RAM PRAKASH versus THE STATE OF PUNJAB

Citation: [1959] 1 S.C.R. 1219 · Decided: 02-09-1958 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: BHUVNESHWAR PRASAD SINHA · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

I • 
S.C.R. 
• 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
t 
RAM PRAKASH 
• 
1219 
v. 
September 2. 
THE STATE OF PUNJAB 
(B. P. ~INHA, JAFER IMAM and K. N. WANOHOO JJ.) 
Criminal Law-Evidence-Retracted confession of co-acc1<sed-
Evidentiary value-Necessity of corroboration-Indian Evidence Act, 
I872 (I of I872), s. 30. 
The appellant was tried along with P for the offence of 
murder. The prosecution case was that the appellant, in con-
spiracy with P who was employed as a servant in the house of 
the deceased, took advantage of the deceased being alone in the 
house with her child, went upstairs and killed her and stole her 
ornaments, while P remained downstairs with the child. The 
evidence upon which the prosecution relied for conviction con-
sisted of the confession of P, the statement of the appellant 
which led to the recovery of the ornaments belonging to the 
deceased from the possession of the mistress of the appellant, 
the recovery of a blood-stained dagger from his belongings at 
the police station and his conduct after the murder. The con-
fession of P was later retracted by hiin in the Court of Session. 
It was contended for the appellant that a retracted confession of 
• an accused cannot be used against his co-accus~d : 
Held, that a voluntary and true confession made by an 
accused though it was subsequentlJO retracted by him, can be 
talten into consideration against a co-accused by virtue of s. 30 
of the Indian Evidence Act, but as a matter of prudence and 
practice the court should not act upon it to sustain oa conviction 
of the co-accused without full and strong corroboration in 
material particulars both as to the crime and as to his connec-
tion \vith that crime. 
The amount of credibility to be attached to a retracted con-
fession would depend upon the circumstances of each particular 
case. 
• 
Held, further, that on the evidence in the case the confes-
sion of P was voluntary and true and was strongly corroborated 
in material particulars both concerning the general story told in 
the confession concerning the crime and the appellant's connec-
tion \Vith critne. 
CRIMINAL 
APPELLATE 
JURISDICTION: 
Criminal 
• 
Appear No. 77 of 1958. 
Appeal by special leave from the judg!J1ent and 
order dated Febrtmry 26, 1958, of the Punjab High 
Court in Criminal Appeal No. 860 of 1957, arising out • 
• 
155 
• 
• 
• 
Ram Prakash 
v. 
1'he Ste1fc of 
Jn1ani ]. 
• 
1220 
• 
SUPHE:IIE COURT REPORTS 
I 
[1959] 
of the judgment and order dated December 23, l!l<i7, of 
the Additional Sessions .fudge at Arubala in Se:<sions 
Case ~o. 20 of 1957 and Trial ~o. 32 of 1957. 
Harnam Singh and Sadhu Singh, for the a ppcllant. 
Har Parshad and 'l'. Jr[, Sen, for the respondent. 
1958. September 2. 
The .J11dgmcnt of the Court 
was delivered by 
bIA:I! ,J.-Thc appellant and one Prem were tried 
for the murder of Nirmala Devi, wife of Banwari Lal, 
a practising lawyer '1t Rupar. The appellant was 
sentenced to death while Prem was sentenced to 
impriHonment for life. The 1tppellant and Prem appeal-
ed against t.hcir c:onviction and sentence to the High 
Court of Punjab. Their appe1Lls were dismissed and 
their con\"iction and sentence were affirmed bv the 
High Court. 
Th<! appdlant obtained from this ·court 
special lea \'C to :i.ppcal and in the present appc:i.l the 
only que8tion for consideration is w hcther the appe]. 
!ant was righth; con\"ictcd and sentenced for the 
murder of :\'"innala Devi. 
The case of Prem iH 'not· 
before us. 
At Rupar, Banwari J..al practised as a lawyer. 
His 
wife, the deceased ;'liil'mala De\·i Jived with him there 
with t.hei1; child, eight months old. 
With them also 
lived Bauwal'i Lal's sister Vina, a girl of about Hi t-0 17 
yeiirs of age. 
Banwari 11\] hacl employed Prem as a 
servn,nt about four months before the murder of 
:Nirmala Devi on Fchruarv 12, 1957. This Prem was 
a youngster of about fo~rtecn years of a,gc at that 
time. 
According to the prosecution, 
he was an 
associate of the appellant who was posted at, Rnpar in 
the capacity of a foot-constable in the police force. The 
appellant and Prem became friendly and it is said that 
the appellant had an eye on the ornamcntR of the 
deceased Nirmala Devi, which she was in the habit of 
wearing when she went out. The dcceascc:I. was a 
young person in her twent.ies and of good character. 
She used. t-0 be left alone in the house with her child, 
V.·hen Banwari Lal went to court n,nd Vina went to 
• school. 
Prem, however, used t-0 remain

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