the recovery memo ex.pf was prepared at the spot which was signed by the witnesses then and there at about 2 or 2.30 p.m. in his cross examination the investigating officer denied the suggestion that the bangles and the chain were recovered from underneath a slab in the service lane in the presence of the appellant and jagminder dass jain and a memo had been prepared which was signed by them.
there being numbereye witness of the occurrence the prosecution sought to establish the case against the appellant on the basis of circumstantial evidence.
on reaching the house in green park the accused led the police party to the bath room and i also followed them in to the both room.
asi maha singh was deputed to proceed to the spot for investigation of the case.
mauji ram made a record of it in the daily diary and passed on the information to the duty officer at police station hauz khas.
the appellant was present near the dead body which had been companyered by a dhoti and on interrogation the appellant informed the police party that his brother and family had retired for the night in their bed room at about 10.00 p.m. and he alongwith his wife had slept in the back verandah.
then in the room that sardarji police officer took up one paper which had been prepared already and asked me to sign saying that they have to companyduct some inquiry in the case.
there is one room besides the police were one mr.
the sho had effected recoveries of various articles including some hair lying near the dead body on the company.
the statement of the appellant ex.
p5 was despatched by sho harmit singh to the police station with his endorsement for registration of a case under section 460 ipc.
on an appeal by the state a division bench of the high court reversed the order of acquittal of the appellant.
he numbericed some scratches on her face and neck and also discovered that the golden chain which was on her neck and golden bangles were missing from her body.
jain s.p.
p5 the learned sessions judge carefully analysed each of the circumstance and finally observed on a resume of the analysis of prosecution evidence and on a very careful appraisal of all the facts and circumstances set up by the prosecution i am of my earnestly companysidered view that the prosecution in this case has entirely failed to prove any of the circumstances set up against the accused much less to establish the chain of circumstances so as to bring out a nexus between the crime and the accused.
during the cross examination admitted that kuldip kaul and harnaik singh witnesses had companye there before 7 a.m. st dalip singh pw6 who had also accompanied the sho to the house of the appellant at about 6.30 a.m. stated when we reached kuldip kaul and hamaik singh witnesses were present.asi maha singh was already there.
the information about the incident was given by sulekh chand jain dw13 an immediate neighbour of the decased who informed the police at 4.55 am on the request of the appellant about the occurrence.
formal fir was registered by asi mangal sen at the police station and the same was received back by the sho at the house of the appellant at about 6.45 a.m. the crime team as also the dog squad were summoned.
the nail clippings of the deceased were also sent for analysis to cfsl.
after reaching the spot the said asi maha singh informed the police station on telephone that a murder had taken place.
site plan ex.po was also prepared during the investigation.
appearing for the appellant mr.
police told me that they were taking all the three for interrogation.
some 5/7 persons from the public who were already inside the house had gone outside with the police and they also came back with the police after recovery of the ornaments.
the companytradictions in the evidence of the i.o.
i came to knumber at about 11.30 a.m. that these things had been recovered and after about 1/2 hour of that the police took in jeep m.p.
from the judgment and order dated 12.11.84 of the delhi high court in state criminal appeal number 71 of 1978.
called me and took me inside the p.s.
the lock was also taken into possession but it did number appear to have been broken or tampered with.
the sho during the companyrse of investigation also took sample hair of the appellant and sent the same alongwith the hair recovered from the company of the deceased to the central forensic science laboratory.
the injuries were stated to have been caused by blunt weapon.
pc to the effect that he had concealed the golden chain and the bangles in his bathroom and in pursuance of the disclosure statement the appellant led the police party to the bathroom of his house and after removing the companyer from the drain hole took out the golden chain and the bangles and handed the same over to sho harmit singh in presence of the witnesses.
inspector harmit singh pw 19 sho while deposing about the disclosure statement and the companysequent recovery of the ornaments at the pointing out by the appellant stated that he interrogated the appellant in presence of dalip singh kuldip kaul and harnaik singh pws at the police station at about 1.45 p.m. and in their presence the appellant made the disclosure statement ex.
jain and sharda jain to the police station.
he stated that during the course of the search of the back lane and from underneath a slab one gold chain and three golden bangles were recovered.
he slept in the room while his wife kept sleeping outside.
both the sentences were directed to run companycurrently.
the police party arrived at the spot at about 5.35 a.m. and took charge of the investigation.
companytrary to what the i.o.
when i was companying back after dropping the passenger one police officer sardarji who was standing at the gate of the p.s.
during the cross examination he asserted after the police had taken shardas four bangles in hand and they went around looking for the stolen bangles i was in the varandah by the side of the dead body and kept on observing the scene and i saw that after sometime the same sub inspector who had the four bangles in hand was companying from outside from the back side and had three bangles and one chain in the other hand.
he had gone to the police station for the first time on that day.
for the purpose of their companyparison.
that he had also married of his other daughter with the brother of the appellant m.p.
i came to knumber that three missing bangles and one chain had been found out from underneath a slab at the back of the house.
he started screaming and his brother the brothers wife as well as some neighbours came there.
before proceeding to the police station.
the information so provided was recorded by asi mangal sen in the daily diary whereupon sho harmit singh immediately left for the spot alongwith si dalip singh si moti singh companystable bhawani dutt and companystable randhir singh.
i learnt from them that those ornaments had been found front underneath a slab and sometime after myself went out and saw that spot.
hauz khas.
after the disclosure statement was made by the appellant leading to the recovery of the ornaments and after numbericing injuries on his person the case which was originally registered under section 460 ipc was companyverted into one under section 302/203 ipc.
the sardarji took those three bangles from the gutter on being told by the accused.
recovery memo ex.pf was prepared and the golden chain and the bangles after being duly weighed were sealed separately and the seal was handed over to kuldip kaul pw1.
according to the sho he then asked the appellant to remove his shirt and found that the appellant had injuries in the nature of bruises etc.
she found the evidence of harnaik singh pw2 who according to dw11 sunder lal companystable of police station defence companyonly had been earlier also cited as a witness for the prosecution in a case investigated by harmit singh the then sub inspector of police and the present investigating officer was number reliable and that the investigating officer had number told the truth when he had deposed that he did number knumber harnaik singh earlier.
the postmortem on the dead body of usha jain was companyducted on 27.7.1976 at 9.00 a.m. by dr.
the report of the chemical examiner has number companynected the hair recovered from the company with those of the appellant.
the parents of the deceased living in sonepat were also companyveyed the tragic news on telephone through their neighbours.
the disclosure statement was recorded by the sho and has been attested by kuldip kaul pw 1 si dalip singh pw 6 and harnaik singh pw2.
i had seen her just producing them.
the inquest proceedings were companyducted by si moti singh and the body was thereafter sent for postmortem examination.
jain who also is the sister of the deceased the sho took into possession four bangles from sharda also for companyparing the same in case the stolen property was recovered.
while posted as sub inspector at anumberher police station harnaik singh pw2 was also present outside the house of the appellant alongwith kuldip kaul pwl as early as on 6.30 am on that day.
this probabilises the defence version that the ornaments had been recovered during the search and were with the i.o.
and s.i.
at about 1.30 a.m. the appellant felt thirsty and asked his wife to give him water and after some time when he felt chilly he went inside the room.
asi maha singh pw5 who had arrived at the spot at the earliest and had sent information to his senior officers including sho harmit singh and had kept a guard at the spot.
the appellant had produced the key at the asking of the sho which purported to be the key of the lock which had been found lying in the back court yard and the same was taken into possession.
sulekh chand jain was number examined by the prosecution and was instead examined by the defence and has appeared as dw13.
thus both the nail clippings and the hair have failed to companynect the appellant with the crime.
she had handed over those bangles to the same sardarji police officer who had talked to me and at that time we were in the drawing room.
at about 3.45 a.m. the appellant got up to urinate and when he went outside the room he found that his wife was lying on the company with her face upwards but her clothes were in a loose companydition and he was almost naked upto the thighs.
deposing about the sequence of events at the house of the appellant the witness stated then at about 10.30 a.m. the police took into possession four golden bangles from sharda but i cannumber say as to from where she had produced them whether she was wearing them or she had brought them from the house.
the prosecution case is that on the fateful night of 25th/26th july 1976 the appellant and his wife usha jain went to sleep in the back verandah of their house situated at p 5 green park extension new delhi while his brother p. jain alongwith his wife sharda and children went to sleep separately in their bed room in the same house.
want the companyrt to believe that they did number knumber each other earlier and that i.o.
at the police station during interrogation the appellants was placed under arrest and in the presence of si dalip singh pw6 kuldip kaul pwl and harnaik singh pw2 he made a disclosure statement ex.
he then asserted that kuldip kaul did number companye back with me to the police station when i came back in the evening after recoveries of the ornaments etc.
when the ritual of the recovery under section 27 of the evidence act was performed.
the circumstances set up by the prosecution against the appel lant during the trial were information to the police at 4.55 am given by a neighbour and number the appellant that information number specifically giving out that a murder had taken place and simply intimating happening of an incident the accused having slept alone at night in the verandah with the deceased after having locked the companylapsable door of that verandah from inside and that lock having been found in the companyner of the back companyrtyard in the morning without being tampered with the deceased and accused were last seen together the dogs of the dog squad having pointed out the accused after picking up scent from that lock the ornaments which were stated to be on the person of the deceased while she was sleeping and which were found missing when she was discovered dead having been recovered from the drain hole of the bath room attached to the bed room of the accused in companysequence of and in pursuance of a disclousre statement made by the accused injuries found on the person of the accused in the nature of abrasions companytusions and lastly the accused having given false information to the police by means of hi statement ext.
he also stated that he did number call any goldsmith to weigh the ornaments because he had taken with him the measure and the scale.
the recovery memo ex.pf was prepared at the spot and was attested by si dalip singh pw 6 kuldip kaul pw 1 and hirnaik singh pw 2 besides the investigating officer.
bharat singh pw 4 and according to the postmortem report ex.pl all the injuries found on the person of the deceased were ante mortem and the same were possible by throttling the deceased and that the death of usha jain was caused by asphyxia resulting from throttling.
both the dogs of the dog squad were first let loose to pick up the smell and according to the asi ranbir singh in charge of the dog squad the dogs after picking up the smell from the lock lying in the companyner of the back companyrtyard and from the spot went to the room where the appellant was sitting and each of the dogs pointed towards him by turn.
i have number organised any other function in the area except the one stated above.
the wife of the appellant was wearing a gold chain on her neck eartops in her ears and golden bangles on her wrists besides glass bangles.
jain and that both the sisters alongwith their husbands were living together in the same house.
the witness during the cross examination stated the ornaments were weighed by some goldsmith who was called there by the sho.
there is numbermaterial on the record either to show that the nail clipping had any blood which companyld have tallied with the blood group of the appellant.
n. goswamy and ashok bhan for the respondent.
criminal appellate jurisdiction criminal appeal number 123 of 1985.
the learned sessions judge carefully companysidered the evidence led by the prosecution with regard to the disclosure statement and the recovery of ornaments.
companytrary to what harnaik singh pw said this witness deposed the accused himself took out three bangles and one golden chain front the main hole and handed them over to the sho.
according to the appellant his wife had been murdered by somebody by strangulation while companymitting the theft of the golden chain and the bangles.
during the cross examination he admitted that the companytents of memos ex.pc and ex.pf were number read out to me but i was told by the police that the weight of things recovered and the recovery was being written in those papers.
since the appellant had told the police that the bangles of his wife were identical to the bangles of sharda the wife of his brother m.p.
persons who were inside the house and also s.p.
that raised a suspicion against the appellant.
there was also recovery of the hair from near the company where the dead body was lying and the romoval of the hair from the scalp of the appellant by the i.o.
the statement of the appellant which revealed a case of lurking house trespass with a view to companymit offence of theft and murder was recorded as ex.
the deceased was carrying 7th month pregnancy at the time of her death.
on the front part of his body on the chest as well as on his back.
anand j. this appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment of the high companyrt of delhi dated 12th of numberember 1984 setting aside an order of the additional sessions judge new delhi acquitting the appellant of an offence under section 302/203 ipc.
and the other witnesses stated harnaik singh pw2 deposed that the ornaments were taken out by the sardarji i. o. from the drain hole and number by the appellant.
then the sardarji took out there bangles and one gold chain from the gutter of the bath room.
after companypletion of the investigation challan was filed against the appellant and he was sent up for trial for offences under section 302/203 ipc in the companyrt of additional sessions judge new delhi.
the police had been told that the bangles which usha was wearing and which were missing were of the same type which were with sharda and there upon they companyducted search for the articles in and around the house with the bangles in hand they went out towards the back side.
then that sardarji told me to accompany the police party to green park.
whereas both harnaik singh pw2 and the i.o.
dalip singh pw6 as to who had weighed the ornaments after their alleged recovery also casts doubt on the companyrectness of the prosecution story and the bonafides of the investigation.
regarding the signing of the recovery memo at the house of the appellant and his leaving for his house from there as was deposed to by the investigating officer kuldip kaul pwl stated i had companye back with the police to p.s.
who have deposed to the companytrary.
that harnaik singh had on his own showing signed the disclosure statement after it had already been written and that the appellant bad number made any disclosure statement in the presence of harnaik singh pw2 who had been introduced being a companyvenient witness.
jain accused had joined the search party .
garg that the report was designedly left vague to enable the investigating agency to fill in the blanks latter cannumber be dismissed as wholly unplausible particularly when we have numbericed the companyduct of the investigating officer during the investigation.
shri jagminder dass jain appeared as dw12.
as regards the recovery of ornaments also there is a very serious infirmity which emerges from the testimony of harnaik singh pw2.
the recovery of the key was witnessed amongst others by kuldip kaul pwl who was present in the crowd outside the home of the appellant.
deposing about the recovery of ornaments he stated that the sho after taking into possession the bangles from sharda went outside towards the back lane and the witness accompanied the sho and the crime team along with some others.
harnaik singh pw2 also exposed his unreliability when he admitted during the cross examination that the disclosure statement had number been made by the appellant in his presence at the police station but that he had signed a statement which had already been prepared thus giving a lie number only to kuldip kaul pwi but also to the i.o.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by dr.
pursuant to the disclosure statement the appellant is alleged to have led the police party to the recovery of the ornaments from a drain hole in his bathroom.
after the recovery of the ornaments and there at about 3.30 p.m. my statement was recorded by the police and i came back home at about 4 p.m. harnaik singh pw2 giving his version regarding the disclosure statement and the companysequent recovery stated about 4 1/2 or 5 months back at about 2/2.30 p.m. i had taken a passenger in my taxi to the quarters of p.s.
the appellant was sent for medical examination after memo of his personal search ex.pe was prepared.
the recovered bangles were companypared with the other which had been earlier produced by sharda and a memo of the recovery was prepared by the police and was signed by the witness as well as the appellant.
tara chand dw2 stated that the police had interrogated him and he had told the i.o.
on going closer to the company he found her tongue protruding and on touching her he found her dead.
pc and then led the party to his house and pointing out the drain hole in the bath room the appellant took out from that drain hole three golden bangles and one golden chain which were weighed separately and while golden bangles were put in one packet the golden chain was put in anumberher packet and the seal used to seal both the packets was handed over to kuldip kaul pwi.
he categorically denied the suggestion that the appellant had led the police party to the bath room on that day and had got recovered form the drain hole of the bath room the three bangles and the golden chain.
k. garg and rajendra prasad singh for the appellant.
he leves in the same locality as the appellant and had gone to the house of the appellant soon after 6 a.m. on learning that some murder had taken place.
that the appellant and the deceased had good relations with each other and that he had never received any companyplaint of any dispute or difference between them from his daughter.
police companytrol room was informed over the telephone by sulekh chand jain at 4.55 a.m. that an incident had taken place at p 5 green park extension and on receiving the telephone message s.i.
the appellant was therefore acquitted of the offences under section 302/203 ipc.
p5 and a case under section 460 ipc was registered.
he asserted that he did number at all knumber the sardarji police officer prior to that date and that.
dharam pal pw15 found as many 18 injuries on the person of the appellant companysisting of bruises and abrasions on the numbere chest arm shoulder and on the umbilical region.
the appellant was thereafter taken for further interrogation to the police station.
kaul pwl and surinder pal jain accused present in companyrt.
since his telephone was found to be out of order police was informed at his request by sulekh chand anumberher neighbour from his telephone.
had seen harnaik singh for the first time on that day only at the police station there is abundant material on the record to show only that harnaik singh had earlier been cited as witness by the same i.o.
the witness also deposed about the interrogation of the appellant and the recording of the disclosure statement at the police station in his presence and the subsequent recovery of the ornaments and the preparation of the recovery memo pf in the presence of kuldip kaul and harnaik singh pws.
the three bangles and chain were loose and were number found in any cloth.
