RAVI versus STATE REP. BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE

Citation: [2004] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 484 · Decided: 12-08-2004 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K.G. BALAKRISHNAN · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

A 
RAVI 
v. 
STATE REP. BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE 
AUGUST 12, 2004 
B 
[K.G. BALAKRISHNAN AND DR. AR. LAKSHMANAN, JJ.] 
Penal Code, 1860; Sections 148, 302, 324, 364 and 448: 
Unlawful assembly-Assault and murder-Evidence of eye witnesses 
related to deceased-Reliance upon-Trial Court found accused A-1 guilty 
C of offences under Sections 148, 302, 364 and 448 and A-2 under Sections 
148, 324 and 448 and sentenced them accordingly-However, other four 
accused were acquitted as not identified-Affirmed by High Court-On 
appeal, Held: Weapons used in committing the crime were recovered at 
the instance of eye witnesses-Absence of motive on the part of prosecution 
D witness/mother of the deceased to wrongly identify the accused-Prosecu-
tion witnesses correctly identified the accused in the identification parade-
Evidence of eye witnesses cannot be rejected merely because they were 
related to deceased·-Evidende of eye witnesses reliable and sufficient to 
implicate the accused-Hence, guilt of the accused clearly extablished. 
E 
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: 
Raising of issue of jurisdiction before the Supreme Court-Held : 
Accused cannot be allowed to raise it before Supreme Court for the first 
time since it was never raised by the accused before the Trial Court or 
F before the High Court. 
Accused-Appellant and 5 others armed with deadly weapons 
formed themselves into an unlawful assembly. In furtherance of their 
common object to cause death of the deceased due to previous enmity, 
they trespassed into the house of brother of the deceased. Accused A-
G 1 and others had inflicted bleeding injuries on the deceased. PWl, 
brother of the deceased and another brother, took the deceased to a 
Hospital in injured condition where the deceased succumbed to his 
injuries. A complaint was lodged by them. Police investigated the 
matter and submitted charge-sheet against A-1, A-2 and four others 
H alleging commission of offences by them punishable under Sectior.s 
484 
RA VI v. STATE REP. BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE 
- 485 
148, 149, 302 r/w 149, 324 and 448 r/w 149 IPC. Trial Court found A- A 
1 guilty of offences punishable under Sections 148, 302, 364 and 448 
and A-2 of committing offences punishable under Sections 148, 324 
and 448 and sentenced them accordingly. However, it acquitted other 
accused persons as they were not identified by the eye-witnesses. High 
Court affirmed the judgment of trial court holding that the evi~ence B 
of PW-2, mother of the accused, established beyond doubt involvement 
of accused A-1 and A-2 in attacking and killing her son. Hence, the 
present appeals preferred by A-I. 
Accused-appellant contended that the reasons advanced by the 
prosecution witnesses were not sufficient to explain the enormous delay C 
in tiling the FIR; that the complaint was lodged by the complainant 
PWI, brother of the deceased, at a police station which is outside the 
jurisdiction of the alleged place of occurrence of the crime; and that 
non-examination of the material witnesses more so of the eye witnesses 
is fatal to the prosecution. 
D 
Dismissing the appeals, the Court 
HELD : I. Prosecution's case is based on the statements of 
eyewitnesses, namely, PW2, PW3 and PW6, which clearly implicate the 
accused and that A-I and A-3 had grudged against the deceased E 
consequent to the death of their sister, wife of the deceased. A-I and 
A-2 also gave confession statements independently and on the basis of 
the statements of A-1, the knife M02 and the shirt M03 were 
recovered under mahazar Ext. P6 and on the basis of the statement 
of A-2 the wooden reaper MOI was recovered under Ext. PS. MO 1 
to 3 contained blood stains and the blood on the shirt was identified F 
as human blood. It is settled law that the evidence of eyewitnesses 
cannot be rejected merely because they are related. The evidence of 
PW2 in the present case is reliable as there is no strong motive or ill-
will on the part of PW2 to exQqerate the real person who- ca11sed the 
injuries on her son and to implicate the accused. (490-E-F-G-H] 
G 
2. The facts of the instant case clearly go to show that there is no 
delay in lodging the complaint. 1491-E) 
3. PW8, Judicial First Class Magistrate, conducted identification 
parade in the Central Jail premises. Three chances were given to the H 
486 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 
A witnesses PW2 and another to identify accused A-2 and they had 
correctly identified him in all the three chanc
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