"One Of Most Perfunctory Investigation" : Supreme Court Acquits Man Who Was Sentenced To Death For Alleged Murder Of Wife, Four Kids

The Supreme Court acquitted a man who was sentenced to death for alleged murder of his wife and his four kids.

Without any hesitation and with disappointment, we state that the case on hand is one of most perfunctory investigation, the CJI UU Lalit, Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and JB Pardiwala remarked.

Project 39A of the National Law University Delhi gave legal assistance to the appellant in the matter and briefed Senior Advocate Niranjan Reddy who appeared for the appellant.

According to the prosecution case, while the wife and four children were sleeping in the house situated at the village Basdhiya, the accused Ramanand @ Nandlal Bharti clobbered all the five to death with a sharp cutting weapon called Banka. The motive behind the crime, as per the prosecution, was the extra marital affair of the accused appellant with one married lady. The death sentence imposed by the Trial Court was confirmed by the Allahabad High Court.

The Trial Court had convicted him taking note of the following incriminating circumstances: (i) Discovery of weapon of offence and blood­stained clothes at the instance of the accused appellant. (ii) Extra Judicial confession of the accused appellant before two prosecution witnesses. (iii) Strong motive to commit the crime. (iv) False explanation at the instance of the accused appellant and his unnatural conduct.

Reappreciating the evidence on record, the Apex Court bench observed that none of the pieces of evidence relied on as incriminating by the courts below, can be treated as incriminating pieces of circumstantial evidence against the accused.

"Realities or truth apart, the fundamental and basic presumption in the administration of criminal law and justice delivery system is the innocence of the alleged accused and till the charges are proved beyond reasonable doubt on the basis of clear, cogent, credible or unimpeachable evidence, the question of indicting or punishing an accused does not arise, merely carried away by heinous nature of the crime or the gruesome manner in which it was found to have been committed. Though the offence is gruesome and revolts the human conscience but an accused can be convicted only on legal evidence and if only a chain of circumstantial evidence has been so forged as to rule out the possibility of any other reasonable hypothesis excepting the guilt of the accused. In Shankarlal Gyarasilal (supra), this Court cautioned ­ "human nature is too willing, when faced with brutal crimes, to spin stories out of strong suspicions". This Court has held time and again that between "may be true" and "must be true" there is a long distance to travel which must be covered by clear, cogent and unimpeachable evidence by the prosecution before an accused is condemned a convict", the court observed.

Fair defence to an accused is not the employment of a defence counsel for namesake.

The bench noted that the accused in this case was provided with a legal aid counsel as he was not able to afford a good and experienced trial side lawyer to defend himself. The bench made the following observations in this regard:

"What is meant by the duty of the State to ensure a fair defence to an accused is not the employment of a defence counsel for namesake. It has to be the provision of a counsel who defends the accused diligently to the best of his abilities. While the quality of the defence or the caliber of the counsel would not militate against the guarantee to a fair trial sanctioned by Articles 21 and 22 resply of the Constitution, a threshold level of competence and due diligence in the discharge of his duties as a defence counsel would certainly be the constitutional guaranteed expectation. The presence of counsel on record means effective, genuine and faithful presence and not a mere farcical, sham or a virtual presence that is illusory, if not fraudulent."

Appoint experienced lawyers who had conducted such cases in the past.

Indigence should never be a ground for denying fair trial or equal justice. Therefore, particular attention should be paid to appoint competent advocates, equal to handling the complex cases, not patronising gestures to raw entrants to the Bar. Sufficient time and complete papers should also be made available to the advocate chosen so that he may serve the cause of justice with all the ability at his command, and the accused also may feel confident that his counsel chosen by the court has had adequate time and material to defend him properly.. This case provides us an opportunity to remind the learned District and Sessions Judges across the country conducting sessions trials, more particularly relating to serious offences involving severe sentences, to appoint experienced lawyers who had conducted such cases in the past. It is desirable that in such cases senior advocate practising in the trial court shall be requested to conduct the case himself or herself on behalf of the undefended accused or at least provide good guidance to the advocate who is appointed as amicus curiae or an advocate from the legal aid panel to defend the case of the accused persons. Then only the effective and meaningful legal aid would be said to have been provided to the accused.

Case details

Ramanand @ Nandlal Bharti vs State of Uttar Pradesh | 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 843 | CrA 64-­65 OF 2022 | 13 October 2022 | CJI UU Lalit, Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and JB Pardiwala

Counsel: Sr.Adv Niranjan Reddy for the appellant, Adv Adarsh Upadhyay for the State 

Headnotes

Indian Penal Code, 1860 ; Section 300,302 - Murder case - Trial Court convicted accused for alleged murder of his wife, four children and sentenced him to death - Allahabad High Court dismissed his appeal and confirmed death sentence - Allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court acquitted the accused - None of the pieces of evidence relied on as incriminating by the courts below, can be treated as incriminating pieces of circumstantial evidence against the accused.

Criminal Trial - Circumstantial Evidence -  Principles to be followed - 1. Circumstances from which an inference of guilt is sought to be drawn must be cogently and firmly established; 2. Those circumstances must be of a definite tendency unerringly pointing towards guilt of the accused and must be conclusive in nature; 3. The circumstances, if taken cumulatively, should form a chain so complete that there is no escape from the conclusion that within all human probability the crime was committed by the accused and none else; and 4. The circumstantial evidence in order to sustain conviction must be complete and incapable of explanation of any other hypothesis than that of the guilt of the accused but should be inconsistent with his innocence. In other words, the circumstances should exclude every possible hypothesis except the one to be proved. (Para  46)

Indian Evidence Act, 1872 ; Section 27 - How the law expects the investigating officer to draw the discovery panchnama as contemplated under Section 27 - If, it is say of the investigating officer that the accused appellant while in custody on his own free will and volition made a statement that he would lead to the place where he had hidden the weapon of offence along with his blood stained clothes then the first thing that the investigating officer should have done was to call for two independent witnesses at the police station itself. Once the two independent witnesses arrive at the police station thereafter in their presence the accused should be asked to make an appropriate statement as he may desire in regard to pointing out the place where he is said to have hidden the weapon of offence. When the accused while in custody makes such statement before the two independent witnesses (panch witnesses) the exact statement or rather the exact words uttered by the accused should be incorporated in the first part of the panchnama that the investigating officer may draw in accordance with law. This first part of the panchnama for the purpose of Section 27 of the Evidence Act is always drawn at the police station in the presence of the independent witnesses so as to lend credence that a particular statement was made by the accused expressing his willingness on his own free will and volition to point out the place where the weapon of offence or any other article used in the commission of the offence had been hidden. Once the first part of the panchnama is completed thereafter the police party along with the accused and the two independent witnesses (panch witnesses) would proceed to the particular place as may be led by the accused. If from that particular place anything like the weapon of offence or blood stained clothes or any other article is discovered then that part of the entire process would form the second part of the panchnama.  (Para 53)

Indian Evidence Act, 1872 ; Section 27 - Conditions necessary for the applicability of Section 27 - Mere discovery cannot be interpreted as sufficient to infer authorship of concealment by the person who discovered the weapon. He could have derived knowledge of the existence of that weapon at the place through some other source also. He might have even seen somebody concealing the weapon, and, therefore, it cannot be presumed or inferred that because a person discovered the weapon, he was the person who had concealed it, least it can be presumed that he used it. (Para 64-68)

Indian Evidence Act, 1872 ; Section 8 - Although the conduct of an accused may be a relevant fact under Section 8 of the Evidence Act, yet the same, by itself, cannot be a ground to convict him or hold him guilty and that too, for a serious offence like murder. (Para 74)

Criminal Trial - Extra judicial confession - A weak type of evidence and requires appreciation with great deal of care and caution. Where an extra judicial confession is surrounded by suspicious circumstances, its credibility becomes doubtful and it loses its importance like the case in hand. The Courts generally look for an independent reliable corroboration before placing any reliance upon an extra judicial confession. (Para 85)

Criminal Trial - Circumstantial Evidence - Motive - In a case based on circumstantial evidence, motive for committing the crime on the part of the accused assumes greater importance - Motive for commission of offence no doubt assumes greater importance in cases resting on circumstantial evidence than those in which direct evidence regarding commission of offence is available - Failure to prove motive in cases resting on circumstantial evidence is not fatal by itself. - Absence of motive could be a missing link of incriminating circumstances, but once the prosecution has established the other incriminating circumstances to its entirety, absence of motive will not give any benefit to the accused. (Para 87)

Criminal Trial - Circumstantial Evidence - False Explanation - Before a false explanation can be used as an additional link, the following essential conditions must be satisfied: (i) Various links in the chain of evidence led by the prosecution have been satisfactorily proved. (ii) Such circumstances points to the guilt of the accused as reasonable defence. (iii) The circumstance is in proximity to the time and situation - If the aforesaid conditions are fulfilled only then a Court use a false explanation or a false defence as an additional link to lend as assurance to the Court and not otherwise - Prosecution must stand or fall on its own legs and it cannot derive any strength from the weakness of the defence. Where various links in a chain are in themselves complete, then a false plea or a false defence may be called into aid only to lend assurance to the Court (Para 96-98)

Criminal Trial - Circumstantial Evidence - Non ­explanation of the injuries - Any non ­explanation of the injuries on the accused by the prosecution may affect the prosecution case. But such a non­ explanation may assume greater importance where the defence gives a version which competes in probability with that of the prosecution. But where the evidence is clear, cogent and creditworthy and where the court can distinguish the truth from falsehood, the mere fact that the injuries are not explained by the prosecution cannot itself be a sole basis to reject such evidence, and consequently the whole case. (Para 115)

Legal Aid -  What is meant by the duty of the State to ensure a fair defence to an accused is not the employment of a defence counsel for namesake. It has to be the provision of a counsel who defends the accused diligently to the best of his abilities - The presence of counsel on record means effective, genuine and faithful presence and not a mere farcical, sham or a virtual presence that is illusory, if not fraudulent - In Sessions trials, more particularly relating to serious offences involving severe sentences,  appoint experienced lawyers who had conducted such cases in the past. It is desirable that in such cases senior advocate practising in the trial court shall be requested to conduct the case himself or herself on behalf of the undefended accused or at least provide good guidance to the advocate who is appointed as amicus curiae or an advocate from the legal aid panel to defend the case of the accused persons. (Para 117-126)

Click here to Read/Download Judgment