factor would remain undiscoverable. In our opinion, in the facts and ·
circumstances of the case, the absence of any evidence on the point of motive
cannot have any such impact so as to discard the other reliable evidence G
available on record which unerringly establishes the guilt of the accused.

Learned counsel has also submitted that the roaster of duty of PW.4
and PW .5 was withheld by the prosecution and, therefore, it is not possible
to accept their version that they were on patrol duty. In our opinion, the
contention raised has hardly any merit in view of the fact that an entry was H
...
1204 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 3 S.C.R.

A made at 9.40 p.m. on 23. 1"2.1989 in DDR No. 45 of Police Post Sector 36
to the effect that the aforesaid Constables had been assigned night patrol duty
in Sector 35. The other submission made is that in the first telephonic message
given to the police post at 1.05 a.m. the names of the assailants were not
mentioned. It is true that Ex. PL which is copy of entry made at 1.05 a.m.
B in DDR No. 52 of Police Post Sector 36, the names of the assailants were not
mentioned and only the fact that three persons were assaulting a person was
recorded. PW. 4 has stated that he gave telephonic message about the incident
at Police Post Sector 36 and made a request for sending some police force.
The entry in DDR was made by Surender Kumar, SI that after receiving the
aforesaid information he is proceeding to the spot along with some other
C police constables. This was not a First Information Report of the incident but
merely an entry made regarding the departure of the police personnel to the
place of occurrence and, therefore, the non-mention of the names of the
assailants in this entry cannot have any bearing. The third SJbmission of
learned counsel is that having regard to the.height of rear wall and fencing
A-1 could not have managed to run away by scaling the same and the
D prosecution case in that regard cannot be believed. PW.3 Jaswant Singh,
draftsman has stated that the lock boundary wall was 3 feet and 7-1/2 inch
high and, thereafter, there was a barred wire fence which was 1-1 /2 meter in
height. While running away it is quite possible that A- I jumped to the other
side by merely scaling over the brick wall without scaling the barred wire
E fencing. He was a young man of 25 years in age and scaling over the wall
was not a difficult proposition for him.
Shri M.N. Rao, learned Senior Advocate, who appeared for A-2 and A-
3 also raised the same contentions regarding the alleged conflict in oral and
medical evidence, the non-mention of the names of the accused in the first
p telephonic message and absence of motive, which we have already considered.

Having given our careful consideration to the submissions made by
learned counsel for the parties, we are clearly of the opinion that the
prosecution has succeeded in establishing its case against the accused-
appellants beyond any shadow of doubt and the view taken by the learned
G Sessions Judge was wholly perverse which was rightly set aside by the High
Court. In the result, the appeals lack merit and are hereby dismissed. The
appellants are on bail. They shall surrender forthwith to undergo the sentences
imposed upon them. The CJM concerned shall take immediate steps to take
the appellants into custody.

1-1 N.J. Appeals dismissed.