LexSANDEEP versus STATE OF U.P.
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
A B [2012] 5 S.C.R. 952 SAN DEEP v. STATE OF U.P. (Criminal Appeal No. 1651 of 2009 etc.) MAY 11, 2012 [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN AND FAKKIR MOHAMED IBRAHIM KALIFULLA, JJ.] Penal Code, 1860 - ss. 302134 and 316154 - Murder - C Prosecution for - Accused persons apprehended with the victim who was in injured condition - By PWs police officials while on patrolling duty - Victim implicating the accused - Accused admitting the facts narrated by the victim and confessing the guilt - Recoveries made - Subsequent death D of the victim - Trial court convicting both the accused for murder and sentencing them to death - High Court confirming the conviction of both the accused - Death sentence of main accused upheld while that of co-accused commuted to life sentence - On appeal, held: The chain of circumstances E alleged against the accused persons conclusively proved without any missing link - Conviction of both the accused and life sentence of co-accused affirmed - Death sentence of main accused commuted to life sentence with order that he would serve a minimum of 30 years in jail without remissions - F Sentence/Sentencing. Evidence Act, 1872: s. 106 - Burden of proving fact specially within knowledge - Accused taking plea of alibi - Held: Burden to establish the G plea is on the accused since it was within his special knowledge. H ss. 25 and 8 - Admission of facts and confession by accused before police officials - Admissibility of - Held: 952 SANDEEP v. STATE OF U.P. 953 Statement of accused consisting mixture of admission and A confession required to be sifted - Distinction required to be drawn between admission and confession - Part of statement which does not implicate the accused would amount to mere admission and not confession and hence can be relied upon and would be covered by s. 8 - s. 25 can be pressed into B service only to the part of the statement that would implicate the accused - When reliance is placed upon admissible portion, the entirety of the statement cannot be rejected outrightly by application of s. 25. Evidence - Establishment of the fact that accused was C biological father foetus - Plea that improper preservation of the foetus sample resulted in wrong report - Two Samples of foetus was preserved, one in formalin solution and the other one by ice preservation - Sample preserved in formalin solution was not accepted because standard protocol analysis D was not available in the laboratory - However, Second sample preserved in ice was tested which confirmed that the accused was father of the foetus - Thus fatherhood of the accused with the foetus was established. E Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - s. 157 - Delay in forwarding the express report to Magistrate - Effect of, on prosecution case - Held: Where FIR is recorded without delay and investigation started on the basis of the FIR and no infirmity brought out, mere delay in forwarding the express F report to the Magistrate, in absence of any prejudice to the accused, cannot be said to have tainted the investigation. Appellants-accused were prosecuted for having caused death of a girl. The prosecution case was that when the police officials PW1 to PW-5 and were on G patrolling duty, they were informed by two constables that they heard some screaming noise from a moving car. PW-1 alongwith others, when went in that direction, at a distance saw a car. They saw two young men trying to pull out a girl in injured condition by opening the rear H 954 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2012] 5 S.C.R. A door of the car. PW-1 and others caught hold of the two young men and also noticed a girl with injuries all over and on whom acid was also sprinkled. When PW-1 questioned her, she told her name, parents name and address and also told that she had developed friendship s with accused 'S' (main accused); that she got pregnant; that on being told by the main accused that he would marry her at Haridwar, she went with him; that while they were moving in the vehicle driven by the co-accused, the main accused asked her to get the foetus aborted; that c when she disagreed, and told that she would reveal the facts to his family members and the police, he started beating her with jack and spanner and cut her with a blade and also poured acid on her head; and that they tried to throw her into field when PW-1 arrived here. The 0 accused persons, on being apprehended, admitted the facts as revealed
Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.