KAMTA TIWARI versus STATE OF M.P.

Citation: [1996] SUPP. 5 S.C.R. 507 · Decided: 04-09-1996 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: M.K. MUKHERJEE · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

KAMTA TIWARI 
v. 
STATE OF M.P. 
SEPTEMBER 4, 1996 
[M.K. MUKHERJEE AND S.P. KURDUKAR, JJ.] 
Indian Penal Code, 1860 : Sections 302, 363, 376 and 201-Death 
Sentence-Rarest of rare case-Kidnapping, Rape and murder of the minor 
girl-Conviction based on circumstantial evidence-Held, in the facts and 
A 
B 
circumstances death sentence awarded by Courts below is upheld. 
C 
A minor girl, aged about 7 year, was raped and murdered by the 
appellant, a neighbour who was close to the family of the deceased and her 
dead body was thrown into a well. 
The Prosecution relied upon the circumstantial evidence, since there D 
was no eye-witness. The defence of the appellant was that he had been 
falsely implicated. 
Both the trial Court and the High Court, after discussing the 
evidence of all the witnesses at length held that each of the circumstances 
stood conclusively proved and that those circumstances unerringly pointed E 
to the guilt of the appellant. He was convicted for the offences of rape and 
murder and sentenced to death. 
Hence this appeal. 
Dismissing the appeal, this court 
F 
HELD : 1. The concurrent findings entered by the courts below are 
unexceptionable. Both the Trial Court and the High Court detailed and 
discussed at length the evidence of all the witnesses who were examined by 
the prosecution to prove the above circumstances and held that each of 
the above circumstances stood conclusively proved and that those cir- G 
cumstances unerringly pointed to the guilt of the appellant. It is of course 
true that the entire case is based on circumstantial evidence but the 
tell-tale circumstances all of which stand firmly established are not com-
patible with any other reasonable hypothesis except that the appellant 
kidnapped the deceased, committed rape on her, then strangulated her to H 
507 
508 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1996] SUPP. 5 S.C.R. 
A death and to cause disappearance of evidence of the murder threw her 
dead body in a well. The conviction of the appellant for the offences under 
Sections 363, 376, 302 and. 201 IPC is upheld. [512-E-G] 
2. The sentence of death should be maintained, as this Court has 
found aggravating circumstances aplenty. The evidence on record clearly 
B 
establishes that the appellant was close to the family of the deceased and 
the children used to call him Uncle. Obviously the closeness of the deceased 
with the appellant encouraged her to go to his shop, which was near the 
saloon where she had gone for a hair cut with her father and brother, and 
ask for some biscuits. The appellant readily responded to the request by 
C 
taking her to the nearby grocery shop and handing over a packet of biscuits 
apparently as a prelude to his sinister design which unfolded in her kid-
napping, brutal rape and gruesome murder - as the numerous injuries on 
her person testify; and the finale was the dumping of her dead body in a 
well. When an innocent hapless girl of 7 years was sub-jected to s11ch 
barbaric treatment by a person who was in a position of trust his culpability 
D assumes the proportion of extreme depravity and arouses a sense of revul-
sion in the mind of the common man. This is a 'rearest of rare' cases where 
the sentence of death is eminently desirable not only to deter others from 
committing such atrocious crimes but also to give emphatic expression to 
society's abhorence of such crimes. (513-F-H; 514-A-C] 
E 
F 
Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR (1980) SC 898 and Machhi Singh 
v. State of Punjab, AIR (1983) SC 957, relied on. 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 
267of1996. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 5.2.96 of the Madhya Pradesh 
High Court in Crl.A. No. 1524 of 1995. 
Anil Kumar Gupta (AC.) for the Appellant. 
G 
Uma Nath Singh for the Respondent. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
M.K. MUKHERJEE, J. The appellant was tried for and convicted of 
offences punishable under Sections 363, 376, 302 and 201 l.P.C. by the 
H Additional Sessions Judge, Shahdol. For his conviction under Section 302 
KAMTA TIWARI v.STATE[M.KMUKHEIUEE,J.) 
509 
I.P.C. he was sentenced to death and for the other convictions to different A 
terms of rigorous imprisonment. As the appeal preferred by him in the 
High Court was dismissed, he has filed the instant appeal aft~r obtaining 
special leave. 
2. Briefly stated the case of the prosecution is as follows : 
(a) Parmeshwar Lal Sharma (PW 1) along with his wife and three 
children used to reside as Bhutari

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