LACHHI RAM versus STATE OF PUNJAB

Citation: [1967] 1 S.C.R. 243 · Decided: 02-09-1966 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: RAGHUBAR DAYAL · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
LACHHI RAM 
v. 
STATE OF PUNJAB 
September, 2, 1966 
B 
(V. RAMASWAMI, V. BHARGAVA, AND RAGHUBAR DAYAL, JJ.J 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (I of 1872), ss. 133 and 114 /II. (b)-
Evidence of approver-Tests for. 
The appellant was convicted of murder by the Sessions Judge mainly 
on the elVidence of the approver. The High Court, in appeal did 
n.ot 
consider it safe to rely on a part of the approver's evidence which related: 
to an earlier incident but found that his main story was reliable as wcll 
as corroborated by other evidence. The conviction of the appellant was 
upheld. In appeal before this Court by special leave, the appellant con-
tended that the double test for the approver's evidence laid down in Sarwan 
Singh's case had. not been correctly applied by the courts below. 
HELD : The first iest la:d down in Sarwan Singh's case is that the ap· 
prover's evidence must show that he is a reliable witness, and that is a test 
which is common to all witnesses. The test obviously means that the court 
should find that there is nothing inherently improbable in the evidence given 
by the approver and that there is no finding that the approver had given false 
evidence. The second test which thereafter still remains to be applied in the 
case of an approver, and which is not always necessary when judging the 
evidence of other witnesses, is that his e\idence must receive sufficient corro-
boration. (24 7 HJ 
In the present case the High Court had held that the e1Vidence of the 
approver was reliable and was corroborated on material particulara by 
good prosecution witnesses who had been believed by the Court. There was 
therefore no error in the judgment of the High Court in uphold'ng the 
conviction of the appellant. The fact that the High Court did not accept 
the evidence of the approver relating to the earlier incident did not mean 
that the Court held the approver to be an unreliable or untruthful witness. 
What 't did was to act on the principle of valuing· the evidence of the ap· 
prover with caUtion and not accepting it unless it was corroborated at least 
in some material particulars. 
[246 DJ 
· 
Sarwan Singh v. State of Rajasthan [1957] S.C.R. 923 explained and 
applied. 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 
177 of 1964. 
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated 
March 30, 1964 of the Punjab High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 
85 of 1963. 
B. K. Bannerjee AND N. N. Keswani, for the appellant. 
B. K. Klu;nna AND R. N. Sachthey, for the respondent. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
Bbargava, J. The appellant, Lachhi Ram, has come up to this 
Court in this appeal by special [eave against the judgment of the 
High Court of Punjab upholding the conviction and sentence of 
243 
21 I 
SUPREME COt;RT 
REPORTS 
[ 1967] I S.C.R .. 
imprisonment for life awarded to him under section 302 read with 
sections 109 and 115 of the Indian Penal Code by the Additional 
Sessions Judge of Gurgaon. 
Both the courts below have, on the 
consideration of evidence, held that the appellant had enmity with 
the complainant, Devi Ram, even though they we(e collaterals in 
the third or fourth degree and their wives were sisters. There was a 
dispute between them about payment of compensation of some land, 
and on July 28, 1958, the appellant had sent a post-card to Devi Ram 
enquiring why he was delaying the payment of compensation. 
asking 
him 
to 
act intelligently and sensibly. and telling 
him that it 
was not good 
to forcibly usurp the share of 
others. Then. about six months before the occurrence, which was 
the subject-mailer of the charge, the appellant and his brother Chet 
Ram visited Devi Ram in his village Tigaon and made a demand in 
respect of the property, adding a threat that otherwise he v..:iuld 
have to pay heavily for the same. 
On January 27, 1962. when 
Devi Ram came hack to his house in the evening, his wife told him 
that a friend of his from Rewari had sent some laddoos, pcras and 
bananas through a person who had given his name as Partap Singh. 
She further told him that Partap Singh had informed her that the 
letter which he was asked to give with the sweets had been lost on 
the way. 
Devi Ram's wife described that youngman, Partap Singh. 
There.1fter, Devi Ram, his wife, his two sons and an infant daughter 
took their meals, and all of them ate the peras, the laddoos, and the 
bananas, while some of these, which were left over, were placed 
asid

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