LexSTATE OF U.P. versus BAL KISHAN DAS AND ANR.
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- STATE OF U.P. A v. BAL KISHAN DAS AND ANR. OCTOBER 29, 1996 [M.K. MUKHERJEE AND S.P. KURDUKAR, JJ.] B Criminal Law: Penal Code, I 860: Sections 20 I, 302 and 34. Murder-Circumstantial evidence-Murder of victim in her c matrimonial home-Trial Court convicted brother-in-law of victim under Ss.302 and 201 IPC and his cousin under S.20! !PC-Father-in-law of victim acquitted-Order of trial court confirmed by High Court-Held: there was no reason to distrub concurrent findings of the courts below that identity of victim was established and that victim died in her matrimonial D home-However, Courts below erred in acquittingfather-in-law of victim- Role played by father-in-law and brother-in-law not distinguishable for they acted in unison-Hence, acquittal of father-in-law set aside and convicted under S.302134 IPC and sentenced to imprisonment for life- Conviction of brother-in-law under S.302 IPC (Simpliciter) altered to one under S.302134 !PC-Conviction of cousin of brother-in-law confirmed- E But his substantive sentence of 5 years 'RI reduced to two years' RI considering the fact that offence was committed more than fourteen years back The respondents-accused were convicted and sentenced under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 while the father- F in-law of the deceased was acquitted. The order of the trial court was confirmed hy the High Court. Hence this appeal. According to the prosecution, the deceased was living with her husband in the house of her in-law. The deceased celebrated the festival G of 'Holi' in her elder sister's house and returned to her matrimonial home the next day. Sometimes later, the father-in-law of the deceased lodged a report with the police to the effect that the deceased was missing from the house. The deceased was wearing a red printed cotton saree and some glass-bangles of "maroon" colour. Subsequently, the father-in-law of the deceased handed over to the police an application H 49 50 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1996] SUPP. 8 S.C.R. A along with an 'Inland' letter. The inland letter gave the information that the deceased was in the custody of her abductor and that she would be sent back after payment of Rs. 2. lakhs. In the meantime, the dead body of a woman was found in the Railway Station in a gunny bag which was wrapped in a green coloured B hold-all. The deceased was wearing a red printed saree and there were some glass bangles of red colour around her left wrist. Photographs of the dead body were taken, a post mortem was held and tho doctor, (PW-17), opined that death was due to strangulation. The elder sister of the deceased identified the clothes and the glass bangles as belonging to the deceased. When t~e enlarged photographs C of the deceased were shown to the sister and father of the deceased they identified the same as those of the deceased. It was the further case of the prosecution that the brother-in- law of the deceased along with his cousin had loaded a green coloured hold-all in a rickshaw and carried it to the. Railway Station. D Subsequently, the father-in-law, brother-in-law and his cousin were arrested and from their house some gunny bags, quite similar to the gunny bag in which the deceased was found, were seized. In the appeal before this court, on behalf of the accused persons E it was contended that the prosecution had failed to prove the identity of the deceased; that according to the opinion of D.W.4 death of the deceased was not due to strangulation and hence the prosecution failed to prove that the deceased met with a homicidal death. F Disposing of the appeal, this Court HELD : I. .The prosecution sought to. establish the identity of the deceased by the identification of the clothes and glass bangles found on her person and also th" photographs taken of the dead body. The deceased had on her person a red printed saree and a G number of red coloured glass bangles. The elder sister of the deceased had identified the above articles as belonging to the deceased and further stated that the glass bangles had been given to the deceased by her on the occasion of the 'Holi' when she had visited her. She also testified, on being shown the enlarged photographs of the deceased, that those were of her sister. Both the trial Court and the High Court H discussed the evidence of the elder sister in this regard and found the STATEOFU.P. v. B.K. DAS 5 l same trustworthy. This apart, the Cour
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