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Saturday, September 24, 2011

Murder- how to prove circumstantial evidence -a best example=Indian police have got technical and electronic knowledge= “26. Holding that the call record Ex.PW-22/A evidences that two calls from Chandigarh were received on the mobile number 9871879824 in the afternoon of 23.7.2005, corroborates the testimony of the wife of the deceased who was staying at Chandigarh on 23.7.2005 that she had talked to the deceased over telephone in the afternoon of 23.7.2005, which in turn establishes that the mobile number 9871879824 was being used by the deceased on the date of his death; that the call records Ex.PW- 22/A and Ex.PW22/B establishes that the handset having IEMI No.350608101231170, which handset was used by the accused on a regular basis, was used by the deceased on 10th and 11th July, 2005 and that this establishes that the deceased and the accused were in touch with each other; the call record Ex.PW-22/B evidences that the handset which was used by the deceased on the date of his death was in possession of the accused soon after the death of the deceased and that the same is a strong incriminating circumstance against the accused; that the prosecution has been able to establish that the handset which was used by the deceased before his death and the revolver which was the weapon of offence were recovered at the instance of the accused…..”


                                                                             "REPORTABLE"




                          IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA




                        CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION




                         CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.2272 OF 2010








Gajraj                                                            .... Appellant




          Versus




State (NCT) of Delhi                                              .... Respondent










                                       J U D G M E N T








JAGDISH SINGH KHEHAR, J.








1.        The facts, as they emerge from the judgment rendered by the Trial Court 




at   Karkardooma   in   Sessions   Case   no.68   of   2005,   decided   on   21.4.2008,   the 




judgment of High Court of Delhi in Criminal Appeal no.461 of 2008 decided on 




18.3.2009,   and   the   statement   of   witnesses   examined   durin     g   the   course   of 




prosecution of the accused-appellant herein (which have been made available to 




us, in the form of additional documents), reveal that on 23.7.2005 at about 6.25 




p.m., a telephone call was received at Police Station Krishna Nagar, conveying 




information,   that   a   dead   body   was   lying   in   House   No.F-9/33,   Krishna   Nagar, 




Delhi.     On   receipt   of   the   aforesaid   telephone   call,   Daily   Diary   no.31A   was 




recorded   at   Police   Station   Krishna   Nagar.   Police   officials   were   immediately 




deputed to the site. On enquiry it came to be concluded, that the dead body was 




that   of   Harish   Kumar,   resident   of   House   no.303,   Gagan   Vihar,   Delhi.     The 




deceased   Harish   Kumar,   had   suffered   bullet   injuries   on   the   left   side   of   the 



temporal   region,   as   also,   on   the   left   side   of   the   abdomen.     Accordingly,   First 




Information   Report   bearing   no.297   of   2005   was   registered   at   Police   Station 




Krishna Nagar for offences punishable under sections 302, 452 and 380 of the 




Indian   Penal   Code   on   7.1.2006.     On   14.12.2007,   an   additional   charge   under 




section   404   of   the   Indian   Penal   Code   was   also   framed   against   the   accused-




appellant.








2.      Minakshi,   the   wife   of   the   deceased,   who   was   at   Chandigarh,   reached 




Delhi   on   receiving   information   that  her   husband   Harish   Kumar   (deceased)   had 




been   murdered.     She   identified   the   body   of   the   deceased   in   the   mortuary. 




Minakshi informed the police, that her husband was also with her at Chandigarh. 




And that, when he left Chandigarh for Delhi, he had in his possession a licensed 




revolver,   a   mobile   phone   (sim)   no.9871879824,   as   also,   a   sum   of   Rs.3   lakhs 




which was taken by him to Delhi, for negotiating a settlement.








3.      During  the course of investigation,  the police  was able  to  ascertain,  that 




mobile phone (sim) no.9871879824 was being used on a mobile handset bearing 




IEMI   no.35136304044030.     On   further   investigation   it   was   found,   that   the 




aforesaid mobile handset bearing IEMI no.35136304044030 was being used for 




mobile   phone   (sim)   no.9818480558   immediately   after   the   murder   of   the 




deceased Harish Kumar.  Sim no.9818480558 was registered in the name of the 




accused-appellant.     It   is   through   this   investigative   process,   that   the   police 




eventually   reached   the   accused-appellant   Gajraj   Singh,   son   of   Veer   Singh, 




resident   at   12/2,   Kundan   Nagar,   Lakshmi   Nagar,   Delhi.     The   police   recovered 




from   the   accused-appellant   three   mobile   handsets,   one   of   which   was   of 



Panasonic   make   bearing   IEMI   no.35136304044030,   i.e.,   the   handset   in   which 




sim no.9871879824 was used by the deceased. The police also recovered from 




the   accused-appellant,   the   licensed   revolver   of   the   deceased   Harish   Kumar. 




Complete and effective recovery was not made of the sum of Rs.3 lakhs which 




Minakshi (wife of the deceased Harish Kumar) had stated was in possession of 




the deceased, at the time he had departed Chandigarh for Delhi. The police, in 




order   to   establish   that   the   accused-appellant   was   in   possession   of   funds   in 




excess of his earnings, referred to a deposit of Rs.9,000/- in the account of the 




accused-appellant in the State Bank of India, Kundan Nagar Branch, Delhi. The 




said   deposit   had   been   made   on   25.7.2005   (the   murder   in   question   had   been 




committed two days earlier, on 23.7.2005).








4.      In order to bring home the charges, the prosecution examined a total of 29 




witnesses.  A perusal of the statements of the prosecution witnesses reveal, that 




the   conviction   of   the   accused-appellant   was   sought   merely   on   circumstantial 




evidence,   namely,   the   use   (and   possession)   of   mobile   handset   bearing   IEMI 




no.35136304044030   on   the   date   of   murder   itself,   i.e.,   on   23.7.2005   by   the 




accused-appellant for mobile phone (sim) no.9818480558 (which was registered 




in   the   name   of   the   accused-appellant),   the   recovery   of   the   revolver   of   the 




deceased   Harish   Kumar   along   with   live   and   spent   cartridges,   as   well   as,   the 




deposit of Rs.9,000/- in the account of the accused-appellant with the State Bank 




of India, Kundan Nagar Branch, Delhi.








5.      The Additional Sessions Judge, Karkardooma, Delhi disposed of Sessions 




Case   No.68   of   2005   on   21.4.2008.     It   was   sought   to   be   concluded,   that   the 



prosecution had been able to establish its case against the accused-appellant for 




offences punishable under section 302 and 404 of the Indian Penal Code.   The 




accused-appellant   was,   however,   acquitted   of   the   charges   framed   against   him 




under sections 380 and 452 of the Indian Penal Code.   Thereupon by an order 




dated   28.4.2008,   the   accused-appellant   was   sentenced   to   undergo   rigorous 




imprisonment for life, and to pay a fine of Rs.50,000/-, for the offence punishable 




under section 302 of Indian Penal Code (in the event of default of payment of fine 




the accused-appellant was required to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for 




an   additional   period   of   three   years).     The   accused   was   also   sentenced   to 




undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years, and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- for 




the   offence   punishable   under   section   404   of   Indian   Penal   Code   (in   case   of 




default of payment of fine, the accused-appellant was required to undergo further 




rigorous imprisonment for four  months).    The  aforesaid  sentences, awarded by 




the Trial Court, were to run concurrently.








6.      Dissatisfied   with   the   order   passed   by   the   Trial   Court,   the   accused-




appellant   preferred   Criminal   Appeal   No.461   of   2008   before   the   High   Court   of 




Delhi.  The appeal preferred by the accused-appellant, came to be dismissed on 




merits,   on   18.3.2009.     The   sentence   awarded   by   the   Trial   Court   was   however 




modified,   inasmuch   as,   in   the   event   of   non   payment   of   fine,   imposed   on   the 




accused-appellant for the offence punishable under section 302 of Indian Penal 




Code,   the   High   Court   reduced   the   period   of  imprisonment   in   lieu   thereof,   from 




three years to six months.



7.      The   accused-appellant   has   approached   this   Court   by   filing   the   instant 




appeal so as to assail the orders passed in Sessions Case No.68 of 2005 (dated 




21.4.2008) and in Criminal Appeal no.461 of 2008 (dated 18.3.2009).








8.      During   the course  of  hearing,   learned  counsel   for  the  accused-appellant 




raised three contentions.   The first of the aforesaid contention was the basis of 




his primary emphasis.  The contention advanced was, that the accused-appellant 




had   been   implicated   on   the   basis   of   allegedly   being   in   possession   of   mobile 




handset bearing IEMI No.35136304044030.  In so far as the instant aspect of the 




matter   is   concerned,   it   was   the   submission   of   the   learned   counsel   for   the 




accused-appellant, that the aforesaid mobile handset with the said IEMI number, 




was   traced   by  the  police   on   the  disclosure   of  the  wife   of   the   deceased   Harish 




Kumar.  And also because the accused-appellant was using mobile phone (sim) 




no.9871879824   on   the   aforesaid   handset.   Since   the   accused-appellant   was 




using a mobile phone (sim) registered in his (Gajraj Singhs) name on the mobile 




handset   of   the   deceased   (Harish   Kumar),   the   police   was   able   to   ascertain   his 




identity,   and   thereupon   reach   him.   The   object   of   the   learned   counsel,   while 




advancing the first contention, was to establish that the instant projection in the 




evidence produced by the prosecution, was to fabricate a false story to implicate 




the   accused-appellant.     According   to   learned   counsel,   discrepancy   in   the 




prosecution  evidence  would establish  the objective  of the  first  contention.    The 




sole   discrepancy   sought   to   be   pointed   out,   was   based   on   the   statement   of 




Minakshi,   the   wife   of   the   deceased   Harish   Kumar.   Minakshi   while   deposing 




before the Trial Court as PW23, had stated that her husband had called her at 




around 12 noon, and thereafter, at around 3 p.m.  It was sought to be asserted, 



that the call  details  from exhibit PW25/DX  reveal, that two incoming calls  were 




received   from   a   Chandigarh   telephone,   at   around   the   time   expressed     by 




Minakshi PW23. It was pointed out, that as per the deposition of PW23, it should 




have been outgoing calls from mobile phone (sim) no.9871879824 (as Minakshi 




had claimed to have received the said two calls from her husband),  yet  as per 




Exhibit   PW25/DX,   these   were   incoming   calls.   Based   on   the   aforesaid 




discrepancy,   it   was   the   vehement   contention   of   the   learned   counsel   for   the 




accused-appellant,   that   the   factum   of   tracing   the   accused-appellant   from   the 




mobile phone (sim) of the deceased Harish Kumar was a complete concoction at 




the hands of the investigating agency.  It was also sought to be suggested, that if 




the investigating agency's  theory of reaching the accused-appellant was based 




on   the   call   details   of   mobile   phone   (sim)   no.9871879824,   the   same   becomes 




clearly unacceptable. According to learned counsel, it would be natural to infer, 




that the police could not have reached the accused-appellant on the basis of call 




details of phone no. 9871879824. And therefore, the question of recovery of the 




revolver,  as  also,   the  mobile  handset  (owned   by the  deceased  Harish   Kumar), 




from   his   possession,   does   not  arise.     It   was   sought   to  be   suggested   that  they 




must have been planted on the accused-appellant to implicate him.








9.      In   so   far   as   the   first   contention   advanced   at   the   hands   of   the   learned 




counsel for the accused-appellant is concerned, learned counsel also invited our 




attention   to   the   reasoning   depicted   in   the   impugned   order   passed   by  the   High 




Court (dated 18.3.2009), wherein the accused-appellant has been linked to the 




incident on the basis of the following reasoning:



        "26.     Holding that the call record Ex.PW-22/A evidences that two 


        calls   from   Chandigarh   were   received   on   the   mobile   number 


        9871879824   in   the   afternoon   of   23.7.2005,   corroborates   the 


        testimony   of   the   wife   of   the   deceased   who   was   staying   at 


        Chandigarh on 23.7.2005 that she had talked to the deceased over 


        telephone in the afternoon of 23.7.2005, which in turn establishes 


        that   the   mobile   number   9871879824   was   being   used   by   the 


        deceased   on   the   date   of   his   death;   that   the   call   records   Ex.PW-


        22/A   and   Ex.PW22/B   establishes   that   the   handset   having   IEMI 


        No.350608101231170, which handset was used by the accused on 


        a regular  basis,  was  used   by  the  deceased  on 10th  and  11th  July, 


        2005 and that this establishes that the deceased and the accused 


        were   in   touch   with   each   other;   the   call   record   Ex.PW-22/B 


        evidences that the handset which was used by the deceased on the 


        date of his death was in possession of the accused soon after the 


        death of the deceased and that the same is a strong incriminating 


        circumstance   against   the   accused;   that   the   prosecution   has   been 


        able to establish that the handset which was used by the deceased 


        before his death and the revolver which was the weapon of offence 


        were recovered at the instance of the accused....."










It   is   the   assertion   of   the   learned   counsel   for   the   accused-appellant,   that   the 




accused-appellant   could   never   have   been   traced   on   the   basis   of   the   mobile 




phone (sim) no.9871879824, as no call was ever made by the deceased Harish 




Kumar from the aforesaid mobile number to the accused-appellant.  Likewise, no 




call   was   ever   made   by   the   accused-appellant   from   his   mobile   phone   (sim) 




no.9818480558 to the deceased Harish Kumar.  As such it is submitted, that the 




conclusions   drawn   by   the   Trial   Court,   as   also,   by   the   High   Court,   are   clearly 




unacceptable, and deserve to be set aside.








10.     We   have   given   our   thoughtful   consideration   to   the   first   contention 




advanced at the hands of the learned counsel for the accused-appellant, as have 




been brought out in the foregoing two paragraphs.  We are however of the view, 




that the submission advanced by the learned counsel for the accused-appellant 



cannot be accepted, keeping in mind the evidence produced by the prosecution. 




Even   though   we   are   of   the   view,   that   the   learned   counsel   for   the   accused-




appellant is fully justified in pointing out the discrepancy referred to by him, in so 




far as the statement of Minakshi PW23 is concerned and  the reasoning rendered 




by the High Court, as has been extracted hereinabove, may not be fully justified, 




yet we have no doubt, that the manner in which the accused-appellant came to 




be identified and traced, (during the course of investigation) fully establishes the 




veracity of  the  prosecution   case.  The  evidence  produced  by  the  prosecution   is 




based   on   one   irrefutable   fact,   namely,   every   mobile   handset   has   an   exclusive 




IEMI number. No two mobile handsets have the same IEMI number. And every 




time a mobile handset is used for making a call, besides recording the number of 




the caller as well as the person called, the IEMI numbers of the handsets used 




are also recorded by the service provider. The aforesaid factual position has to 




be kept in mind while examining the prosecution evidence.   The first step in the 




process of investigation was the receipt of information from Minakshi (the wife of 




deceased   Harish   Kumar),   that   the   deceased   was   using   mobile   phone   (sim) 




no.9871879824.     Evidence   on   record   indicates,   that   the   aforesaid   sim   number 




became   dead   on   23.7.2005,   i.e.,   the   date   on   which   deceased   Harish   Kumar 




came to be murdered.   In the process of investigation it then emerged, that the 




mobile handset bearing IEMI No.35136304044030 was used with mobile phone 




(sim) no. 9818480558. This happened soon after the murder of Harish Kumar, on 




23.7.2005 itself. The same sim was used to make calls from the same handset 




upto   2.8.2005.   Through   the   statement   of   R.K.   Singh   PW22,   Nodal   Officer, 




Bharati   Airtel   Limited,   it   came   to   be   established,   that   mobile   phone   (sim) 



no.9818480558 was registered in the name of accused-appellant Gajraj Singh. It 




is from the use of the mobile handset bearing IEMI no.35136304044030, that the 




police came to trace the accused-appellant Gajraj Singh.  It is only this aspect of 




the matter which is relevant for the purpose of present controversy. The use of 




Mobile   handset   bearing   IEMI   no.35136304044030   on   which   the   accused-




appellant   made   calls   from   his   own   registered   mobile   phone   (sim) 




no.9818480558,   immediately   after   the   occurrence   of   the   murder   of   deceased 




Harish   Kumar,   was   a   legitimate   basis   for   the   identification   of   the   accused-




appellant.   The   accused-appellant   was   arrested   on   6.8.2005.   The   nexus   of   the 




accused-appellant   with   the   deceased   at   the   time   of   occurrence   stands   fully 




substantiated from the aforesaid sim/IEMI details.   In the aforesaid sense of the 




matter, the discrepancy in the statement of Minakshi PW23, pointed out by the 




learned   counsel   for   the  accused-appellant,   as  also,   the  reasoning   rendered   by 




the   High   Court   in   the   impugned   judgment   becomes   insignificant.     We   are 




satisfied, that the process by which the accused-appellant came to be identified 




during   the   course   of   investigation,   was   legitimate   and   unassailable.   The   IEMI 




number   of   the   handset,   on   which   the   accused-appellant   was   making   calls   by 




using   a   mobile   phone   (sim)   registered   in   his   name,   being   evidence   of   a 




conclusive   nature,   cannot   be   overlooked   on   the   basis   of   such   like   minor 




discrepancies . In fact even a serious discrepancy in oral evidence, would have 




had   to   yield   to   the   aforesaid   scientific   evidence.     For   the   reasons   recorded 




hereinabove, we find no merit in the first contention advanced at the hands of the 




learned counsel for the accused-appellant.



11.     The second contention advanced at the hands of the learned counsel for 




the   accused-appellant   was,   that   there   were   only   two   independent   witnesses 




associated   with   the   recovery   of   the   revolver,   and   the   mobile   handset   bearing 




IEMI   no.35136304044030   (belonging   to   deceased   Harish   Kumar),   namely, 




Yuvraj PW12 and Veer Singh PW13.  The said revolver and the mobile handset 




were, allegedly, recovered at the instance of the accused-appellant Gajraj Singh. 




Yuvraj, while appearing as PW12, denied having signed the recovery memo.  He 




asserted   that   his   signatures   had   been   taken   on   blank   papers,   which   had   then 




been used in preparing the recovery memo.   A similar statement was made by 




Veer Singh PW13.  Pointing out to the statement made by the accused-appellant 




under   Section   313   Cr.P.C.,   it   was   submitted,   that   the   accused-appellant   had 




clearly maintained, that the investigating officer(s) in the case, had intentionally 




and deliberately implicated the accused-appellant.








12.     We have examined the second submission advanced at the hands of the 




learned  counsel  for the  accused-appellant.     Before  evaluating  the statement   of 




Yuvraj   PW12   and   Veer   Singh   PW13,   it   is   necessary   to   keep   in   mind   their 




relationship   with   the   accused-appellant.     While   Yuvraj   PW12   is   the   brother   of 




accused-appellant, Veer Singh PW13 is his father.  It is apparent, that they would 




leave   no   stone   unturned   to   ensure   the   acquittal   of   the   accused-appellant. 




Despite the aforesaid, it is clear from the submissions advanced at the hands of 




the   learned   counsel   for   the   accused-appellant,   that   neither   Yuvraj   PW12   nor 




Veer   Singh   PW13,   disputed   the   veracity   of   their   signatures   on   the   recovery 




memos.   It is, therefore, apparent that their signatures, on the recovery memos, 




were   authentic.     If   the   signatures   of   the   brother   and   father   of   the   accused-



appellant had been taken forcibly by the investigating agency, we have no doubt 




in   our   minds,   that   not   only   the   accused-appellant   but   also   his   brother   Yuvraj 




PW12 and his father Veer Singh PW13, would have raised a hue and cry. They 




would have made representations to the concerned authorities pointing out, that 




the   police   had   obtained   their   signatures   on   blank   papers.     The   statements   of 




Yuvraj PW12 and Veer Singh PW13 do not reveal any such action at their hands. 




We   have,   therefore,   no   doubt   in   our   minds,   that   they   had   duly   affixed   their 




signatures on the recovery memos, vide which the revolver of the deceased, as 




also, the mobile handset of Panasonic make bearing IEMI no.35136304044030 




were recovered at the behest of accused-appellant Gajraj Singh.   In view of the 




above, we find no merit even in the second contention advanced at the hands of 




the accused-appellant.








13.     The third and the last contention advanced by the learned counsel for the 




accused-appellant   was   in   respect   of   deposit   of   Rs.9,000/-   by   the   accused-




appellant   in   his   account   with   the   State   Bank   of   India,   Kundan   Nagar   Branch, 




Delhi.     It   was   the   contention   of   the   learned   counsel   for   the   appellant-accused, 




that Minakshi  PW23,  the wife  of deceased  Harish Kumar  had  pointed out, that 




the   deceased   was   having   in   his   possession   a   sum   of   Rs.3   lakhs,   when   he 




departed Chandigarh for Delhi. The depiction of deposit of Rs.9,000/-, according 




to learned counsel, was a futile attempt at the hands of the prosecution to show, 




that   the   accused-appellant   had   deposited   a   part   of   money   taken   by   him   from 




deceased   Harish   Kumar,   so   as   to   establish   his   nexus   with   the   crime.     It   was 




asserted   that   the   prosecution   could   not   show   how   the   accused-appellant 




disposed of the balance amount.



14.     It is not possible for us to accept even the third contention advanced at the 




hands   of   learned   counsel   for   the   accused-appellant.   We  are   satisfied   that   the 




amount of Rs.9,000/-, deposited by the accused in his bank account out of the 




total sum of Rs.3 lakhs may not be a justifiable basis to establish, that the alleged 




crime   was   committed   by   the   accused-appellant.     But   then,   keeping   in   mind 




overwhelming   evidence   produced   by  the   prosecution   in   establishing   the   crime, 




namely, the recovery of revolver of the deceased from accused-appellant along 




with live and spent cartridges, the recovery of mobile handset of Panasonic make 




bearing   IEMI   No.35136304044030   from   the   custody   of   the   accused-appellant, 




and   the   fact   that   the   accused-appellant   was   using   the   same   soon   after   the 




murder of the deceased Harish Kumar with mobile phone (sim) no.9818480558 




which   was   registered   in   the   name   of   the   accused-appellant   (and   that   he 




continued   to   use   it   till   his   arrest),   leaves   no   room   for   any   doubt,   that   the 




prosecution has brought home the charges as have been found to be established 




against the accused-appellant, by the Trial Court as also by the High Court.








15.     For   the   reasons   recorded   hereinabove   we   find   no   merit   in   the   instant 




appeal and the same is accordingly dismissed.










                                                                     ..................................


J.


                                                                     (R.M. Lodha)










                                                                     ..................................


J.


                                                                     (Jagdish Singh Khehar)




New Delhi



September 22, 2011



                                  Digital  Performa










Case  No.                 :       Criminal Appeal No.2272 of 2010




Date of Decision         :        22.9.2011








C.A.V. on                :        14.9.2011




Cause Title              :        Gajraj


                                            Versus


                                  State (NCT) of Delhi








Coram                    :        Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.M. Lodha


                                  Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar




Judgment delivered by     :       Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar




Nature of Judgment       :         Reportable