LexROOPSENA KHATUN versus STATE OF WEST BENGAL
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A B [2011] 5 S.C.R. 982 ROOPSENA KHATUN v . . STATE OF WEST BENGAL (Criminal Appeal No. 1370 of 2007) APRIL 28, 2011. [V.S. SIRPURKAR AND T.S. THAKUR, JJ.] Penal Code, 1860: s.302- Murder- Conviction ulss.302 and 379 - Allegation that accused committed murder of child C by drowning her in a pond and thereafter removed silver chain from her person - Conviction based on circumstantial evidence - Circumstances were disclosure statement, extra- judicial confession, recovery of silver chain from the accused and that accused was last seen with the victim - On appeal, D held: Prosecution failed to prove the case of murder and theft of silver chain against the accused - The body of the victim was found floating in the pond a day after she went missing - In such case, it could be seen by anybody, therefore, pointing out the corupus delicti by the accused was not of much E significance - The exact words of the accused were not uttered by any of the witnesses - Therefore, the so called extra-judicial confession was of no consequence - There was no detail in seizure memo regarding the place from where silver chain was seized nor the chain was identified by the father of the F victim - This would put the seizure into extreme suspicion - Moreover, there was no proximity between the time when the victim and the accused were last seen together and the time of the death of the victim - Considering the short distance between the house of the victim and the pond, possibility of G accidental drowning not ruled out - Accused was stated to be a frock wearing mohamedan girl on the relevant date and it was not shown as to how such a small girl could have drowned t(1e victim - Sessions judge should have used its discretion and sent the accused for medical examination to ascertain H 982 ROOPSENA KHATUN v. STATE OF WEST BENGAL 983 her exact age, which he failed to do - High Court did not advert A to this aspect - Conviction by courts below set aside. The prosecution case was that the accused committed murder of a child by drowning her in a pond and thereafter removed the silver chain from her person. 8 On the fateful day, the victim left her house for her grandmother house and thereafter she was missing. PW- 3 told the father of the victim that he had seen the victim following the accused. The accused was apprehended by the villagers the next day and she confessed that she C committed the murder of the victim by drowning her in the pond and that she had also removed the silver chain from her person. The accused pointed out the body of the deceased from the pond. The prosecution relied upon the disclosure statement, the extra-judicial confession allegedly made to the witnesses including the father PW1 D and some other witnesses and the recovery of silver chain from the accused. The trial court convicted the accused under Section 302 IPC as also under Section 379 IPC for committing theft of a silver chain from the body of the victim. The High Court affirmed the order of E conviction. Aggrieved, the accused filed the instant appeal. . Allowing the appeal, the Court Held: 1. Insofar as the first circumstance relating to F the disclosure of the accused having committed the murder and pointing out the corpus delicti is concerned, both the courts below held that circumstance as a proof against the accused on the basis of the evidence of the witnesses. It is a common knowledge that the body could G not have remained under the water for 24 hours. At least from the post-mortem report, it is clear that the body was decomposed. Under such circumstances, the body . could have ever remained underneath the water level for H 984 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 5 S.C.R. A 24 hours. It was certainly expected to be floating. In that case, it could be seen by anybody. Therefore, such circumstance loses its significance. [Para 4) [987-B-D] 2. The second circumstance was about the extra- s judicial confession. The evidence of the extra-judicial confession is of extremely weak kind. In this case, the exact words of the accused were not uttered by any of the Witnesses. Again, if there was any suspicion against the accused, the whole village would have pounced upon her and cursed her of having committed the murder. C Under such circumstances, the so called extra-judicial confession made to the witnesses even if they were more than three, would be of no consequence and would not be
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