A murder conviction rested on circumstantial, electronic and forensic evidence. The court held the chain complete, upheld discovery of the car and bloodstained articles from railway parking, and rejected reduction to grievous hurt. It dismissed the appeal and confirmed the convictions under Sections 302 and 201.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY, AURANGABAD BENCH, AURANGABAD
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 276 OF 2011
1]Anmolsingh Swarnsingh Jabbal ...Appellant
[Original Accused]
VERSUS
The State of Maharashtra ...Respondent
Shri Shirish Gupte, Senior Advocate i/b
Shri S.S.Jadhav, advocate for the appellant
Shri S.D.Kaldate, A.P.P. for respondent/State
CORAM : S.S.SHINDE
AND
V.M.DESHPANDE, JJ.
DATE OF RESERVING THE JUDGMENT : 27.2.2014 DATE OF PRONOUNCEMENT OF THE JUDGMENT : 21.3.2014
J U D G M ENT : (Per V.M.Deshpande, J.)
1] Being dissatisfied and feeling aggrieved by
the recording of find of guilt, and consequently
imposing punishment for life by the learned
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Additional Sessions Judge, Basmathnagar, dated
15.4.2011 in Sessions Trial No. 10 of 2010, the
appellant has presented the appeal questioning his
sentence, on account of offence punishable under
Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
2]The factual matrix, giving rise to the
present appeal, can succinctly be narrated as
under :-
Pandurang Kharate (PW 1), an agriculturist
and resident of Kawatha, was returning to his house
along with one Paraji on 29.7.2009 at 7.30 a.m.
from their field. That time, they saw dead body of
a girl by the side of field of one Raosaheb Pande.
The dead body was lying in shrubs. They noticed
that the deceased was having Jeans pant and T-shirt
on her person. They informed the said fact to
police patil Tukaram Kharate.
Police Patil Tukaram Kharate (PW 2), on
receipt of the information from Pandurang Kharate
immediately rushed to the spot and found that the
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body was lying there. He informed the said fact to
the police station officer, Basmath.
3]Manik Perke (PW 36) was discharging his
duties as police station officer, police station,
Basmath. After getting the information from police
patil of village Kawatha, the said information was
conveyed to Manik Perke (PW 36) by police Head
Constable Argade. On receipt of the information
about the dead body being found in the field, he
immediately rushed to the spot. A photographer was
also taken by him. He saw dead body of young girl
lying in shrubs on Kavatha to Kurunda road. He,
therefore, directed photographer to take the
photographs of that lady. He also called two
panchas and in their presence an inquest panchanama
was prepared. Same is at Exh.44. He then sent the
dead body for postmortem along with the requisition
(Exh.120). He also sent another requisition to the
Medical Officer for preserving samples of blood and
samples of body required for DNA test. The said
requisition is at Exh.121.
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The spot panchanama, in presence of
panchas, was also drawn. He seized soil mixed with
blood along with the plain soil. The said
panchanama is at Exh.42.
As the dead body was of an unidentified
lady, he tried to get the identification of the
victim by making inquiry in the nearby vicinity,
however, the identity was not established.
Consequently, the dead body was kept in mortuary.
The clothes of the deceased, after the postmortem,
were seized in presence of panchas and the said
seizure memo is at Exh.47.
4]On the conspectus of these facts, Manik
Perke (PW 36) was of the view that some unknown
person must have kidnapped the said girl and after
commission of forceful sexual intercourse,
eliminated the said girl, and therefore, he
prepared a report and sent to the police station
from the spot itself. The said report is at Exh.
122. On the basis of the said report, a crime No.
126 of 2009 was registered against unknown person.
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He received postmortem report on 29.7.2009,
wherein the doctor has opined that the girl has
died homicidal death.
5]On the next date i.e. on 30.7.2009, Manik
Perke (PW 36) published photograph of the deceased
in news papers in order to ascertain identity of
the girl. He also sent viscera to the Chemical
Analyser vide requisition Exhs. 18 and 19.
6]On 31.7.2009, the photograph of the
deceased was sent through inter net to all the
police stations in Maharashtra, with an object to
secure and establish the identity of the said
unknown girl.
Meanwhile, on 2.8.2009, the blood samples
required for DNA test were received from the
Medical Officer, which were sent to the Director,
Forensic Laboratory, Kalina, Santacruz, Mumbai,
vide communication, dated 2.8.2009 (Exh.85).
7]His efforts to establish the identity of
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the deceased got the desired results, when on
3.8.2009 he received a telephonic message from
Chatushrungi police station, Pune that the dead
body is of missing girl Shraddha Suresh Chhajed of
Pune. He obtained phone numbers of her relatives
from Chatushrungi police station and contacted them
on phone.
7]On 3.8.2009, the relatives of the deceased
had been to the police station during evening
hours. From the photographs and the dead body
itself, they identified the dead body. Her
identity was established by them as Shraddha Suresh
Chhajed. Thereupon he handed over the dead body to
the relatives for her last rites.
When the relatives were in Basmath police
station, the father of the deceased gave
information that the deceased was serving at
Symantec Company, Pune and she was a Software
Engineer. It was also disclosed to him that a
missing report was lodged at Chatushrungi police
station on 28.7.2009. On getting this information,
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he proceeded to Pune for investigation.
8]Manik Perke (PW 36) had been to police
station Chatushrungi, Pune on 4.8.2009 and
requested the police authorities there to hand over
the report in respect of missing of Shraddha
Chhajed, the deceased and the investigation carried
out by them, by giving requisition (Exh.123) to
them.
During the investigation, it was revealed
to him that a missing report in respect of the
appellant was also lodged with Chatushrungi police
station and he was in the custody of police.
Therefore, he obtained the said missing report
along with the investigation report. That time, he
received two mobile hand sets from Chatushrungi
police. Those are Articles �A and B�.
The appellant was arrested by Manik
Perke (PW 36) on 4.8.2009 from police station
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Chatushrungi vide arrest panchanama (Exh.132). He
also seized the clothes of the accused/appellant
vide seizure memo (Exh.124).
9]On 5.8.2009, when the appellant was in the
custody of investigating officer Manik Perke
(PW 36), he made disclosure statement that he had
thrown the dead body of Shraddha on Kurunda to
Kavatha road and he is ready to show the spot. The
said disclosure statement, according to the
investigating officer, was made in presence of the
panchas, and therefore, a memorandum panchanama
(Exh.97) was prepared.
In pursuance to the same, the appellant
along with the police party, in a vehicle, went to
the spot. The appellant shown the spot where he had
thrown the dead body. Accordingly, panchanama was
prepared. The said panchanama is at Exh.98.
On the said spot, the appellant made
further disclosure that the car, by which he had
brought the dead body on the spot, was parked by
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him at the parking zone of Railway Station, Nanded.
He also disclosed that wheel pana (spanner), by
which murder was committed, was also in that
vehicle. The said memorandum panchanama is at
Exh.99.
In view of his disclosure made, police
party along with the appellant went to Nanded
Railway Station parking zone at Gokulnagar, where
the vehicle was parked. The appellant led to the
police party to the spot where he had parked one
Santro Getz car. It was having number as
MH-01/DE-941. There, in presence of panchas, the
appellant opened the car. Blood stains were found
on the backside of the car, also in the dicky of
the said car. Spanner in that car was also having
the blood stains. Those Articles were seized. The
car was also seized. The spanner is Article �I�.
The mat of the car, which was seized having the
blood stains, is Article �M�. Some hairs were also
found in the car. Those were also seized along
with the other Articles vide panchanama Exh.100.
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10]On the same day, a dog squad was called on
the spot. The handler of the dog prepared
panchanama Exh.101. Finger Print Expert was also
called on the spot. He took finger prints from the
car.
11]During the investigation, it was transpired
that the appellant/accused has cut his hair and
removed his beard at Hyderabad. Therefore, the
investigating officer recorded statement of barber.
The statements of the boys working at parking zone
at Railway Station, Nanded were also recorded.
During investigation, the investigating
officer found that the car passed through toll
collection center on Aurangabad-Nanded road near
village Chondi. He, therefore, collected computer
data of the said toll booth. The same is at Exh.
83. He also recorded statements of Manager and the
computer operator of the toll booth, also recorded
the statements of the boys, who used to collect the
amount from the passing vehicles. He also obtained
toll receipt of the car No.941 from the toll plaza.
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12]On 8.8.2009, a requisition was sent by the
investigating officer to medical officer Sub-
District Hospital, Basmath, by which the
investigating officer requested to conduct the
medical examination of the appellant and especially
to give opinion as to whether the appellant is
capable of committing intercourse, whether there
are injuries on his private parts, and if any, on
what account. The injuries found on the neck and
right arm, whether can be caused by the resistance
from a lady. It was requested to take his blood
sample and to hand over the same in the sealed
condition for sending it to the Chemical Analyser
and for DNA test, etc. On 9.8.2009, he referred
the samples for DNA test in respect of the
appellant and the deceased to the Chemical
Analyser, Mumbai, as found in the preceding
paragraph vide Exh.86.
13]On 10.8.2009, again for investigation
purpose, the investigating officer paid visit to
Pune and collected the details in respect of the
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movements of the appellant and the deceased
Shraddha from Close Circuit T.V.Camera (CCTV) from
the Symantec Company, where both were serving.
Statements from the personnel from the Company were
also recorded by the investigating officer. Also
he recorded statement of Sheetal, cousin of
deceased and also recorded the statement of
Shripal, the lover of the deceased, and also
recorded statements of other persons.
14]on 12.8.2009, the investigating officer
returned to Basmath. On that day, the parents and
younger sister of deceased had been to Basmath. He
referred them to the Medical Officer for collecting
their samples for DNA test. The requisition to the
Medical Officer, Basmathnagar to that effect is at
Exh.76.
On the same day, he recorded the statements
of parents and younger sister of deceased.
In view of his transfer on promotion, Manik
Perke (PW 36) handed over the investigation to
Deputy Superintendent of Police Shri Shrirame
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(PW 34).
15]In August, 2009, Rahul Shrirame (PW 34) was
serving as Sub-Divisional Police Officer at
Basmath. The investigation of Crime No. 126 of
2009 was handed over to him by Manik Perke (PW 36)
for further investigation.
On 17.9.2009, he issued a letter to the
Superintendent of Police, Hingoli, in order to
obtain the information for ascertaining the names
from service providers of cell phone in whose
favour Sim card Nos. 9420535545 and 9823029915 were
issued. The said letter is at Exh.106.
On 20.9.2009, he made request to the
Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Basmath to refer
wheel spanner, blood stained soil, pant and shirt
of the deceased and mat of black colour for DNA
test.
The learned Judicial Magistrate, First
Class accorded permission to refer those Articles
for DNA test. Accordingly, those Articles were
sent to the Chemical Analyser�s office at Mumbai
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for DNA test vide covering letter (Exh.109). Those
reports were filed along with the charge sheet.
Those reports are at Exhs. 110 to 113. He has also
prepared the map of the spot through Taluka
Inspector of Land Records office at Basmath. The
said map is at Exh.114.
After completion of investigation, he filed
charge sheet in the Court.
16]It appears from the record that a charge
sheet was submitted before the Judicial Magistrate,
First Class, Basmathnagar, vide charge sheet No.102
of 2009 on 30.10.2009 against the appellant for the
offences punishable under Sections 366, 376, 302,
511, 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Judicial Magistrate, First Class,
Basmathnagar, on 13.4.2010 passed committal order,
since the offences for which the charge sheet was
filed against the appellant were exclusively
triable by the court of Sessions.
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17] The learned Ad-hoc Additional Sessions
Judge, Basmathnagar recorded plea of the appellant
on 27.4.2010. The appellant claimed for trial.
The learned trial court framed charge for offences
punishable under Sections 364, 376, 302, 201 of the
Indian Penal Code.
18]The prosecuting agency examined 36
witnesses and relied upon voluminous documents in
order to bring home the guilt of the appellant, for
which he was charged.
The learned trial court, after appreciating
the evidence, found that the appellant was guilty
of commission of offence punishable under Sections
302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, and
therefore, he directed that the appellant should
suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of
Rs.2,000/-, in default to suffer further rigorous
imprisonment for two months; and imprisonment for 3
years and to pay fine of Rs.500/-, in default to
suffer further rigorous imprisonment for 15 days,
respectively.
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However, the learned trial court was
pleased to acquit the appellant for the offences
punishable under Sections 364, 376 r/w 511 of the
Indian Penal Code.
19]It is against this judgment of recording
guilt against the appellant on the afore said
count, the appellant is before this court.
20]We have heard at length learned Senior
Counsel Shri Shirish Gupte along with Shri
S.S.Jadhav for the appellant. We have also heard
Shri S.D.Kaldate, learned Additional Public
Prosecutor for the respondent/State. With the
assistance of learned Senior counsel and the
learned A.P.P., we have minutely scrutinized the
entire record and proceedings in order to re-
appreciate the evidence as well as the documents
brought on record for just decision of the present
appeal.
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21]Broadly speaking, the following are the
submissions advanced before us by the learned
Senior counsel.
(i)The first and foremost submission is
that the prosecution has failed to establish
the complete chain of circumstances, which
establishes the guilt of the accused.
According to the learned Senior counsel, the
couplings in the chain are missing.
(ii)There is no evidence of whatsoever
nature to show that deceased Shraddha was in
the company of appellant.
(iii)The alleged discovery of the spot of
recovery of the dead body of Shraddha and the
car from the parking zone will necessarily
have to be rejected, since the spot was
already known to the investigating officer
and the car parked at public place open to
all.
(iv)There is no positive evidence that the
car has passed through toll naka.
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(v)The omissions in the statement of
Nikhil Puntambekar (PW 4) in respect of purse
and bag are material omissions, which go to
the root of the matter.
(vi)If the recovery of the car, at the
instance of the applicant is rejected, then
the evidence in respect of the blood found on
the articles in the car and the Chemical
Analyser�s report, though positive, is of no
value.
(vii)The contents of missing report in
respect of the appellant remained to be
proved.
(viii)The blood samples were given to the
doctor without any panchanama.
(ix)In view of the finding given by the
learned trial Judge that some of the
circumstances, as put before the court below,
were not proved by the prosecution, much
importance cannot be given to those
circumstances.
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(x)Lastly, by way of alternate argument,
the learned Senior counsel submitted that the
case does not fall under �Thirdly of Section
300 of the Indian Penal Code�, and at the
most, the appellant can be held guilty for
the offence punishable under Section 325 of
the Indian Penal Code.
22]Per contra, the learned Additional Public
Prosecutor submitted :-
(i)The prosecution has successfully
completed the chain of events showing the
finger of guilt towards the appellant.
(ii)According to the learned A.P.P. the
scientific evidence, as appearing in the form
of Chemical Analyser�s report and DNA test
lends the assurance in respect of the
truthfulness of the prosecution version, and
therefore, the learned trial court has
rightly convicted the appellant.
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(iii)According to the learned A.P.P., this
court can re-appreciate the entire evidence
as brought on record, and therefore, though
some findings in respect of the circumstances
are found to be not proved in the judgment of
the learned trial court, on re-appreciation,
it is established that even those
circumstances are also proved.
23]Apart from oral submissions of the learned
Senior counsel, we have very minutely examined the
grounds raised by the appellant in the memo of
appeal and has consciously examined those grounds
very minutely while making the scrutiny of the
evidence of the prosecution.
24]Shraddha was 24 years of age, as from the
record document (Exh.66) produced by Shudanshu
Pandit (PW 24), the Manager of Symantec Company, in
which Shraddha was working, her date of birth is
found to be 25.3.1985. Surely, that was not the
age of Shraddha for taking exit from this world.
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25] Dr. Manoj Bagal (PW 25), while conducting
autopsy on the dead body of Shraddha, found
following injuries :-
�(1) Contused lacerated wound over her forehead having size of 3cm approximately x 2cm into bone deep.(2) Contused marks over neck anteriorly having size of 6cm x 2cm approximately.(3) The right eye was on blackish in colour due to assault.(4) Multiple thorn with injuries over both upper extremities at abdomen, lower side of chest, face and buttocks.(5) Contusion over lower lip on right side of about 3cm x 2cm approximately.�According to Dr. Manoj Bagal, all afore
said external injuries appearing on the dead body,
except injury no.4, were ante mortem injuries.
On internal examination, the panel of
doctors, who conducted autopsy, found that the
frontal bone of Shraddha was fractured verticle and
undisplaced with irregular margin about 2 inches in
length. Also found frontal haematoma and blood
collection in occipital region.
Following was the opinion of the doctor
regarding cause of death :-
� In our opinion probable cause of death may
be cardio respiratory failure, may be due to
intra cranial bleeding due to head injury.�
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Dr. Manoj Bagal (PW 25) has proved the
postmortem notes. Those are at Exh. 71. According
to the doctor, the injury on the fore head of
deceased might have been caused by blow of hard and
blunt object.
According to Dr. Manoj Bagal, deceased
Shraddha died homicidal death.
In fact, no dispute is raised from the side
of the appellant that Shraddha died homicidal
death. Therefore, in view of the injuries, as
found by the doctor while performing autopsy and
his evidence, there is no doubt that the death of
Shraddha was homicidal one.
26]In the present case, admittedly there is no
witness to the actual incident of assault. Thus,
the entire case of the prosecution is based on
circumstantial evidence.
27]The mode of evaluating the circumstantial
evidence has been laid down by the Hon�ble Apex
Court way back in the year 1952 in Hanumant
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Govind Nargundkar vs State of Madhya Pradesh
[AIR 1952 SC 343]. It reads as follows :-
� It is well to remember that in
case where the evidence is of a
circumstantialnature,the
circumstancesfromwhichthe
conclusion of guilt is to be drawn
should in the first instance be fully
established, and all the facts so
established should be consistent only
with the hypothesis of the guilt of
the accused. Again, the circumstances
should be of a conclusive nature and
tendency and they should be such as to
exclude every hypothesis but the one
proposed to be proved. In other
words, there must be a chain of
evidence so far complete as not to
leave any reasonable ground for a
conclusionconsistentwiththe
innocence of the accused and it must
be such as to how that within all
human probability the act must have
been done by the accused. �
28] Keeping the afore said principles in mind
while evaluating evidence in a case purely based on
circumstantial evidence and which is reiterated by
catena of decisions of Hon�ble Apex Court, let us
examine and scrutinize the evidence brought on
record by the prosecution in the present case.
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29] Deceased Shraddha and appellant were
working with Symantec Software Company, Pune. There
is no dispute to this position. There is a common
gymnasium in the company premises for all the
employees. The employees prefer to visit gymnasium
during morning hours. This position is brought on
record in cross-examination of Abhijit Pharade
(PW 9), who is a programme coordinator at the
security control room of Symantec Software Company,
Pune.
Sheetal Chhajed (PW 17) is cousin sister of
deceased Shraddha. Both were residing with one
Shweta Naik at Pune. From the evidence of Sheetal
(PW 17), it is clear that Shraddha had left her
house at 7.00 a.m. on 28.7.2009. It is appearing
in her evidence that she used to visit gymnasium
before reaching her office. In view of the
evidence of Abhijit (PW 9) and Sheetal (PW 17), it
is not at all unnatural that Shraddha left her
house at 7.00 a.m. on 28.7.2009.
In view of the fact that there is no
challenge to the evidence of Abhijit (PW 9)
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regarding having the Closed Circuit TV Cameras at
various places in the premises of Symantec Company,
the said fact is conclusively proved on record.
The CC TV Cameras are attached with DVR
computer machines. Abhijit (PW 9), who was serving
as a programme coordinator at the security control
room of Symantec Company, has deposed on the basis
of record of the computer.
From the evidence of Abhijit (PW 9),
following portion is most important, so it is
reproduced as below :-
� Every employee is given access card
and he has to show it at entry level
i.e. access control doors and the
timing of entering of that employee is
noted at that access entry in
computers.�
It appears from the evidence of the said
witness that from the data, dated 28.7.2009, as
available in the computer, it is seen that Shraddha
had entered the boom barrier of the company at 8.30
a.m. She entered lift lobby entry no.2 at 8.40
a.m. Thereafter, she went to 4th floor at 8.41
a.m. This data is proved by this witness and it is
at Article �G�.
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30]The learned Senior counsel Shri Gupte
fairly submitted that, computer generated data and
photographs taken from CC TV were shown to the
witness and they deposed on the basis of said data,
therefore, this data is admissible in evidence,
though it is marked as Articles by the learned
trial court.
Further the photograph from the computer
data regarding the entry of Shraddha in the lift
lobby of upper basement of the company is exhibited
as Article �H�. Perusal of this photograph shows
that it is having the computerised noting as
UBLL2/0.8.40.57.31. From this photograph, it is
very clear that deceased Shraddha is having purse
and bag on her left hand shoulder; whereas with
right hand she is talking on cell phone. From the
photograph Exh. �I�, it is clear that Shraddha was
at lower basement at 0.8.43.26.64 hours. Thus
according to the evidence of Abhijit (PW 9), at
that time, it is clear that Shraddha was going out
of lift lobby of lower basement. If that
photograph is minutely perused, though the backside
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of the person is appearing in that photograph, as
per the evidence of Abhijit (PW 9) the said
photograph is in respect of the deceased. Most
important aspect to that effect is the identity of
the female though from backside, is not challenged
by the appellant in searching cross-examination of
Abhijit (PW 9). It is most natural for a person to
identify a person from the structure of the body,
even when the face is not appearing in the
photograph. We cannot forget that Abhijit (PW 9),
who is programme coordinator of security control
room of the Company is used to observe the
employees, and therefore, merely because the face
is not appearing in the photograph, that does not
mean that this witness cannot identify the
deceased. Moreover, there is no challenge
whatsoever in nature to his statement in the
evidence. This photograph Article �I� shows that
Shraddha is talking on her cell phone, however, her
bags are not with her, as found in photograph
Article �H�.
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31]The appellant, who is a Sikh boy, was found
to be entering in the upper basement boom barrier
of the Company on 28.7.2009 at 7.31 a.m. The
computer record further shows that he entered lift
lobby no.1 at 7.34 a.m. and entered main lift lobby
entry no.2 on 4th floor at 7.35 a.m. As per the CC
TV record, the appellant was at lift lobby entry
no.1 at 8.03 a.m. and reached 4th floor main lift
lobby entry no.2 at 8.04 a.m. This data in respect
of the appellant is at Article �J�.
Photographs Articles �M and N� are in
respect of the appellant. According to the evidence
of Abhijit (PW 9), photograph Article �M� shows
that the appellant is entering lower basement lift
lobby. That photograph is having time 07.34.06.28,
while photograph Article �N� shows that he is going
out of lower basement lift lobby at 08.07.00.48
hours.
From the afore said record, as appearing in
the CC TV Cameras, it is established beyond any
reasonable doubt that both deceased and appellant
entered in the company premises in the morning
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hours on 28.7.2009.
32]Now, the presence of deceased in the
morning hours in the premises of the company is
most natural, in view of the positive evidence of
Sheetal (PW 17) that on 28.7.2009 deceased went to
her work as usual in the morning hours.
Undisputedly, the appellant, at the
relevant time, was working as a Software Engineer
with the Symantec Company at Pune. From the
evidence of Nitin Kalingar (PW 5), who is also
serving as a Software Engineer in the Symantec
Company, both the appellant and the deceased were
his colleagues.
On 28.7.2009 Nitin (PW 5) received the sms
from the appellant that since he is not feeling
well, therefore, he will not be attending his
duties on that date. This specific assertion made
by Nitin (PW 5) has gone unchallenged in his cross-
examination.
If the appellant was not feeling well and
he was not to attend the duties on 28.7.2009, then
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his presence in the company premises, as found in
the CC TV record, is most unnatural. There is no
explanation whatsoever offered by the appellant in
his statement recorded under Section 313 of the
Criminal Procedure Code in respect of the sms
received by Nitin (PW 5) and the data and
photographs, as found in the CC TV record in the
morning hours of 28.7.2009, except the answer,
�false�.
There is no reason for Nitin to state
falsehood regarding the receipt of SMS from
appellant on 28.7.2009. Further as per the CC TV
record, the appellant�s presence in the morning
hours in the company premises on 28.7.2009 is
recorded in the due course of business of the
company. There is no reason to raise any suspicion
over the same. Therefore, it is conclusively
proved that on 28.7.2009 the appellant was found to
be present in the premises of Symantec Company,
though he was not supposed to be present on that
day.
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33]Vikas Wankhede (PW 11) is serving in
Vodafone Essar Cellular Company Limited, as retail
sales Manager at Hingoli Branch. The Head office
of the said company is at Pune. The said Company
has authorized him to represent in the matter. He
has proved the authorization. It is at Exh.36.
The name of Vodafone Essar Cellular Company
Limited denotes that it is a service provider of
mobile phones. During the investigation, since the
two Sim cards along with two sets of mobile were
seized from the appellant, the investigating
officer sent communication to this Vodafone Essar
Cellular Company Limited for giving the full name,
address and CDR of those Sim cards for the period
from 1.7.2009 to 31.7.2009. Exh.37 shows that Sim
card no. 9823029915 is in the name of Bhupinder
Singh Jabbal, having address Symentec RMZ Icon
Project, Opposite Hotel Mahabaleshwar, Baner Road,
Pune. This Bhupinder Singh Jabbal is real brother
of the appellant and the said fact is not disputed.
Exh.37 further shows that Sim card no.
9420535545 is in the name of Shraddha Suresh
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Chhajed and address is, F-1 Pitruchaya Apartment,
Sneh Nagar, Dhule. This Shraddha is the deceased.
Her parents reside at Dhule. So, it is clear that
this number belonged to deceased.
Vikas Wankhede (PW 11) has proved the Call
Details Records (CDRs) of mobile no. 9420535545 and
9823029915. Those CDRs are the part and parcel of
proved document Exh.37.
34]We have minutely scrutinized those CDRs. On
scrutiny, we found that on number of occasions the
SMS were sent and also there were telephonic calls,
from the mobile no.9823029915 to mobile no.
9420535545, during the period of 1.7.2009 to
28.7.2009. Entry no.151 is in respect of
26.7.2009. The timing is 18.41.26 and it is a
outgoing call from mobile no. 9823029915 to mobile
no. 9420535545. The duration of the said call is
174 seconds. Also there is a SMS on 27.7.2009 at
entry no. 167 at 7.49.38 hours from mobile no.
9823029915 to mobile no. 9420535545.
33cra276.11
35]Thus, it is very clear that apart from both
being serving in the Symantec Company, the
appellant appears to be in touch of the deceased
from 1.7.2009 to 27.7.2009 i.e. a day before the
date of the incident.
36]PW 13 is one Shripal Chopada. According to
his version, he was lover of deceased Shraddha.
Even the said fact is corroborated in her evidence
by Sheetal (PW 17), cousin sister of Shraddha.
Pradnesh Nawalakha (PW 12) is cousin brother of
Shraddha. The evidence of these close persons to
deceased shows that appellant was having one side
love affair with deceased Shraddha. The fact that
Shraddha was in love with Shripal (PW 13) is also
not seriously disputed by the appellant, as in
cross-examination of Pradnesh (PW 12) it is brought
on record that, �Shraddha was in love with Shripal
Chopada�.
37]We reproduce herein below the relevant
portion from the evidence of Pradnesh (PW 12),
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since it has a concrete bearing while assessing the
evidence of the prosecution :-
She used to visit my house
frequently. She used to share her
problems with us. She had told us that
accused used to harass her. She also
told us that he was saying that he was
loving her. She further told that she
was not liking accused as he was a non
vegetarian. She further told us that
she had told accused that she is going
to marry one Shripal Chopada after
permission of her parents.�
Even, the version of Shripal (PW 13) in his
evidence is that, Shraddha has disclosed to him
that appellant used to create closeness to her,
though she was not liking him. Sheetal (PW 17),
cousin sister of Shraddha has also corroborated the
above facts.
We cannot forget that parental house of
Shraddha was at Dhule. She being the Software
Engineer was serving at Pune, staying along with
her cousin sister Sheetal. Pradnesh Nawalakha (PW
12) is the cousin brother of these sisters. Being
away from home, may be Software Engineer, it is
most natural on the part of Shraddha to share
problems with her brother Pradnesh (PW 12).
35cra276.11
Therefore, there is no reason why the court should
not accept the version appearing as quoted above in
the evidence of Pradnesh (PW 12).
38]Criticism was made during the course of the
arguments by learned Senior counsel that at no
point of time Shraddha had reported against the
appellant with her boss or had not lodged report
against the appellant with police.
We cannot forget the fact that both the
deceased and the appellant were serving as the
Software Engineers in the same company. From the
record, it is clear that Shraddha was elder than
the appellant. It is not the evidence of Shripal,
Pradnesh or Sheetal that, at any point of time the
appellant has caused any physical harm to deceased
Shraddha. The evidence shows that he was having
one sided love with Shraddha and he was trying to
have established closeness to her. Merely because
these acts of appellant were not reported to
superior or police, that does not mean that those
were not the facts. Shraddha must have thought
36
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that why all these things should be brought to the
notice of superior or to police, because by that
unnecessarilytheappellantwillsuffer
difficulties, even losing his job. Merely because
deceased Shraddha has shown maturity in not
reporting these facts to her superiors or police,
it does not mean that the said fact can be brushed
aside and/or cannot be believed. Therefore, the
doubt about the same, as raised by the learned
Senior counsel, in our considered view, is
misplaced.
39]Now, on 28.7.2009, which is the day of the
incident, as observed in the preceding paragraphs
of this judgment, the presence of the appellant on
that day in the company was most unnatural. The
event does not stop here. From CDRs, at entry no.
167, we found that one SMS is sent from mobile no.
9823029915 to mobile no. 9420535545 at 7.49.38
hours; while phone call is made from mobile no.
9823029915 to mobile no. 9420535545 at 8.41.52
hours and duration of that call was 21 seconds.
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These two events are in close proximity to the
entry of deceased in the company and photograph
Article �I�. There is no call record available in
these cell phones after 8.41.52 hours.
40]A forceful submission was made by the
learned Senior counsel that nobody has seen the
deceased and the appellant lastly together or there
is no evidence that the deceased was in the company
of the appellant on 28.7.2009. True it is, there
is no evidence available on record that on
28.7.2009 the deceased was found in physical
companyof the appellant.
Various decisions of Hon�ble Apex Court
were pointed out, during the course of the hearing,
that there should be evidence of the deceased and
the appellant last seen together. Since the same
is settled position of law, we do not wish to refer
to those decisions.
41]We cannot forget that present era is the
era of telecommunication. By sitting in close
38cra276.11
room, with the help of modern gadgets and with the
help of advanced telecommunication, one can control
so many things, which are beyond his physical
reach. One can electronically transfer the amount
with the help of remote gadgets. The machines can
be operated from far away. These are just few
examples.
On 28.7.2009, it is established with the
help of CDRs that the appellant was in touch of the
deceased.
42]From the evidence of Nikhil Puntambekar
(PW 4), under whom the deceased was serving, it is
clear that he received a blank SMS at 10.09 a.m. on
28.7.2009 from deceased on his cell phone. Again
at 10.11 a.m. he received another sms from the
mobile of deceased as, �as going home sis. bday�.
As per the evidence of Nikhil (PW 4), during noon
hours, he tried to contact deceased on 3-4
occasions, but he was unable to contact her.
39cra276.11
43]During the evidence of Abhijit Pharade (PW
9) he was confronted with two photographs showing a
car. As per his evidence, photograph Article �K�
shows the entering of the car at 7.32.50 hours.
Article �L� photograph at 9.14.04.90 hours of
28.7.2009 shows that the car of the appellant was
going out of the company premises. The dead body
of Shraddha was found in the side of field of one
Raosaheb Pande at village Kawatha, which is about
450 Kms. away from Pune. Deceased Shraddha was
last seen alive at 8.43.26.64 hours in the lower
basement of company on 28.7.2009, which is just two
minutes after the phone call given by the appellant
from cell no. 9823029915 to cell no.9420535545 at
8.41.52 hours. Thus, it is conclusively proved on
record by the above evidence that it is the
appellant, who was in last touch with the deceased.
Merely because they were not seen physically in
company of each other, that does not render the
prosecution case untruthful or unworthy of
credence. No explanation is offered by the
appellant about these phone calls and SMS, when
40cra276.11
this incriminating evidence was put to the
appellant by the learned Judge of the court below
in his statement recorded under Section 313 of the
Criminal Procedure Code. Therefore, there is no
hesitation in our mind, rather we are of the firm
view, that the deceased was in the company of the
appellant lastly. Therefore, it is the second
circumstance appearing in the prosecution case that
on 28.7.2009 at morning hours the appellant was in
touch with the deceased.
44]Further, the CDR data duly proved at
Article �J� shows that deceased was at 4th floor at
7.35 a.m. Undisputedly, the work place of deceased
was on 4th floor. Once she reached to her work
place, there was no reason for her to leave her
work place. The record entry no.168 at Exh.37
shows that at 8.41.52 hours she received a phone
call from the appellant and a reasonable inference
can be drawn that, in pursuance to the said call
she left her work place from 4th floor because she
was found at lower basement at 8.43 hours.
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41
Looking to the positive evidence that she
was not liking appellant and appellant was having
one sided love affair with her, an inference can be
drawn on the basis of said evidence that the
deceased must have responded to the call of
appellant at 8.41.52 hours by thinking that on that
day she would try to close the one sided love
affair chapter, and therefore, she must have left
her work place. Thus, this is a third circumstance
that the deceased left her work place on 4th floor
in pursuance to the phone call from the appellant.
45]Since the deceased did not return to her
house at her usual time of return till 7.00 p.m.,
Sheetal (PW 17) tried to contact her on her mobile,
however, she was unable to establish the contact
with her on phone. Therefore, she informed the
said fact to their landlord. That fact immediately
was informed to Pradnesh (PW 12) and Shripal (PW
13). The trio then had been to the Symantec
42cra276.11
company, obviously in search of their near and dear
Shraddha. They called her Manager there, namely
Nikhil Puntambekar (PW 4). He immediately visited
the office. Prior to reaching to Symantec company,
at 11.30 p.m., Sheetal (PW 17) made a phone call
to Nikhil (PW 4) and inquired about Shraddha. That
time, it was intimated to her that Shraddha was not
in office through out the day and she had sent one
sms to him. That must have added to the worry of
these three persons, and therefore, they must have
visited the Symantec company. According to the
evidence of Nikhil (PW 4), he reached to the office
on 28.7.2009 night. The relatives of Shraddha
inquired with him regarding Shraddha. That time
the vehicle of Shraddha, two wheeler-scooty, was
found in the parking place of the company. Her
purse and bag were also found on her counter. The
bag and the purse were handed over by Nikhil (PW 4)
to her relatives. However, her mobile was not
found in that bag or purse.
43cra276.11
46]A criticism was made in respect of the
evidence of Nikhil (PW 4) that, handing over the
bag and purse of Shraddha from counter and non-
finding of her mobile, being important piece of
evidence, no reason is assigned by this witness as
to why these facts are missing in his statement,
dated 30.7.2009.
The statement of Nikhil (PW 4) was recorded
by Swati Kolhe (PW 20), Police Sub-Inspector of
Chatushrungi police station in connection with the
missing report lodged by Pradnesh (PW 12) about the
missing of Shraddha. That omission is proved by
Swati Kolhe (PW 20). But merely because that
omission of handing over of purse and bag of
Shraddha from her counter from Nikhil (PW 4) to
relatives and not finding of her mobile does not
dent the case of prosecution, because the said fact
is also stated by Sheetal (PW 17) in her evidence.
The relevant portion is reproduced. �In the said
articles mobile was not there�. There is no
challenge to her version in that respect, except
suggestion in her cross-examination which was
44
cra276.11
denied by her.
Not only that, even Pradnesh (PW 12) has
also stated in his evidence that this fact of non-
finding of her mobile was not stated by him to
police when his statement was recorded. However,
we can visualise the anxiety and concern of
Pradnesh (PW 12), who is the brother of deceased
that, his sister is missing. Therefore, at that
particular point of time, the important aspect in
his mind was tracing out Shraddha and not non-
finding of cell phone. Therefore, merely because
of the said omission in his evidence, his version
about non-finding of mobile cannot be doubted,
especially when we have a corroboration on that
aspect in the nature of evidence of Sheetal (PW
17).
47]Since Pradnesh and Sheetal found that
though her bag and purse was at the counter in the
Company and when it was made known to them by
Nikhil (PW 4) that he received SMS from Shraddha
that she is going home due to her sister's birth
45cra276.11
day, they decided to lodge report in respect of
missing of Shraddha. Accordingly, they proceeded
to Chatushrungi police station, within whose
jurisdiction Symantec Company is situated.
48]Dattatraya Pachange (PW 18) was serving as
a Police Sub-Inspector at police station
Chatushrungi on 28.7.2009. He was on station
diary duty between 9.00 p.m. to 9.00 a.m. on next
date. Report was lodged by Pradnesh (PW 12). On
the basis of the said report, Dattatraya Pachange
(PW 18) registered Missing Report No. 101 of 2009.
Same is at Exh. 39. The most important fact as
appearing in the said report is that at the time of
missing, Shraddha was not having any money with
her.
It appears that on the same night at 2.30
a.m., the father of the appellant had also lodged
report about missing of the appellant. On the
basis of the said report, he had registered Missing
Report No. 102 of 2009. The said report is at Exh.
54. The said report is signed by Dattatraya
Pachange (PW 18), as well by the father of the
46
cra276.11
appellant.
49]Submissions were made by the learned Senior
counsel that in absence of examination of the
father of the appellant by the prosecution as its
witness, the contents remain to be proved,
therefore, the said report Exh.54 has to be kept
out of consideration while deciding the present
case.
We find, the said submission cannot be
accepted, for the reason that the said occurrence
report is also signed by Dattatraya Pachange (PW
18). Further there is no cross-examination to the
fact about the lodging of missing report by father
of the appellant. Only a suggestion is given to
Dattatraya Pachange (PW 18) that he has manipulated
the missing report about the appellant, of course
the said suggestion was denied by Dattatraya
Pachange (PW 18). There was no reason for
Dattatraya Pachange (PW 18),who was working with
Chatushrungi police station, to falsely record the
missing report in respect of the appellant. The
47cra276.11
said missing report is reduced into writing by the
said Police Sub-Inspector in discharge of his
duties. Further, nothing is brought on record to
show that he was nursing any grudge either against
the appellant or his father.
50]The contents of occurrence report/missing
report (Exh.54) are important. In the said report,
it has been pointed out that on 28.7.2009 in the
morning, the appellant went at Baner, the place
where Symantec Company is situated, in Hundai car
bearing registration No. MH-12/DE-941. The
description is given that, �being Sikh he is having
beard and turban on his head�. The important
feature about the said report is that along with
the report a photograph of the appellant was also
annexed. In the said photograph, it clearly shows
that the appellant bears beard, having turban on
his head.
51]Investigation in respect of missing report
No. 102 of 2009 i.e. in respect of the appellant
48cra276.11
was handed over to Madhusudan Joshi (PW 19) A.P.I.
of police station Chatushrungi, Pune. His evidence
would reveal that he had given message about the
missing of the appellant by wireless to the control
room. However, during his investigation he could
not trace out the missing person namely the
appellant.
52]From the afore said evidence, it is clear
that both appellant and Shraddha were found missing
from morning of 28.7.2009 and missing reports
regarding the said fact were lodged with
Chatushrungi police station, Pune. This is the
fourth circumstance as appearing in the prosecution
case.
As seen above, deceased went to the
basement on receiving phone call from the
appellant/accused. Thereafter, she was not seen
alive by anybody. Looking to their relations, it
is not probable that the deceased would go
willingly with the accused in his car. Nobody saw
49cra276.11
the deceased going out of company�s premises. Her
scooty, purse, bag were in the company premises.
Therefore, there was no intention on the part of
the deceased to leave the office premises. Had she
being taken away by force, she would have raised
hue and cry. Therefore, she must have been
silenced in the basement itself.
53]There is no evidence that anybody has
noticed deceased leaving Company premises alive
alone. However, there is a positive evidence in
the nature of the pictures as found in the CC TV
Camera that the car of the appellant was going
outside the Company premises at 09.14.04.90.
Therefore, these facts allow us to draw an
inference against the appellant/accused that after
committing some harmful act to the deceased, the
appellant has taken her in his car. In the
subsequent part of this judgment, we will be
supplying reasons for this inference which we have
drawn. This is the fifth circumstance as appearing
in the chain of events.
50
cra276.11
54]As observed in the preceding paragraphs of
this judgment, the dead body of Shraddha was found
in the vicinity of village Kawatha by the side of
agricultural field. Pandurang Kharate (PW 1), who
is the first person to notice the dead body informs
the court that when he saw the dead body, he found
that the deceased girl was wearing Jeans pant and
T-shirt.
55]Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6) is serving as computer
operator at Kalyan toll post on Aurangabad-Nanded
road near village Kawatha. The learned Judge of
the court below in his judgment has observed that
the dead body of deceased was found at a distance
of about 1 Km. from toll plaza. The evidence of
Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6) would reveal that on 28.7.2009
he was on duty at toll naka from 7.00 p.m. to 7.00
a.m. One Ramrao Parkhe (PW 7) was also on duty
that time, who used to tell number of the vehicle,
and accordingly, he used to issue receipt of toll
tax. The entry of issued receipts is taken in
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computer immediately, is the assertion made by
Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6). On the basis of the extract
of toll tax collected on 28.7.2009, issued at
Kalyan toll post, this witness asserted from his
evidence that on 28.7.2009 at 7.19 p.m. a car no.
941 had passed through the said toll post.
Prosecution Witness No. 7 is Ramrao Parkhe.
He is the person, who used to tell the number of
the vehicle to Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6) and on the
basis of which, the toll receipts were issued.
This witness Ramrao Parkhe (PW 7) was declared
hostile.
56]The learned Judge while appreciating the
evidence of the prosecution case has recorded a
finding that the prosecution has failed to
establish that the car of appellant has passed from
toll naka on the relevant date and time. We are
afraid, we cannot subscribe the finding to that
effect, as given by the learned Judge of the court
below.
52cra276.11
57]It was the submission of the learned Senior
counsel that, since this was one amongst other
circumstances, which were not believed by the court
below, therefore, it will have to be kept outside
the scrutiny while appreciating the evidence on
record. With due respect to the learned Senior
counsel, we found ourselves in difficulty to accept
his contention.
58]Section 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code
deals with the powers of the appellant court.
Section 386 reads as under :-
386. Powers of the Appellate
Court :- After perusing such record
and hearing the appellant or his
pleader, if he appears, and the Public
Prosecutor, if he appears, and in case
of an appeal under Section 377 or
Section 378, the accused, if he
appears, the Appellate Court may, if
it considers that there is no
sufficient ground for interfering,
dismiss the appeal, or may -
(a)&.....&......
(b)in an appeal from conviction -
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(i)reverse the finding and
sentence and acquit or discharge the
accused, or order him to be re-tried
by a Court of competent jurisdiction
subordinate to such Appellate Court or
committed for trial, or
(ii)alter the finding, maintaining
the sentence, or
......&......&........�
This clearly shows that the court of appeal
possesses full powers to go into the entire
evidence and all relevant circumstances to arrive
at its own conclusion about the guilt or innocence
of the accused. This court, being exercising the
appellate powers, is in its jurisdiction to scan
the evidence and weigh the probabilities. It is
open to this court to accept the evidence rejected
by the trial court while re-appreciating the entire
case of the prosecution. In that view of the
matter, we find ourselves in disagreement with the
submission advanced by the learned Senior counsel.
59]Prosecution has examined Narottam Tiwari as
its Witness No.28. On 28.7.2009 he was serving as
a Manager at Kalyan toll naka, in which Shaikh
54cra276.11
Kaleem (PW 6) and Ramrao Parkhe were also working.
He has proved the computer data showing a car
bearing registration no. 941 had passed through
toll naka on 28.7.2009 at 7.19 p.m. This data
bears signature of Narottam Tiwari (PW 28). The
said data is computer generated and maintained on
daily basis at plaza. This witness has proved its
contents. The said data is at Exh.83.
Criticism was made in respect of the
evidence appearing in the prosecution case in
respect of passing of the car through Kalyan naka
by the learned Senior counsel. He strenuously
urged that the said data does not reveal, except
the fact that car bearing no. 941 has passed
through the said toll naka at 7.19 hours. According
to him, in absence of any positive evidence in that
respect, it cannot be connected with the appellant.
According to him, in the data, only car number is
appearing. The series of the registration about
the said car is not appearing.
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If the evidence Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6),
Ramrao Parkhe (PW 7) and Narottam Tiwari (PW 28) is
scrutinized minutely, and if their evidence is read
cumulatively, one has to reach to the conclusion
that the car bearing no. 941 passed through the
said toll naka. If the argument of the learned
Senior counsel is closely examined, then in that
event, it is clear that, according to the
appellant, since the series of registration is not
appearing in the computer data (Exh.83), the said
evidence cannot connect the appellant. Thus, the
argument of the learned Senior counsel implies that
the car bearing no. 941 has passed through Kalyan
toll post.
The following version, as appearing in the
evidence of Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6) will throw light
on the said controversy, which is reproduced as
under :-
� One Ramrao Parkhe was also on duty
that time. That Ramrao used to tell me
thenumberofvehicles,and
accordingly, I used to issue receipts
of toll tax. The entry of issuing of
receipts is taken in the computer
immediately. �
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This evidence clearly shows that only the
number of vehicle used to be informed by the boys
like Ramrao Parkhe to Shaikh Kaleem, the computer
operator and the entry to that effect used to be
taken. Cross-examination of Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6)
is totally silent on the aspect that it was the
duty of computer operator to note down the series
of registration. Further even Ramrao (PW 7)
corroborates to Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6) in respect of
telling the number of the vehicle to the computer
operator. He is also silent about the telling of
series of registration to Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6),
though Ramrao (PW 7) is a hostile witness, however,
to the extent he corroborates the version of the
prosecution witness Shaikh Kaleem, the said version
of Ramrao can safely be considered as a
corroborative piece to the version of Shaikh Kaleem
(PW 6).
What is most important fact is that, number
941 is admitted as car number in the occurrence
report 102 (Exh.55), which was lodged by the father
of the appellant himself. Therefore, merely
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because series of registration is not appearing in
the computer data, it will be difficult for us to
reject the version of Shaikh Kaleem (PW 6).
Further the car which was discovered at the
instance of the appellant at parking zone at Nanded
also bears registration no. 941. Therefore,
cumulative effect of all these facts leads us to
record a positive finding that the car of the
appellant had passed through Kalyan toll post.
Incidentally, this toll post falls on the
road reaching to Nanded, whereat ultimately this
car was found to be parked in the parking zone.
This is also one of the corroborative piece of
evidence to show that this car must have passed
through Kalyan toll naka. Thus, passing of car
bearing no. 941 from road reaching to Nanded
wherein the car was found is the sixth circumstance
and/or it will be one of the couplings in the
chain.
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60]The location of the dead body, which was
found to be thrown, is about 450 Kms. away from
Pune. As found in the missing report of Shraddha,
she was not carrying any amount with her while
leaving her place of work at 4th floor. The car
has passed through toll Naka at about 7.19 p.m.
The car of the appellant was found leaving
Symantec Company, Pune at 9.41 hours in the
morning. Therefore, it is clear that the timing
matches the exit of car from Company and passing
through Kalyan toll plaza, in view of distance of
450 Kms.
The learned Judge has rejected the
circumstance that the body was brought to the spot
through car as not established primarily because he
rejected the circumstance that the car 941 passed
through Kalyan toll Naka.
Once it is established on record that the
car passed through Kalyan toll Plaza coupled with
the ultimate recovery of the car at the instance of
the appellant at Nanded and the blood stained
articles found in the said car, we record our
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positive finding that the dead body of Shraddha was
carried in the said car and was thrown on the spot.
Thus, the seventh circumstance in the prosecution
case, which is duly proved, is that the dead body
of Shraddha was carried by the appellant in the car
no. 941 and it was thrown in the nearby vicinity of
Kalyan toll plaza.
61]Another circumstance, by which the
prosecution intends to complete the chain of
circumstances, is the discovery of the vehicle and
the weapon, namely the spanner (wheel pana) kept in
the dicky of the said car. The said memorandum
statement recorded under Section 27 of the Indian
Evidence Act is at Exh.99.
A very serious attack is launched on this
aspect of the prosecution case by the learned
Senior counsel. According to him, the said
discovery panchanama (Exh.99) is a makeshift
document, in as much as Parasmal Jain (PW 32), the
panch on the same and who has proved the said
discovery statement, is having a criminal
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background. Secondly, it was submitted that this
witness is an interested one, looking to the fact
that the religion of this witness and the religion
of the deceased is same, namely �Jain�.
The learned court below has rightly
discarded the said argument, which was also
advanced before the court below. Merely because
the deceased and Parasmal Jain (PW 32) profess one
religion, that by itself cannot be a circumstance
to brand such person as an interested witness.
The court below has found that in the
searching cross-examination he has denied that the
parents of the deceased used to visit his house
whenever they used to visit Basmath. One of the
important aspect of the learned Judge of court
below, as noted, is that no suggestion was given to
this witness that he is related to the deceased.
The criticism in respect of discovery of
the car as per memorandum statement (Exh.99) as
made by the learned Senior counsel, is of no value,
because according to him, the car is discovered
from the parking zone of railway station of Nanded.
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62] In order to buttress his submission, he hasrelied upon the reported decisions :-
(a) Salim Akhtar alias Mota vs State of Uttar Pradesh [2003 Cri.L.J. 2302](b) Abdul Sattar vs Union Territory, Chandigarh [1986 Cri.L.J.1072](c) Aslam Parwez vs Government of NCT Delhi [2003 Cri.L.J. 2525]The dictum and ratio of all these reported
judgments is that if the recovery is made from open
place, which is accessible to all and every one,
then the statement of the accused leading to
discovery of the Article is of no value.
There cannot be any second opinion in
respect of the said settled position of law.
However, the facts of those cases and the facts of
the case in hand are distinct.
In Salim Akhtar's case recovery of pistol
and ammunition were from the open place which was
accessible to all and every one.
Abdul Sattar's case deals with the
recovery of the wearing apparels of the deceased
recovered at the instance of the accused therein
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from the public place.
Also inAslam Parwez's case, the
discovered articles from the open place were the
revolver and cartridges.
In the present case, the recovery of the
car and the articles having blood stains kept in
the dicky and car are discovered.
63]The prosecuting agency has examined Harsh
Tayade (PW 26) and Shaikh Faizal (PW 27), who were
working at the parking place at railway station,
Nanded. Both these witnesses turned hostile.
However, the portions marked from their previous
statements is proved by the prosecution and those
are at Exhs. 125 and 126, respectively.
Exh.100 is the recovery panchanama, in
pursuance to the memorandum statement of the
appellant/accused (Exh.99). The same is proved by
independent witness Parasmal Jain (PW 32).
The car cannot be hidden so easily, as one
could hide the wearing apparels, pistol, revolver
and cartridges. No doubt true, the car is found in
63
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the parking zone. Undisputedly, it is an open
place. Open public place and the articles
discovered at such open place accessible to public
at large are two different things. Merely because,
a car is parked at parking place, that does not
mean that it is accessible to the public at large.
The car was parked at parking zone of railway
station.
Cross-examination of Harsh Tayade (PW 26)
would suggest that a receipt is issued in favour of
the person parking the vehicle. There is one gate
for entering in the parking area of railway
station. Thus, this evidence would reveal that
though the parking place/zone of railway station is
an open place, it is not open to all the person.
It is only the person who is having authorization
will be entitled to park the vehicle.
It is common knowledge that the paid
parking zones are managed by the contractors. They
will not allow any unauthorized person to deal with
the car parked in the parking zone. It is also
the matter of common knowledge that parking zones
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at railway stations in India are paid parking
zones. Therefore, merely because the car was found
to be parked in open space of parking zone of
railway station, Nanded, that does not mean that it
was accessible to public at large. In these
peculiar aspects, we are of the view that the
ratio, as sought to be pressed into service by the
learned Senior counsel, in the above referred
cases, cannot be made applicable to the facts in
the present case.
64]Further if the memorandum statement (Exh.
99) is minutely perused, it shows that the accused
made disclosure statement stating his readiness to
discover the wheel pana from the dicky of the car.
The articles found inside the car and the dicky are
surely not accessible to public at large. Any
unauthorized person cannot deal with the car. If
that be so, then the criticism of the learned
Senior counsel regarding the articles found in the
dicky and inside the car is completely misplaced,
in as much as it was within the special knowledge
65
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of the appellant only.
65]At this stage, we find, the car number and
its series as mentioned in the missing report of
the appellant (Exh.55) tallies with the number and
registration of the car discovered at parking zone
at railway station, Nanded. Therefore, the
discovery of the car bearing no. 941, along with
the various articles recovered at the instance of
the appellant as per Exhs. 99 and 100, is another
circumstance in the case of the prosecution. At
this stage, it will be useful to mention that a
daily ticket from Nanded to Hyderabad was found
with him which was one of the seven tickets as per
seizure memo (Exh.62). Thus he must have purchased
this ticket from Nanded railway station. This fact
lends support to the fact that the car was parked
by him in the parking zone of Nanded railway
station.
66]When the dead body of Shraddha was not
identified, the blood phial of unknown female was
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sent to the Regional Forensic Laboratory,
Aurangabad. The said body was subsequently
identified as of Shraddha. The blood group of
Shraddha is �B". Various articles from the car and
dicky of the car, except Jean pant, T-shirt,
brassiere and jangya, i.e. the spanner, fabric
disk, small pillow, etc. were found. Out of those,
the blood appears on the spanner, fabric disk,
small pillow, rubber mat, tyre with disk, plastic
quoted tin dabba, cleaner solution dabba, iron jack
and hair clutcher. Exh.24 is the report from the
Regional Forensic Laboratory, Aurangabad, dated
14.12.2009. The Chemical Analyser found that the
articles were received in the said Laboratory in
sealed condition. The seals were found to be
intact. On all the above articles, the Chemical
Analyser found that those articles are stained with
blood having blood group �B�. The Jeans pant, half
T-shirt, brassiere and jangya belonged to the
deceased.
67]When the car with all its registration
number was in possession of the appellant as per
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Exh. 54, the missing report and the blood of group
�B� of Shraddha is appearing on the articles seized
from the car. Therefore, it was incumbent on the
part of the appellant to offer probable explanation
as to how the blood stains of group �B� are
appearing on these articles. However, there is no
explanation whatsoever in nature, leave apart
probable, offered during trial by the appellant.
Thus, it is most incriminating circumstance
appearing against the appellant in the prosecution
case, which only points out a finger of guilt
towards the appellant that he is the appellant, who
has carried the dead body of Shraddha in the car
and it was thrown near the agricultural field at
village Kawatha.
68]Another circumstance is the mobile hand set
of deceased along with the Sim card found with the
appellant when he surrendered himself before
Chatushrungi police station. PW 23 is Udaysing
Patil. On 3.8.2009 he was serving as Police Sub-
Inspector at Police Station, Chatushrungi. On the
68
cra276.11
said day, the appellant surrendered himself at the
said police station. From him, he seized two
mobile phones, one of HTC company and another of
NOKIA company, along with other articles. The
said mobiles were having Sim cards. The seizure
memo is at Exh.62. The hand set having the Sim
card bearing no. 9420535545 was belonging to the
deceased, as we have already discussed the evidence
in this behalf of Vikas Wankhede (PW 11), who has
proved Exh.37. Part of Exh.37 clearly shows that
the said Sim number found in the said mobile phone
was belonging to Shraddha.
69]We have noticed from the evidence that
lastly when glimpses of Shraddha, as a living
person, were catched in the CC TV camera, she was
having mobile hand set in her hand. The car of
appellant was found to be going outside the company
premises on 28.7.2009 at 09.14.04.90 hours and from
the evidence of Nikhil (PW 4), under whom the
deceased was serving, it reveals that he received a
blank SMS from 9420535545 at 10.09 a.m. After two
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minutes, he again received another sms from the
said mobile of deceased informing that, �going home
for sis. bday�. Thereafter, though tried by Nikhil
himself or by her cousin sister Sheetal, the said
phone could not be contacted. Though the omissions
in respect of non-finding of mobile phone are
proved, as observed in the preceding paragraphs of
this judgment, that time much important thing was
trace of Shraddha rather than the cell phone.
70]We cannot forget that Shraddha was a
Software Engineer. We are in telecommunication
world. It is a matter of common knowledge that now
a days cell phone is an integral part of a person.
To add to it, Shraddha was a Software Engineer, a
class, which heavily relies on telecommunication.
Therefore, it is just impossible even to imagine
that a Software Engineer is leaving work place
without her cell phone. Therefore, the
circumstance of cell phone belonging to Shraddha
with the appellant at the time of his surrender on
3.8.2009 is also one of the circumstance showing
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the finger of guilt towards him, especially in
absence of any plausible explanation offered by the
appellant to that effect.
71]Another circumstance, which also appears
incriminating against the appellant in the chain of
events is the scientific evidence. Various
articles were sent to the Chemical Analyser,
including the blood of parents of deceased and
appellant. The evidence of Manik Perke (PW 36)
shows that he made a request to the medical officer
to keep the sample of blood and body required for
DNA test at very initial stage of the investigation
and accordingly, the DNA extracted from muscle of
that unknown body, which was subsequently
identified of Shraddha, was sent for DNA test along
with the blood sample of parents of Shraddha. The
DNA reports are at Exhs. 112 and 113. DNA report
Exh.113 is in respect of wheel pana and black
colour rubber mat. These DNA reports show and
prove that the blood on the spanner (wheel pana)
and black colour rubber mat was of the deceased
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Shraddha. Therefore, the scientific examination
conclusively proved that Shraddha was done to death
by the spanner/wheel pana found in the car.
72]The learned Senior counsel strenuously
urged that spanner i.e. Article I cannot be the
weapon used for commission of the offence, in view
of the shape of the injury found on the person of
Shraddha. According to him, injury, if caused due
to said weapon, ought to have been in round shape,
however, the medical officer, who has conducted
postmortem, found that the injury on the fore head
of Shraddha was not round in shape. Secondly, had
the other part of spanner used to assault the
deceased, then there should be weal mark on the
part of the body where the injury was sustained.
However, the medical officer did not find any weal
mark on the dead body. As such, as per the
argument of the learned Senior counsel, the weapon
of offfence is planted one.
This aspect is at length discussed by the
learned Judge of the court below, in view of the
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fact that same were the arguments made before the
learned Judge during the trial. The learned Judge
has rightly rejected those submissions by
supplementing the reasons. Since we accept the
reasons supplemented for the same, we are rejecting
the submissions of the learned Senior counsel in
that behalf also.
73] Another circumstance, which further proves
the case of the prosecution is, the conduct on the
part of the appellant.
(A)Why the appellant was found to be
physically present in the morning hours of
28.7.2009 ?
Nitin Kalingkar disclosed in his evidence
that he received one SMS from mobile of the
appellant that since he is not feeling well,
therefore, he will not be attending his duties. As
found earlier, this statement of Nitin has gone
unchallenged. Once, the appellant was not to
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attend his duties, as he was not feeling well, his
physical presence, as found in the CC TV camera of
Symantec Compmany, speaks volumes about his
conduct, and in fact, that shows, he reached there
with some ulterior motive and plan in his mind and
the said plan was to eliminate Shraddha, because
she was not giving any response to his love calls.
In that behalf it will be very useful to
scrutinize the evidence of Swapnil Bhoskar (PW 10).
This Swapnil is working as Senior Manager in
Symantec Software Company. Police had made
inquiries from him whether there was exchange of e-
mail between appellant and deceased. He,
therefore, inquired about this fact from the
Company's Server Security Department at America.
Accordingly, that information was sent to him
through e-mail and the said e-mail was proved by
Swapnil and it is at Exh.�Q�. The said is dated
3.7.2009. NO cross-examination was offered by the
appellant during trial to this witness. This e-
mail shows that it is sent by appellant to the
deceased. It reads as under :-
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74
� Aise apni Wife ho
5�6� jiski height ho,
Jeans jiski tight ho,
Chehara jiska bright ho,
Weight mein thodi light Ho,
Umar me difference slight ho,
Thodi see wo quiet ho,
Aise apni Wife ho.
Sadak per sab kahe kya cute ho,
Bhid me sab kahe side ho, side ho,
India ki paidaish ho,
Sas ki seva jiski khwahish ho
Aise apni Wife ho.
Padosi jab baat kare to haath me knife ho,
Dinner candle light ho,
Dono me na kabhi fight ho,
Milane ke baad dil delight ho,
Hey prabhu teri archana uski life ho,
Yeh kavita padhke sab kahe �Guru,tum right
ho�,
Aise apni Wife ho.
Kaash yeh concept 0.0001 percent bhi right ho
Agar aisi apni wife hoto kya hasin life ho
Har kisi ki yahi farmaish ho
kudrat ki bhi aajmaish ho
Khudah ke software mein bhi bug ki na
gunjaish ho
Ay kaash, kahin to ek aisi paidaish ho
aisi apni wife, aisi apni wife ho.�
Therefore, it appears that on the date of
the incident, the appellant reached to the spot
i.e. Company with the concrete intention to finish
the chapter.
(B)As found, the deceased left her place on
4th floor and the car of the appellant/accused left
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Company premises at 9.14 a.m. on the date of the
incident. Nikhil Puntambekar deposes that he
received a blank SMS from the cell phone of
Shraddha at 10.09 a.m. and he received another sms
at 10.11 a.m. from her cell phone intimating him
that she was going for sister's birthday.
There was no reason for Shraddha to send
blank SMS to her boss at 10.09 a.m. on 28.7.2009.
Further, no doubt true, on that day, there was
birthday of Sheetal. Even that fact is asserted by
Sheetal. We cannot forget one fact that Shraddha
reached to her office in the morning for
discharging her duties in the Company. It is a
matter of common knowledge that a working lady, who
has reported for the duty, will celebrate the
birthday of her sister after her working hours.
For that purpose, in the midst of the work, surely
she will not leave her work place. Had really that
SMS was sent by Shraddha, she could have sent the
same in the morning itself from her home, and for
that she would not have reported to the work.
At this stage, we will have to bear in
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mind, as established on record that the appellant
and the deceased were knowing each other,
therefore, the appellant knowing the fact of birth
day of Sheetal cannot be ruled out. The blank SMS
and in the midst of working time of sending another
SMS to her boss, clearly shows that those SMS were
not sent by deceased herself, but those were sent
by the appellant/accused. These two SMS must have
been sent after the commission of the offence.
That is the reason that the appellant could not
type any matter while sending the first SMS and
blank SMS appears to have gone to the boss of
Shraddha.
Further if really Shraddha was leaving for
her sister's birthday, then in that event, she will
carry her purse and bag along with her. She will
not leave her scooty at Company. All these three
articles were found in the Company. In that view
of the matter, we reach to the conclusion that
those two SMS were sent by the appellant himself.
Thus, this is a second part of the plan of the
appellant.
77cra276.11
(C)May be on 28.7.2009 the appellant was not
keeping good health, therefore, he did not attend
the duties, however, he was not found to be on duty
on subsequent dates also. Not only that, the
appellant was found to be wandering from places to
places in railway, till 3.8.2009 offence of
commission of murder of Shraddha was not registered
with police station Basmath or at any police
station. Though a suggestion was given to Udaysing
Patil (PW 23) P.S.I., police station Chatushrungi
that the appellant was brought from his house by
police to the police station, which was denied by
the said police officer, there was no reason and/or
occasion for Chatushrungi police to bring the
accused/appellant from his house. The reason is
obvious, because till 3.8.2009 even the dead body
of Shraddha was not identified and her body was
lying in the mortuary as unidentified one.
From the evidence of Manik Perke (PW 36),
it is clear that on 3.8.2009 he received telephonic
message from Chatushrungi police station, Pune that
the said dead body is of missing girl Shraddha
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Suresh Chhajed of Pune. Till that time, though the
offence was registered in respect of death of
unknown person, it was registered against the
unknown person. From the evidence of Uaysing Patil
(PW 23), the appellant surrendered before the
police station Chatushrungi prior to 9.00 a.m.,
because in his cross-examination it is appearing
that he resumed his duties at 9.00 a.m. on 3.8.2009
and the accused was at the police station before
that time. If the offence was not registered
against the appellant anywhere, there was no reason
for Chatushrungi police station to cause his
arrest. Therefore, the evidence of Udaysing Patil
will have to be accepted that the accused
surrendered himself at the police station.
74]At the time of arrest of appellant, apart
from two hand sets, the other articles namely wrist
watch, 7 railway tickets, pan card, 3 ATM cards,
driving license and two I-cards were seized as per
the seizure memo (Exh.62). In view of the seizure
of 3 ATM cards, it is clear that the appellant was
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carrying cash with him, because through ATM card a
person can withdraw the cash amount any time.
The car of appellant passed through toll
naka at 7.19 p.m. The said car was found to be
parked at Nanded railway station parking zone. The
7 railway tickets, which were seized as per
panchanama (Exh.62) show that out of 7 tickets, the
first ticket is purchased at Nanded on 28.7.2009.
The said ticket is daily ticket. From the said
ticket, it is clear, it was purchased at 20.08
hours i.e. after near about 2 hours when the car
was passed through Kalyan toll Naka, covering of
that distance during that time is possible. It
appears that, then the appellant has paid Rs.60/-
as he boarded Bogie S-2 at Birth No.29 and reached
Hyderabad from Nanded.
During trial, Manojkumar Thakur (PW 35), a
barber from Classic Hair Saloon, Begum Bazar,
Hyderabad, was examined and he turned hostile. As
per the case of the prosecution that at Hyderabad
the appellant removed his beard and turban by
removing his hairs. This gets confirmed, when at
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the time of his arrest by Basmath police his
photograph is taken, which shows he was not having
turban and beard on his person. The beard in that
photograph appears to be fresh one.
It appears that from Hyderabad he went to
Bhopal, because there is a daily ticket dated
29.7.2009 and it was purchased at 17.16 hours.
After reaching Bhopal, it appears that he took
reservation ticket on 30.7.2009 for Nizamuddin from
Bhopal. On 31.7.2009, he purchased a ticket from
Nizamuddin to Kota. Then on 1.8.2009 he purchased
ticket from Kota to Jaipur. The distance is not
much, therefore, on very same day, he boarded train
to Ahmedabad, as there is a ticket dated 1.8.2009
from Jaipur to Ahmedabad. Then on 2.8.2009 he
purchased a ticket from Ahmedabad to Solapur and
ultimately he surrendered himself on 3.8.2009 at
Pune. What was the reason for wandering this
Software Engineer without any purpose from
28.7.2009 to 2.8.2009. His subsequent conduct of
absenting from his regular work place, as a
Software Engineer, will be relevant fact in view of
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Section 8 of the Indian Evidence Act in the present
case.
75]The learned Senior counsel also submitted
that the prosecution evidence in respect of
Chemical Analyser's reports and DNA reports create
doubt in view of the fact that there is no evidence
on record to show that the seized properties were
kept in sealed condition by the medical officer of
the investigating officer. The learned trial court
in its judgment regarding aspect of sealing found
that the investigating officer and the medical
officer are independent witnesses. They are public
servants. They were subjected to lengthy cross-
examination, however, their testimonies remained to
be unimpeached. Further, there are no allegations
of malice being nursed by these two independent
public servants against the appellant. The learned
Judge further found that there is nothing on record
to show that the proper procedure was not adopted
while sealing the property. We concur with these
reasonings, and therefore, we reject the
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submissions made by the learned Senior counsel
appearing on behalf of the appellant/accused.
76]Lastly, it is the submission of learned
Senior counsel that present case cannot be covered
by Clause Thirdly of Section 300 of the Indian
Penal Code, and at the most the appellant deserves
punishment under Section 325 of the Indian Penal
Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
In that behalf, he placed reliance on the
landmark judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in
the case of Virsa Singh vs State of Punjab [AIR
1958 SC 465]. It is clear that the prosecution
has, beyond reasonable doubt, proved that the
bodily injury was present.
In view of the evidence and the attending
circumstances, as appearing in the prosecution
case, the prosecution was successful to bring home
the guilt of the accused/appellant that he caused
that bodily injury with an intention. Further, it
is clear that the said injury was not accidental
one. Dr. Manoj Bagal (PW 25) found that the injury
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on the fore head of Shraddha can be caused by blow
of hard and blunt object. Not only that, Article
'I' the spanner was shown to him and he replied
that the said injury is possible by the said
weapon.
In view of the consistent medical evidence
and all the attending circumstances, we are of the
view that Virsa Singh's case and the other cases
are not helpful to the case of the appellant and
the act of the appellant squarely falls in Clause
Thirdly of Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code.
Consequently, he deserves punishment for the
offence punishable under Section 302 and not under
Section 325 of the Indian Penal Code, as suggested
by the learned Senior counsel.
77]In that view of the matter, we find the
following circumstances in the present case.
(A)CDR entry no.167 shows one
SMS sent from mobile no. 9823029915
of the appellant to mobile no.
9420535545 of deceased at 7.49.38 hours;
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while phone call sent from mobile no.
9823029915 to mobile no. 9420535545 at
8.41.52 hours, those being in close
proximity to the entry of deceased in
the company and photograph Article �I�,
and the fact that no call record was
available in the cell phones after
8.41.52 hours. As such on 28.7.2009 the
appellant was in touch of the deceased.
(B)The deceased left her work place
on 4th floor in pursuance to the phone
call from the appellant.
(C) The vehicle of Shraddha, two
wheeler-scooty, was found in the parking
place of the company. Her purse and bag
were also found on her counter.
However, her mobile was not found in
that bag or purse.
(D)Both the appellant and Shraddha
were found missing from morning of
28.7.2009 and missing reports regarding
the said fact were lodged with
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Chatushrungi police station, Pune.
(E)After committing some harmful
act to the deceased, the appellant had
taken Shraddha in his car.
(F)Passing of car bearing no. 941
from road reaching to Nanded via toll
post and the car being found at Nanded
railway station parking zone.
(G)The dead body of Shraddha was
carried by the appellant in the car no.
941 and it was thrown in the nearby
vicinity of Kalyan toll plaza.
(H)Discovery of the car bearing no.
941, along with recovery of various
articles at the instance of the
appellant as per Exhs. 99 and 100.
(I)Articles found in the dicky and
inside the car were within the special
knowledge of the appellant only.
(J)As per the report of the
Chemical Analyser, the articles sent for
examination bore blood stains of group
86
cra276.11
�B�, which blood group belonged to
Shraddha.
(K)Finding of Cell phone belonging
to Shraddha with the appellant at the
time of his surrender on 3.8.2009.
(L)Conclusiveproofbythe
scientific examination that Shraddha was
done to death by the spanner/wheel pana
found in the car.
(M)Concrete intention and plan on
the part of the appellant to finish
Shraddha.
(N)Wandering of appellant-Software
Engineer without any purpose from
28.7.2009 to 2.8.2009 by absenting
himself from his regular work place.
The car of appellant passed through
toll naka at 7.19 p.m. The car was found
to be parked at Nanded railway station
parking zone. Seven railway tickets
were seized from the appellant at the
time of his arrest vide seizure
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panchanama (Exh.62).
The first ticket is purchased at
Nanded on 28.7.2009. The said ticket is
daily ticket. From the said ticket, it
is clear that it was purchased at 20.08
hours i.e. after near about 2 hours from
the car was passed through Kalyan toll
Naka.
Then the appellant paid Rs.60/- as
he boarded Bogie S-2 at Birth No.29 and
reached Hyderabad from Nanded.
From Hyderabad he went to Bhopal,
because there is a daily ticket dated
29.7.2009. It was purchased at 17.16
hours.
After reaching Bhopal, he purchased
ticket dated 30.7.2009 for Nizamuddin
from Bhopal.
On 31.7.2009, he purchased a ticket
from Nizamuddin to Kota.
On 1.8.2009 he purchased ticket from
Kota to Jaipur. On the same day, there
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is a ticket which was seized from him
dated 1.8.2009 from Jaipur to Ahmedabad.
Another ticket which was found in
possession of the appellant is dated
2.8.2009 from Ahmedabad to Solapur, and
ultimately he surrendered himself before
Chatushrungi police on 3.8.2009.
(O)In spite of the fact that till the
time he surrendered before Chatushrungi
police station on 3.8.2009, no offence
was registered against the appellant and
in fact the offence was registered
against unknown person.
78]On minute re-appreciation of the entire
evidence, we find that the above circumstances are
duly proved. The chain is complete. The
prosecution has proved the circumstances appearing
in this case. The inference of guilt is cogently
and firmly established.
89cra276.11
79]In that view of the matter and in the light
of the above discussed evidence, it is clear that
the appellant must be punished for committing the
murder of Shraddha. Accordingly, we dismiss the
appeal by confirming the judgment and order of
conviction, dated 15.4.2011, passed by the learned
Additional Sessions Judge, Basmath, in Sessions
Trial No. 10 of 2010.
80]Before parting with the judgment, we place
on record our word of appreciation for the
assistance rendered by the learned Senior counsel
representing the appellant Shri Gupte along with
Shri Satej Jadhav and the learned A.P.P. Shri
S.D.Kaldate appearing for the respondent/State, to
reach to the correct conclusion. Appeal dismissed.
(V.M.DESHPANDE, J.) (S.S.SHINDE, J.)
dbm/cra276.11
3 issues framed by the court
Did the circumstantial evidence establish a complete chain proving murder and disposal of the body?
Was discovery of the car and bloodstained articles invalid because the car stood in an open railway parking area?
Did the intentional injury constitute murder under Section 300 Thirdly rather than grievous hurt under Section 325?
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Hanumant Govind Nargundkar vs State of Madhya PradeshApplied¶151
[AIR 1952 SC 343] · Who else cites this
Salim Akhtar alias Mota vs State of Uttar PradeshDistinguished¶349
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Abdul Sattar vs Union Territory, ChandigarhDistinguished¶350
Abdul Sattar vs Union Territory, Chandigarh [1986 Cri.L.J.1072] · Who else cites this
Aslam Parwez vs Government of NCT DelhiDistinguished¶351
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7 provisions across 3 enactments
Anmolsingh Swarnsingh Jabbal
The State of Maharashtra
S.S.SHINDE
V.M.DESHPANDE
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court