LIYAKAT HUSSAIN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant has challenged his conviction and sentences awarded to him under Sections 302/201 of Indian Penal Code ("ipc" for short) vide judgment and order dated 15-2-2003 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi in sessions Case No. 70/02.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution, in substance, is that on 2. 9. 99 an information was received from an unknown person on telephone by the Mahipal Pur police station at about 8. 10 a. m. that a dead body was lying in jungle on shahbad Bharthal Road and was being eaten up by the animals. That information was recorded as DD no. 3-A (Ex. PW-22/1) and its copy was handed over to the SHO insp. Bishan Mohan (PW-22) who accompanied by one Sub-Inspector and one constable went to the jungle on Shahbad Bharthal Road where on search Insp. Bishan Mohan found one headless and partially burnt dead body of a male. One pocket diary, one driving licence in the name of Ibrahim Khan, one watch and two keys were found lying near the dead body. Since it appeared to be a case of murder a rukka was prepared and sent to the police station by PW-22 for registration of a case under Sections 302/201 IPC and accordingly FIR no. 52/99 (Ex. PW-13/1) was registered. Intimation of recovery of the dead body reached pw-2 Yusuf Ahmed, brother of the Ibrahim Khan whose driving licence was found lying near the corpse and he then came to the place of recovery of the corpse and identified the same to be of his brother Ibrahim from the shirt on the dead body as well as the watch which was found lying nearby and some marks on the dead body. The police seized the driving licence, diary and the watch. Yusuf ahmed informed the police that his brother Ibrahim was having illicit relations with the wife of one Liyakat (the appellant herein) who was earlier living in their locality. The police then went to the house of Liyakat (hereinafter to be referred as "the accused") in Nangloi where his wife Razia told them that Liyakat had gone to Baroda on 1. 9. 99 alongwith one Nagender on a tanker owned by Mr. Ramesh Gupta (PW-5) and with whom the accused was employed as a driver. When Mr. Ramesh Gupta (PW-5) was contacted he informed the police that Liyakat was his permanent driver on tanker no. HR 38a-0481and had gone to asian Paints Factory at Ankleshwar in Gujarat on 1. 9. 99. The police team then left for Ankleshwar and reached there on 5. 9. 99 where they found the tanker lying parked outside the Asian Paints factory but the accused and the cleaner were not found. Blood stains were noticed on the headlight, bonnet and seat in the driver"s cabin of the tanker. The police waited there for someone to come to take the tanker but nobody came there and the police officials came to know on 06/09/99 that the accused had been arrested in Delhi and then the tanker was taken into police possession on 06/09/99 and brought to Delhi and kept at mahipalpur police station.

(3.) IT is the further case of the prosecution that on 6. 9. 99 the accused made a disclosure statement, Ex. PW1/1, pursuant to which he got recovered one blood stained axe (Ex. P-12) and the head of the deceased. Later on one nagender, who was the cleaner on duty on tanker no. 0481, was also arrested on 11. 9. 99 pursuant to the disclosure statement of accused Liyakat Husain.