High Court allowed criminal appeal against conviction. Bench held conviction unsustainable relying solely on solitary and unreliable informant evidence with unexplained delays. Appellant acquitted.
Appellant acquitted of all charges and discharged from bail liabilities.
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.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Criminal Appeal (SJ) No.398 of 2002 =========================================================== Anugrah Narayan Singh son of Bhuneshwar Prasad Singh, resident of VillageDarmi Khurd, P.S. Tandawa, District- Aurangabad. .... .... Appellant. Versus State of Bihar .... .... Respondent. =========================================================== Appearance : For the Appellant : Smt. Meena Singh, Advocate. For the Respondent : Sri Bipin Kumar, A.P.P. =========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE SHRI JUSTICE DHARNIDHAR JHA ORAL JUDGMENT Date: 01-05-2014
Informant Tapeshwar Ram examined as P.W.6 filed his written report (Ext-1) alleging that on 20.01.1997, this appellant had come to the school where of he was the Headmaster and had demanded and required him to pay Rs.500/- as contribution for celebrating Sarswati Puja . Similar demand was made from another teacher Shankar Nath Pandey (not examined) and on refusal of being paid the amount, it was stated that the appellant abusively threatened the informant by stating to him that he, being a Harijan and merely because he was an educated person, was imposing his stature. The informant was further told that if the demanded amount was not paid, the informant would bear serious consequences.
As per written report (Ext-1), the incident had been witnessed not only by the teachers but by many villages also.
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with the superior officers of the department and at their orders, he came again to the Primary School Darmi Kala for hoisting the flag on 26.01.1997 when he was obstructed from hoisting the flag as the informant had not paid up the demanded amount. The informant alleged in the written report that the appellant had taken away the furniture of the school along with its window and door frames.
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passed against him by the learned Special Judge, Aurangabad on 11.07.2002 in G.R.Case No.1721 of 1997/Trial No.24 of 1998.
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24 that the appellant had taken away some of the furnitures or window or door frames from the school which fact was brought into his notice by the students of the school. He was candid in admitting that the incident of removing the furnitures or the window of door frames had never occurred in his presence. The falsity of that allegation is further apparent from the fact that P.W.6 was cross-examined regarding the maintenance of the stock register in respect either of the furniture or of the wooden articles as appears from paragraph-24 and he has admitted that such a register was being maintained in his school. But, he never made any entry about either removal of the furniture or of the wooden window and door frames. P.W.6 stated that he had brought the above facts into the notice of the District Superintendent of Education. If it was so, then there was no reason as to why the District Superintendent of Education should not have initiated criminal action against the appellant. Besides, what appears from the evidence of P.W.6 is that the explanation furnished by him on the belated filing of the report also does not inspire confidence. He stated that he had filed a report with the Superintendent of Police as also with the Officer-in-Charge of the police station and had equally complained to the higher officer of the Education Department through written complaints. None of the complaints either lodged with the police or with the controlling officer was produced in the court below.
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The gap of about nine months in lodging the report is so huge and unexplained that it could be creating doubt in the mind of this Court as regards the veracity of the allegations.
allowed. The appellant is acquitted of the charges, he had been convicted of. The appellant is on bail. He shall stand discharged from the liabilities of his bail bonds.
Patna High Court The 1st May, 2014. Abhay/NAFR.
(Dharnidhar Jha, J)
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2 issues framed by the court
Whether conviction based solely on uncorroborated testimony of a hostile informant with unexplained delays and contradictions is sustainable.
Whether the appellant should be acquitted on grounds of insufficient evidence despite convictions for IPC offences and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Anugrah Narayan Singh
State of Bihar
Dharnidhar Jha
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
