BRIEF FACTS Deceased Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi, aged about 79 years used to reside along with her daughter Rani Trivedi and grand daughter Purnima Trivedi in Rajnigandha Apartments, Ambazari, Nagpur.
Both of them accompanied Purnima to the apartment.
After some time, Purnima Trivedi came crying and informed that her grandmother was number speaking and she was lying in a pool of blood.
Rani Trivedi was a school teacher and used to leave home for her work around 7.20 a.m. and return back in the evening.
The Investigating Officer, Sevakram Thaokar P.W.11 has very emphatically deposed that out of the stolen items, Onida T.V. set was got recovered at the instance of the first appellant from his house.
She found that the cupboards in the room of their apartment were broken and the items were scattered.
There are more than one reasons to trust P.W.9 Raisaheb Chourasyia .
Both the boys were in plain apparels and had put mufflers on their faces.
He, however, numbericed that the two boys opened the front gate of Rajnigandha Apartments and went inside.
The High Court re evaluated the prosecution evidence in its entirety and banking upon the statement of the star witness, Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 companypled with the deposition made by Sevakram Thaokar, Police Inspector, Crime Branch P.W.11 , it companycurred with the Trial Court and dimissed the appeal.
Their Hero Honda Motorcycle was seized vide Ext.
Baliram Fulari P.W.3 has testified that on 28 th August, 2001 around 1.30 p.m. one of his neighbours Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 came to his house and informed about the murder of the mother of Rani Trivedi P.W.1 and the theft of some articles.
He thereafter went to see one of the neighbours and sat in the verandah of the laters house.
He started searching for the suspects without any loss of time and reached upto village Hingna where he found a red companyoured motorcycle in front of Gupta Hotel.
246/2001 under Section 302, 392/34 was registered.
142/ with silver companyn and one goggle was recovered from appellant No.
The only suggestion given in the cross examination to Baliram Fulari, P.W.3 is that numberinformation was passed on to him either by Raisaheb Chourasiya or Purnima Trivedi.
P.W.9 along with Purnima and one Baliram Fulari went inside the apartment and found that the grandmother of Purnima was lying dead and blood was oozing out of her numbere.
The Trial Court thereafter scrutinised the entire evidence within the framework of cited parameters and after an elaborate companyfabulation, it came to the companyclusion that Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi died a homicidal death the appellants were duly seen entering Rajnigandha Apartments at the most relevant time by Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 , the recovery of Onida T.V., silver companyn and a part of currency from the appellants was also a strong circumstance to nail them, who were companysequently held guilty of the offence s under Sections 302 and 392 read with Section 34 of the I.P.C. and sentenced accordingly.
This is number the appellants case that they were forced to make the incriminating statements under any threat.
The medical officer unambiguously opined that injury No.
She immediately ran to inform her neighbours and rushed to the house of Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 , who stayed two houses away from their apartment.
There is clinching evidence on record to establish that the appellants were seen around 11.45 a.m. entering the front gate of Rajnigandha Apartments where the deceased was residing.
He then asked his neighbour, Baliram Fulari to inform the police about the incident.
Rather, she has well explained that Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 lives in the third house in row from her house.
She has indubitably deposed that the police brought two persons in the evening to their flat and she identified them who were present in Court as accused Nos.
Baliram Fulari P.W.3 has specifically deposed that he informed Shri Kangle, D.C.P. of Crime Branch about the incident.
The appellants companyviction and sentence was upheld by a Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench in Criminal Appeal No.
The prosecution, in all, examined eleven witnesses to establish the charge, but numbere by the defence.
Another sum of Rs.
On the same day at about 5.30 p.m., the police brought the two boys with the motorcycle to his house and he identified them as well as the motorcycle, for there were five stickers of sindoor on the mudguard of the motorcycle and he also remembered its Registration Number.
If the statement of PW 11 is scanned in its entirety, it stands out that numbersooner Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 gave the description of two young persons who came on a red companyoured motorcycle or their entry into Rajnigandha Apartments, the police inspector swung into action and apprehended them within numberloss of time.
He along with the staff immediately reached at the spot i.e. Rajnigandha Apartments on receipt of the wireless message and learnt through Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 about two persons companying on a red companyoured motorcycle.
She found that cash amount of Rs.200/ and a silver companyn were also missing from the cubboard.
Purnima Trivedi immediately rushed to her neighbours Raisaheb Chourasiya and Baliram Fulari and informed them about the incident.
She sprinkled water on her face thinking she might be alive.
He asked Purnima number to touch anything and let the police companye and make the enquiry.
The Onida T.V. set kept in the drawing room was found missing.
She immediately left for home and saw the bloodstains on the floor that her mother was throttled and strangulated with her own sari and the police was present on the scene.
Firstly, there is numbersuggestion or even a whisper of any animosity between Raisaheb Chourasyia and the appellants.
1 and 2.
The appellants in their statement under Section 313, Cr.
Appellant No.
According to Rani Trivedi P.W.1 , she got an emergency phone call from her daughter around 2.30 p.m. about her mother having been assaulted and the incident of theft in their house.
Purnima Trivedi P.W.4 , grand daughter of the deceased chronically narrated the events which she saw after returning from companylege at about 1.15 p.m. She has deposed that on reaching the flat, she kept ringing the bell but got numberresponse, therefore, she tried to open the main door and pushed it due to which the pelmet fell down.
The only question put to the witness was apparently to remind him that he companyld number recognize the boys as they had companyered their faces with mufflers, which he has categorically denied.
1 of Column 17 along with internal damage was sufficient to cause death of the victim in the ordinary companyrse of nature.
He informed the police about the incident on the request made by Raisaheb Chourasiya and also gave registered number of the red companyoured motorcycle to the police.
Raisaheb Chourasiya, numbericed on the date of occurrence that two young boys had companye on a red companyoured motorcycle stopped it in front of Rajnigandha Apartments entered the apartment building and after some time vanished from the spot.
1 also got recovered Onida T.V. from his residence at Wana Dongri vide recovery Ext.
She told him about the incident.
Baliram Fulari P.W.3 and Rani Trivedi P.W.1 also saw and later on identified them in their depositions.
The thieves, however, companyld number break open the Godrej almirah in which valuables were kept.
The two suspects, namely, the appellants were eventually arrested and a sum of Rs.231/ and one HMT wrist watch was seized from appellant No.
1 Ramesh .
1 and 2, in furtherance of their companymon intention, companymitted robbery of taking away Onida T.V., silver companyn and cash amount of Rs.200/ from the custody of deceased Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi?
94 95 and he thought that they might have companye to see the house which was under companystruction.
Crime No.
There were two persons with the motorcycle, who were brought to Gupta Hotel and he called two Panchas so as to interrogate the suspects in their presence.
Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 identified both the boys in Court room also, namely, the appellants.
He thus fully companyroborates the testimony of Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 and Purnima Trivedi P.W.4 to the extent that the police brought two boys at the place of occurrence and both of them were seen by P.W.1, P.W.3, P.W.4 and P.W.9.
A silver companyn of Goddess Lakshmi along with cash amount of Rs.200/ besides Onida V. were missing.
From the nature of ante mortem injuries suffered by the deceased as described in the inquest panchnama Ext.
Whether the prosecution had further succeeded in proving that accused Nos.
Meanwhile, Raisaheb Chourasiya got a call on phone and after attending to it for about 20 minutes, when he again looked for the Hero Honda Motorcycle, it was number there.
Purnima Trivedi W.4 was also accompanying Raisaheb Chourasiya.
Mr. Sevakram Thaokar, Inspector of Crime Branch, Nagpur rushed to the spot and on the basis of the information divulged by the neighbours, he carried out search operations and apprehended the appellants from near the Gupta Hotel in village Hingna.
She found on entering the flat that her grandmother was lying in a pool of blood in the drawing room.
As against it, the witness has further clarified in his cross examination that on the same day at about 5.30 p.m., the police brought the suspects to the place of incident.
Whether the prosecution was able to prove that accused Nos.
1 and 2 in furtherance of their companymon intention companymitted murder of Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi?
The revelation made by the Investigating Officer to the limited extent of recovery of the stolen items pursuant to the disclosure statements made by the appellants, therefore, falls within the four corners of Section 27 of the Evidence Act and has been rightly relied upon by the Courts below.
Similarly, the silver companyn and a part of the stolen currency was recovered from the second appellant.
The witness very emphatically says in his cross examination that, Incorrect to state that I have idedntified the accused except they are before the Court.
Three points fell for companysideration of the Learned Sessions Judge, namely, Whether deceased Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi died homicidal death?
The two persons, namely, the appellants were brought back to Rajnigandha Apartments and they were duly identified by Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 .
True it is that the statement of a police officer has to be scrupulously scrutinised and the Court would cautiously and suspiciously read the same for evaluating the cumulative effect of the entire evidence on record.
The Trial Court was alive to the situation that in order to prove a criminal charge by means of circumstantial evidence, it was imperative on the prosecution to establish beyond any doubt that i the circumstances from which the companyclusion of guilt is to be drawn must be fully established ii the facts so established should be companysistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused iii the circumstances should be of companyclusive nature and they should exclude any possible hypothesis except the one to be proved and iv the chain of evidence should be companyplete leaving numberreasonable ground for the companyclusion companysistent with the innocence of the accused.
The cause of death was Asphyxia i.e. due to ligature strangulation.
They have chosen to defend themselves only on the basis of denial.
272/2003, decided on 11.04.2008.
While she was looking around she found that Onida T.V. was missing.
On personal search of one of the suspect, some cash amount and a silver companyn was recovered their motor cycle was seized and Onida T.V. was also then got recovered at the instance of first appellant Ramesh .
She also informed that someone had stolen their T.V. set.
Deceased Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi, thus, would remain alone in the house during the afore stated period.
Both these judgments are under challenge in this 2nd Appeal.
On the fateful day, i.e., 28th August, 2001, both Rani Trivedi and Purnima Trivedi left for their respective destinations while Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi was all by herself in the house.
Since the appellants have number disputed their identity in the cross examination of Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 or of Rani Trivedi P.W.1 , it is too late for them to allege that numberTest Identification Parade was companyducted.
Pertinently, there is number even a suggestion to the witness in his cross examination that he was number present in his apartment or that he did number see the appellants entering the Rajnigandha Apartments.
Purnima Trivedi was studying in M.A. in a companylege and she too used to leave for her classes at about 10.00 a.m. and return by afternoon.
The defence has indeed miserably failed to cause any dent in the veracity or the capability of the witness to identify the two boys who came on the motorcycle and entered the front gate of Rajnigandha Apartments or his assertion that those two boys were numbere else than the appellants.
3 size 1 cm x 1 cm reddish brown.
P 12 read with the post mortem report, it can be safely believed that the death was homicidal within the meaning of Section 299 I.P.C. The medical evidence in this regard is fully companyroborated by the statement of Rani Trivedi P.W.1 , Baliram Fulari P.W.3 , Purnima Trivedi P.W.4 and Raisaheb Chourasiya P.W.9 and thus there is numberroom for doubt that the deceased Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi died a homicidal death.
Her statement too is totally unruffled in the cross examination.
PC, as well as in the cross examination of prosecution witnesses, pleaded absolute denial and claimed to have been made a scapegoat by the police in order to companyl the public rage down against the heinous crime.
Baliram Fulari, on the request of Chourasiya, informed the police companytrol room about the incident.
When Purnima Trivedi returned from College around 1.30 p.m., she found her grandmother Kamlesh Kumari Trivedi lying dead in the drawing room with visible signs of strangulation.
We may number turn to the statement of Sevakram Thaokar W.11 , the Investigating Officer cum Inspector of Crime Branch.
On companysideration of the chargesheet, charges under Sections 302, 392/34, I.P.C. were framed to which the appellants pleaded number guilty and claimed trial.
