BARKU BHAVRAO BHASKAR versus STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

Citation: [2013] 8 S.C.R. 449 · Decided: 25-07-2013 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: A.K. PATNAIK · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

[2013] 8 S.C.R. 449 
BARKU BHAVRAO BHASKAR· 
v. 
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA 
(Criminal Appeal No.910 of 2010) 
· JULY25, 2013 
[A.K. PATNAIK AND FAKKIR MOHAMED 
IBRAHIM KALIFULLA, JJ.) 
" . 
A 
B 
Penal Code, 1860 - ss.364, 302 and 201 - Prosecution 
under - Conviction by courts below, holding that chain of C 
circumstances against the accused were complete ~ Held: 
Evidence of the doct6r who conducted post-mortem proved 
that the death was homicidal - In view .of overwhelming 
evidence which proved all the circumstances against the 
accused, order of conviction is justified. 
D 
The appellant-accused was prosecuted for the· 
offences punishable ulss. 364, 302 and 201 IPC. Courts 
below convicted him on the basis of the circumstances 
namely the deceased was last seen with the deceased; 
E 
extra-judicial confession of accused; recovery of blood-
stained shirt of the accused and tile dead body at the 
instance of the accused and motive for murder . 
. In appeal to this Court the appellant-ac~used inter 
alia contended that there were doubts as to whetherthe 
F 
death was homicidal. 
Dismissing the appeal, the Court . 
· HELD: 1. In view of the specific statement of PW-6 
(the doctor, who had conducted the post-mortem) who · G 
ruled out the possibility of the deceased having fallen 
down, either on her own or by way of an accidental fall 
by which she could have sustained· the injuries, the 
conclusion that the death· of the deceased was a 
449 
H 
450 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2013] 8 S.C.R. 
A homicidal one, has become an irreversible one. [Para 11] 
[456-H; 457-A-B] 
2. The Courts below held that the last seen theory 
was fully established by the evidence of PWs 3 and 7. 
Apart from PWs 3 and 7, there was one other child 
8 witness aged about 6 years, who had informed PW-1 
about having seen the deceased in the company of the 
appellant on that very day. Though necessary steps 
were taken by the prosecution to examine the child, she 
did not open her mouth in the Court and the High Court 
C has rightly noted that such a conduct displayed by the 
child cannot be found fault with, and the very factum of 
the attempt made to examine the child was held in favour 
of the prosecution by stating that the prosecution did not 
want to suppress any material in order to prove whatever 
D evidence that was existing. [Paras 13 and 14] [458-C, 
E-G] 
3. As regards the circumstance, namely, the blood 
stains found on the clothes of the appellant the High 
E Court considered the plea of the accused that blood· 
group of the accused was not tested so as to ascertain 
whether the blood stain on his shirt could be of his own 
blood. The High Collrt noted that when at the instance 
of the appellant, his shirt was recovered and when the 
appellant was physically examined, it was found that 
F there were absolutely no injuries on the body of the 
appellant and, therefore, the question of the blood stains 
from the body of the appellant to get transmitted to his 
shirt was ruled out. It was, therefore, held that the blood 
stains found on the appellant's shirt, considered along 
G with the factum of the appellant having led the 
prosecution to discover his blood stained clothes and the 
body of the deceased put together, the blood stains 
found in the shirt of the appellant, could have been only 
that of the deceased and none else. There was no other 
H 
BARKU BHAVRAO BHASKAR v. STATE OF 
451 
MAHARASHTRA 
valid explanation offered on behalf of the appellant as to A 
how the blood stains came to be found on his shirt, which 
was recovered at his instance, in the presence of the 
panch witnesses. The said conclusion arrived at by the 
High Court was fully justified. [Para 15) [458-H; 459-A-E] 
4. As regards the recovery of the body of the 
8 
deceased, the Courts below noted that such recovery 
came to be made only at the instance of the appellant, 
which was witnessed by PW-1, in whose presence at the 
foot of the mountain, the dead body covered by large and 
small stones, as well as 2-3 branches of baboo/ tree. 
C 
Therefore, there was no scope to doubt the finding that 
the recovery of the body of the deceased was only at the 
instance of the accused. [Para 16) [459-F-H] 
5. Motive for murder got proved against the appellant, o 
from the evidence of PWs-1, 4 and 5. All of them In unison 
deposed that the appellant had an axe to grind against 
PW-1 (father of the deceased child), since PW-1 had once 
abused him at the village, as regards the 

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