MUNISH MUBARversusSTATE OF HARYANA

                     [2012] 9 S.C.R. 193


                       MUNISH MUBAR                                 A
                               V.
                   STATE OF HARYANA
             (Criminal Appeal No. 294 of 2010)

                     OCTOBER 4, 2012
                                                                    B
     [DR. 8.S. CHAUHAN AND FAKKIR MOHAMED
               IBRAHIM KALIFULLA, JJ.]

     Penal Code, 1860 - ss.302134, 201, 120-8 and 404 -
Homicidal death - Injuries found on the person of the               C
deceased - Circumstantial evidence - Three accused -
Conviction of accused-appellant - Justification - Held:
Justified - Deceased was done to death after his arrival at the
Delhi airport - Car belonging to appellant was parked at the
airport for 3 hours, when the flight by which the deceased was      D
to arrive, was scheduled to land, and the said car left after the
arrival of such flight - Telephone call records reveal the
presence of appellant in the vicinity of the place of occurrence,
at the relevant time of the incident - Recoveries were made
upon the disclosure statement of the appellant - Some of the        E
articles found, had human blood on them and the same
connects the appellant to the said crime - Appellant failed to
furnish any explanation whatsoever in relation to any of the
above, when examined uls.313 CrPC - The fact that there was
no independent witness of recoveries and the panch                  F
witnesses were only police personnel, did not affect the merits
of the case - Merely making a bald statement that he was
innocent and recoveries had been planted and the call
records were false and fabricated documents, not enough as
none of the said a/legations made by the appellant could be         G
established - Conviction of appellant accordingly sustained.

    Evidence - Circumstantial evidence - Significance and
importance of motive in a case of circumstantial evidence -
Discussed.
                               193                                  H
    194      SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A        Evir;Jence - Circumstantial evidence - Appreciation of -
    Held: In a case of circumstantial evidence, all the
    circumstances must be fully established and all the facts so
    established, must be consistent with the hypothesis regarding
    the guilt of the accused - The circumstances so established,
s   should exclude every other possible hypothesis except the
    one sought to be proved - The circumstances must be
    conclusive in nature.

       Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - s.313 - Case of
C circumstantial evidence - Examination u/s.313 - Obligation
  of the accused - Held: It is obligatory on the part of the
  accused, while being examined u/s.313 CrPC to furnish some
  explanation with respect to the incriminating circumstances
  associated with him, and the Court must take note of such
  explanation, even in a case of circumstantial evidence, so to
D decide, whether or not, the chain of circumstances is complete.

       On 27.12.2002, PW10 noticed a dead body lying in a
  plot of land in Village Bhondsi, District Gurgaon in the
  State of Haryana. Seeing that the corpse had multiple
E injuries, he. informed PW21, Inspector, who recorded the
  statement of PW10 and then recovered the dead body,
  and also lifted from the spot, blood stained earth; a blood
  stained vest; a boarding card issued by Jet Airways; an
  almond coloured button, one blood stained hammer and
F a knife. One day later, the dead body so recovered was
  identified to be that of one 'A', a resident of Mumbai.

        Challan was submitted against the appellant-
  accused and two other accused- 'S' and 'SS'. 'SS' could
  not be put to trial as he was absconding at the time.
G Placing reliance upon the circumstantial evidence, the
  trial court convicted the appellant and 'S' under Sections
  302/34, 201 and 120-B IPC. In addition, the appellant was
  also convicted under Section 404 IPC. Both appellant
  and 'S' were sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.
H The conviction of appellant and 'S' was confirmed by the
      MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                  195


High Court. Aggrieved, 'S' filed an S.L.P before this          A
Court, which was dismissed in limine. The S.L.P. filed by
the appellant, however, was admitted.

     The appellant challenged his conviction before this
Court contending that there was no evidence against
                                                               B
him; that in a case of circumstantial evidence, motive is
of paramount importance, which was not established in
the instant case; that the recoveries relied upon by the
courts below, alleged to have been made at the instance
of the appellant were in fact, all planted and the appellant   C
was falsely enroped into the matter; that furthermore, no
independent witness was examined so far as the
recoveries were concerned and all the witnesses of
recoveries were actually police personnel.

    Dismissing the appeal, the Court                           D
     HELD: 1. According to the post-mortem report, a
number of injuries were found on the person of the
deceased. All the injuries were anti-mortem in nature. In
the opinion of the Doctor (PW13), the cause of death was       E
due to haemorrhage and shock caused by the cutting of
major blood vessels, as a result of injuries, which were
sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature.
PW.13 explained while being cross-examined, that the
injuries found on the person of the deceased could have
been caused by a sharp edged weapon and were the               F
possible result of stabbing. The possibility of use of two
separate weapons could not be ruled out, however, the
said injuries could also have been caused using only one
weapon. Therefore, it is evident from the aforesaid
evidence that, the deceased was a victim of homicidal          G
death. (Para 6] [204-D; 206-B-D]

    2.1. Both the courts below appreciated the entire
evidence and material on record and thereafter, convicted
the appellant and the co-accused 'S' on the basis of the       H
    196     SUPREME COURT REPORTS            [2012) 9 S.C.R.


A following circumstances: i) The intimate relations vis-a-
   vis 'S' and the appellant as also between her and the
   deceased, 'A'; ii) 'S' had knowledge that the deceased
   was coming to Delhi on the evening of 26.12.2002 and
   she was to receive him, upon his arrival, from the Delhi
B Airport; iii) 'S' falsely informed PW14, that 'A' had not
   arrived in Delhi at all, and thus, she was unable to receive
   him at the Airport on the said day. On all prior occasions,
   PW2 would receive him at the Airport; iv) Car belonging
   to the appellant was parked, on the evening of 26.12.2002,
c at precisely 17:26:21 hours in the car park of the
   Domestic Airport, Delhi and was taken therefrom, on the
   very same day, at 20:34:50 hours and within 3 hours of
   such taking away of the said car, the murder in question,
   is known to have taken place. The said car was later
   recovered from the possession of the appellant himself;
0
   v) The calls made from mobile No.9818082195 at 21 :26:41
   hours on 26.12.2002, were routed through cell No.6572
   which pertains to the Badshahpur, Gurgaon Tower, which
   was situated in the vicinity of the village Bhondsi, from
  where the dead body of 'A' was recovered; vi) The
E records of hotel Suji International in Paharganj, Delhi
   prove sufficiently that both appellant and 'S', along with
   'SS' stayed in the said hotel on several occasions, ·
  including the evening of 26.12.2002 between 3.40 p.m. and
   11.55. p.m. The appellant and 'SS' also stayed in hotel
F Ashoka Continental, Paharganj, Delhi on 24.12.2002,
  whereas the appellant had also stayed in the said hotel
  along with the co-accused 'SS' on 25.12.2002, while
  representing themselves under different names; vii)
  There was sufficient motive to rob 'A'of the ?valuables
G and getting rid of him, as the main hurdle in the love affair
  between the appellant and 'S'; viii) There was telephonic
  communication between the accused 'S' and the
  deceased on the day of occurrence of the said incident
  and also prior thereto; ix) There has been recovery of
H jewellery, cosmetic articles, a gold chain, a gold kara etc.
      MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                  197


from the appellant, on the basis of disclosure statement       A
made by him. x) Recovery of a torn vest, a blood stained
hammer, one blood stained knife and a blood stained pair
of trousers was also made, in pursuance of the
disclosure statement made by the appellant on 13.1.2003
and xi) The act of absconding by the accused and               B
ultimately the arrest of the accused on 10.1.2003. [Para
19] [209-E-H; 210-A-H; 211-A-B]

     2.2. In a case of circumstantial evidence, all the
circumstances must be fully established and all the facts      C
so established, must be consistent with the hypothesis
regarding the guilt of the accused. The circumstances so
established, should exclude every other possible
hypothesis except the one sought to be proved. The
circumstances must be conclusive in nature.
Circumstantial evidence is a close companion of factual        D
matrix, creating a fine network through which there can
be no escape for the accused, primarily because the said
facts, when taken as a whole, do not permit any other
inference but one, indicating the guilt of the accused.
[Para 20] [211-C-E]                                            F

     2.3. There is nothing on record to doubt the existence
of the illicit relationship of the co-accused 'S' with the
deceased 'A' as also with the appellant, as this fact has
been fully established from the evidence provided by           F
several witnesses. It has further been proved that the
Santro Car belonging to the appellant was parked on
26.12.2002, at the Delhi Airport for a duration of 3 hours,
when the flight by which 'A (deceased) was to arrive, was
scheduled to land, and the said car left after the arrival     G
of such Jet Airways flight. The telephone call records
reveal the presence of the appellant in the Bhondsi
village area, i.e., the place of occurrence, at the relevant
time of the incident. The recoveries in the said case,
were made upon the disclosure statement of the                 H
    198      SUPREME COURT REPORTS           [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A appetlant. Some of the articles found, had human blood
  on them and the same connects the appellant to the said
  crime. The appellant failed to furnish any explanation
  whatsoever in relation to any of the above, when
  examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C. [Para 21) [211-E-H;
B 212-A]

        2.4. In a case of circumstantial evidence, motive
    assumes great significance and importance, for the
    reason that the absence of motive would put the court
    on its guard and cause it to scrutinize each piece of
C   evidence very closely in order to ensure that suspicion,
    emotion or conjecture do not take the place of proof.
    However, the evidence regarding existence of motive
    which operates in the mind of an assassin is very often,
    not within the reach of others. The said motive, may not
D   even be known to the victim of the crime. The motive may
    be known to the assassin and no one else may know
    what gave birth to such evil thought, in the mind of the
    assassin. In a case of circumstantial evidence, the
    evidence indicating the guilt of the accused becomes
E   untrustworthy and unreliable, because most often it is
    only the perpetrator of the crime alone, who has
    knowledge of the circumstances that prompted him to
    adopt a certain course of action, leading to the
    commission of the crime. Therefore, if the evidence on
F   record suggest sufficient/ necessary motive to commit a
    crime, it may be conceived that the accused has
    committed the same. [Para 22) [212-B-F]

      Subedar Tewari v. State of UP. & Ors. AIR 1989 SC 733:
G 1989 (1) Suppl. SCC 91; Suresh Chandra Bahri v. State of
  Bihar AIR 1994 SC 2420: 1994 (1) Suppl. SCR 483 and Dr.
  Sunil Clifford Daniel v. State of Punjab JT 2012 (8) SC 639
    - relied on.

      3. It is obligatory on the part of the accused, while
H being examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C. to furnish
      MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                   199


some explanation with respect to the incriminating               A
circumstances associated with him, and the Court must
take note of such explanation, even in a case of
circumstantial evidence, so to decide, whether or not, the
chain of circumstances is complete. It is evident that
inspite of the fact that in this case there is no                B
independent witness of recoveries and panch witnesses
are only police personnel, it may not affect the merits of
the case. In the instant case, the defence did not ask this
issue in the cross-examination to Inspector PW.21 as why
the independent person was not made the panch                    c
witness. More so, it was the duty of the appellant to
furnish some explanation in his statement under Section
313 Cr.PC., as under what circumstances his car had
been parked at the Delhi Airport and it remained there for
3 hours on the date of occurrence. More so the call
                                                                 0
records of his telephone make it evident tha he was
present in the vicinity of the place of occurre .. ce and
under what circumstances recovery of incriminating
material had been made on his voluntary disclosure
statement. Merely making a bald statement that he was
innocent and recoveries had been planted and the call            E
records were false and fabricated documents, is not
enough as none of the said allegations made by the
appellant could be established. [Para 24, 25] [213-G-H;
214-A-E]
                                                                 F
     State, Govt. of NCT of Delhi v. Sunil & Anr. (2001) 1 SCC
652: 2000 (5) Suppl. SCR 144; Musheer Khan v. State of
Madhya Pradesh (2010) 2 SCC 748: 2010 (2) SCR 119 and
The Transport Commissioner, AP., Hyderabad & Anr. v. S.
Sardar Ali & Ors. AIR 1983 SC 1225: 1983 (3) SCR 729 -           G
relied on.
                     Case Law Reference:
    1989 (1) Suppl. sec 91          relied on        Para 22
    1994 (1) Suppl. SCR 483         relied on        Para 22     H
    200       SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A         JT 2012 (8) SC 639             relied on         Para 22
          2000 (5) Suppl. SCR 144        relied on         Para 22
          2010 (2) SCR 119               re lied on        Para 24
          1983 (3) SCR 729               relied on         Para 24
B
        CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
    No. 294 of 2©10.

          From the Judgment & Order dated 27.03.2008 of the High
c Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in Crl. Appeal No.
    553-DB of 2006.

          Kawaljit Kochar, Kusum Chaudhary for the Appellant.

       Kamal Mohan Gupta, Mohd. Zahid Hussain, M.K. Goel for
D the Respondent.

          The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

       DR. 8.S. CHAUHAN, J. 1. This appeal has been preferred
  against the impugned judgment and order dated 27.3.2008 in
E Criminal Appeal No. 553-DB of 2006 of the High Court of
  Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh, by way of which, the High
  Court has affirmed the judgment and order of the learned
  Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon, dated 26.4.2006, by
  which the appellant was convicted alongwith the co-accused,
F Shivani Chopra under Sections 302/34 of Indian Penal Code,
  1860, (hereinafter referred to as the · IPC'), and sentenced to
  undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.5000/- each;
  under Section 201 IPC, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for
  three years and to pay a fine of Rs.300/- each; and also under
G Section 120-B IPC, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three
  years. In addition to this, the appellant was also convicted under
  Section 404 IPC, and sentenced to undergo rigorous
  imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of Rs.200/-.
  However, it was ordered that all the aforementioned substantive
H
      MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                       201
            [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
sentences, would run concurrently.                                   A

     2. The facts and circumstances giving rise to this appeal
are as under:

    A. On 27.12.2002at1.00 P.M., one Krishan Pal (PW.10),
a resident of Village Bhondsi, District Gurgaon, noticed a dead      B
body lying in a plot of land belonging to one Babu Singh. Seeing
that the corpse had multiple injuries, he informed Inspector
Shamsher Singh, (PW.21), who was present at the Bus Stand,
Bhondsi alongwith other police personnel. Inspector Shamsher
Singh, thereafter recorded the statement of Krishan Pal (Ex. PL)     C
and reached the said land of Babu Singh. Inspector Shamsher
Singh, 1.0., then recovered the dead body lying there, and got
the same photographed; he also lifted from the spot, blood
stained earth; a blood stained vest; a boarding card issued by
Jet Airways; an almond coloured button, one blood stained            D
hammer and a knife, and upon recovery of the same, he
prepared the recovery memos. He then sent ruqa on the basis
of which, an FIR was registered. An inquest report was
prepared, as regards the dead body.
                                                                     E
      B. On 28.12.2002, the dead body so recovered, was
identified to be that of one Ashok Jain, son of Shri Mehar Chand
Jain, resident of Mehardeep, 1/9, Sarojni Road, Santa Cruz,
Mumbai. On 30.12.2002, Inspector Shamsher Singh (PW.21)
obtained the details of mobile phone no. 9818082192, from the        F
Airtel office at Okhla, New Delhi, and also collected a list of
articles which the deceased had brought along with him on
4.1.2003 by Jet Airways.

     C. In the course of investigation, the investigating officer
took into his possession, the records related to the parking of      G
one Santro car no. UP-32-AG-9991 on 9.1.2003, from the car
parking stand of the New Delhi Airport. The investigating officer,
further collected the records of hotel Suji International,
Paharganj, Delhi and took the same into possession. The
investigating officer also arrested Shivani Chopra - the co-         H
    202        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A accused on 10.1.2003 and recovered from her one mobile
  phone. The investigating officer then arrested the appellant,
  Munish Mubar on the same day while he was traveling in the
  abovementione.d Santro car. He recovered from the accused
  another mobile phone.
B
       D. On 11.1.2003, the appellant made a disclosure
  statement to the effect that he would show to the police, the
  place where he, along with the co-accused, had disposed of
  the dead body of the deceased, as also, the place where they
  had gotten rid of deceased's clothes. Thus, on 13.1.2003, the
C investigating officer got recovered the articles belonging to the
  deceased.

         E. The investigating officer recorded the statements of a
  large number of persons, which revealed that there existed an
D illicit relationship between the appellant and co-accused
  Shivani Chopra, and also that, she was an employee of Ashok
  Kumar Jain - the deceased and was supposed to receive the
  deceased at the Airport, upon his arrival from Mumbai.

E         F. Upon conclusion of the investigation.the 1.0. submitted
  a challan against the appellant and the co=accused Shivani
  Chopra, as well as one Sudhir Srivastava. On committal of the
  said proceedings, both the accused were charged for the
  aforementioned offences, and the appellant was additionally
  charged under Section 404 IPC. Both of them pleaded not guilty
F and hence, claimed trial. The co-accused Sudhir Srivastava
  could not be put to trial as he was absconding at the time.

         G. In order to substantiate the charges against the
    accused, the prosecution examined 22 witnesses. The
G . appellant also examined some witnesses in his defence and,
    after the conclusion of the trial, the trial court upon appreciatlon
    of the complete material and evidence on record, found the
    appellant as well as the co-accused Shivani Chopra, guilty of
    all the charges against them and imposed upon tltem
H punishment as has been described, hereinabove.
      MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                      203
            [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
    H. Aggrieved, the appellant. as well as the co-accused          A
Shivani Chopra, filed Criminal Appeal Nos. 553-08 of 2006
and 359-08 of 2006. Both the appeals were heard and
disposed of by way of common judgment dated 27.3.2008.

    I. Being aggrieved, the co-accused Shivani Chopra, filed
                                                                    B
an S.L.P(Crl.) before this Court, which was dismissed in limine.
The S.L.P. filed by the present appellant, however, was
admitted vide order dated 8.2.2010.

     Hence, this present appeal.
                                                                    c
      3. Mrs. Kawaljit Kochar, learned counsel for the appellant,
has submitted that both the courts below have erred in
convicting the appellant, even though there is no evidence
against him. In a case of circumstantial evidence, the issue of
motive to commit the crime in question, is of paramount             0
importance, which could not be established in the instant case.
The parameters laid down by this Court for deciding such a
case of circumstantial evidence, have not been applied. The
recoveries relied upon by the courts below, alleged to have
been made at the instance of the appellant have in fact, all been   E
planted and the appellant has falsely been enroped into the
matter, merely because he had an alleged intimate relationship
with the co-accused, Shivani Chopra, who was an employee
of the deceased and had allegedly also developed an intimate
relationship with him. Furthermore, no independent witness has
been examined so far as the recoveries are concerned. All the       F
witnesses of recoveries are actually police personnel. Thus, the
judgments of conviction passed by the courts below are liable
to be set aside.

     4. On the contrary, Shri Kamal Mohan Gupta, learned            G
standing counsel appearing for the State, has vehemently
opposed the appeal, contending that there is no justification for
this Court to interfere with the concurrent findings of fact that
have been recorded by the courts below. Of course, the present
                                                                    H
    204        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A   case is one of circumstantial evidence, but with respect to the
    same, the chain of events is complete, and every link thereof,
    is a pointer towards the guilt of the appellant. The appellant has
    failed to furnish any explanation in relation to the incriminating
    circumstances put to him, while recording his statement under
B   Section 313 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter
    referred to as the ·cr.P.C.'). The present appeal, thus, lacks
    merit and is liable to be dismissed.

         5. We have considered the rival submissions made by
    learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
c
         6. The post-mortem of the dead body was conducted on
    28.12.2002 by Dr. Renu Saroha, Medical Officer, General
    Hospital Sohna. According to the post-mortem report, the
    following injuries were found on the person of the deceased:
D
          i) Cut incised wound on scalp left side 7 cm x 1.5 cm.
          Spindal shaped left frontal region, bone deep. Reddish in
          colour. Extending from the hair line to be posteriorally.

          ii) Spindal shaped wound 4 cm x 1 cm left side of the frontal
E         region. Fracture of tempo frontal region bone. Subdural
          hematoma was present.

          iii) Incised wound on forehead between two eye brows 6
          cm x.5 cm. Obliquely situated on the nasion.
F
          iv) Incised cut wound of the nose horizontally incising
          thoroughly nasal bone and cavity extending to the both side
          of the face maxillary region and communicating with the
          vertical wound as described in injury no.3 right side of
          cheek to left side 12 cm x .5 cm bone deep. Incising the
G         nose completely disfiguring the face.

          v) Incising cut wound on left cheek placed horizontally.
          Extending horizontally from the left cheek upto the base of
          the nose. 11 cm x 1 cm in length.
H
  MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                      205
        [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
vi) Obliquely placed incised wound extending from the right    A
eye brow merging below with wound no.4 at nasal level.

vii) Obliquely situated cut wound. Size of 7 cm x .5 cm over
the left cheek crossing the wound no.5 at perpendicular.

viii) Cut wound incised of the left lower lip 4 cm x 1.2 cm    B
Spindal shaped.

ix) Incised wound on right side starting from right angle of
mouth and going posteriorally 2 cm in front of the right
pinna.                                                         c
x) Obliquely situated incised cut wound over to the chin 4
cm x .5 cm.

xi) Cut incised wound of 13 cm x 2 cm extending from the
tragus left ear and going to interiorally midline of neck. 4   D
cm below the chin.

xii) Incised irregular almost spindal shaped wound over the
neck. Extending from the anterior border of right crapezius
muscle to the opposite left crapezius border anterior part.    E
Cutting the voice box and major vessels of neck on left
side.

xiii) Superficial cut wound on left side of the shoulder
anteriorally 9 cm in size.
                                                               F
xiv) Cut wound on left side elbow joint front part spindal
shaped. Obliquely situated cutting skin and muscle and
blG>od vessels are exposed. 5 cm x 3 cm.

xv) Horizental incised cut wound on right arm involving skin   G
and muscle at the level of upper 1/3rd and lower 1/3rd. 10
cm x 2 cm spindal shaped.

xvi) Spindal shaped cut wound on right elbow joint 11 cm
x 5 cm involving skin, muscle and major vessels.
                                                               H
    206       SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2012} 9 S.C.R.


A         xvii) Spindal shaped wound on right forearm{} cm x 2 cm
          involving skin facia and muscle region at the junction of
          lower 1/3rd and upper 2/3rcl.

        All the injuries were anti-mortem in nature. In the opinion
  of the Doctor, the cause of death was due to haemorrhage and
8
  shock caused by the cutting of major blood vessels, as a result
  of injuries, which were sufficient to cause death in the ordinary
  course of nature. The duration of fime taken to inflict such
  injuries was approximately 24 hours. Dr. Renu Saroha (PW.13),
C explained while being cross-examined, that the injuries found
  on the person of the deceased could have been caused by a
  sharp edged weapon and were the possible result of stabbing.
  The possibility of use of two separate weapons could not be
  ruled out, however, the said injuries could also have been
  caused using only one weapon. Therefore, it is evident from the
D aforesaid evidence that, the deceased was a victim of homicidal
  death.

        7. Chander Shekhar Jain (PW.1 ), testified that he had gone
  to identify the dead body of the deceased, but was unable to
E do so, owing to the fact that his face had been mutilated. The
  next day, he re-visited the said place, along with Mahender
  Jain, brother of the deceased and thoroughly examined the
  dead body. They then identified the same to be that of Ashok
  Jain.
F
          8. Anil Garg (PW.2) deposed that Ashok Jain was a
  resident of the United States of America and would visit India
  occasionally. Shivani Chopra, the co-accused was an employee
  of Ashok Jain. He stated that the deceased had informed him
  in December, 2002, that he would be coming to Delhi on
G 26.12.2002 and that he would instruct him, at a later date
  whether or not he would be required to come to receive him
  from the Airport. He further gave the contact numbers (landline
  and mobile) of Shivani Chopra both, in Delhi and in Mumbai.

H         9. Bijender Kumar (PW.3), who was in-Charge of the car
      MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                      207
            [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
park at the Delhi Airport testified that on 26.12.2002, Car        A
No.UP-32-AG 9991 remained parked at the Airport parking
between 5.26 p.m. and 8.34 p.m.

      10. Shambhu Chaudhary (PW.4), the Receptionist of Hotel
Suji International, Paharganj, Delhi deposed that the appellant
                                                                   8
and the co-accused Shivani Chopra had stayed at his Hotel
between 18-19.11.2002, and then, between 7-8.12.2002 and
yet again, on 26.12.2002, this time along with one Shri Sudhir
Srivastava. This witness provided proof of such stay, by
producing requisite guest-log registers and further identified     C
both the said accused in Court.

     11. Naresh Kapoor (PW.9), the proprietor of Ashoka
Continental Hotel, Paharganj, deposed that the appellant and
co-accused, Shivani Chopra stayed in the said hotel on
24.12.2002, upon providing fake names and representing             D
themselves as Munish Mathur and Shivani Mathur respectively.
Their stay here was proved by producing the guest-log Register
maintained for the purpose of keeping a record of guests, in
the normal course of business.
                                                                   E
      12. Narain Singh (PW.11 ), ASI made recoveries of several
articles, including cosmetic items, blood stained clothes of the
appellant, a gold chain and one gold kara on 11.1.2003 and
14.1.2003 on the basis of a disclosure statement made by the
appellant. The appellant and the co-accused Shivani Chopra,
identified the place where the dead body was lying.                F

     13. Inspector Shamsher Singh (PW.21), corroborated the
testimony of Narain Singh, ASI (PW.11) with respect to all
material particulars. He also supported the case of the
prosecution by explaining how the investigation was conducted,     G
how he had taken readings of the said mobile phone numbers
belonging to the accused persons, and therefore, concluded the
said investigation.

    14. Surender Mohan Jain (PW.14), brother-in-law of the         H
    208       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A deceased deposed that the deceased was a Non Resident
  Indian. He would however, visit India 2-3 times in a year. It
  came to the knowledge of the said witness that the co-accused
  Shivani Chopra, would receive the deceased at the Airport on
  the day of his arrival, on his particular visit to India. Ms. Urvashi,
8 a niece of Ashok Jain, deceased, informed him that her father
  had talked to her on the mobile phone of Shivani Chopra, the
  co-accused before his death. He also stated that Shivani
  Chopra had told him that she had, in fact, gone to Airport to
  receive the deceased, however, he never showed up. He further
c deposed that, Shivani Chopra had developed illicit relations
  with the deceased.

       15. Mahender Kumar Jain (PW.17), elder brother of the
  deceased corroborated the testimony of Surender Mohan Jain
  (PW.14), and further deposed that upon hearing the news
D regarding the death of the deceased, he immediately went to
  General Hospital on 28.12.2002, and identified the dead body
  of Ashok Jain. He also disclosed that at the time that Ashok
  Jain had left the city of Mumbai, he was carrying upon his
  person, jewellery, i.e., a gold chain, a pair of diamond rings,
E various cosmetic articles and also cash.

         16. Capt. Rakesh Bakshi (PW.22), provided proof
    regarding the records of mobile phone numbers belonging to
    the accused persons.
F        Other witnesses also deposed in support of the case of
    the prosecution and proved all material particulars.

       17. When the appellant and the co-accused Shivani
  Chopra, were examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C., they
G denied any involvement in the said crime. The appellant
  explained that he was being falsely implicated in this case. He
  also stated that in connection with the same, he had been
  arrested 5 days prior to the alleged date of arrest from Lucknow,
  and had since such date, been illegally detained. The police
H had planted each of the alleged recoveries made by them. The
       MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                      209
             [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]

jewellery recovered, actually belonged to him. He deposed that       A
he did not know the deceased, Ashok Jain at all, and all alleged
details of calls etc., were supported by way of fabricated
documents. A similar version was given by the co-accused
Shivani Chopra who stated that the deceased Ashok Jain, was
in fact, her family friend. He had telephoned her father to inform   B
him that he would visit their house at Rohini, on 26.12.2002 but
then he failed to show up. She had absolutely no intimacy with
the deceased. The alleged records of phone calls etc. were
 untrue stories based on fabricated records. She did not, in fact,
 own any of the telephone numbers, as shown as part of the           c
evidence on record.

    18. The appellant also examined Samita Sinha (DW.1 ),
and Shailender (DW.2), both of whom are sales persons at
Bharti Jewellers, Mumbai and also, one Subhash, who is the
proprietor of Bharti Jewellers (DW.3), to prove that the jewellery   D
recovered, belonged to his family and not to the deceased
Ashok Jain.

     19. In the above backdrop, both the courts below have
appreciated the entire evidence and material on record and           E
thereafter, have convicted the appellant and the co-accused
Shivani Chopra on the basis of the following circumstances:

     i) The intimate relations vis-a-vis Shivani Chopra and the
     appellant, Munish Mubar as also between her and the
                                                                     F
     deceased, Ashok Jain.

     ii) Shivani Chopra had knowledge that the deceased was
     coming to Delhi on the evening of 26.12.2002 and she was
     to receive him, upon his arrival, from the Delhi Airport.
                                                                     G
     iii) Shivani Chopra falsely informed Surender Mohan Jain
     (PW14), that Ashok Jain had not arrived in Delhi at all, and
     thus, she was unable to receive him at the Airport on the
     said day. On all prior occasions, Anil Garg (PW2) would
     receive him at the Airport.
                                                                     H
    210        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A         iv) Car No. UP-32-AG-9991 belonging to the appellant was
          parked, on the evening of 26.12.2002, at precisely
          17:26:21 hours in the car park of the Domestic Airport,
          Delhi and was taken therefrom, on the very same day, at
          20:34:50 hours and within 3 hours of such taking away of
B         the said car, the murder in question, is known to have taken
          place. The said car was later recovered from the
          possession of the appellant himself.

          v) The calls made from mobile No.981"8082195 at 21 :26:41
          hours on 26.12.2002, were routed through cell No.6572
c         which pertains to the Badshahpur, Gurgaon Tower, which
          was situated in the vicinity of the village Bhondsi, from
          where the dead body of Ashok Jain was recovered.

          vi) The records of hotel Suji International in Paharganj,
D         Delhi prove sufficiently that both the accused, along with
          one Sudhir Srivastava (since the date of incident,
          proclaimed absconder), stayed in the said hotel on several
          occasions, including the evening of 26.12.2002 between
          3.40 p.m. and 11.55 p.m. The appellant Munish Mubar, and
E         Sudhir Srivastava also stayed in hotel Ashoka Continental,
          Paharganj, Delhi on 24.12.2002, whereas the appellant
          had also stayed in the said hotel along with the co-accused
          Sudhir Srivastava on 25.12.2002, while representing
          themselves as Munish Mathur, Shivani Mathur and Sunil
F         Srivastava, respectively.

          vii) There was sufficient motive to rob Ashok Jain of the
          valuables and getting rid of him, as the main hurdle in the
          love affair between the appellant and Shivani Chopra.

G         viii) There was telephonic communication between the
          accused Shivani Chopra and the deceased on the day of
          occurrence of the said incident and also prior thereto.

      ix) There has been recovery of jewellery, cosmetic articles,
      a gold chain, a gold kara etc. from the appellant, on the
H
      MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                       211
            [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
    basis of disclosure statement made by him.                      A

    x) Recovery of a torn vest, a blood stained hammer, one
    blood stained knife and a blood stained pair of trousers
    was also made, in pursuance of the disclosure statement
    made by the appellant on 13.1.2003.
                                                                    B
    xi) The act of absconding by the accused and ultimately
    the arrest of the accused on 10.1.2003.

    20. Undoubtedly, in a case of circumstantial evidence, all
the circumstances must be fully established and all the facts so    c
established, must be consistent with the hypothesis regarding
the guilt of the accused. The circumstances so established,
should exclude every other possible hypothesis except the one
sought to be proved. The circumstances must be conclusive in
nature. Circumstantial evidence is a close companion of factual
                                                                    0
matrix, creating a fine network through which there can be no
escape for the accused, primarily because the said facts, when
taken as a whole, do not permit us to arrive at any other
inference but one, indicating the guilt of the accused.

       21. If the case is examined in the light of the aforesaid    E
settled legal propositions, we are of the considered opinion
that, there is nothing on record to doubt the existence of the
illicit relationship of the co-accused Shivani Chopra with the
deceased, Ashok Jain as also with the appellant, as this fact
has been fully established from the evidence provided by            F
several witnesses. It has further been proved that the Santro
Car belonging to the appellant was parked on 26.12.2002, at
the Delhi Airport for a duration of 3 hours, when the flight by
which Ashok Jain (deceased) was to arrive, was scheduled to
land, and the said car left after the arrival of such Jet Airways   G
flight. The telephone call records reveal the presence of the
appellant in the Bhondsi village area, i.e., the place of
occurrence, at the relevant time of the incident. The recoveries
in the said case, were made upon the disclosure statement of
the appellant. Some of the articles found, had human blood on       H
    212        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A them and the same connects the appellant to the said crime.
  The appellant failed to furnish any explanation whatsoever in
  relation to any of the above, when examined under Section 313
  Cr.P.C.

        22. In a case of circumstantial evidence, motive assumes
8 great significance and importance, for the reason that the
  absence of motive would put the court on its guard and cause
  it to scrutinize each piece of evidence very closely in order to
  ensure that suspicion, emotion or conjecture do not take the
  place of proof. However, the evidence regarding existence of
C motive which operates in the mind of an assassin is very often,
  not within the reach of others. The said motive, may not even
  be known to the victim of the crime. The motive may be known
  to the assassin and no one else may know what gave birth to
  such evil thought, in the mind of the assassin. In a case of
D circumstantial evidence, the evidence indicating the guilt of the
  accused becomes untrustworthy and unreliable, because most
  often it is only the perpetrator of the crime alone, who has
  knowledge of the circumstances that prompted him to adopt a
  certain course of action, leading to the commission of the crime.
E Therefore, if the evidence on record suggest sufficient/
  necessary motive to commit a crime, it may be conceived that
  the accused has committed the same. (See: Subedar Tewari
  v. State of U.P. & Ors., AIR 1989 SC 733; Suresh Chandra
  Bahri v. State of Bihar, AIR 1994 SC 2420; and Dr. Sunil
F Clifford Daniel v. State of Punjab, JT 2012(8) SC 639)

       23. The issue of non-examination of independent
  witnesses and reliance upon the deposition of police officials
  as "Panch witnesses" was considered at length by this Court
  in State, Govt. of NCT of Delhi v. Sunil & Anr., (2001) 1 SCC
G 652, wherein this Court held as under:
                 ".... But if no witness was present or if no person had
          agreed to affix his signature on the document, it is difficult
          to lay down, as a proposition of law, that the document so
H
      MUNISH MUBAR v. STATE OF HARYANA                         213
            [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
    prepared by the police officer must be treated as tainted          A
    and the recovery evidence unreliable. The court has to
    consider the evidence of the investigating officer who
    deposed to the fact of recovery based on the statement
    elicited from the accused on its own worth.
                                                                       B
           We feel that it is an archaic notion that actions of the
     police officer should be approached with initial
     distrust. ........ At any rate, the court cannot start with the
     presumption that the police records are untrustworthy. As
     a proposition of law the presumption should be the other          C
     way around. That official acts of the police have been
     regularly performed is a wise principle of presumption and
     recognised even by the legislature. Hence when a police
   · officer gives evidence in court that a certain article was
     recovered by him on the strength of the statement made
     by the accused it is open to the court to believe the version     D
     to be correct if it is not otherwise shown to be unreliable.
     It is for the accused, through cross-examination of
     witnesses or through any other materials, to show that the
     evidence of the police officer is either unreliable or at least
     unsafe to be acted upon in a particular case. If the court        E
     has any good reason to suspect the truthfulness of such
     records of the police the court could certainly take into
     account the fact that no other independent person was
     present at the time of recovery. But it is not a legally
     approvable procedure to presume the police action as              F
     unreliable to start with, nor to jettison such action merely
     for the reason that police did not collect signatures of
     independent persons in the documents made
     contemporaneous with such actions."
                                                                       G
    24. It is obligatory on the part of the accused, while being
examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C. to furnish some
explanation with respect to the incriminating circumstances
associated with him, and the Court must take note of such
explanation, even in a case of circumstantial evidence, so to          H
    214       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2012] 9 S.C.R.


A   decide, whether or not, the chain of circumstances is complete.
    The aforesaid judgment has been approved and followed in
    Musheer Khan v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (2010) 2 SCC
    748. (See also: The Transport Commissioner, A.P.,
    Hyderabad & Anr. v. S. Sardar Ali & Ors., AIR 1983 SC 1225).
B
       25. In view of the aforesaid discussion, it is evident that in
  spite of the fact that in case there is no independent witness
  of recoveries and panch witnesses are only police personnel,
  it may not affect the merits of the case. In the instant case, the
  defence did not ask this issue in the cross-examination to
C Inspector Shamsher Singh (PW.21) as why the independent
  person was not made the panch witness. More so, it was the
  duty of the appellant to furnish some explanation in his
  statement under Section 313 Cr.PC., as under what
  circumstances his car had been parked at the Delhi Airport and
D it remained there for 3 hours on the date of occurrence. More
  so, the call records of his telephone make it evident that he was
  present in the vicinity of the place of occurrence and under what
  circumstances recovery of incriminating material had been
  made on his voluntary disclosure statement. Merely making a
E bald statement that he was innocent and recoveries had been
  planted and the call records were false and fabricated
  documents, is not enough as none of the said allegations made
  by the appellant could be established.

F       In view of the above, we do not find any force in this
    appeal. The appeal is therefore, dismissed accordingly.

    B.B.B.                                      Appeal dismissed.