LexHARGOVANDAS DEVRAJBHAI PATEL AND ORS. versus THE STATE OF GUJARAT
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A B HARGOVANDAS DEVRAJBHAI PATEL AND ORS. v. THE STATE OF GUJARAT NOVEMBER 18, 1997 [M.M. PUNCHHI AND M. SRINIVASAN, JJ.] Penql Code, 1860: Sections 201, 302134, 304 Part II read with Section 114-Murder-lnterrogation of stranger in police station-Severely beaten C up-Became unconscious-Taken in police jeep-Subsequently highly decomposed body recovered from Jungle-Body identified by the relatives- Trial Court acquitted the accused Police Officers giving benefit of doubt- High Court convicted and sentenced them-On appeal, held, several links in the chain of circumstances missing-Prosecution failed to prove that the accused committed murder-Several discrepancies and unexplained factors 0 causing doubt on the identification of the dead body-Henc~ accused not guilty-Conviction set aside. E F The appellants-police officers were prosecuted for an offence under Sections 201, 302 and 304 read with Section 34 J.P.C. The prosecution case was that two persons came to the police station and informed appellant No. I that one stranger had entered into their Mohallah and they had detained him. Appellant No. I along with appellants 2 and 6 and two other constables went in Police Jeep along.with the said informants. They returned with an unknown person. Appellants I to 5 interrogated the person who gave his name as 'K'. He was severely beaten up by the appellants. He became unconscious. The appellants took him in the Police Jeep on the pretext that they were taking him to hospital. On their failure to return, Head Constable 'R' (PW-3) tried to contact the Circle Inspector and made an entry in the Station Diary. On the next day appellant No. I had registered an offence under Section 122(c) of Bombay Police Act against on,e 'P,' who was not the man G interrogated in the police station on the previous night. Relatives of 'K' came to the police station enquiring the whereabouts of'K'. Head Countable, PW- 3 lodged a complaint to the Circle Inspector and a case was registered against the appellants for the offence of commission of murder of 'K' and for concealing the dead body. Circle Inspector started the investigation and H found a dead body in a highly decomposed state lying in the jungle. The . I~ H.D. PATEL v. STATE OF GUJARAT 155 ~ relatives of 'K' on the basis of the clothes and other articles put on the A person of the dead body identified the body to be that of' K'. The appellants came out with the case that the man brought to the police station was one 'P' and the said 'P' was still alive and no offence has been committed by them. The trial court giving the benefit of doubt to the accused, acquitted them under Seetion 232 Cr. P.C. However, on appeal, the High Court reversing B the conclusion of trial court, convicted the appellants under Section 304 Part II read with Section 114 and Section 2011.P.C. Hence the present appeal. Allowing the appeal, this Court HELD : 1.1. The prosecution has failed to prove that the appellants C had committed the offence alleged against them. Thus the appellants are not guilty of the offences for which they were charged.1162-E-FI 1.2. In the instant case an analysis of the evidence shows that there are several links in the chain missing and thus it is not possible to hold that the accused were guilty of the offences with which they stood charged. The D case rests on circumstantial evidence and there is no eye witness. Circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is to be drawn should be fully proved and those circumstances must be conclusive in nature to connect the accused with the crime. All the links in the chain of event must be established beyond reasonable doubt and the circumstances should be consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused and totally inconsistent with his innocence. In other words the only inference that could be drawn from the circumstances should be in support of the case of the prosecution and wholly incompatible with the innocence of the accused. 1159-A-B; El Stale of Pu11jah, v. Blwja11 Si11gfl, AIR (1975) SC 258, referred to. 2. The Trial Court has held that the dead body found was that of' K'. E F The said conclusion was arrived at by the trial judge on the basis of the identification made with the aid of the dress and other things found on the body, such as talisman, plastic sandals etc. But there are several discrepancies G in the evidence of those witnesses including the col
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