STATE OF U.P.versusNARESH AND ORS.

                        [2011] 4 S.C.R. 1176


A                         STATE OF U.P.
                                v.
                       NARESH AND ORS.
                (Criminal Appeal No. 674 of 2006)
                         MARCH 08, 2011
B
        [P. SATHASIVAM AND DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, JJ.]

       Penal Code, 1860 - ss.302134, 307134 and 379134 -
  Murder of one person and serious gunshot injuries to another
C - Conviction of accused-respondents by trial court - Order
  reversed by High Court - Justificatio11 of- Held: Not Justified
  - The High Court gravely erred in discarding the evidence of
  PWs merely because they were relatives of the deceased -
  It further fell into error in not giving due weightage to
o deposition of a stamped witness, who had suffered gun shot
  injuries - The High Court made too much of insignificant
  discrepancies, which were made the basis for acquittal -
  Judgment of trial court convicting the respondents restored.

E        Evidence - Witnesses - Related witness - Appreciation
    of - Held: A mere relationship cannot be a factor to affect
    credibility of a witness - Evidence of a witness cannot be
    discarded solely on the ground of his relationship with the
    victim of the offence.

F      Evidence - Witnesses - Injured witness - Appreciation
  of - Held: The testimony of an injured witness is accorded a
  special status in law - The evidence of the injured witness
  should be relied upon unless there are grounds for rejection
  of his evidence on the basis of major contradictions and
G discrepancies therein.

         Evidence - Discrepancies in depositions of witnesses -
    Effect of - Held: In all criminal cases, normal discrepancies
    are bound to occur in depositions of witnesses due to normal
H                              1176
•       STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.                  1177


errors of observation, namely, errors of memory due to lapse A
of time or due to mental disposition such as shock and horror
at the time of occurrence - Where the omissions amount to
a contradiction, creating a serious doubt about the
truthfulness of the witness and other witnesses also make
material improvement while deposing in the court, such B
evidence cannot be safe to rely upon - However, minor
contradictions, inconsistencies, embellishments or
improvements on trivial matters which do not affect the core
of the prosecution case, should not be made a ground on
which the evidence can be rejected in its entirety - Mere         c
marginal variations in the statements of a witness cannot be
dubbed as improvements as the same may be elaborations
of the statement made by the witness earlier - The omissions
which amount to contradictions in material particulars i.e. go
to the root of the case/materially affect the trial or core of the
                                                                   0
prosecution's case, render the testimony of the witness liable
to be discredited.
      Appeal - Appeal against acquittal - Held: In an appeal
against an order of acquittal, the Court has to scrutinize the
facts of the case cautiously - Every accused is presumed to       E
be innocent unless his guilt is proved - While dealing with a
judgment of acquittal, an appellate court must consider the
 entire evidence on record so as to arrive at a finding as to
whether the views of the trial court were perverse or otherwise
unsustainable - Criminal jurisprudence.                           F
     According to the prosecution, on 16-10-1979
morning respondent no.1 abused and assaulted PWS
when the latter stopped him from digging a passage from
the fields of PW1; that thereupon PWS lodged a complaint          G
in police station against respondent no.1 at about 9:30
a.m.; that PWS was accompanied to the police station by
PW1 and their uncle 'SR'; that'PWS and '$R' had a rifle
and a gun with them; that later in the day when PWS, PW1
and 'SR' were returning to their village, at about 5 p.m.
                                                                  H
    1178   SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2011] 4 S.C.R.
                                                                  •
A the four accused-respondents emerged out from the
  bushes armed with gun and country made pistols, hurled
  abuses at them and opened fire due to which 'SR' died
  on the spot while PW5 was seriously injured, though
  PW1 escaped unhurt. The accused persons also
B allegedly snatched away the gun, rifle and ammunitions
  carried by the victims and ran away from the place of
  occurrence.

      The trial court convicted the accused-respondents
  under sections 302/34, 307/34 and 379/34 of IPC and
C sentenced them to life imprisonment. The High Court,
  however, acquitted the respondents.

       II) the is;istant appeals, the appellant-State contended
  that the High Court erred in reversing the well reasoned
D judgment of the trial court giving unwarranted attention
  to minor contradictions on trivial matters and taking into
  consideration non-existent facts and in view thereof, the
  judgment of the High Court is liable to be set aside.

       Allowing the appeal, the Court
E
       HELD: 1. Though the trial court after considering the
  evidence on record came to the conclusion that the FIR
  had been lodged most promptly at about 9.30 p.m. on the
  same date naming all the four accused, the High Court
F doubted the FIR and labeled the same to be ante-time or
  ante-dated. The deposition of PW9-Constable before the
  court revealed that the dead body had been handed over
  to him for the purpose of post-mortem on 17-10-1979 at
  8 a.m. The post-mortem was conducted on 18-10-1979 at
G about noon. The dead body remained in sealed condition
  throughout and nobody had any occasion to touch it.
  Record further reveals that PW9 was not cross-examined
  by any of the respondents accused nor any such

H
•      STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.             1179 .


question had been put to PW.2 who had conducted the          A
post-mortem in this regard. According to PW2, 'SR' could
have died on 16.10.1979 at about 5-7 p.m. He has not
been cross-examined as to under what circumstances
the post-mortem could not have been conducted at an
earlier point of time. [Para 14] (1193-E-H; 1194-A]          B

      2. The High Court believed the theory put forward by
the defence that the guns looted from the victims had
been recovered from the dacoits who were killed in an
encounter on 14-15 November, 1979 and therefore, there
had been some manipu,lation in the prosecution's case. C
None of the respondents ~CCU$ftd had, however, taken
this defence in their statem.ent under 313 Cr.P.C.
Respondent no.1 had stateq.,that he was not aware of the
same. When a specific question1was put to him he replied
tllat he had also heard that in.an encounter 6 dacoits had D
been. killed in District Etah and some arms and.
ammunitions had been recovered from them. He had not
stated anywhere that the said arms and ammunitions had
been looted by those dacoits or had been recovered from
them. This suggestion was also put to PW.5 when E
examined on 30.8.1980 and he has stated that he had not
been aware that their rifle and gun had been recovered
from the dacoits killed in an encounter in District Etah.
[Para 15] (1194-B-E]
                                                             F
    3. The High Court doubted the case of the
prosecution for non-recovery of the arms from the
respondents accused. The High Court failed to
appreciate that as the incident occurred on 16.10.1979
and none of these accused were traceable, the                G
Investigating Officer filed an application for initiating
proceedings under Sections 82-83 Cr.P .C. on 21.10.1979.
Proceedings of attachment of immovable property were
drawn on 25.10.1979. In consequence thereof, two
                                                             H
    1180    SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2011] 4 S.C.R.
                                                                  •
A accused surrendered in the court on 25.10.1979 and the
  remaining two surrendered on 29.10.1979. Meanwhile,
  PW7-S.I., the 1.0. stood transferred to another police
  station and the investigation could 'lot be carried out
  smoothly. Thus, such a ground would not be sufficient
8 to discredit the prosecution case. [Para 16) [1194-G-H;
  1195-A-B]
         4. The High Court gave undue weightage to the
    suggestion made by defence that 'SS', Inspector of U.P.
  . Police, brother of PW.5 had been an instrument to the
C manipulation of the record, though such a suggestion
    was denied by PW7-S.I, the 1.0., stating that 'SS' did not
    meet him on 17.10.1979, but he had met him at a later
    stage but he could not give the exact date of meeting.
    The High Court had unnecessarily doubted his statement
D without realising that his statement had been recorded
    in the court on 30.8.1980 after about 11 months. The High
    Court gave undue importance to the minor contradictions
    in the statement of PW.1 and PW.5 as one of them had
   stated that the 1.0. reached the place of occurrence at
E 10.15 p.m. and another has stated that he reached about
    mid night. The incident occurred in mid October 1979.
    This is the time when the winter starts and in such a fact-
   situation no person is supposed to keep record of exact
   time particularly in a rural area. Everybody deposes
F according to his estimate. More so, the statement had
    been recorded after a long lapse of time. Therefore, a
   margin of 1-1/2 hours remained merely a trivial issue. The
   High Court had taken a very serious note of the
   statement of PW.5 in respect of the first incident wherein
G he had stated that Respondent no.1 had initially abused
   him and then beaten him with danda but in the FIR he had
   stated that Respondent no.1 had given blow with butt-
   end of the spade. There was minor contradiction in the
   statements of PW.1 and PW.5 in respect of the first
H incident of the same date and minor variations in their
•       STAT~ OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.               1181


statements which persuaded the High Court to disbelieve       A
the presence of PW.1 in the morning incident. [Para 17)
[1195-C-H; 1196-A]
     5. The trial Court had taken note of the first incident
that occurred in the morning and considered the same
                                                               8
in correct prospective, that in the morning incident PW.5
got an injury on his arm as has been found by Dr. (PW.3)
and not on the head. The statement made by PW.5 may
not be correct in this regard for the reason that he could
not remember that he got the injury on his arm and not
on the head. This version is duly supported by the NCR C
shown by (Ex. Ka.6). Had there been any concoction in
the said NCR (Ex. Ka.6), either with the police personnel
at Police Station or at the behest of Inspector 'SS',
brother of PW.5, then there could not have been any
discrepancy in .the contents thereof. So far as this minor D
contradiction was concerned, PW6-Constable was not at
all cross-examined in this respect. No suggestion was put
to PW.6, who was examined much later than PW.1 in this
regard. In respect of the first incident, PW.7-1.0. has stated
that he had seen the pits made by Respondent no.1 on E
the western side of the Chak Road in front of his house.
It had not been a suggestion of any person that the pits
had been made by any person from the complainant
party. Presence of the pits was an important
circumstance supporting the prosecution version so far F
as the morning incident was concerned and the High
Court erred gravely by not taking note of this specific
finding by the trial Court. [Para 18) [1196-B-F]
     6. The High Court also fell in error that whilst         G
reaching from the place of occurrence to the police
station, the complainant party covered the distance in
one hour but while coming back in the evening they had
taken a longer time. The time gap was not so much that
it could give rise to any kind of suspicion. Such a trivial
issue could not have been a ground for acquitting the         H
    1182   SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2011] 4 S.C.R.
                                                             •
A accused. More so, no question in this regard was put to
  either of the star witnesses, when they were cross-
  examined. [Para 20] [1197-B]

       7. The High Court further found a material
  contradiction in the statements of PW.1 and PW.5 and
8
  made this one of the grounds for the acquittal of the
  accused observing: "To meet the situation PW5 claims
  that he fell unconscious little after receipt of his injury,
  whereas PW1 stated that he immediately fell unconscious.
  Therefore, it is not possible for him to see and notice his
C assailants. For the said contradictions the testimony of
  this witness cannot be given adequate weightage." In the
  facts of this case, time gap could be only of few minutes,
  thus, it was not even worth taking note of by the High
  Court. [Para 21] (1197-C-F]
D
       8. The High Court also doubted the prosecution
  version on the ground that PW.1 did not suffer any injury
  in the said incident without appreciating his deposition
  that all of them were walking at some distance and he
E was about 7-8. steps behind 'SR' and PW.5 and
  immediately after seeing the accused persons, he ran
  backward. After taking 15-20 steps, he saw that persons
  working in the surrounding fields had started coming
  and then he stopped, and saw the accused taking away
F the arms and ammunitions from 'SR' and PW.5. [Para 22]
  [1197-G-H; 1198-A]

      9. The High Court disbelieved PW.5, who had
  suffered the gun shot injuries. His evidence could not
  have been brushed aside by the High Court without
G assigning cogent reasons. Mere contradictions on trivial
  matters could not render his deposition untrustworthy.
  The evidence of an injured witness must be given due
  weightage being a stamped witness, thus, his presence
  cannot be doubted. His statement is generally
H considered to be very reliable and it is unlikely that he
•           STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.             1183

    ha.s spared the actual assailant in order to falsely A
    implicate someone else. The testimony of an injured
    witness has its own relevancy and efficacy as he has
    sustained injuries at the time and place of occurrence and
    this lends support to his testimony that he was present
    during the occurrence. Thus, the testimony of an injured B
    witness is accorded a special status in law. The witness
    would not like or want to let. his actual assailant go
    unpunished merely to implicate a third person falsely for
    the commission of the offence. Thus, the evidence of the
    injured witness should be relied upon unless there are C
    grounds for the rejection of his evidence on the basis of
    major contradiction.s and discrepancies therein. [Para 23] .
    [1198-A-E] .
         Jarnail Singh v. State of Punjab (2009) 9 SCC 719;
    Balraje @ Trimbak v. State of Maharashtra (2010) 6 SCC 673   D
    and Abdul Sayed v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2010) 10 SCC
    259 - relied on.
        10, The High Court disbelieved both the witnesses
    PW.1 and PW.5 as being closely related to the deceased
    and for not examining any independent witnesses. In a E
    case like this, it may be difficult for the prosecution to
    procure an independent witness, wherein the accused
    had killed one person at the spot and seriously injured
    the other. The independent witness 1t1ay not muster the
    courage to come forward and depose against such F
    accused. A mere relationship cannot be a factor to affect
    credibility of a witness. Evidence of a witness cannot be
    discarded solely on the ground of his relationship with
    the victim of the offence. The plea relating to relatives'
    evidence remains without any substance in case the G
    evidence has credence and it can be relied upon. In such
    a case the defence has to lay foundation if plea of false
    implication is made and the Court has to analyse the ·
    evidence of related witnesses carefully to find out
                                                                 H
    1184    SUPREME COURT REPORTS                (2011] 4 S.C.R.
                                                                    •
A whether it is cogent and credible. (Para 24) (1198-F-H;
  1199-A·B]
        Jarnail Singh v. State of Punjab (2009) 9 SCC 719;
    Vishnu & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan (2009) 10 SCC 477 and
    Balraje@ Trimbak v. State of Maharashtra (2010) 6 SCC 673
B - relied on.
         11. In all criminal cases, normal discrepancies are
    bound to occur in the depositions of witnesses due to
    normal errors of observation, namely, errors of memory
    due to lapse of time or due to mental disposition such as
C   shock and horror at the time of occurrence. Where the
    omissions amount to a contradiction, creating a serious
    doubt about the truthfulness of the witness and other
    witnesses also make material improvement while
    deposing in the court, such evidence cannot be safe to
D   rely    upon.      However,      minor contradictions,
    inconsistencies, embellishments or improvements on
    trivial matters which do not affect the core of the
    prosecution case, should not be made a ground on which
    the evidence can be rejected in its entirety. The court has
E   to form its opinion about the credibility of the witness and
    record a finding as to whether his deposition inspires
    confidence. "Exaggerations per se do not render the
    evidence brittle. But it can be one of the factors to test
    credibility of the prosecution version, when the entire
F   evidence is put in a crucible for being tested on the
    touchstone of credibility." Therefore, mere marginal
    variations in the statements of a witness cannot be
    dubbed as improvements as the same may be
    elaborations of the statement made by the witness earlier.
G   The omissions which amount to contradictions in material
    particulars i.e. go to the root of the case/materially affect
    the trial or core of the prosecution's case, render the
    testimony of the witness liable to be discredited. [Para 25)
    (1199-C-H]
H       State Represented by Inspector of Police v. Saravanan
•      STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.               1185


& Anr. AIR 2009 SC 152; Arumugam v. State AIR 2009 SC         A
331; Mahendra Pratap Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2009)
11 SCC 334 and Dr. Sunil Kumar Sambhudayal Gupta &
Ors. v. State of Maharashtra, JT 2010 (12) SC 287 - relied
                                              I
on
                                                              8
     12. The High Court also fell into error in giving
significance to a trivial issue, namely, that in respect of
the morning incident all the accused had not been named
in the complaint/NCR. It is settled legal proposition that
FIR is not an encyclopedia of the entire case. It may not
and need not contain all the details. Naming of the           C
accused therein may be important but not naming of the
accused in FIR may not be a ground to doubt the
contents thereof in case the statement of the witness is
found to be trustworthy. The court has to determine after
examining the entire factual scenario whether a person        D
has participated in the crime or has· falsely been
implicated. The informant fully acquainted with the facts
may lack necessary skill or ability to reproduce details of
the entire incident without anything missing from this.
Some people may miss even the most important details          E
in narration. Therefore, in case the informant fails to
name a particular accused in the FIR, this ground alone
cannot tilt the balance of the case in favour of the
accused. [Para 26] [1200-C-F]
                                                              F
    Rohtash v. State of Rajasthan (2006)·1-ZSCC 64; Ranjit
Singh & Ors. v. State of Madhya Pradesh JT 2010 12 SC 167
- relied on.

     13. In an appeal against an order of acquittal, the
Court has to scrutinize the facts of the case cautiously.     G
Every accused is presumed to be innocent unless his
guilt is proved. The presumption of innocence is a human
right subject to the statutory exceptions. The said
principle forms the basis of criminal jurisprudence in
India. The law in this regard is well settled that while      H
    1186    SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2011] 4 S.C.R.
                                                                   •
A dealing with a judgment of acquittal, an appellate court
  must consider the entire evidence on record so as to
  arrive at a finding as to whether the views of the trial court
  were perverse or otherwise unsustainable. An appellate
  court must also consider whether the court below has
B placed the burden of proof incorrectly or failed to take
  into consideration any admissible evidence or had taken
  into consideration evidence brought on record contrary
  to law? In exceptional cases, where there are compelling
  circumstances and the judgment in appeal is found to be
C perverse, the appellate court can interfere with the order
  of acquittal. So, in order to warrant interference by the
  appellate court, a finding of fact recorded by the court
  below must be outweighed by evidence or such finding
  if outrageously defies logic as to suffer from the vice of
  irrationality. [Para 27) [1200-F-H; 1201-A-C]
0
       Babu v. State of Kera/a (2010) 9 SCC 189 and Dr. Sunil
    Kumar Sambhudaya/ Gupta & Ors. v. State of Maharashtra
    JT 2010 (12) SC 287 - relied on.

E      14. The Court has to strike a balance in the interest
  of all the parties concerned. Thus, there is an obligation
  on the court neither to give a long latitude to the
  prosecuti~n, nor construe the law in favour of the
  accused. In the instant case, the High Court gravely erred
F in discarding the evidence of PW.1 and P.W.5 as a result
  of merely being relatives of the deceased, 'SR'. The High
  Court further fell into error in not giving due weightage1
  to the deposition of PW.5, a stamped witness, who had
  suffered gun shot injuries. The High Court made too
G much of insignificant discrepancies, which were made
  the basis for acquittal. Thus, the findings recorded by the
  High Court are perverse and cannot be sustained in the
  eyes of law. [Para 28) (1201-F-G]

      15. The judgment passed by the High Court is set
H aside and the judgment of the trial court convicting the
•          STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.               1187


respondents under Sections 302/34, 307/34 and 379/37 of            A
IPC and the sentences so imposed, is restored. [Para 29]
(1201-H; 1202-A]

                        Case Law Reference:

        (2009) 9 sec 119 .         relied oh          Para 23      B

        (201 o) 6 sec 673          relied on          Para 23

        (2010) 10 sec 259          relied on          Para 23
        (2009) 10 sec 477          relied on          Para 24      c
        AIR 2009 SC 152            relied on          Para 25

        AIR 2009 SC 331            relied on          Para 25
        (2009) 11 sec 334          relied on           Para 25
                                                                   D
       · JT 2010 (12) SC 287       relied on           Para 25
        (2006) 12 sec 64           relied on           Para 26
        JT 2010 12 SC 167          relied on           Para 26
                                                                   E
        (2010) 9 sec 189           relied on           Para 27

        CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
    No. 674 of 2006.

        From the Judgment & Order dated 19.05.2004 of the High     F
    Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Appeal No. 2866
    of 1980.

          R.K. Gupta, Mukesh Verma, Pradeep Misra, Suraj Singh
    for the Appellant.                                             G

        Manoj Prasad, Sadashiv Gupta, Vishal Somany for the
    Respondents.

        The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
                                                                   H
    1188     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  (2011) 4 S.C.R.
                                                                        •
A       DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J. 1. This appeal has been
  preferred against the judgment and order dated 19.5.2004
  passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal
  Appeal No.2866/1980, acquitting the respondents by reversing
  the judgment and order dated 9.12.1980, passed by the
B Sessions Judge in Sessions Trial Nos.181 and 182 of 1980,
  convicting the said respondents under sections 302/34, 307/
  34 and 379/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter
  called the · IPC') and sentencing them under the first count to
  life imprisonment, under the second count to rigorous
c imprisonment for 5 years and under the third count to rigorous
  imprisonment for 2 years. However, all the sentences were
  directed to run concurrently.

       2. Facts and circumstances giving rise to this appeal are
  that on 16.10.1979, in the morning Naresh, respondent no.1
0
  herein, started digging the (Chak Road) to create a passage
  from the field of the informant Subedar (PW.1 ). He was stopped
  by Balak Ram (PW.5). Naresh, respondent no.1, not only
  abused Balak Ram (PW.5), but also assaulted him and
  threatened him that he would face dire consequences. With
E regard to this, Balak Ram (PW.5) lodged the complaint of the
  incident at about 9.30 a.m. in Police Station, Kampil, District
  Farukhabad. Balak Ram (PW.5) was accompanied to the
  police station by the informant Subedar (PW.1) and their uncle
  Sri Ram (deceased). Balak Ram (PW.5) and Sri Ram
F (deceased) had a rifle and a gun with them.

        3. After lodging the complaint in the police station, Kampil,
  one of them, went to the market to make some purchases and,
  subsequently, they returned to their village in the evening. While
G coming back to their village Karanpur, from Kampil, at about 5
  p.m. on Kampil - Aliganj Road, as soon as they approached
  the fields of Gajraj and Ganga Ram; they found the four accused
  (respondents herein) emerging out from the bushes armed with
  gun and country made pistols. They hurled abuse at them and
H also opened fire. Sri Ram and Balak Ram (PW.5) received gun
•          STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.
                 [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
                                                               1189


    shot injuries. Sri Ram died on the spot, however, Subedar           A
    (PW.1) escaped unhurt. After hearing a distress cry, some
    persons working in the nearby fields rushed towards the place
    of occurrence. The accused ran away from the place of
    occurrence snatching the gun, rifle and ammunitions from the
    victims.                                                            B

        4. After the arrival of the family members of the victims and
    some villagers at the place of occurrence, Subedar (PW.1)
    went to the police station in Kampil, at a distance Of 6 miles
    from the place of occurrence, and lodged the First Information C
    Report (hereinafter called the "FIR") at 9.30 p.m. naming all the
    accused. Injured Balak Ram (PW.5) was sent for a medical
    examination at Public Health Centre, Kayamganj which was at
    a distance of 20 k.m from the place of occurrence. He was
    examined on the same day by Dr. R.C. Gupta (PW.3) at 10.30
    p.m. The Investigating Officer reached the place of occurrence D
    at 10.15 p.m. on the same night, however, the inquest could
    not be prepared at night due to inadequate light.

         5. Ultimately, inquest proceedings could be started at 6.30
    a.m. on 17.10.1979. The body of Sri Ram (deceased) was              E
    sealed and handed over to Sughar Singh, Constable (PW.9)
    for taking to the mortuary for post-mortem at Fatehgarh. The
    1.0. prepared the site plan and started investigation. As none
    of the accused could be traced, proceedings under Sections
    82-83 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter          F
    called "Cr.P.C.") were initiated on 21.10.1979. For that
    purpose, the Magistrate issued notices on 25.10.1979. In view
    thereof, two accused, namely, Naresh and Shyam Singh
    surrendered on 25.10 .1979 in the court of the Judicial
    Magistrate. The remaining two accused, namely, Bharat and           G
    Jagpal surrendered on 29.10.1979.

          6. After completing the investigation,· a chargesheet was
    filed against all the four accused. They denied their involvement
    in the crime and claimed trial. In order to establish its case      H
    1190     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2011] 4 S.C.R.
                                                                         •
A before the trial Court, the prosecution examined 11 witnesses
  including Subedar (PW.1), informant and Balak Ram (PW.5),
  injured. After concluding the trial, the trial Court convicted and
  sentenced all the four accused as mentioned hereinabove.

B        7. Being aggrieved, all the four convicts preferred Criminal
    Appeal No.2866/1980, before the High Court which has been
    allowed vide judgment and order dated 19.5.2004 (impugned)
    and all the four convicts stood acquitted. Hence, this appeal.

c        8. During the pendency of this appeal before this Court,
    Bharat, one of the accused died and his name stood deleted
    from the array of parties vide order of this Court dated 5.5.2006.
    Thus, we have to deal with three accused, namely, Naresh,
    Jagpal and Shyam Singh.
D
          9. Shri R.K. Gupta, learned counsel appearing for the
    appellant-State has submitted that the High Court has erred in
     reversing the well reasoned judgment of the trial court giving
     unwarranted attention to minor contradictions on trivial matters
    and taking into consideration non-existent facts. The High Court
E    has held that the FIR was ante-timed and ante-dated without
    giving any reason whatsoever. The High Court held that the FIR
    was subject to doubt, though such a finding does not get any
    support from any material on record. The FIR has been lodged
    most promptly considering the distance between the place of
F   occurrence and the police station. Balak Ram (PW.5) - injured
    witness had been examined by Dr. R.C. Gupta (PW.3) within
    a few hours of the incident. Therefore, the finding that the FIR
    was ante-timed _and ante-dated is erroneous and contrary to
    the documents on record. The High Court without giving any
G   cogent reason held that testimony of Balak Ram (PW.5) who
    suffered gun shot injuries, was not worth believing. Such a view
    is contrary to the consistent and persistent view taken by this
    Court time and again that the presence of injured witness
    cannot be doubted and his version of events can,· even in
H   exceptional circumstances, be relied upon with care and


                                                                         •
                                                                         •
                                                                         •
•       STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.
              [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
                                                             1191


caution. The High Court reversed the trial court's judgment also      A
on the ground that not a single independent witness has been
examined by the prosecution. Such a finding has been recorded
without considering the fact that incident occurred in the evening
at a considerable distance from the village on the road and
some persons had arrived after hearing the hue and cry by             B
Balak Ram (PW.5) and Subedar (PW.1). By that time, the
accused had run away, snatching the arms of the victims. In
view thereof, the appeal deserves to be allowed and the
judgment and order of the High Court is liable to be set aside.

      10. On the contrary, Shri Manoj Prasad, learned counsel
                                                                      c
appearing for the respondents, has vehemently opposed the
appeal contending that the incident occurred three decades
ago. The respondents have been acquitted by the High Court
after considering all the material on record. In respect of the       D
incident that occurred on the morning of 16.10.1979, Balak
Ram (PW.5) lodged the complaint on the basis of which NCR
was recorded, wherein only Naresh, accused had been named.
The not naming of the other accused is a good ground for
rejecting the prosecution case in its entirety. The finding of fact
recorded by the High Co.urt cannot be said to be perverse             E
warranting interference by this Court. No recovery of arms and
ammunitions had been made from the respondents/accused.
The rifle and gun which were allegedly snatched from the victims
had been recovered after a long time from the dacoits killed in
an encounter in District Etah. The High Court has rightly             F
disbelieved Balak Ram (PW.5) on the basis of material
contradictions in his deposition. This Court has laid down
definite parameters for interference with the order of acquittal
and this case does not fa:I within those parameters. Thus, there
is no cogent reason for this Court to interfere with the same.        G
Prosecution suppressed the true genesis of the incident and
enroped the respondents due to pre-existing enmity. The
prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Thus, no interference is warranted, the appeal lacks merit and
is liable to be dismissed.                                            H
    1192     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2011] 4 S.C.R.
                                                                        •
A        11. We have considered the rival submissions made by
    learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

        12. The admitted facts of the case remained that the
  incident occurred on the morning of 16.10.1979 in respect of
B which the NCR was recorded by the police station in Kampil,
  naming Naresh as one of the accused. The FIR, in respect of
  the incident that occurred on the same day in the evening, was
  lodged within 3-1/2 hours of the time of incident at police
  station, Kampil at a distance of about 6 miles from the place
C of occurrence; the 1.0. reached the place of occurrence at 10.15
  p.m. Balak Ram (PW.5) injured, had been examined in the
  Public Health Centre, Kayamganj at 10.30 p.m. on the same
  day by Dr. R.C. Gupta (PW.3) at a distance of 20 k.m. from
  the place of occurrence.

D        13. Dr. R.C. Gupta (PW.3)" found the following injuries on
    the person of Balak Ram (PW.5):

          (i) Two abrasions in a area of 1 cm x X cm over outer side
    of right forearm, lower part. Scab not formed.
E
         (ii) Gun shot wound of entry 4 cm x 2 cm x through and
    through over inner aspect of right thigh middle part. Margins are
    irregular and inverted. Blackening and tattooing around the
    wound absent. Direction is down and lateral. Oozing of fresh
F   blood from the wound present. Advised X-ray.

        (iii) Guns shot wound of exit 17 cm x 8 cm x through and
  through over outer side of right thigh 5 cm above the right knee
  joint. Margins are irregular and everted. Blackening and
G tattooing absent. Oozing of fresh blood present. Advised X-ray.

        Injury No.1 is caused by friction. Injury Nos.2 and 3 are
  caused by projectile firearm. Injury No.1 is simple in nature.
  Injury nos.2 and 3 are kept under observation. Advised X-ray
H right thigh. Duration fresh.
•       STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.
              [DR. S.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
                                                           1193


     Dr. Anil Kumar Dubey (PW.2) conducted the post-mortem          A
examination on the body of Sri Ram (deceased) and found the
following ante-mortem external injury on his corpse:-

     (i) Circular gun shot wound of entry 1" in diameter and
chest cavity deep situated on the right side of the back of the     s
chest, 3" below the lower angle of the right scapula and 3" away
from the mid line in the direction of 3 O' clock. The margins of
the wound were inverted and charred.

     On internal examination of the corpse of Sri Ram, Dr.          C
Dubey found 6th, 7th and 8th ribs broken under the external
injury said above. Beneath, he found the pleura and the right
lung lacerated. All the four chambers of the heart were empty.
He found 2 lbs of free blood in thoracic cavity. The upper lobe
of the liver was lacerated. Right side of the diaphragm also was    D
lacerated. The stomach was empty. The intestines had faecal
matter and gas. In the thorax Dr. Dubey had found a piece of
wadding and 20 small shots respectively Exc.1 and 2.

     14. The trial Court after considering the evidence on record
came to the conclusion that the FIR had been lodged most            E
promptly at about 9.30 p.m. on the same date naming all the
four accused. The High Court doubted the FIR and labeled the
same to be ante-timed or ante-dated. Deposition of Constable
Sughar Singh (PW.9) before the court revealed that the dead
body had been handed over to him for the purpose of post-           F
mortem on 17.10.1979 at 8 a.m. after having panchnama and
sealing thereof, he reached Fatehgarh Police line along with
Constable Ram Chand in a Tonga and got the entry made in
the Rojnamcha. Post-mortem was conducted on 18-10-1979
at about noon on his identification of the dead body. The dead      G
body remained in sealed condition throughout and nobody had
any occasion to touch it. Record further reveals that Constable
Sughar Singh (PW.9) was not cross-examined by any of the
respondents accused nor any such question had been put to
Dr. AK. Dubey (PW.2) who had conducted the post-mortem              H
    1194    SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  (2011) 4 S.C.R.
                                                                       •
A   in this regard. According to Dr. Dubey, Sri Ram could have died
    on 16.10.1979 at about 5-7 p.m. He has not been cross-
    examined as to under what circumstances the post-mortem
    could not have been conducted at an earlier point of time.

B       15. The High Court has believed the theory put forward by
  the defence that the guns looted from the victims had been
  recovered from the dacoits who were killed in an encounter on
  14-15 November, 1979 in Etah District. Therefore, there had
  been some manipulation in the prosecution's case. None of the
C respondents accused had taken this defence in their statement
  under 313 Cr.P.C. Naresh, respondent no.1 had stated that he
  was not aware of the same. When a specific question was put
  to him he replied that he had also heard that in an encounter 6
  dacoits had been killed in District Etah and some arms and
  ammunitions had been recovered from them. He had not stated
D anywhere that the said arms and ammunitions had been looted
  by those dacoits or had been recovered from them. This
  suggestion was also put to Balak Ram (PW.5) when examined
  on 30.8.1980 and he has stated that he had not been aware
  that their rifle and gun had been recovered from the dacoits
E killed in an encounter in District Etah. In fact, Inspector
  Charanpal Singh (PW.11) had deposed first time on
  11.11.1980 that 6 dacoits had been killed in an encounter in
  District Etah and some arms and ammunitions were recovered
  from them and out of the said recovered arms, namely, rifle -
F Ex.7, gun -Ex.8 and some ammunitions- Ex.9 were produced
  in the court.

        16. The High Court has doubted the case of the
  prosecution for non-recovery of the arms from the respondents
G accused. The High Court failed to appreciate that as the
  incident occurred on 16.10.1979 and none of these accused
  were traceable, the Investigating Officer filed an application for
  initiating proceedings under Sections 82-83 Cr.P.C. on
  21.10.1979. Proceedings of attachment of immovable property
H were.drawn on 25.10.1979. In consequence thereof, two
•       STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.
              [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
                                                          1195


accused surrendered in the court on 25.10.1979 and the            A
remaining two surrendered on 29.10.1979. Meanwhile, S. I.
Brijendra Singh (PW.7), the 1.0. stood transferred to another
police station and the investigation could not be carried out
smoothly. Thus, such a ground would not be sufficient to
discredit the prosecution case.                                   B

      17. The High Court has given undue weightage to the
suggestion made by defence that Surjan Singh, Inspector of
U.P. Police, brother of Balak Ram (PW.5) had been an
instrument to the manipulation of the record, though such a C
suggestion was denied by S.I. Brijendra Singh (PW.7), the 1.0.,
stating that Surjan Singh did not meet him on 17.10.1979, but
he had met him at a later stage but he could not give the exact
date of meeting. The High Court had unnecessarily doubted his
statement without realising that his statement had been
                                                                   0
recorded in the court on 30.8.1980 after about 11 months. The
High Court has given undue importance to the minor
contradictions in the statement of Subedar (PW.1) and Balak
Ram (PW.5) as one of them had stated that the 1.0. reached
the place of occurrence at 10.15 p.m. and another has stated
that he reached about mid night. The incident occurred in mid E
October 1979. This is the time when the winter starts and in
such a fact-situation no person is supposed to keep record of
exact time particularly in a rural area. Everybody deposes
according to his estimate. More so, the statement had been
recorded after a long lapse of time. Therefore, a.margin of 1- F
1/2 hours remained merely a trivial issue. The High Court had
taken a very serious note of the statement of Balak Ram
(PW.5) in respect of the first incident wherein he had stated that
Naresh, the accused, had initially abused him and then beaten
him with danda but in the FIR he had stated that accused Naresh G
had given blow with butt-end of the spade. There was minor
contradiction in the statements of Subedar (PW.1) and Balak
Ram (PW.5) in respect of the first incident of the same date
and minor variations in their statements which persuaded the
High Court to disbelieve the presence of Subedar (PW.1) in H
    1196     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  (2011] 4 S.C.R.
                                                                        •
A   the morning incident.

        18. The trial Court had taken note of the first incident that
  occurred in the morning and considered the same in correct
  prospective, that in the morning incident Balak Ram (PW.5) got
B an injury on his arm as has been found by Dr. R.C. Gupta
  (PW.3) and not on the head. The statement made by Balak
  Ram (PW.5) may not be correct in this regard for the reason
  that he could not remember that he got the injury on his arm
  and not on the head. This version is duly supported by the NCR
c shown by (Ex. Ka.6). Had there been any concoction in the said
  NCR (Ex. Ka.6), either with the police personnel at Kampil
  Police Station or at the behest of Inspector Surjan Singh,
  brother of Balak Ram (PW.5), then there could not have been
  any discrepancy in the contents thereof. So far as this minor
  contradiction was concerned, Constable Shiv Nath Singh
0
  (PW.6) was not at all cross-examined in this respect. No
  suggestion was put to Constable Shiv Nath Singh (PW.6), who
  was examined much later than Subedar (PW.1) in this regard.
  In respect of the first incident S.I. Brijendra Singh (PW. 7), the
  1.0., has stated that he had seen the pits made by Naresh,
E accused on the western side of the Chak Road in front of his
  house. It had not been a suggestion of any person that the pits
  had been made by any person from the complainant party.
  Presence of the pits was an important circumstance supporting
  the prosecution version so far as the morning incident was
F concerned and the High Court erred gravely not taking note of
  this specific finding by the trial Court.

        19. The High Court had doubted the prosecution case that
  if in respect of the first incident NCR had been lodged in the
G morning, why had the complainant party stayed at Kampil for
  the whole day? The trial Court had recorded a finding after
  scrutiny of the evidence that 12 rowdy persons had been taken
  into custody and that the police officers of that police station
  remained pre-occupied with that particular dispute and so not
H
•       STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.
              [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
                                                              1197


a single constable was available to come with the complainants.      A

     20. The High Court also fell in error that whilst reaching
from the place of occurrence to the police station, the
complainant party covered the distance in one hour but while
coming back in the evening they had taken a longer time. The         B
time gap was not so much that it could give rise to any kind of
suspicion. Such a trivial issue could not have been a ground
for acquitting the accused. More so, no question in this regard
was put to either of the star witnesses, when they were cross-
examined.                                                            c
     21. The High Court has further found a material
contradiction in the statements of Subedar (PW.1) and Balak
Ram (PW.5) and had made this one of the grounds for the
acquittal of the accused observing:
                                                                     D
    "To meet the situation Balak Ram claims that he fell
    unconscious little after receipt of his injury, whereas
    Subedar Singh stated that he immediately fell unconscious.
    Therefore, it is not possible for him to see and notice his.
    assailants. For the said contradictions the testimony of this    E
    witness cannot be given adequate weightage."
                                                                         ~   ..
    In the facts of this case, time gap could be only of few             '

    minutes, thus, it was not even worth taking note of by the
    High Court.                                                      F

     22. The High Court has doubted the prosecution version
also on the ground that Subedar (PW.1) did not suffer any injury
in the said incident without appreciating his deposition that all
of them were walking at some distance and he was about 7-8           G
steps behind Sri Ram (deceased) and Balak Ram (PW.5) and
immediately after seeing the accused persons, he ran
backward. After taking 15-20 steps, he saw that persons
working in the surrounding fields had started coming and then
he stopped, and saw the accused taking awafthe artns an,d            H
                                               ~ •. t '   •
    1198     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2011] 4 S.C.R.
    ammunitions from Sri Ram (deceased) and Balak Ram (PW.5).
                                                                        •
A
        23. The High Court has disbelieved Balak Ram (PW.5),
    who had suffered the gun shot injuries. His evidence could not
    have been brushed aside by the High Court without assigning
    cogent reasons. Mere contradictions on trivial matters could not
    render his deposition untrustworthy.
8
       The evidence of an injured witness must be given due
  weightage being a stamped witness, thus, his presence cannot
  be doubted. His statement is generally considered to be very
  reliable and it is unlikely that he has spared the actual assailant
C in order to falsely implicate someone else. The testimony of an
  injured witness has its own relevancy and efficacy as he has
  sustained injuries at the time and place of occurrence and this
  lends support to his testimony that he was present during the
  occurrence. Thus, the testimony of an injured witness is
D accorded a special status in law. The witness would not like or
  want to let his actual assailant go unpunished merely to
  implicate a third person falsely for the commission of the
  offence. Thus, the evidence of the injured witness should be
  relied upon unless there are grounds for the rejection of his
E evidence on the basis of major contradictions and
  discrepancies therein. [Vide: Jarnail Singh v. State of Punjab,
  (2009) 9 SCC 719; Balraje @ Trimbak v. State of
  Maharashtra, (2010) 6 SCC 673; and Abdul Sayed v. State
  of Madhya Pradesh, (2010) 10 SCC 259].
F
        24. The High Court disbelieved both the witnesses
  Subedar (PW.1) and Balak Ram (PW.5) as being closely
  related to the deceased and for not examining any independent
  witnesses. In a case like this, it may be difficult for the
G prosecution to procure an independent witness, wherein the
  accused had killed one person at the spot and seriously injured
  the other. The independent witness may not muster the courage
  to come forward and depose against such accused. A mere
  relationship cannot be a factor to affect credibility of a witness.   •
H Evidence of a witness cannot be discarded solely on the ground

                                                                        •
                                                                        •
•         STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.
                [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
                                                                1199


 of his relationship with the victim of the offence. The plea relating   A
 to relatives' evidence remains without any substance in case
 the evidence has credence and it can be relied upon. In such
 a case the defence has to lay foundation if plea of false
 implication is made and the Court has to analyse the evidence
 of related witnesses carefully to find out whether it is cogent and     B
 credible. [Vide Jamai/ Singh (supra), Vishnu & Ors. v. State
 of Rajasthan, (2009) 10 SCC 477; and Ba/raje @ Trimbak
 (supra)).

       25. In all criminal cases, normal discrepancies are bound         c
  to occur in the depositions of witnesses due to normal errors
  of observation, namely, errors of memory due to lapse of time
  or due to mental disposition such as shock and horror at the
  time of occurrence. Where the omissions amount to a
  contradiction, creating a serious doubt about the truthfulness of      D
  the witness and other witnesses also make material
! improvement while deposing in the court, such evidence cannot

  be safe to rely upon. However, minor contradictions,
  inconsistencies, embellishments or improvements on trivial
  matters which do not affect the core of the prosecution case,          E
  should not be made a ground on which the evidence can be
  rejected in its entirety. The court has to form its opinion about
  the credibility of the witness and record a finding as to whether
  his deposition inspires confidence. "Exaggerations per se do
  not render the evidence brittle. But it can be one of the factors
  to test credibility of the prosecution version, when the entire        F
  evidemce is put in a crucible for being tested on the touchstone
  of credibility." Therefore, mere marginal variations in the
  statements of a witness cannot be dubbed as improvements
  as the same may be elaborations of the statement made by
  the witness earlier. The omissions which amount to                     G
  contradictions in material particulars i.e. go to the root of the
  case/materially affect the trial or core of the prosecution's case,
  render the testimony of the witness liable to be discredited.
  [Vide: State Represented by Inspector of Police v. Saravanan
  & Anr., AIR 2009 SC 152; Arumugam v. State, AIR 2009 SC                H
    1200     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2011] 4 S.C.R.     •
A 331; Mahendra Pratap Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2009)
  11 SCC 334; and Dr. Sunil Kumar Sambhudaya/ Gupta &
  Ors. v. State of Maharashtra, JT 2010 (12) SC 287].

         26. The High Court has also fallen into error in giving
8   significance to a trivial issue, namely, that in respect of the
    morning incident all the accused had not been named in the
    complaint/NCR.

        It is settled legal proposition that FIR is not an
C encyclopedia of the entire case. It may not and need not
  contain all the details. Naming of the accused therein may be
  important but not naming of the accused in FIR may not be a
  ground to doubt the contents thereof in case the statement of
  the witness is found to be trustworthy. The court has to determine
  after examining the entire factual scenario whether a person has
D participated in the crime or has falsely been implicated. The
  informant fully acquainted with the facts may lack necessary skill
  or ability to reproduce details of the entire incident without
  anything missing from this. Some people may miss even the
  most important details in narration. Therefore, in case the
E informant fails to name a particular accused in the FIR, this
  ground alone cannot tilt the balance of the case in favour of the
  accused. [Vide: Rohtash v. State of Rajasthan, (2006) 12 sec
  64; and Ranjit Singh & Ors. v. State of Madhya Pradesh, JT
  2010 12 SC 167].
F
         27. We are fully aware of the fact that we are entertaining
    the appeal against the order of acquittal. Thus, the Court has
    to scrutinize the facts of the case cautiously and knowing the
    parameters fixed by this Court in this regard.
G
       Every accused is presumed to be innocent unless his guilt
  is proved. The presumption of innocence is a human right
  subject to the statutory exceptions. The said principle forms the
  basis of criminal jurisprudence in India. The law in this regard
H is well settled that while dealing with a judgment of acquittal,
•       STATE OF U.P. v. NARESH AND ORS.
              [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.)
                                                              1201


an appellate court must consider the entire evidence on record          A
so as to arrive at a finding as to whether the views of the trial
court were perverse or otherwise unsustainable. An appellate
court must also consider whether the court below has placed
the burden of proof incorrectly or failed to take into
consideration any admissible evidence or had taken into                 B
consideration evidence brought on record contrary to law? In
exceptional cases, whether there are compelling circumstances
and the judgment in appeal is found to be perverse, the
appellate court can interfere with the order of acquittal. So, in
order to warrant interference by the appellate court, a finding         c
of fact recorded by the court below must be outweighed
evidence or such finding if outrageously defies logic as to suffer
from the vice of irrationality. [Vide: Babu v. State of Kera/a,
(2010) 9 SCC 189; and Dr. Sunil Kumar Sambudayal Gupta
& Ors. (supra)].
                                                                        D
      28. The instant case is required to be examined in the
totality of the circumstances and in the light of the aforesaid legal
propositions. The Court has to strike a balance in the interest
of all the parties concerned. Thus, there is an obligation on the
court neither to give a long latitude to the prosecution, nor           E
construe the law in favour of the accused. In view of the
aforesaid analysis of facts and evidence on record, we reach
the inescapable conclusion that the High Court has gravely
erred in discarding the evidence of Subedar (PW.1) and Balak
Ram (P.W.5) as a result of merely being relatives of the                F
deceased, Sri Ram. The High Court further fell into error in not
giving due weightage to the deposition of Balak Ram (P.W.5),
a stamped witness, who had suffered gun shot injuries. The
High Court made too much of insignificant discrepancies,
which were made the basis for acquittal. Thus, we are of the            G
considered opinion that the findings recorded by the High Court
are perverse and cannot be sustained in the eyes of law.

    29. Thus, the appeal is, accordingly, allowed. Judgment
and order dated 19.5.2004 passed by the High Court is hereby            H
   1202     SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2011) 4 S.C.R.    •
A set aside and the judgment and order of the trial cou;t dated
  9.12.1980 passed in Sessions Trial No. 181and182of1980
  convicting the respondents under Sections 302/34, 307/34 and
  379/37 of IPC and the sentences so imposed, is restored. As
  the respondents have been acquitted by the High Court, the
B copy of the order be sent to the Chief Judicial Magistrate,
  Farukhabad, to take the respondents into custody and send
  them to jail to serve the unserved part of the sentence.

   B.B.B.                                     Appeal allowed.