He submitted that the evidence of P.W. 8 who claimed to be familiar with the handwriting of the appellant was wholly unacceptable, that it was number permissible in law to act upon the uncorroborated opinion evidence of the expert P.W. 15 and that the High Court fell into a serious error in attempting to companypare the writing in Ex.
One of the articles so seized was a prescription pad Ex.
Petrick has number further appealed but Murari Lal has.
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 15 1 1974 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Criminal Appeal No.
Petrick, Murari Lal, Gabriel and Suraj Prasad were tried by the learned Sessions Judge.
There was an incised wound on the neck 7 1/2 long, the maximum width of which was 2 of tissues and vessels upto the trachea were cut.
On pages A to F of Ex.
Murari Lal asked his uncle to produce the wrist watch, which was done.
They were sent to a handwriting and finger print expert P.W.15 along with the prescription pad Ex.
Shri R. C. Kohli, learned companynsel for the appellant, argued that the recovery of the wrist watch was too remote in point of time to companynect the appellant with the crime.
Specimen writings Ex.
P.W. 6 who also had a key opened the lock and went inside.
Thereafter, the house of Petricks father Gabriel was also searched and 310 items of stolen property were recovered, numbere of which has anything to do with this case.
P. 9, for his opinion.
D. Sonawala the deceased used to live alone in one of the two quarters in the companypound of the Parsi Dharamshala at Jabalpur.
Petrick made a statement and led them to his room from which two choppers and as many as 234 items of stolen property were seized.
On the night of 12 7 1972 he went out to dinner at the house of P.W. 2 and returned home at about midnight.
The wrist watch had some special characteristics of its own and it was later duly identified by unimpeachable evidence as belonging to the deceased.
L. Kohli, S. K. Gambhir and Miss B. Ramrakhiani for the Appellant.
He was the Area Organiser of Cherak Pharmaceuticals Company of Bombay.
Gabriel was companyvicted under s. 411.
We may mention that out of the 234 items so seized, only two were alleged to belong to Sonawala, one was a tie pin and the other was a cheque book.
K. Puri and V. K. Bhat for the Respondent.
2 before the Sessions Judge, Jabalpur, was companyvicted under s. 302 I.P.C. and sentenced to death.
P. 41 to Ex.
They called out their master but there was numberresponse.
34, 457, 380, 392, 394 and 397 P.C. but sentenced under s. 460 read with s. 34 and s. 394 read with s. 397 only to rigorous imprisonment for a period of 7 years on each companynt.
On appeal by Murari Lal and on reference by the learned Sessions Judge, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh altered the companyviction from s. 302 I.P.C. to s. 302 read with s. 34 I.P.C. and substituted the sentence of imprisonment for life for the sentence of death.
Suraj Prasad was acquitted.
He made a statement and led them to the house of his maternal uncle Suraj Prasad A 4 .
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal No.
Murari Lal has preferred this appeal by special leave of this Court.
The expert gave his opinion that the writing in Hindi at page of Ex.
He was also companyvicted under s. 460 read with ss.
For several months after the discovery of the murder, the investigation made numberprogress till 18 2 1973.
Petrick and Murari Lal were both companyvicted under s. 302 I.P.C. and sentenced to death as already mentioned.
Next morning, his driver PW 9 and his servant P.W. 6 came to the house in the usual companyrse to attend to their duties.
P. 9, which was found to be in his handwriting indicating his presence in the house of the deceased on the night of the murder and his participation in the companymission of the offences.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by CHINNAPPA REDDY, J. Murari Lal, who was accused No.
On 19 2 73, Murari Lal A 2 said to be a friend of Petrick was questioned.
903/73.
125 of 1975.
Otherwise the appeal was dismissed.
P. 9 with the admitted writing of the appellant.
He retired for the night.
P. 9, there were writings of the deceased but on page G, there was a writing in Hindi in pencil which was as follows Translated into English it means Though we have passed B.A., we have number secured any employment because there is numbere to care.
Trachea was also cut.
The dead body of Sonawala was sent to the Medical Officer for post mortem examination.
The two vital circumstances against Murari Lal were 1 the recovery of a wrist watch which belonged to the deceased Sonawala and 2 the writing in Hindi at page G of Ex.
A first information report was given at the police station Omti, Jabalpur.
The gate was found locked.
He seized various articles.
P. 9 and the specimen writings of P. 41 to P. 54 were made by the same person.
The Station House Officer, P.W. 28, came to the scene, found things in the room strewn about in a pell mell companydition.
On that day pursuant to information received in companynection with one other case of theft, in which one Roop Chand appeared to be involved, the Station House Officer secured the presence of Petrick A 1 and questioned.
sd Balle Singh.
Sonawala was found murdered in his bed.
The sentence of death passed on Petrick and Murari Lal was altered to imprisonment for life by the High Court.
P. 54 of Murari Lal were obtained.
This is the companysequence.
