Holding

The circumstantial evidence formed a complete, consistent chain that excluded any reasonable doubt of innocence, so Hari Mohan's conviction under Section 302 IPC stands, while the other accused remain acquitted.

Summary

The State prosecuted Hari Mohan for the murder of his sister‑in‑law Roop Devi, whose body was found in a gunny bag with gunshot wounds. The trial court convicted Hari Mohan under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment, while other accused were convicted under Section 201. The Allahabad High Court acquitted Hari Mohan, holding that suicide could not be ruled out. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that, despite the lack of direct evidence, the prosecution had established a complete chain of circumstantial evidence that excluded any reasonable hypothesis of innocence, thereby upholding the murder conviction. The Court also observed that the investigative lapses did not defeat the prosecution’s case. The convictions of the other accused under Sections 302/34 and 201 were not supported by the evidence and were upheld as acquitted.

Issues considered

The adequacy of circumstantial evidence to sustain a conviction for murder under Section 302 IPC.
Whether the High Court erred in acquitting Hari Mohan on the basis of a possible suicide.
Whether the evidence was sufficient to convict the other accused under Section 302 read with Section 34 or Section 201 IPC.
The effect of investigative negligence on the validity of the conviction.

Legislation cited

Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 201, s. 302, s. 34

Subjects

circumstantial evidencemurderIPC Section 302IPC Section 34IPC Section 201suicideinvestigation negligencelife imprisonment

Judgment

A
STATE OF U.P.
v.
HARi MOHAN AND ORS.

NOVEMBER 7, 2000
B
[K.T. THOMAS AND R.P. SETHI, JJ.]

Criminal law:
c Indian Penal Code, 1860-Sections. 302, 34 and 201-Murder-
Applicability of circumstantial evidence in conviction of accused when there
is no direct evidence-Held, the circumstantial evidence should be consistent
with the guilt of the accused and inconsistent with his innocence.

D Respondent No. I, the accused, was found convicted for murder of his
younger brother's wife. Body of the deceased was found in a gunny bag floating
in a pond. The body bore gun shot injuries. The First Additional Sessions
Judge convicted the accused under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal
Code, 1860 (IPC) and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Other respondents
were convicted under Section 201 of IPC and sentenced to five years rigorous
E imprisonment. On appeal by the respondents, the High Court acquitted the
accused on the assumption that "the possibility of a suicide of the deceased
in the house also cannot be denied". The conviction of all the other accused
persons was also held not maintainable on that account. The State has
preferred the present appeal.

F Partly allowing the appeal, the Court

HELD: 1.1. There is no direct evidence connecting any of the accused
with the commission of the crime. The case of the prosecution is based upon
circumstantial evidence. It is often said that witnesses may lie but the
circumstances cannot. To convict a person on ttie basis of circumstantial
G evidence all the circumstances relied upon by the prosec_ution must be clearly )·
established. The proved circumstances must be such as would reasonably
exclude the possibility of innocence of the accused. The circumstantial
evidence should be consistent with the guilt of the accused and inconsistent
with his innocence. The chain of circumstances, furnished by the prosecution,
H should be so complete as not to lead any reasonable ground for conclusion
440
STATE OF U.P. v. HARi MOHAN 441

consistent with the innocence of the accused. Medical evidence in such a case A
may be an important circumstance giving assurance to the existence of the
other circumstances alleged against the culprit. When the evidence against
the accused, particularly when he is charged with grave offence like murder
consists of only circumstances, it must be qualitatively such that on every
reasonable hypothesis the conclusion must be that the accused is guilty; not B
fantastic possibilities nor freak inferences but rational deductions which
reasonable minds make from the probative force of facts and circumstances.
1442-H; 443-A-CI

1.2. On the basis of prosecution evidence led in the case and despite
mishandling of the case by the investigation officer, this Court is satisfied C
that the circumstances have been fully established by the prosecution. The
circumstances are a chain, complet~ in itself and inconsistent with the
innocence of the accused. On the touchstone of the tests regarding
appreciation of circumstantial evidence, there is no doubt that prosecution
had proved its case beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused had caused
the death and thus committed the murder of the deceased. He was rightly D
convicted by the trial court under Section 302 of the IPC and wrongly
acquitted by the High Court on erroneous considerations. 1448-E-Fl

1.3. This Court restores the conviction passed by the trial court against
the accused for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC and sentencing
him to undergo life imprisonment. (448-HI E
1.4. The prosecution did not succeed in proving the case either under
section 302 read with section 34 or section 201 IPC against the other accused
persons and their acquittal by the High Court is upheld.1448-G; 449-A)

State of Punjab v. Jagbir Singh, Baljit Singh & Karam Singh, 1197413 F
SCC 277; Sate of Himachal Pradesh v. Lekh Rai & Sons, JT (1999) 9 SC 43
and Rajinder Kumar v. State of Punjab, AIR (1966) SC 1322, relied on.

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 484
of 1991.

From the Judgment and Order dated 25.1.91 of the Allahabad High Court
G
in Crl. A. No. 3318 of 1978.

Praveen Swamp and Pramod Swamp for the Appellant.

G. Krishnan, Radhakrishnan, Amitesh Kumar and Gopal Singh for the
Respondents. H
442 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2000) SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

SETHI, J. Roop Devi, daughter of Bhagwan Sahai (PW I) was married
to Shyam Mohan, respondent No. 2 herein on 6.6. I 973. Respondent No. I Hari
Mohan is the elder brother of respondent No.2. The other respondents are
the relations/friends of Shyam Mohan.
B
· After receiving the letter on I 8.3. I 977 which is stated to have been
written by Roop Devi, Bhagwan Sahai (PW!), her father, came to village
Kurria Kalan on 19.3.1977 to inquire about his daughter. He was told by
respondent No. I Hari Mohan that Roop Devi had died due to Cholera on
C I 5.3. I 977. Apprehending some foul play PW! lodged the FIR at Police Station
Kanth on 20.3. I 977 at about 1.30 p.m. On 22.3.1977 the dead body of Roop
Devi, bundled in a gunny bag was found floating in a pond in Village
Sahwapur, away from the house of the accused- respondents. On opening the
gunny bag it was found that dead body was tied in a saree and wrapped in
a bed sheet. It also bore gun shot injuries. Post mortem was conducted on
D 23 .3. I 977 and the doctor opined that the deceased had died due to shock and
h'aemorrhage as result of the ante mortem injuries noticed on her body.

Upon conclusion of the trial, the learned First Additional Sessions
Judge, Shahjahanpur convicted respondent No. I under Section 302/34 IPC
and sentenced him to life imprisonment. All other respondents were convicted
E under Section 20 I IPC and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment.

Not satisfied with the judgment of the trial court, the respondents
preferred an appeal in the High Court which was allowed vide the judgment
impugned in this appeal. The accused were acquitted on the assumption that
"the possibility of a suicide of Smt. Roop Devi in the house also cannot be
F denied". As the occurrence was found to be that of a suicide, the conviction
of all the accused persons under Section 201 IPC was held to be not
maintainable.

We have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length and perused
G the whole record including the statements of the witnesses produced by the
prosecution and the defence.

Admittedly, there is no direct evidence connecting any of the accused
with the commission of the crime. The case of the prosecution is based upon
circumstantial evidence. It is often said that witnesses may lie but the
H circumstances cannot. To convict a person on the basis of circumstantial
STATE OF U.P. v. HARi MOHAN [SETHI, J.] 443
evidence all the circumstances relied upon by the prosecution must be clearly A
established. The proved circumstances must be such as would reasonably
exclude the possibility of innocence of the accused. The circumstantial
- evidence should be consistent with the guilt of the accused and inconsistent
with his innocence. The chain of circumstances, furnished by the prosecution,
should be so complete as not to lead any reasonable ground for conclusion
consistent with the innocence of the accused. Medical evidence in such a B
'. case may be an important circumstance giving assurance to the existence of
the other circumstances alleged against the culprit. This Court has consistently
held that when the evidence against the accused, particularly when he is
charged with grave offence like murder consists of only circumstances, it
must be qualitatively such that on every reasonable hypothesis the conclusion C
must be that the accused is guilty; not fantastic possibilities nor freak
inferences but rational deductions which reasonable minds make from the
probative force of facts and circumstances .
.. While appreciating the ocular testimony of witnesses and the
circumstantial evidence in a criminal case, the criminal courts are expected to D
keep in mind the observations of this Court in State of Punjab v. Jagbir
Singh, Baljit Singh & Karam Singh, [1974] 3 SCC 277 wherein it was held:

"A criminal trial is not like a fairy tale wherein one is free to give fight
to one's imagination and phantasy. It concerns itself with the question
as to whether the accused arraigned at the trial is guilty of the crime E
with which he is charged. Crime is an event in real life and is the
product of interplay of different human emotions. In arriving at the
conclusion about the guilt of the accused charged with the commission
of a crime, the court has to judge the evidence by the yardstick of
probabilities, its intrinsic worth and the animus of witnesses. Every F
case in the final analysis would have to depend upon its own facts.
Although the benefit of every reasonable doubt should be given to
the accused, the courts should not at the same time reject evidence
which is exfacie trustworthy on grounds which are fanciful or in the
nature of conjectures."
G
This Court again in State of Himachal Pradesh v. lekh Rai & Sons, JT
(1999) 9 SC 43 reiterated the position of law and while reminrting the criminal
courts of their obligations held:

"The criminal trial cannot be equated with a mock scene from a stunt
film. The legal trial is conducted to ascertain the guilt or innocence H
444 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2000] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A of the accused arraigned. In arriving at a conclusion about the truth,
the Courts are required to adopt rational approach and judge the
evidence by its intrinsic worth and the animus of the witnesses. The
hypertechnicalities or figment of imagination should not be allowed to
divest the court of itc;; responslbility of sifting and weighing the
evidence to arrive at the conclusion regarding the existence or
-
B otherwise of a particular circumstances keeping in view the peculiar
facts of each case, the social position of the victim and the accused,
the larger interests of the society particularly the law and order problem
and degrading values of life inherent in the prevalent system. The
realities of life have to be kept in mind while appreciating the evidence
c for arriving at the truth. The courts are not obliged to make efforts
either to give latitude to the prosecution or loosely construe the law
in favour of the accused. The traditional dogmatic hypertechnical
approach has to be replaced by rational, realistic and genuine approach
for administering justice in a criminal trial. Criminal jurisprudence cannot
be considered to be a Utopian thought but have to be considered as
D part and parcel of the human civilization and the realities of life. The
courts cannot ignore the erosion in values of life which are a common
feature of the present system. Such erosions cannot be given a bonus
in favour of those who are guilty of polluting society and the mankind."

E Before appreciating the circumstantial evidence in the case, we are at
pain to place on record our displeasure regarding the conduct of the
investigation in the case. The investigating officer appears to have left no
stone unturned to help the accused-respondents. It appears that the valuable
evidence, though available, was not collected apparently for ulterior purposes.
The conduct of the investigating officer SI D.P. Tiwari (PW7) was even
F noticed by the trial court. On 30th October, 1978 while recording his statement,
the trial court observed that "it appears that the IO was negligent and an
irresponsible investigating officer". It was noticed that "the witness giving
aforesaid statement and it appears that he wants to damage the prosecution
case". It is not disputed that during investigation it had come in evidence that
G respondent No. I was possessed of a licensed gun which was stated to have
been used by him on 15.3.1977, the alleged day of occurrence, yet no effort
was made by the IO to seize the gun or get it examined by an expert to
ascertain whether any shot was fired from its barrel. He also failed to have
taken into custody the letter written by the deceased for a sufficiently long
period though its mention was made by the PWl in the FIR itself. However,
H the defective investigation cannot be made a basis for acquitting the accused
STATE OF U.P. v. HARi MOHAN[SETHJ, J.] 445
if despite such defects and failures of the investigation; a case is made out A
against all the accused or anyone of them. It is unfortunate that no action
can be taken against the 10 at this stage who, in all probabilities, must. have
retired by now.

The trial court in its judgment summarised the circumstantial evidence
against the respondents as under: B
"I. Hearing of gunshot by Bishran Singh at about 10 a.m. on 15.3.1977.
2. Bishran Singh's arrival near the Chabutra of Hari Mohan and
then coming out of accused Hari Mohan with a gun along with
Mahadeo. C
3. False assertion of accused Hari Mohan that he fired a blank shot
in the air.
4. Hearing of shriek or cry from inside the house by Bishran Singh.

5. Hari Mohan being a gun licensee.
D
6. False assertion by accused Hari Mohan to Bhawan Sahai on
19.3.1977 about the death of Smt. Roop Devi due to Cholera.
7. Fresh and plastering of the Kothir 'C' found by the investigating
officer.
8. Blood stained earth taken in possession from points A and B E
shown in the site plan."

While dealing with Circumstances 1 to 5, the trial court relied upon the
testimony of PW3 and held:

"Accused Hari Mohan is the elder brother of accused Shyam Mohan. F
Their father was not alive at the time of the alleged murder. As such
Hari Mohan was to discharge the duties and obligations of the head
of the family. Somehow, the matter of dowry had taken an evil tum and
since there is evidence that Smt. Roop DevLwas not pulling with his
mother-in-law and there was constant conflict and dispute, \!very G
possibility borders on certainly that Hari Mohan took the law into his
hands and committed this murder callously and brutally."

Circumstance No ..6 was held proved which, according to the trial court,
strengthened the conclusion regarding the guilt of accused Hari Mohan.
Regarding circumstance No. 7, it was held that investigating officer had noted H
446 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2000) SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A the existence of fresh mud plastering at the place of occurrence, obviously
with the object of destroying the evidence in the form of blood stains and
other marks which could prove the killing of the deceased by a gun shot.
Though Circumstance No. 8 was held proved, yet it was not relied, on
account of the negligence of the investigating officer as he had failed to get
B the Chemical Examiner's report about the origin and nature of the blood. In
appeal the High Court, as noted earlier, has erroneously held that Roop Devi
could have died b)' committing suicide. There was no evidence or any basis
to return such finding by the High Court.

From the evidence placed on record it is established that on the day of
C occurrence the deceased Roop Devi was living with her in-laws i.e. accused-
respondents. We are not inclined to accept the plea of the respondents that
before her death the deceased was living with her parents and not with the
respondents. Bhagwan Sahai (PWJ ), who is the father of the deceased, has
stated that the deceased, two months prior to her death, was sent to her in-
laws house in the company ofrespondent No. I Hari Mohan, upon his assurance
D that she would be kept well. Letter Exhibit Ka I dated 13.3.1977 is proved to
have been sent by the deceased to her parents through Rajinder Prasad PW2.
We are not inclined to accept the plea of the defence that the aforesaid letter
was not written on 13.3.1977 but on some earlier date. Even if the aforesaid
letter is written on an earlier date, it will not make any difference as, admittedly,
E it is proved to have been written by the deceased before her death. The hand-
writing of the deceased has been proved by the prosecution by examining
Arun Kumar, PW4. It may further be noticed that none of the accused except
Hari Mohan, respondent No. I had stated that the deceased was not living
with them. Even her husband, respondent No.2, has not pleaded that on the
date of occurrence she was living with her parents.
F
Bishran Singh, PW3 stated in the trial court that on the date of occurrence
he had heard the noise in the house of the accused as mother of Shyam
Mohan, accused, was having a brawl with the deceased. He heard the sound
of gun shot coming from !!Je house of the accused and when he inquired from
G Hari Mohan about the gun shot, he was told by the aforesaid respondent that
he had fired in the air. Accused Hari Mohan is admittedly possessed of a
licensed gun. The deceased is proved to have died on account of a gun shot
injury.

On 13.3.1977 the deceased is proved to have written a letter to his father
H PW 1, stating therein that she should be immediately taken back from the
STATE OF U.P. v. HARi MOHAN [SETHI, J.] 447

house of her in-laws otherwise her brother-in-law, respondent No. I, mother- A
in-law and the husband would kill her. The letter being in the hand-writing
of deceased, as noticed earlier, stands proved by the testimony of PW4, her
brother. No effort was made by the accused persons, if they doubted the
authenticity of the letter, to get it compared with the admitted hand-writing
of the deceased. The mere fact that the prosecution witness did not produce B
other letters allegedly written by the deceased, could not be made a basis to
hold that they had made any attempt to suppress the evidence which the

- respondent could have utilised for the purposes of comparing the hand-
writing of the deceased. In view of the positive evidence of PW4 we have
no reason to hold that the letter Exhibit Ka 1 wa~ not written by the deceased.
The alleged discrepancy or over-writing on the top of the letter regarding its C
date in no way helps the accused persons.

The false assertion by the respondent Hari Mohan that deceased had
died due to Cholera on 15.3.1977 is such an important circumstance as would
leave no doubt in the mind of the court that the death was neither natural
nor suicidal but in fact homicidal. Making of contradictory statement on a fact D
which the accused knew well that it is a wrong statement on a very vital
aspect concerning the death of the deceased can also be counted, among
other circumstances, as a link in the chain of circumstances to connect the
accused with the commission vide judgment in Rajinder Kumar v. State of
Punjab, AIR (1966) SC 1322. In that case the deceased was last seen with him E
and later the dead body was found buried in his own house, the court
counted the contradictory statement made by the accused (that deceased had
gone to the shop of one Baba to fetch a toast) as one of the links in the chain.
There is no doubt in our mind that Hari Mohan accused in this case made
a false statement about the deceased by telling her father that she had died
due to cholera on 15.3.1977. If Roop Devi had died on 15.3.1977 due to F
Cholera, what prevented the accused persons to intimate her parents about
the death. No explanation is tendered by the accused persons. The said
accused, however, has taken the contradictory plea in the court that the
deceased was not at all living at their residence.

From the prosecution evidence it is established that:
G

(i) the deceased Roop Devi was married to respondent No.2 on
6.6.1973;
(ii) the relations between the deceased and her in-laws were strained
on account of the d~mand of dowry; H
448 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2000] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A}~ (iii) two months prior to the incident she was sent to her in- laws'
house in the company of accused Hari Mohan where she lived
till her death;
(iv) the deceased wrote a letter Exhibit Ka I intimating her parents
that she apprehended to be killed by the accused persons; --
B (v) on the date of occurrence gun shot was heard in' the house of
the accused;
(vi) respondent No. I owned and possessed a licensed gun on the
date of occurrence;
·C · . (vii} the dead body of Roop Devi packed in a gunny bag was found
floating in a water tank away from the house of the accused;
(viii) Roop Devi was proved to have died after receiving gun shot
injuries which could be fired from a distance of 4-6 ft which
excluded the possibility of suicide;
D (ix) Hari Mohan accused made a false statement to Bhagwan Sahai, .......
the father of the deceased that Roop Devi had died on 15.3.1977
. due to cholera.

On the basis of prosecution evidence led in the case and despite mis-
handling of the case by the investigation officer, we are satisfied that the
E circumstances enumerated hereinabove have been .fully established by the
prosecution. The circumstances are a chain, complete in itself and inconsistent
with the innocence of accused Hari Mohan. On the touchstone of the tests
regarding appreciation of circumstantial evidence enumerated hereinabove,
We have no doubt in our mind that prosecution had proved its case beyond
F any reasonable doubt that Hari Mohan, respondent No. I had caused the
death and thus committed the murder of Roop Devi. He was rightly convicted
by the trial court under Section 302 of the IPC and wrongly acquitted by the
High Court on erroneous considerations.

We are, however, of the opinion that the prosecution did not succeed
G in proving the case either under Section 302 read with Section 34 or Section
20 I IPC against the other accused persons.

In the result the appeal is partly allowed by restoring the conviction
passed by the trial court against respondent No. I Hari Mohan for the offence
punishable under Section 302 !PC and sentencing him to undergo life
H imprisonment. Bail bonds of Hari Mohan stands cancelled. The First Additional
STATE OF U.P. v. HARi MOHAN [SETHI, J.) 449
Sessions Judge, Shahjahanpur, wilt take prompt steps to put Hari Mohan, the A
first accused, back in jail to undergo the sentence imposed upon him. The
appeal against other respondents is dismissed and their acquittal by the High
Court is upheld.

- B.S . Appeal partly allowed.

..