STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. UTTAM KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals have been filed by the State of Himachal Pradesh against the judgment of the Himachal High Court dated 11.5.2000 in Criminal Appeal Nos.199 of 1998, 25 of 1998, 50 of 1998 and 127 of 1998 by which the conviction of the accused by the trial court was set aside.

(2.) Heard learned counsel of the parties and perused the record.

(3.) The prosecution case is that Ramesh Kumar (deceased) resident of village Hat, Tehsil Theog, district Shimla, H.P, was owner of Car No.HP-09-1617. His brother Vasu Dev (PW-2) also owned a taxi (Maruti Van) No.HP-09-1214. Both of them were present at Chhaila on 1.4.1997. At about 4 p.m. accused Uttam Kumar approached Vasu Dev to hire his taxi for going to Kalka saying that his brother had met with an accident near Surajpur and was in a serious condition. Vasu Dev, however, expressed his inability to take his taxi to Kalka because his taxi was out of order. Accused Uttam Kumar implored him that keeping in view the situation in which the accused was, some arrangement might be made for taking him to Kalka. Since Ramesh Kumar was going to Solan for servicing of his car, Vasu Dev asked him to carry the accused upto Kalka. Uttam Kumar informed them that he wanted to carry two more persons in the vehicle from Mori Kyar road and two more from Fagu. Thereupon, Ramesh Kumar, deceased, along with accused Uttam Kumar took his car to Mori Kyar and from there, they started towards Kalka. On the way, Ramesh Kumar stopped near his house in village Hat and informed his mother that he would be back late in the night or the next morning. Ramesh Kumar, however, did not return home even on the next day, and hence his father Sitaram asked PW-2 Vasu Dev to search for Ramesh Kumar. PW-2 telephonically contacted his relatives at Shimla and other places to find out the whereabouts of Ramesh Kumar and also went towards Kalka in his taxi. On his way to Kalka, Vasu Dev on 5.4.1997, made enquiries at Police Station, Dharampur where he was informed that Spatu Police had taken in its possession a car under Section 102 Cr.P.C. as the same was found lying abandoned. Vasu Dev then went to Spatu and recognized the car owned by his brother Ramesh Kumar with the help of a sticker as its number plate was found missing. In the meanwhile, on the same day, Sita Ram (PW-1, father of Ramesh Kumar and Vasu Dev, lodged a report about the missing of Ramesh Kumar since 1.4.1997 at Police Station, Theog. In the evening on the same day, when Vasu Dev returned home, he informed his father about taking in possession of the abandoned car of Ramesh Kumar by Spatu Police. This made Sita Ram apprehensive of the safety of his son Ramesh Kumar. On 6.4.1997, when a head constable had gone to the village of the deceased to make enquiries about the report lodged by his father, PW-1 Sita Ram informed him that car of the deceased had been found at Spatu. Thereupon, the said head constable, namely, Ram Singh (PW-15) recorded the statement of Sita Ram under Section 154 Cr.P.C. Ex.PB and as a consequence, FIR No.50 of 1997 under Sections 364/34 IPC was registered at Police Station, Theog. For almost a week, neither the police nor the relatives of Ramesh could secure any information about the whereabouts of Ramesh Kumar. On 12.4.1997, PW-2 Vasu Dev went to the temple of the local Diety in village Guthan to get the blessings of the Diety in helping tracing out his brother. When he came out of the temple, a resident of the village informed him that a young man and a young woman had been staying in the house of Mast Ram in village Guthan for 20 to 25 days prior to 1.4.1997. Thereafter, Vasu Dev contacted Mast Ram who confirmed the said information given by the villager and it was also found that son of Mast Ram, namely, accused Suresh Kumar had also left the village with the said young man and woman on 1.4.1997 but had not returned to the village. The villagers and Mast Ram further informed Vasu Dev that the said young man and woman had come to the village in Taxi No.HPY-1992 which remained parked outside the house of Mast Ram even after they had left, but for the last two or three days, the taxi was not there. On the request of Vasu Dev, Mast Ram agreed to send his own son Mohinder Singh to Vasu Dev the next day so that both of them could search for Ramesh Kumar and Suresh Kumar.