LexABDUL RAJAK MURTAJA DAFEDAR versus STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
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A ABDUL RAJAK MURTAJA DAFEDAR v. STA],$ OF MAHARASHTRA . : May 2, 1969 B [S. M. SIKRI, R. S. BACHAWAT AND V. RAMASWAMI, JJ.J c D E F G H Criminal Procedure Code (5 of 1898), s. 164-Confession to Magis. Irate-Prolonged police custody-When confession can be held to b.e not voluntary. Evidence Act ( 1 of 1872), s. 9-Identification of accused by means of tracker dogs-Admissibility and weight. The appellant was convicted for the offence of murder in that he had removed the fish plates, nuts aod bolts of a rail joint and thus know- ingly caused a derailment resulting in the death of ten passengers travelling in a passenger train. The evidence against him consisted of his confessional statement to the Magistrate, discovery of a spanner as a result of his state- ment to the police, and his identificatio!l by 'a police. tracker dog. In appeal to this Court it was contended that : ( 1) the confession was not voluntary because it was made after prolonged police custody of about a fortnight; and (2) evidence of identification by the tracker dog was not admissible in evidence. HELD : ( 1) The appellant himself never said that he made the con- fession on account of any inducement or coercion on the part of the police. Further, immediately before he made the confession, he spent four days in judicial custody ·and was not under the influence of the investi· gating agency. Also, he had ~4 hours t<> think after he was told by the Magistrate that he was not bound to make any confession and that if be made one it would be uSed gainst him. Therefore, it could not be said ,the confession was not voluntary. [555 F-H; 556 C-D] Nathu v. State of U:P. A.LR. 1956 S.C. 56 and Swaran Singh v. State of Punjab, A.LR. 1957 S.C. 637, distinguished. (2) In the present state of scientific knowledge evidence of dog track- ing even if admissible, is not ordinarily of much weight. But, even on the assumption that the identificat!on of the appellant by the tracker dog was not admissible, the rest of the prosecution evidence., natUely, the appellant's confession and the discov~ry of the spanner at the instance of the appellant, condusively established the guilt of the appellant. [556 G-H; 558 C, D-E] CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 245 of 1968. Appeal by special leave from the judgm~t and order dated November 17 1967 of' the Bombay High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 1166 of,1967 and confinnation case No. 15 of 1967 .. B. D. Sharma, for the appellant. H. R. Khanna and S. P. Nayar, for the respondent. L14 Sup. C.I./69-;6 5 -o ,_ SUPREME COURT REPORTS The Judgment of the Court was delivered by [1970] 1 S.C.R. Ramaswami, J. The appellan! was convicted under ss. 302, 307, 325 and 427, I.P.C. and also under s. 126 of the Indian Railways Act by the Additional Sessions Judge of Sangli in Sessions Case No. 9 of 1967. The appellant was sentenced to death under s. 302, I.P.C. No other sentence was awarded for the remaining offences. The appellant preferred an appeal to the Bombay High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 1116 of 1967 which was dismissed on the 17th November 1967 and the sentence of death imposed on the appellant was affirmed. This appeal is brought by special leave from the judgment of the Bombay High Court. The prosecution case arises out of the derailment of Poona- Wasco Express train at about .4.40 in the early morning of Octo- ber 10, 1966. The derailment occurred on the Vaddi bridge which is beyond Miraj station. As a result of this derailment, five bogies were capsized. Out of these five bogies, two we.o.t into the stream down below, 'two were on the slope and one on the track. In this incident ten persons died and a large number of other persons received grievous injuries. The charge against the appellant was that he had removed fish plates, nuts, bolts .!tc., of the rail joint near Vaddi bridge No. 215 on Miraj Mhaisal Railway track at Km. No. 743/9 and 10 between 4.05 J.m. and 4.50 a.m. in the early morning of October 10, 1966 with intent or k.nowledge that he was likely to endanger the safety of the persons travelling in the said train and he caused the Poona-Wasco express train No. 206 Dn. to be capsized at Vaddi •II''. thereby committed murder knowingly causing deaths of 10 persons who were j!assengers in that train. The appellant Abdul Rajak Murtaja Dafedar was working at Miraj railway station as gangman in gang No. 13 of which Laxman Mada
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