STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. MADAN LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal filed by State of Himachal Pradesh under Section 378 of the Cr.P.C. against the judgment, dated 3.1.2003, of the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Bilaspur, H.P., vide which the respondents were acquitted of the charge framed against them under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC. The prosecution story in brief is that on 14.6.2001, at about 8 p.m., Leela Nand, now deceased, had left his house for Shimla and told that he would be back on 15.6.2001 in the evening or on 16.6.2001 in the morning. On 16.6.2001, at about 8/9.00 a.m., PW -1 Parma Nand and PW -11 Ravinder Kumar had been informed that a dead body was found near the house of PW -12 Dinesh Kumar in Village Palthin. On receipt of this information, PW -1 Parma Nand, elder brother of the deceased, and PW -11 Ravinder Kumar, son of the deceased, went to village Palthin and found the dead body of the deceased lying there. The police had also reached there. The Pradhan was also there and they lodged a report with the police on which a case was registered and after investigation, the challan was filed against the respondent before the Court of learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, who committed the case to the Court of the learned Sessions Judge, who tried the respondents for the offences mentioned above leading to their acquittal.

(2.) THE submissions made by the learned Deputy Advocate General are that there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to connect the accused persons with the commission of the crime and as such the findings of the learned trial Court to the contrary are liable to be reversed.

(3.) PW -1 Parma Nand, brother of the deceased, and PW -11 Ravinder Kumar, son of the deceased, have stated in their statements under Section 161 Cr.P.C. about the involvement of the accused persons in the commission of the murder of the deceased. Their statements under Section 161 Cr.P.C. are not substantive evidence and, therefore, no reference was required to be made as to what they had stated in their statements under Section 161 Cr.P.C. PW -11 Ravinder Kumar has given his opinion that the accused persons had administered multiple injuries to the deceased. It is also in his evidence that the accused were arrested 10 days after the murder was detected, but no marks of violence were observed on their body by the Medical Officer.