KAILASH Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole appellant in this case is convicted by the trial Court under S. 302, I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. His appeal was dismissed by the High Court. In this appeal arising out of special leave granted by this court it is submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant that the case entirely rests on the circumstantial evidence and that the chain of that circumstantial evidence is not complete and at any rate one main circumstance namely the retracted extra-judicial confession relied upon by both the Courts below does not stand scrutiny and the evidence of P.W. 10 who speaks about the extra-judicial confession is highly untrustworthy.

(2.) Deceased Ram Milan was a resident of village Satgharas, hamlet of warraiwa within the limits of Tulsipur Police Station Distt. Gonda. P.W. 4 is the widow of the deceased. The accused also belonged to the same place and it is alleged that he was inimical towards the deceased. On the intervening night of 26th and 27th April, 1973 the deceased was sleeping in the varandah of his house and his wife Smt. Butane was sleeping inside the house. On hearing some noise she came out and found that her husband was having an injury on the neck and he was speechless. Immediately he was shifted to the hospital but he succumbed to his injury on the way. A report was lodged at the Police Station to the effect that some unknown person had committed the murder. The autopsy of dead body was conducted by the Doctor, P.W. 8 and he found the serious injury on the neck and he opined that death was due to shock and haemorrhage. According to the prosecution, on 15th May, 1973 the Investigating Officer came to know that the accused had approached P.W. 10 and had made a confession. He rushed to the house of P.W. 10 and after enquiring he searched for the accused and found him to be absconding. He was arrested on 16th May, 1973 and at his instance a Gandasa was recovered and the clothes worn by him at the time of occurrence were also seized. They were sent to the Chemical Examiner and the Chemical Examiner did not find any blood on his clothes and he also found that the blood on the Gandasa was disintegrated. The prosecution in support of its evidence examined 11 witnesses.

(3.) The case rests entirely on circumstantial evidence and the circumstances relied upon by the prosecution are as follows: