STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH versus SAMMAN DASS

Citation: [1972] 3 S.C.R. 58 · Decided: 11-01-1972 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: J.M. SHELAT · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 3 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

58 
STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 
v. 
SAMMAN DASS 
January 11, 1972 
[J. M. SHELAT AND H. R. KHANNA, JJ.J 
Criminal Trial-Murder-Trial Court 
convictin11 
and 
••nt•"""'8 
to death-Acquittal by High Court-Ground of Interference with OSI,.._ 
ment of,, evidence by Hi11h Court in appeal und.,. Art. 136-lnttrl•rence 
justi,fied ii High Court reverses the iudgment of the trial court on lf'OUnd8 
which are manifestly fallacious and untenable-Constitution of India, ht. 
136. 
The fact that the High Court, in a reference under S; 374 of the Code 
of Criminal Procedure, bas to appraise the evidence for itself and h .... to 
arrive at its own independent conclusion would not prevent this Court 
from interfering with the order of the. High Court if the High Court 
reverses the judgment of the trial court on ground.t which are manifestly 
fallacious and untenable. 
This Court in an appeal under Art. 136 of the Constitution does not 
normally reappraise the evidence and interfere with the aaseosment of 
that evidence by the High Court. Where, however, this Court find.t that 
grave injustice bas been done by the High Court in interfering with the 
decision of the trial court on grounds which are plainly untenable. and 
the view taken bv the High Court is cle;trly unreasonable on the evidence 
on record this Court would not stay its band, There are, bow"'"'• certain 
cardinal rules which have always to be kept in view in appeals against 
acqu)ttal. Firstly, there is a presumption or innocence in favour of the 
accused which has to be kept in mini! especially when the accused bu 
been acquitted by the Court below: Secondly, if two views of the .matter 
are possible a view fa~ourable to the accused· should be taken; thirdly, 
in case of acquittal by the trial judge the appellate court •hould take into 
account the fact that the trial judge bad the advan'age of looking at the 
demeanour of witnesses: and fourthly,. the accused is entitled to· the bene-
fit of doubt. The doubt should, however, be reasonable and should be 
such as a rational thinking man will reasMably, honestly .and c:On.cien-
tiously entertain and not the doubt of a timid mind which .fighta 
shy 
thougb unwittingly it mav be or is afraid of the logical consequences, 
if that benefit was not given. To put it difl'erently, it is "not the dou~ 
of a vacillating mind that. has not the moral courage to decide but obeiten 
itself in a vain and Idle scepticism'", [69H-70Bl 
· 
· 
Himachal Pradesh Admin!.rrration v. Shrl Om Prakash, Cr. Appeal 
No. 61 of 1969 decided on December 1, 1911, referred to. 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal A~ 
1'119. 
17 of 1971. 
A 
B 
c 
D 
r 
c 
Appeal bv special leave from the Judgment and Order dated 
the June I, 1970 of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal AJ)peal 
No. 1931of1969 and Referred No. 182 of 1969. 
H 
D. P; Uniyal and 0. P. Rana, for the Appellant. 
A 
U.P. STATB v. SAMMAN DASS (Khanna, I.) 
59 
A. S. R. Chari, S. K. Mehta, K. L. Mehta and K. R. Nagaraja, 
for the Respondent. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
Khanna, J, Samman Dass alias Samman Lal, aged 19 
years, was convicted by Sessions Judge, Faizabad under section 
8 
302 l.P .C. for causing the death of his wife Putlibai by throttling 
her and was sentenced to death. 
On appeal as well as in the 
reference made to it for the confirmation of the death sentence, 
the Allahabad High Court set aside the conviction of the accused 
and acquitted him. 
The State of Uttar Pradesh has filed this 
appeal by special leave against the above judgment of the High 
C Court. 
The accused was married to Putlibai, who was neatabout of 
the same age as the accused, on May 14, 1968. Putlibai was the 
daughter of Gurmukh Das (PW 8) of Azamgarh, while the accus-
ed is the son of Shobhamal of Faizabad. The accused lived with 
his parents in quarter No. 1831 in Ram Nagar Colony of Faiza-
D bad. 
More than 300 familities of .Sindhis live in this locality. 
E 
The non-Sindhis occupy only a couple of houses. 
There are a 
number of blocks of buildings in the colony. Each of those blocks 
consi&ts of ten quarters. Apart from the accused and his parents, 
his uncle Parumal and the wife of Parumal, who is sister of the 
mother of the accused, also lives in his quarter. 
The accused had been engaged to Putlibai about a year before 
the marriage. 
According to the prosecution case, about 5 or 6 
months after the engagement the accused went to the house of 
Gurmukh Das in Azamgarh to see Pu

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