DARSHAN SINGH versus STATE OF PUNJAB

Citation: [2019] 14 S.C.R. 742 · Decided: 06-12-2019 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: L. NAGESWARA RAO · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2019] 14 S.C.R.
DARSHAN SINGH
v.
STATE OF PUNJAB
(Criminal Appeal No. 1688 of 2009)
DECEMBER 06, 2019
[L. NAGESWARA RAO AND HEMANT GUPTA, JJ.]
Penal Code, 1860: s.302 – Murder – Conviction based on
extra judicial confession – A dead body was found in a jute bag
in the field of informant – Body was decomposed and was
identified on the basis of clothes as the face was disfigured –
Deceased  was mother of accused-AS – Accused-SK was wife and
accused-JS was son of accused-AS – Accused-DS was servant in
their house – Prosecution case was that deceased had inherited 5
bigha of land of her deceased son  – Accused were not happy with
this inheritance – Out of this land, deceased had sold 1 bigha and
given the remaining 4 bighas on lease to accused-AS @ Rs.4000
per bigha  – However accused-AS was not paying the lease amount
to her – Panchayats were also convened over this dispute – PW-
16 was witness of extra-judicial confession – Trial court acquitted
accused-AS but convicted the other three accused on the basis of
evidence of PW-16 and investigating officer – High Court upheld
conviction – On appeal, held: Appellants were not found in the
village soon after the occurrence as deposed by PW-13, the son-
in-law of the deceased and the investigating officer – They also
did not attend the cremation or the prayer ceremony which was
held after one week – The conduct of the accused of not being
available in the village was a strong circumstance – As per
postmortem report, the Dupatta around the neck of the deceased
had two turns which is unusual for a woman, more so, for a woman
of the age of deceased – The argument that no ligature mark was
found on the deceased is of no relevance as the body was infected
with maggots and the ligature mark on the soft tissue would not
have survived – Furthermore, the bottle of acid was recovered on
the basis of disclosure made by accused-SK – The photographs
of body showed disfigurement of face which was caused by
pouring of acid with intention to avoid identification – Accused-
DS was convicted on the basis of extra-judicial confession made
   [2019] 14 S.C.R. 742
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before PW-16 that he had given a chair blow on the flank of the
deceased – The postmortem report showed fracture of Hyoid bone,
an irregular wound over the left breast and fracture of ribs –
Further, accused-DS had also disclosed that he had kept concealed
a folding iron chair in house of accused-AS, the said chair was
recovered – Prosecution proved the chain of circumstances to hold
the appellants guilty of the offences charged.
Dismissing the appeals, the Court
HELD:  1. The deceased inherited share of land of her son
who had passed away in 2003. Out of the 5 Bighas of land so
inherited, she sold 1 Bigha for Rs.1,02,000/- whereas she leased
the remaining 4 Bighas to her other son, ‘AS’ (accused). The
lease money was not being paid to her and this fact was stated
by Sarpanch (PW-11) and also by PW-13, the son-in-law of the
deceased. The lease money was the only source of survival of
the old woman who was living in a separate room and not with
her son, ‘AS’. Sarpanch (PW-11) also deposed that only a sum
of Rs.1,000/- was paid with a promise to pay another sum of
Rs.1,000/- later. [Para 20] [752-H; 753-A-B]
2. The appellants were not found in the village soon after
the occurrence as deposed by PW-13, the son-in-law of the
deceased and investigating officer (PW-15). They also did not
attend the cremation or the prayer ceremony which was held after
one week. The conduct of the appellants of not being available
in the village is a strong circumstance of their conduct post
death. [Para 22] [753-C-D]
3. The postmortem report indicated fracture of Hyoid
bone.  As per postmortem report, the Dupatta around the neck
of the deceased had two turns which is unusual for a woman,
more so, for a woman of the age of deceased. The argument that
no ligature mark was found on the deceased is of no relevance
as the body had been infected with maggots. Therefore, the
ligature mark on the soft tissue would not have survived.
Furthermore, the bottle of acid was recovered on the basis of
disclosure made by accused ‘SK’. The photographs that were
taken showed disfigurement of the face of the deceased.  Such
disfigurement was caused by pouring of acid with intention to
avoid identification of the dead body. Although the witness (PW-
DARSHAN SINGH v. STATE OF PUNJAB
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SUPREME COUR

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