BUDHADEV KARMASKARversusSTATE OF WEST BENGAL

                     [2011] 2 S.C.R. 925


                 BUDHAOEV KARMASKAR                              A
                               v.
                  STATE OF WEST BENGAL
              (Criminal Appeal No. 135 of 2010)

                    FEBRUARY 14, 2011
                                                                 B
 [MARKANDEY KATJU AND GYAN SUDHA MISRA, JJ.]

      Penal Code, 1860 - s. 302 - Brutal murder of a sex
 worker - Conviction and sentence u/s. 302, by the courts
 below - Justification of - Held: Justified - Injuries show C
 brutality of the crime - Head of the deceased was battered
 again and again in a hideous and barbaric manner -
 Testimony of the eye-witnesses corroborates the medical
 evidence - Accused having committed murder in a brutal
 manner of a helpless woman, deserves no sympathy - Thus, D
 order of conviction upheld - Crime against women.

       Constitution of India, 1950 - Article 21 - Sex workers/
  prostitutes - Right to live with dignity under Article 21 - Held:
  Sex workers/prostitutes are entitled to live with dignity under E
  Article 21 - Since they are human beings, their problems
. need to be addressed - No one has right to assault or murder
  them - Direction to the Central and the State Governments
  to prepare schemes for giving technical/vocational training to
  sex workers and sexually abused women in all cities in India. F

     CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
 No. 135 of 2010.

     From the Judgment & Order dated 25.7.2007 of the High
 Court at Calcutta in C.R.A. No. 487 of 2004.   ·                G
     Lajja Ram for the Appellant.

     T.C. Sharma, Neelam Sharma for the Respondent.

                              925                                H
    926      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   (2011) 2 S.C.R.


A         The following Order of the Court was delivered

                                ORDER

          Heard learned counsel for the appellant.

B       This Appeal has been filed against the impugned judgment
    and order dated 25th July, 2007 passed by the High Court of
    Calcutta in C.R.A. No. 487 of 2004.

        The facts have been set out in the impugned judgment and
C   hence we are not repeating the same here except wherever
    necessary.

        This is a case of brutal murder of a sex worker. Sex
    workers are also human beings and no one has a right to
    assault or murder them. A person becomes a prostitute not
D   because she enjoys it but because of poverty. Society must
    have sympathy towards the sex workers and must not look
    down upon them. They are also entitled to a life of dignity in
    view of Article 21 of the Constitution.

E        In the novels and stories of the great Bengali Writer Sharat
    Chand Chattopadhyaya, many prostitutes have been shown to
    be women of very high character, e.g., Rajyalakshmi in
    'Shrikant', Chandramukhi in 'Devdas' etc. The plight of
    prostitutes has been depicted by the great Urdu poet Sahil
    Ludhianvi in his poem 'Chakle' which has been sung in the
F   Hindi film Pyasa "Jineh Naaz Hai Hind Per wo kahan hain"
    (simplified version of the verse 'Sana Khwan- e-taqdees-e-
    Mashrik Kahan Hain').

         We may also refer to the character Sonya Marmelodov in
G   Dostoyevsky's famous novel 'Crime and Punishment'. Sonya
    is depicted as a girl who sacrifices her body to earn some
    bread for her impoverished family.

        Reference may also be made to Amrapali, who was a
H   contemporary of Lord Buddha.
      BUDHADEV KARMASKAR v. STATE OF WEST                  927
  .                BENGAL       '

      In the present case, the incident happened on 17th A
September, 1999 at about 9.15 p.m. The deceased Chayay
Rani Pal alias Buri was living in a red light area and was
aresident of Room No.8 of Premises No.19, Jogen Dutta Lane
in Calcutta. She was evidently a sex worker. The appellant
Budhadev kicked her with fists and legs, and she fell down on B
the floor. The appellant then caught her by her hair and banged
her head against the floor and the wall several times which left
the victim bleeding from her ear, nose and head. The incident
was witnessed by four persons, Pw2-Abida, PW4- Maya, PW7-
Asha and PW8-Parvati.                                              c
     PW2-Abida has deposed that she saw the appellant-
accused catching the victim by her hair and banging her head
against the wall. The victim was profusely bleeding through her
nose and mouth. On seeing this, Abida started shouting and
then the accused pushed her and went down and fled away. D
PW8-Paivati saw the victim being mercilessly beaten by the
accused-appellant, and the same is the evidence of PW7-Asha.
In the post mortem, as many as 11 injuries on the body of the
victim were found, eight of which were on various parts of the
face and forehead.                                              E

     The police was informed about the incident over the
telephone as is evident from the testimony of PW2 Abida. After
the police arrived on the spot, sample of the blood spilled from
the body of the victim was collected and photographs taken.        F
The victim was brought by Asha Khatoon and others to the
hospital where she was found 'dead on arrival'. Blood was
oozing out from her ear and nostril. There was swelling on the
left eyeball and left eyebrow. Thus, the medical evidence
corroborates the ocular testimony.
                                                                   G
    PW10-Dr. Amitava Das, the Medical Officer who held the
post mortem examination of the dead body of deceased
Chhaya Rani Pal found the following injuries on her person:

                                                                   H
     928         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2011] 2 S.C.R.

A          (1)    Abrasion 1" x % •over the nose just below the nasal
                  bridge.

           (2)    Abrasion 1 • x % • over left side forehead % • above
                  left eyebrow 3" left to midline.
B          (3)     Abrasion % • x % • over left side of forehead just
                   over the left eye brow 2" left mid line.

            (4)    Bruise 2" x 1" over left upper eye lid.

            (5)    Bruise 2" x 1" over anterior aspect of mid part of
,c
                   nose.

            (6)    Abrasion % • x Y4 • over right side of forehead 1"
                   above right eye brow 2" right to mid line.

 D          (7)    Abrasion 2" x 1" over right side of face just below
                   the right eye and just right to outer canthus of right
                   eye.

            (8)    Lacerated wound % • x Y4 • x scalp over left partial
                   region 4 % • left to anterior mid line and 2" below
 E                 left parietal eminence.

            (9)    Abrasion 3" x % " over posteriorateral aspect of
                   right forehead 1" below right elbow.

            (10) Abrasion 1" x % • over anterior medial aspect of
 F
                 lower part of right forearm 1" above right wrist.

            (11) Abrasion 4" x 3" over upper part of posterior aspect
                 of right thigh 7" above right knee joint.

 G         On dissection, the Doctor found the following injuries:

            (1)    Heamatoma 3 % • x 2" in the scalp tissue over right
                   frontal region.

            (2)    Heamatoma 3 % • x 2· in the scalp tissue over left
 H                 frontal. region.
   BUDHADEV KARMASKAR v. STATE OF WEST                        929
                BENGAL

      (3)   Haematoma 3 Y2 " x Y2 " in the scalp tissue over left     A
            partial region.

      (4)   Fissured fracture 3" long more or loss longitudinal
            over left parietal temporal bone.

      (5)   Haematoma 2" x 1" in the scalp tissue over right          B
            parietal region .

     . (6) • Subdural hemorrhage present involving the right
             parietal and temporal lobe.
                                                                      c
      (7)   Lacerated wound %" (half) x % " x substance over
            right parietal lobe of brain substance. The abrasions
            were non-scabbed and red in colour. The bruises
            were dark red in colour. The margins of the
            lacerated wounds were irregular and red in colour.
            All the injuries showed signs of vital reactions. No      D
            other injury except those described could be
            detected even on careful ·dissection and
            examination.

     PW10 Dr. Amitava Das, Medical Officer of Mauza                   E
Burdwan Medical College, opined that the death was due to
the effect of the injuries as noted anti-mortem in nature; that all
the injuries as noted in the post mortem examination report
might be caused if a person pushed against the wall and it may
be homicidal in nature."                                              F

     The injuries above-mentioned show the brutality of the
crime. The head of the deceased was battered again and again
in a hideous and barbaric manner.

    The trial Court has rightly convicted the appellant under         G
Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment and
the High Court has not committed any error in upholding the
conviction and sentence imposed by the trial Court.

     We find no reason to disbelieve the testimony of the eye         H
    930      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2011] 2 S.C.R.


A witnesses in this case, namely, PW2, PW7 and PW8 which
  corroborates the medical evidence. The appellant-accused has
  committed murder in a brutal manner of a helpless women and
  deserves no sympathy from this Court.

          For the reasons given above, this appeal is dismissed.
B
       Although we have dismissed this Appeal, we strongly feel
  that the Central and the State Governments through Social
  Welfare Boards should prepare schemes for rehabilitation all
  over the country for physically and sexually abused women
C commonly known as prostitutes as we are of the view that the
  prostitutes also have a right to live with dignity under Article 21
  of the Constitution of India since they are also human beings
  and their problems also need to be addressed.

D       As already observed by us, a woman is compelled to
  indulge in prostitution not for pleasure but because of abject
  poverty. If such a woman is granted opportunity to avail some
  technical or vocational training, she would be able to earn her
  livelihood by such vocational training and skill instead of by
E selling her body.

       Hence, we direct the Central and the State Governments
  to prepare schemes for giving technical/vocational training to
  sex workers and sexually abused women in all cities in India.
  The schemes should mention in detail who will give the
F technical/vocational training and in what manner they can be
  rehabilitated and settled by offering them employment. For
  instance, if a technical training is for some craft like sewing
  garments, etc. then some arrangements should also be made
  for providing a market for such garments, otherwise they will
G remain unsold and unused, and consequently the women will
  not be able to feed herself.

       We propose to have the response of the Centre and the
  States in this regard and hence the case shall be listed before
H us again on 04.05.2011 to be taken up as first case on which
   BUDHADEV KARMASKAR v. STATE OF WEST                      931
                BENGAL

date the first compliance report indicating therein the first steps A
taken by the Central and the State Governments in this regard·
shall be submitted.

     Issue notice to the Central Government and all the State
Governments which will also file responses by the date fixed
                                                                   8
for hearing.

N.J.                                        Appeal adjourned.