KANTI LAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant Kanti Lal in Criminal Appeal No. 1074 of 1997 was tried along with one Govind Ram for the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34; Sections 392, 404 and 201, IPC. Both the accused were found guilty of the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 and Sections 392 and 201, IPC. They challenged their conviction and sentence before the Rajasthan High Court and by the impugned judgment the conviction and sentence entered against these two accused was conformed by the High Court. Aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court, the present appeal is filed.

(2.) Govind Ram, whose conviction was confirmed by the High Court, moved a Special Leave Petition and the same was dismissed by this Court. He later filed a review petition and the order dismissing the S.L.P. was reviewed vide order dated 4-2-1999 and notice was issued. Leave is granted in that matter.

(3.) The case against the accused was that they caused the death of one Bheema Ram and robbed him of the money possessed by him. On July 29, 1985, PW-7 Ridmal Singh found a dead-body in a tank situated within the Jalore Fort area. He went to the Jalore Police Station and gave Exh. P-13 information. PW-14 Station House Officer immediately visited the spot and prepared Exh. P-71 site inspection note and held inquest over the dead body of the deceased. Near the place of incident, he found a foot print, which was visible on a 'kuchha floor, and prepared a mould of the same. The mouth of the dead-body was found gagged with a socks. PW-35 conducted the post-mortem examination and certified that the death of the deceased was due to asphyxia. PW-2 Mancha Ram Ghanci identified the dead-body to be of his own brother, Bheema Ram, and he revealed that the deceased was an employee of M/s. Hazarimal Ramesh Kumar, Commission Agents, Sumerpur, and that the deceased used to go to various places to collect the money due from the customers of the firm. PW-29 Bhagwat Singh conducted detailed investigation of the case and his investigation revealed that deceased Bheema Ram had left Sumerpur on July 27, 1985 with a receipt-book and a list of persons from whom money was to be collected in favour of his employer. He carried a money-bag and was expected to return to Sumerpur by July 29, 1985. Bheema Ram did not return on July, 29, 1985, and the investigation further revealed that during the night intervening 27th and 28th July, 1985. Bheema Ram had stayed with the appellant, Kanti Lal, at his residence situated at village Doodsi, and that in the morning of July 28, 1985 he came to the bus stand accompanied by Kanti Lal. On 27th July, 1985, the deceased had collected about Rs. 20,862.92p from various customers of his employer. PW-39 arrested the co-accused Govind Ram on 2nd August, 1985. An amount of Rs. 10,000/- and a handkerchief which belonged to the deceased Bheema Ram were recovered from the residential house of Govind Ram under Exh. P-35. The shoes worn by Govind Ram were also taken into custody. Appellant, Kanti Lal, was arrested at Bombay and pursuant to the information furnished by him, a watch, a bush-shirt, a money-bag, printed receipt-books, pieces of a torn bank draft and a knife were recovered from him. The Investigating Officer also found on site inspection of 9th August, 1985 that the names of the appellants, Kanti Lal and Govind Ram and that of the deceased Bheema Ram were found written on the wall of the Ram Mahal of the Jalore Fort. Various photograph of this graffiti were taken and the signatures of the accused were also obtained for comparison. The Investigating Officer also conducted an idenfication parade in the presence of PW-47, the Asstt. Collector-cum-Magistrate First Class, Jalore, and the witnesses who participated in the identification parade, identified both the accused as the persons with whom the deceased Bheema Ram had been found moving. The bush-shirt, the khaki bag, the receipt-books and other articles allegedly used by the deceased were identified by the prosecution witnesses as the articles belonging to the deceased and he finally filed the charge-sheet.