Supreme Court of India
SANGILI @ SANGANATHANversusSTATE OF TAMIL NADU
- Citation
- 2014 INSC 620
- Decided
- 10 September 2014
- Disposal
- Appeal(s) allowed
- Bench
- JASTI CHELAMESWAR
Holding
A conviction resting solely on circumstantial evidence must be based on a complete, unbroken chain that leads only to the accused's guilt; where the chain is incomplete, the benefit of doubt applies and the conviction must be set aside.
Summary
The appellant, Sangili, was convicted of murdering a schoolboy, Muthuramaligam, on the basis of circumstantial evidence that included a phone call, alleged motive, and the recovery of a bicycle and knives. The prosecution failed to produce any eyewitnesses, did not establish a motive, and could not prove the last seen of the victim. The recoveries were based on the testimony of a single Panch witness whose credibility was questioned, and several key witnesses turned hostile. The Supreme Court held that suspicion, however strong, cannot replace proof and that a chain of circumstantial evidence must be complete and point inexorably to guilt. Finding the chain incomplete, the Court set aside the conviction and sentence, granting the appellant the benefit of doubt and allowing the appeal.
Issues considered
- Whether a conviction based solely on circumstantial evidence is sustainable when the chain of circumstances is incomplete.
- Whether the prosecution established a motive and the last seen of the deceased.
- Whether the recoveries of the bicycle and knives, based on a single Panch witness, constitute reliable evidence.
- Whether the Supreme Court may re‑appreciate evidence under Article 136 when the claim of 'no evidence' is made.
Legislation cited
Subjects
murdercircumstantial evidencebenefit of doubtconviction overturnedArticle 136IPC 302evidence appraisalmotivediscoverychain of circumstances
Judgment
[2014] 7 S.C.R. 788
A SANGILI @ SANGANATHAN
v.
STATE OF TAMIL NADU
(Criminal Appeal No. 639 of 2011)
B SEPTEMBER 10, 2014
[J. CHELAMESWAR AND A.K. SIKRI, JJ.]
Penal Code, 1860 - s. 302 - Murder - Circumstantial
C evidence - Prosecution case that appellant guilty of killing the
deceased; resting the case on circumstantial evidence -
Conviction and sentence of life imprisonment uls. 302 by
courts below - On appeal held: Suspicion however strong
cannot be a substitute for proof - In a case resting completely
on the circumstantial evidence the chain of circumstances
D mµst be so complete to lead to the guilt of the accused - On
facts, chain of events incomplete, thus not safe to convict the
appellant - Appellant entitled to benefit of doubt - Order of
conviction and sentence set aside - Constitution of India, 1950
- Art. 136.
E
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1.1 There cannot be any second opinion that
this Court in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 136
of the Constitution does not re-appreciate evidence. But
F when the submission J.s that it is a case of no evidence
at all, the Court is bound to examine .the matter. [Para 11]
[792-G]
1.2. The instant case is of blind murder. There were
G no eyewitnesses. Motive was not proved. The evidence
of last seen was also not established . .The deceased was
not seen by anybody after he left the house. Looking into
all these facts in entirety, it is found that not only the chain
of events is incomplete, it becomes somewhat difficult to
H 788
SANGILI @ SANGANATHAN v. STATE OF TAMIL 789
NADU
convict the appellant only on the basis of the recoveries A
made. [Para 14, 20, 22] [795-E-H]
1.3 Suspicion however strong cannot be a substitute
for proof. In a case resting completely on the
circumstantial evidence the chain of circumstances must 8
be so complete that they lead only to one conclusion, that
is, the guilt of the accused, without any doubt. It is not
safe to record a finding of guilt of the appellant and the
appellant is entitled to get the benefit of doubt. [Para 25]
[797-H; 798-A-B]
c
Mani v. State of Tamil Nadu 2008 (1) SCR 228:(2009)
17 SCC 273; Manthuri Laxmi Narsaiah v. State of Andhra
Pradesh (2011) 14 SCC 117; Mustkeem alias Sirajudeen v.
State of Rajasthan 2011 (9) SCR 101:(2011) 11 SCC 724 -
referred to. D
Case Law Reference:
2008 (1) SCR 228 Referred to Para 23
(2011) 14 sec 111. Referred to Para 24 E
2011 (9) SCR 101 Referred to Para 25
CRIMINAL APP ELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
No.639 of 2011
F
From the Judgment and Order dated 06.01.201 O of the
High Court of Madras at Madurai Bench in Criminal Appeal No.
506 of 2004.
R. BalasLibramanian, B. Karunakaran, S. Gowthaman for
the Appellant. G
M. Yogesh Kanna, A. Santha Kumaran for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
CHELAMESWAR, J. 1. This appeal arises out of the H
790 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2014] 7 S.C.F\.
A judgment dated 6th January 2010 of the Madurai Bench of the
Madras High Court in Criminal Appeal No.506 of 2004.
2. By the impugned judgment, the High Court confirmed
the appellant's conviction and sentence of imprisonment for life
B and a fine of Rs.10000/- under Section 302 of the Indian Penal
Code, 1860 (for short "IPC") awarded by the Sessions Court,
Madurai in Sessions Case No.490 of 2003.
3. The deceased Muthuramaligam was a high school
going child studying Plus-Two. PWs 1 and 2 are his parents.
C PW-5 Ramathilaga another young girl was also a student of the
same school where the deceased was studying. The appellant
herein was working for the father of PW-5.
4. According to the case of the prosecution, on 12.6.2002
0 at about 5.15 p.m., there was a phone call from the appellant
herein to the deceased which was initially picked up by PW-1.
According to PW-1 the caller identified himself by his name
(same as the appellant). After some conversation with the caller
the deceased went out by bicycle informing his parents that he
would return soon. Unfortunately, he never returned. On
E 14.06.2002 at about 10 a.m., PW-1 went to the Oomachikulam
Police Station and lodged a complaint Ex.P1 to the effect that
Muthuramaligam was missing.
5. PW-12 Head Constable received the complaint and
F registered a Crime No.204 of 2003. PW-15 Tr. Ponnuchamy
is the Inspector of Police of the abovementioned police station.
6. On the same day, the appellant was arrested at about
8 p.m. According to the prosecution, the appellant made a
G confessional statement which led to certain recoveries. The
admissible portion of the statement made by the appellant is
Ex.PS. On the basis of such a statement, PW-15 altered the
First Information Report (FIR) and registered the case under
Section 302 IPC and dispatched the FIR to the Court.
H Thereafter, he went led by the accused to the spot from where
SANGILI @ SANGANATHAN v. STATE OF TAMIL 791
NADU [J. CHELAMESWAR, J.]
the dead body of the deceased was recovered around 9.45 p.m. A
rThereafter, he got the inquest conducted and prepared a report
Ex.P18 around 2.30 a.m. i.e. in the early hours of 15.06.2002.
The dead body was sent to the hospital for post mortem
examination. PW-15 thereafter proceeded to the house of the
appellant and seized MOs 7 and 8 (two knives) from the B
backyard of the house of the appellant. They proceeded further
to the house of PW-9 at around 3.30 a.m. at the instance of
the appellant and recovered the bicycle, M.O. 1. Subsequently,
Nagarajan (A2 who was acquitted by the trial court) was
arrested. After completion of the investigation, PW-16 Inspector c
of Police who succeeded PW-15 (in office) filed the charge
sheet.
7. In all prosecution examined 16 witnesses apart from
marking 18 ·documents and producing 8 material objects to
establish the guilt of the appellant herein. The prosecution case D
rests on the circumstantial evidence. The circumstances are:
(i) That the deceased was trying to woo PW-5 which
was objected to by the appellant herein and in that
context there was an earlier incident of beating up E
of the deceased by the appellant;
(ii) That the deceased left the house on the fateful day
on receiving call from the appellant and never
returned thereafter;
F
(iii) That the appellant knew as to where the dead body
of the deceased was lying and also the place where
the bicycle of the deceased was available;
(iv) The appellant also knew where MOs 7 and 8 (two G
. knifes) which are said to have been used for killing
the deceased were hidden.
8. The trial Court on the basis of the abovementioned
circumstances recorded a conclusion that the
H
792 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2014] 7 S.C.R.
A appellant is guilty of murdering Muthuramaligam
which finding is confirmed by the High Court.
9. Shri R. Balasubramanian, the learned senior counsel for
the appellant argued that the evidence on record is wholly
inadequate to record the finding of guilt against the appellant.(a)
8
It is submitted that PWs 3 to S who were examined to establish
the motive and the background for the offence turned hostile.
Therefore, there is no evidence on record to establish the
motive. (b) With regard to the fact that the deceased left his
residence on the fateful day on receipt of a phone call from the
C appellant herein is not clearly established as there is nothing
in the evidence of PW-1 to indicate that he knew the appellant
prior to the telephonic conversation and he could identify the
voice of the appellant. Assuming for the sake of argument that
the caller identified himself by the name "Sangili", it is not
D conclusive that the caller was the appellant herein. There is no
evidence on record that anybody saw both the deceased and
accused together on the evening of the fateful day.(c) The
recoveries made pursuant to Ex.PS are highly doubtful as the
evidence of PW-7 who happens to be the Panch witness both
.E before the arrest of the appellant and also various recoveries
made pursuant to Ex.PS is_ full of contradictions and does not
inspire any confidence in the truthfulness of the witness.
10. On the other hand, Mr. M. Yogesh Kanna, learned
F counsel appearing for the State arg.ued that the co~current
findings of fact recorded by both the courts below ought not to
be interfered with and this C,ourt would not re-apprec!ate
evid~nce in exercising its jurisdiction under Article 136.
~ 1. There cannot be any second opinion that this Court in
G exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 136 does not re-
appreciate evidence. But when the submission is that it is a .
case of no evidence at all, we are bound to examine the matter.
12. We have gone through the judgments of the trial court
H
SANGILI @ SANGANATHAN v. STATE OF TAMIL 793
NADU [J. CHELAMESWAR, J.]
and the High Court. We are sorry to place on record that both A
the judgments leave much to be desired ..
13. There is no discussion as to the basis on which the
courts below reached the conclusion that there was a motive
for the appellant to kill Muthuram~ligam. PWs 3 to 5 who are 8
exar:nined to prove the motive, turned hostile. PW-1 is the only
other witness who spoke about the motive but he does not
claim any personal knowledge of the motive. At best the
evidence of PW-1 with respect to motive is only hearsay
evidence.
c
14. Coming to the circumstance that the deceased left his
residence on the fateful day after receiving the call allegedly
made by the appellant herein, the prosecution sought to
establish the said fact on the basis of the evidence of PW-1
and PW-8, of whom PW-8 turned hostile. Pw-1 ·the father of D
the deceased stated in his evidence that on the fateful day the
deceased received a phone call from the appellant herein at
about 5.15 p.m. which call was initially picked up by him and
on his enquiry the caller identified himself by his name "Sangili".
In his cross-examination h~ clearly admitted that he neither saw E
nor knew the appellant before his arrest by the police. He did
not know anything about the appellant's place of residence,
father's name etc. The only other witness who was examined
in this context was PW-8 who allegedly stated before PW-15
Inspector of Police that on the fateful day the appellant F .
accompanied by another person went to the telephone booth ·
where PW-8 was said to be working and made a phone call
to the deceased. As noticed, PW-8 did not support the
prosecution case. That being the case, there is no legally
admissible evidence on record to come to the conclusion that G
the deceased left the house only after being called up by the
appellant herein.
15. The other circumstance relied upon by the prosecution
accepted by both the Courts is the recovery of MOs 1 (bicycle)
H
794 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2014] 7 S.C.R.
A and 7 & 8 (two knives) at the instance of the appellant pursuant
to the statement before the police, the admissible portion which
is Ex.PS.
16. PW-7 Mathivanan is the Panch witness along with
Shenbagamoorthy (who was not examined), for the arrest of the
8
appellant and also for the recovery of abovementioned material
objects.
17. PW-9 Chinnathambi is the person according to whose
evidence on 12.6.2002 at about 7 p.m. the appellant herein left
C M0-1 bicycle at his residence. However, the appellant never
went back to take the bicycle. On the other hand, in the early
hours of 15.6.2002 at around 3.30 a.m. PW-15 and others came
to his residence and seized the bicycle M0-1.
0 18. The learned counsel for the appellant argued that there
are discrepancies in the evidence of PW-7 and, therefore, his
evi<!lence cannot be relied upon and his evidence should be
discarded. There is nothing else on record to establish the
trustworthiness of the recovery of the MOs 1 (bicycle) and 7 E•
E 8 (two knives) at the instance of the appellant.
19. The learned counsel also argued that PW-9 never
stated that when the police party led by PW-15 came to seize
M0-1 from his residence, the police party was accompanied
by the appellant and, therefore, the recovery of the bicycle is
F also unreliable piece of evidence.
20. We have carefully scrutinized the evidence of PWs 7
and 9. We find one aspect, which is material, and is quite
intriguing. As per the prosecution, the appellant had made
G confessional statement; there is a recovery of blood; recovery
of knife; and recovery of bicycle. In the panchnama drawn for
these recoveries, there is only one person who has allegedly
witnessed these recoveries, namely PW-7 Mathivanan, son of
Thangamani. Though this by itself may not be very suspicious,
H when we examine this aspect in conjunction with other evidence
SANGILI @ SANGANATHAN v. STATE OF TAMIL 795
NADU [J. CHELAMESWAR, J.]
emerging on record, such recoveries become little doubtful. The A
Investigating Officer himself, who appeared as PW-15, has
stated in his deposition that the witness who signed the
confessional statement of the appellant is not Mathivanan, son
of Thangamani, thereby doubting the identity of PW-7. The
manner in which PW-7 reached the spot and was allegedly 8
requested by the Investigating Officer to accompany him to
witness the recoveries is also shrouded in mystery. Further, in
his chief-examination he stated that on that day from 8.00 p.m.
to the next morning 3.30 a.m. he was with the Police on the
request of PW-15. In his cross-examination he stated that he C
was taken to the police station at about 6.00, p.m. for a short
while and let off by the Police thereafter. All these facts taken
together, which are not considered by the Courts below, make
the recoveries little doubtful.
21. It is to be emphasized at this stage that except the so- D
called recoveries, there is no other circumstances worth the
name which has been proved against the appellant.
22. To sum up what is discussed above, it is a case of blind
murder. There are no eyewitnesses. Conviction is based on the E
circumstantial evidence. In such a case, complete chain of
events has to be established pointing out the culpability of the
accused person. The chain should be such that no other
conclusion, except the guilt of the accused person, is discernible
without any doubt. In the present case, we find, in the first
F
instance, that the appellant was roped in with suspicion that it
was a case of triangular love and since he also loved PW-3,
he eliminated the deceased when he found that the deceased
and PW-3 are in love with each other. However, we are of the
view that this motive has not been proved. The evidence of last G
seen is also not established. Father of the deceased only said
that the deceased had received a call and after receiving that
call he left the house. In his deposition, he admitted that he had
not seen the appellant before and he did not recognize his voice
either. Therefore, he was unable to say as to whether the phone
H
796 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2014] 7 S.C.R.
A call received was that of the appellant. Proceeding further, we
find that the deceased was not seen by anybody after he left
the house. When we look into all these facts in entirety in the
aforesaid context, we find that not only the chain of events is
incomplete, it becomes somewhat difficult to convict the
8 appellant only on the basis of the aforesaid recoveries.
· 23. In Mani v. State of Tamil Nadu, (2009) 17 SCC 273,
this Court made following pertinent observation on this vf;ry
aspect:
c "26. The discovery is a weak kind of evidence and cannot
be wholly relied upon and conviction in such a serious
matter cannot be based upon the discovery. Once the
discovery fails, there would be literally nothing which would
support the prosecution case .... "
24. There is a reiteration of the same sentiment in Manthuri
Laxmi Narsaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh, (2011) 14 SCC
117 in the following manner:
"6. It is by now well settled that in a case relating to
E circumstantial evidence the chain of circumstances has to
be spelt out by the prosecution and if even one link in the
chain is broken the accused must get the benefit thereof.
We are of the opinion that the present is in fact a case of
no evidence."
F
25. Likewise, in Mustkeem alias Sirajudeen v. State of
Rajasthan, (2011) 11 SCC 724, this Court observed as under:
"24. In a most celebrated case of this Court, Sharad
Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, (1984) 4 SCC
G 116, in para 153, some cardinal principles regarding the
appreciation of circumstantial evidence have been
postulated. Whenever the case is based on circumstantial
evidence the following features are required to be
complied with. It would be beneficial to repeat the same
. H
SANGILI @ SANGANATHAN v. STATE OF TAMIL 797
NADU [J. CHELAMESWAR, J.]
salient features once again which are as under: (SCC A
p.185)
"(i) The circumstances from which the conclusion of
guilt is to be drawn must or should be and not
merely 'may be' fully established; B
(ii) The facts so established should be consistent only
with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused, that
is to say, they should ·not be explainable on any
other hypothesis except that the accused is guilty;
c
(iii) The circumstances should be of a conclusive nature
and tendency;
(iv) They should exclude every possible hypothesis
except the one to be proved; and
D
(v) There must be a chain of evidence so complete as
not to leave any reasonable ground for the
conclusion consistent with the innocence of the
accused and must show that in all human probability
the act must have been done by the accused." E
25. With regard to Section 27 of the Act. what is important
is discovery of the material object at the disclosure of the
accused but such disclosure alone would not automatically
lead to the conclusion that the offence was also committed
F
by the accused. In fact, thereafter, burden lies on the
prosecution to establish a close link between discovery of
the material object and its use in the commission of the
offence. What is admissible under Section 27 of the Act
is the information leading to discovery and not any opinion G
formed on it by the prosecution."
(emphasis supplied)
26. It is settled position of law that suspicion however strong
cannot be a substitute for proof. In a case resting completely H
798 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2014] 7 S.C.R.
A on the circumstantial evidence the chain of circumstances must
be so complete that they lead only to one conclusion, that is,
the guilt of the accused. In our opinion, it is not safe to record
a fililding of guilt of the appellant and the appellant is entitled to
get the benefit of doubt. We, therefore, allow the appeal and
B set~aside the conviction and sentence of the appellant. The
appellant be set at liberty unless required in any other case.
Nidhi Jain Appeal allowed.
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