LexRAJINDER KUMAR AND ANOTHER versus THE STATE OF PUNJAB
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
- a s.c.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS RAJINDER KUMAR AND ANOTHER v. THE STATE OF PUNJAB (J. L. KAPUR., K. C. DAS GUPTA and RAGHUBAR DAYAL, JJ.} 281 Murder -Motive not established-Want of proof of motive, not a ·reason for doubting evidence of crime-Indian Penal Oode (Act 45 o.f 1860), 88. 201, 302. The first appellant was convicted under s. 302 of the Indian Penal Code for the murder of a three and a half year old boy, T, and sentenced to death, while his father, the second" appellant, was convicted under s. 201 for having concealed 'I's dead body. The prosecution case was that on January 5 1961, between 3-30 p.m. and 4 p.m. when T was at the hoilse of the appellants and the other inmates of the house were away, the first appellant killed T by stuffing his mouth with a cloth and kept the dead body in the garage in their house; and that on that very night he and his father buried the dead body in the compound after putting it in a gunny bag. The evidence showed that a few days before January 5, i961, relations between the first appellant and T's father had become strained because the first appellant had talked to T's mother in a way which her husband did not like and the latter asked the first appellant to stop his visits to their house; and T who used to be a frequent visitor to the first appellant stopped his visits for some days, bu.t resumed them three or four days before January 5; and that on that date Twas last seen alive at about 3-30 p m. in the first appellant's house playing. with him. Both the trial court and the High Court found that the prosecution case was fully established by the evidence. It was contem;!ed for the appellants that the findings of the lower courts were not justified, and that no reasonable motive for the crime had been proved. Hela, that the appellants had been rightly convicted; that though the motive for the murder does not appear from the evidence that can be no reason for doubting the conclusion which flows 'clear from the circumstances. The motive behind a crime is a relevant fact of which evidence can be given; absence of motive is also a relevant circumstance. That has to be comidered along with other circumstances. It often happens that only the culprit knows the motive behind his action. 1962 May <I. 1962 Rojinder' Kumaf' y, Stat1 of Punjab as Gupta J. 282 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1963) CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 182 of 1961. Appeal by special leave from the judgm~nt and order dated 8eptember 7, 1961, of the PunJab High Court, Chandigarh in Criminal Appeal No. 595 of 1961 and Murder Keference No. 56 of 1961. A. S. R. Chari, Om Prakash' Passey and K. R. Chaudhri, for the appellants. Gopal Singh and P. D. Menon, for the respondent. 1962. May 4. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DAS GUPTA, J.-Three and a half year old Tonny, son of Ravindernath Goyal was last seen alive on January 5, 1961. A month later on Feb- ruary 5, 1961. his dead body was discovered, buried in the compound of the house of Goya.l's next door neighbour Jagdish Chander and Rajinder Kumar. These two, Jagdish Chander and Rajinder Kumar are father and son. Tonny's body was found in a gunny bag with a blood-stained piece of cloth stuffed in the mouth; a blood-stained towel was also found in the bag. When the cloth stuffing the mouth w;as removed the tongue was found puebed to the left side backward looking the thro'l.t. The Civil Surgeon, Bhatinda, who held the post- mortem examination Ins given his opinion that the death of the child was due to asphyxia resul- ting from suffocation caused by packing the mouth with the cloth. Rajinder Kumar has been convicted under s. 302 of the Indian Penal Code for the murder of Tonny and sentenced to death. The father Jagdish ( Chander has been convicted under s. 201 of the 't- lndian Penal Code for having concealed the dead body of Tonny. \ - - - a s.c.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 283 The prm1ecution case is that on Januitry 5, 1961, between 3-30 p. m. and 4 p. m. when Tonny was at the house of Jagdish and Rajinder and the other inmates of the house were away Rajinder killed Tonny by stuffing his mouth with a cloth and kept the dead body in the Garage in their house; and that that very night he and his father buried the dead body in the compound after putt- ing it in a gunny bag. For the entire month after the child was found missing and before his
Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.