AJAY KUMAR @ BITOO Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Believing the testimony of Smt.Kanta Rani PW-1 the wife of the deceased, and of Toni PW-2 the son of the deceased, and the fact that the knife Ex.P-4 recovered pursuant to the disclosure statement of the appellant was found to be stained with the blood of the same group as that of the deceased, vide impugned judgment and order dated 28.8.2004 a finding has been returned that the prosecution has successfully established that the appellant murdered Trilok Chand @ Triloki. The learned Trial Judge has also referred to the fact that the T-shirt Ex.P-5 got recovered by the appellant pursuant to his disclosure statement was stained with human blood, but it appears that the said fact has not been used as an incriminating circumstance, probably for the reason the group of the blood on the shirt could not be ascertained by the serologist.

(2.) At the hearing of the appeal, learned counsel for the appellant urged that the wife and the son of the deceased were planted witnesses and could not have been a witness to the crime. To highlight the said plea, learned counsel referred to the site plan to scale Ex.PW-20/A as per which the spot where blood of the deceased was lifted was on the public street outside the residence of the deceased. It was urged that the wife and the son of the deceased deposed that the deceased was assaulted inside the house. Counsel submitted that the place where the assault took place was marked B in the site plan which spot was in the verandah of the house. Our attention was drawn to the fact that no trail of blood was detected from the spot mark B to the spot mark A. As a limb of this submission it was urged that the post-mortem report of the deceased showed injuries on the chest but the two witnesses stated that the appellant stabbed the deceased in the abdomen. It was thus urged that it was apparent that the two witnesses had not witnessed the assault. The third limb of this submission was that neither the wife nor the son rescued the deceased by removing him to the hospital as was expected from the wife and the son; it was submitted that this circumstance also establishes that neither the wife nor the son were near the deceased when he was stabbed. The second point urged to discredit the testimony of the wife and the son of the deceased was by highlighting the improvements made by the two vis  -vis the statements made by them before the police. Thirdly, it was urged that there were material contradictions and variations inter se the testimony of the wife and the son of the deceased, in reference whereto it was urged that none of them could be believed as regards their version of the crime. Lastly, on the issue of recovery of the knife Ex.P-4 at the instance of the appellant, it was urged that no independent witness was associated in the recovery; thus, counsel urged that the recovery of the knife has to be ignored.

(3.) On the issue of the recovery of the knife Ex.P-4, suffice would it be to state that recoveries of ordinary knives etc. by the accused are treated as weak evidence. In the instant case the fate of the appellant would obviously be decided on the credibility of the testimony of the wife and the son of the deceased; namely Smt.Kanta Rani and Toni.