NOOR KHAN versus ST ATE OF RAJASTHAN

Citation: [1964] 4 S.C.R. 521 · Decided: 19-08-1963 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: A.K. SARKAR · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 1 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

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I 
4 S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
521 
5, the legal representative,s ©f defendant 7 and def. 8, except 
to the extent of the 8th defendant's right to maintenance 
under Ex. 371, is dismissed with costs. So far as the 8th 
defendant is concerned, the appeal filed by her is allowed 
with costs proportionate to her interest in the property 
throughout. 
Appeal No. 335 dismissed. 
Appeal No. 334 partly allowed. 
NOOR KHAN 
' 
I). 
ST ATE OF RAJASTHAN 
(A. K. SARKAR, M. HIDAYATULLAH AND J. c. SHAH JJ.)' 
Criminal Trial-MurderC-Asquittal by Trial Court-Convi-
ction after setting aside acquittal by the High Court-Vali-
dity·-Provisions relating to the record of statements of wit-
nesses by Police and failure to supply copies to the accused-
!/ and when viti'ates the trial-Prejudice-Code of Criminal 
Procedure, 1898 (Act ·5 of 1898). ss. 161(3), 
162, 173(b), 
207A(3). 
The appellant and nine others were tried before the Sessions 
Judge for 
offences of rioting and being members of an unlaw-
ful assembly and causing in furtherance of their common object 
death of one person and serious injuries to four others. The appel-
lant was also charged for the substantive offence of causing the 
death by gun-shot injuries. All the accused persons were acquitted 
at the trial. 
In appeal against acquittal by the State, the High 
Court set aside the acquittal of the appellant and sentenced him 
to imprisonment for life under s. 302 Indian Penal Code and con-
firmed the order in respect-·of the rest. The appellant's main con-
tention in this Court was that under s. 161 of the Code of Criminal 
Procedure it was obligatory upon an investigating officer to record 
the statements of witnesses examined by him and if those state-
ments were not made available to the accused at the trial, a valu-
able right was lost to the' accused, and the trial must on that 
account alone be regarded as vitiated. 
34-2 S. C. India/64 
1963 
Deshmukh 
v. 
Malappa 
Subba Rao/. 
1963 
ANgusl 19 
1963 
Noa,. Khan 
v, 
State of 
Raiasthan. 
Skah J. 
522 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1964] 
Held: (i) Where the circumstances are such that the court 
inay reasonabl~· :nfer that prejudice: has resulted to the accused 
from the failure to supply the statements recorded under s. 161, 
the court would be justified in directing that the conviction 
be 
set aside and i'1 o. proper case to direct that the defect be rectified 
in such manner as the circumstances may warrant. 
It is only 
where the court is satisfied, having regard to the manner in \vhich 
the case has been conducted and the attitude adopted by the 
accused in relation to the defect, that no prejudice has resulted to 
~ accused that the court \\·ould, notwithstanding the breach of 
the statutory provisions, be justified in maintaining the conviction. 
On the facts of the present case no prejudice was caused to 
the accused and the plea of prejudice was neither raised in the High 
Court, nor any substantial argument in support of the same was 
advanced in this Court. 
Narayan Rao v. State of Andhra Pradesh, A. I. R. 1957 S. C. 
737 and Pulukuri Kotyya v. Emperor, L. R. 74 I. A. 65, relied on. 
Baliram v. Emperor, I.L.R. [1945] Nag. 151, Maganlal v. Em-
, peror, l.L.R. [1946] Nag. 126 and, Maroti Mahagoo v. Emperor, 
I.L.R. [1948] Nag. 110, disapproved.' 
(ii) In the present case the Sessions Judge did not found his 
conclusion upon the demeanour of ·the witnesses and the 
High 
Court rightly observed that the presence of the four injured per~ 
sons at the scene of offence was assur~d by the evidence of injuries, 
and must be regarded as established beyond reasonable doubt. 
Sheo Swamp v. King Emperor·, L. R. 61 I. A. 398, referred to. 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JuR1sn1CTION: Criminal Appeal 
No. 9 of 1963. 
· 
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order 
dated November 9, 1962 of the Rajasthan High Court in 
D. B. Criminal Appeal No. 407 of 1961. 
Purushottam Trikamdas, C. L. Sarren and R. L. Kohli, 
for the appellant. 
S. K. Kapur and R. N. Sachthey, for the respondent. 
August 19, 1963. The Judgrr1ent of the Court was de-
livered by 
SHAH r.-Noor Khan, resident of Kuchaman in the 
State of Ra jasthan, and nine others were tried before the 
Additional Sessions Judge, Siroli'i in the State of Rajasthan 
for offences of rioting and being members of an unlawful 
assembly and causing in furtherance of their common ob-
ject death of one Pratap, at about 2·30 p. m. on September 
29, 1960 and serious injuries 

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