# [1996] 1 S.C.R. 791

- **Citation:** [1996] 1 S.C.R. 791
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1996-01-19
- **Case number:** Criminal Appeal No. B 5. of 1996
- **Bench:** G.N. Ray, S.B. Majmudar
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/1996-1-s-c-r-791-13731
- **Pages:** 24

## Headnote

B
-.
+
Indian Penal Code, 1860: Sections 302 read with 34 and 201.
Dow1y death-Husband and other relatives-Circumstantial evidenceConviction based on-Validity of
c
Deceased a highly qualified and manied lady-Dead body found in
kitchen-No suicide note found-Prosecution version-Deceased done to
death by gagging-Dead body planted in kitchen-Version corroborated by
medical evidence-Held it was a case of homicidal death and not suicide.
D
Circumstances in support of guilt of accuserJ-Motive-Dowiy-Held
established on facts-Extra-judicial confession of accused--Unreliable and
uncon-oborated version-Held not a circumstance establishing guilt of accuserJ-Subsequent conduct of accused-Not revealing culpability of accused-Mere fact that all accused lived in same house where dead body was E
found-Held by itself not sufficient to connect accused with crime-Accused
held entitled to benefit of doubt.
Police-lnvestigation-Lukewann and cursory approach-Deprecation
of
F
K was found dead after about two months of her marriage. Her burnt
dead body was found in the kitchen of her matrimonial home. K's fatherin-law, A-1, her husband, A-2, younger sister of the husband, A-3 and
sister-in-law of K's father-in-law, A-4, who were all living in the same
house, were charged with the offence of murder under Section 302 read G
with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The prosecution case was
-
\
that K was done to death by gagging her nose and mouth and she died
because of suffocation and thereafter her dead body was planted in the
kitchen and was subjected to post mortem burning. The prosecution relied
upon four aspects of the case viz. (i) motive; (ii) extra-judicial confession
of A-1 and 2; (iii) subsequent conduct of the accused persons; and (iv) the H
791
792
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1996] 1 S.C.R.
A situation of the scene of offence.
B
The alleged motive for the crime was dissatisfaction of the accused
persons with dowry. The evidence in this regard was that of the father of
deceased K, PW-23. He deposed that at the time of the marriage he gave
seven tolas of gold and other articles worth Rs. 25,000. He could not
provide refrigerator, television and tape-recorder as demanded by the
accused person dnring 'Shagun' ceremony in the presence of PW-13, an
employee of PW-23. Further during her visit to her parent's house after
marriage K told her elder sister, PW-16 that her in-laws were harassing
and threatening her for insufficiency of dowry. The evidence was also
C corroborated by other independent witnesses viz. PW-22, a doctor, PW-17
and PW-26 to whom K had complained about dowry demands and conduct
of the accused persons.
K's husband and father-in-law were also stated to have made extra
judicial confessions to two persons viz. PW-IO, a member of the adhoc
D committee of Janata party and PW-13, an employee of the father of
deceased K.
To substantiate the guilt of the accused persons their subsequent
conduct was also relied on by the prosecution. Firstly, they did not inform
E the father of the deceased who was staying in the near vicinity about the
death of his daughter. Secondly, none of the accused was found to be
lamenting or' weeping when being apprised of the incident. Lastly the
father- in-law of the deceased K wanted to remove the dead body for
prompt cremation but only on the insistence of PW-23 he was not permitted to do so.
F
G
As to the scene of occurrence the version of PW-6, a neighour of the
accused person was that on the day of occurrence he heard the cries of
accused No. 4 that there was fire in the kitchen. As the kitchen was bolted
from inside he broke open the door and found the dead body lying there
in a burnt condition. There was evidence to show that there was a service
window in the kitchen about 3 feet from the ground floor level which was
open and from which at least with difficulty anyone from inside could come
out. Further evidence in this regard was that of PW-14, sister-in-law of
deceased K, who on the date of occurre

## Text

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MULAK RAJ AND ORS .
A
.
..
v.
STATE OF HARYANA
JANUARY 19, 1996
[G.N. RAY AND S.B. MAJMUDAR, JJ.]
B
-.
+
Indian Penal Code, 1860: Sections 302 read with 34 and 201.
Dow1y death-Husband and other relatives-Circumstantial evidenceConviction based on-Validity of
c
Deceased a highly qualified and manied lady-Dead body found in
kitchen-No suicide note found-Prosecution version-Deceased done to
death by gagging-Dead body planted in kitchen-Version corroborated by
medical evidence-Held it was a case of homicidal death and not suicide.
D
Circumstances in support of guilt of accuserJ-Motive-Dowiy-Held
established on facts-Extra-judicial confession of accused--Unreliable and
uncon-oborated version-Held not a circumstance establishing guilt of accuserJ-Subsequent conduct of accused-Not revealing culpability of accused-Mere fact that all accused lived in same house where dead body was E
found-Held by itself not sufficient to connect accused with crime-Accused
held entitled to benefit of doubt.
Police-lnvestigation-Lukewann and cursory approach-Deprecation
of
F
K was found dead after about two months of her marriage. Her burnt
dead body was found in the kitchen of her matrimonial home. K's fatherin-law, A-1, her husband, A-2, younger sister of the husband, A-3 and
sister-in-law of K's father-in-law, A-4, who were all living in the same
house, were charged with the offence of murder under Section 302 read G
with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The prosecution case was
-
\
that K was done to death by gagging her nose and mouth and she died
because of suffocation and thereafter her dead body was planted in the
kitchen and was subjected to post mortem burning. The prosecution relied
upon four aspects of the case viz. (i) motive; (ii) extra-judicial confession
of A-1 and 2; (iii) subsequent conduct of the accused persons; and (iv) the H
791
792
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1996] 1 S.C.R.
A situation of the scene of offence.
B
The alleged motive for the crime was dissatisfaction of the accused
persons with dowry. The evidence in this regard was that of the father of
deceased K, PW-23. He deposed that at the time of the marriage he gave
seven tolas of gold and other articles worth Rs. 25,000. He could not
provide refrigerator, television and tape-recorder as demanded by the
accused person dnring 'Shagun' ceremony in the presence of PW-13, an
employee of PW-23. Further during her visit to her parent's house after
marriage K told her elder sister, PW-16 that her in-laws were harassing
and threatening her for insufficiency of dowry. The evidence was also
C corroborated by other independent witnesses viz. PW-22, a doctor, PW-17
and PW-26 to whom K had complained about dowry demands and conduct
of the accused persons.
K's husband and father-in-law were also stated to have made extra
judicial confessions to two persons viz. PW-IO, a member of the adhoc
D committee of Janata party and PW-13, an employee of the father of
deceased K.
To substantiate the guilt of the accused persons their subsequent
conduct was also relied on by the prosecution. Firstly, they did not inform
E the father of the deceased who was staying in the near vicinity about the
death of his daughter. Secondly, none of the accused was found to be
lamenting or' weeping when being apprised of the incident. Lastly the
father- in-law of the deceased K wanted to remove the dead body for
prompt cremation but only on the insistence of PW-23 he was not permitted to do so.
F
G
As to the scene of occurrence the version of PW-6, a neighour of the
accused person was that on the day of occurrence he heard the cries of
accused No. 4 that there was fire in the kitchen. As the kitchen was bolted
from inside he broke open the door and found the dead body lying there
in a burnt condition. There was evidence to show that there was a service
window in the kitchen about 3 feet from the ground floor level which was
open and from which at least with difficulty anyone from inside could come
out. Further evidence in this regard was that of PW-14, sister-in-law of
deceased K, who on the date of occurrence went to the house of accused
·persons to invite K for the meals on the Baisakhi day. On coming to know
H of K's death she informed the father of the deceased K who immediately
(
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MULAKRAlv. STATE
793
rushed to the spot and by that time the husband and father-in-law of the A
deceased had reached back to the spot from their respective offices. On
the insistence of deceased father accused No. 1 lodged a complaint in the
police station that K had committed suicide.
The prosecution case was fully supported by medical evidence consisting of post-mortem which revealed that (i) K died before and was burnt
later and that death was due to asphyxia which was a result of suffocation;
(ii) the burns found on the body were post mortem i.e. the body was burnt
after death; (iii) blisters which are normally found if an alive person is
burnt were not found on the body of the deceased. On the basis of post
mortem report the police registered criminal cases against all the accused
persons as it was felt that K had not committed suicide but had died a
homicidal death. However proceedings lingered on at the investigation
stage and the accused persons were arrested and chargesheeted only after
the father of the deceased lodged a private complaint.
In their defence accused Nos. 1 and 2 stated that on the date of
incident the former had gone to his factory while the latter had gone to
attend office.
B
c
D
The Trial Court acquitted all the accused persons holding that the
prosecution was not able to establish beyond reasonable doubt that K had E
died a homicidal death and that the accused. were guilty of murdering her.
Though in the light of the medical evidence the trial Judge himself entertained doubt and concluded that the death of K was shrouded in mystery
yet relying on the evidence of PW-6 it came to the conclusion that this was
not a case of murder but probably of suicide.
p
The· version of the witnesses regarding motive was disbelieved by the
Trial Court on the ground that in their police statements they have not
given details about the dowry complaint of the deceased to which they
referred in their evidence before the Court. The extra judicial confession
made by accused No. 1 and 2 was held uncorroborated and unreliable.
G
The High Court reversed the acquittal order and convicted all the
accused persons. Relying on the medical evidence and other related
evidence it came to the conclusion that K had not committed suicide but
had suffered a homicidal death.
H
794
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1996] 1 S.C.R.
A
In appeal to this Court on the questions whether (i) K died a
homicidal death or committed suicide? and (ii) whether the accused or
anyone or them had played part in liquidating K?
Allowing the appeal and setting aside the conviction, this Court
B
HELD : 1. The finding of the High Court that deceased K would not
c
have committed suicide but had suffered a homicidal death are well established on record. K was highly qualified and was serving as a teacher in a
school. If she was out to commit suicide it would be natural that she would
leave any suicide note. No such note was found at the place of the incident.
Secondly, if she had committed suicide by setting herself on fire then at least
some cry or sound would have escaped from her mouth. No such evidence is
found in the case. The bolting of the door of the kitchen from inside was not
a clinching circumstance which could rule out homicidal death of.deceased
K. From the medical evidence also it becomes clear that deceased K had
died a homicidal death and the burn injuries found on her dead body were
D post mortem and not ante mortem. (803-F-G, 806-A)
E
F
2. The Trial Court obviously erred in placing implicit faith in the
omissions in police statements and in discrediting the version of the
witnesses before the conrt in connection with the motive evidence deposed
to by them. The police allowed the investigation to drag on in a cursory
•
manner without taking any serious interest in the investigation. Consequently the statements of witness~s recorded by the police could not be
treated to have represented a faithful and complete version recorded by
the investigating agency so far as these witnesses are concerned. The
reasoning adopted by the High Court that the evidence regarding motive
as laid by the prosecution through its witnesses is quite reliable. (808-C-F)
3. In the circumstances or the case no reliance could be placed on the
extra-judicial confession said to have been made by the accused to PW-10.
This witness was not known to any or the parties and hence it was unlikely
that accused would confine in him and confess their guilt before him. So far
G as the extra-judicial confessions said to have been made by the accused to
the employees of K's father, PW-13, is concerned it is still on a weaker
footing. If the accused had confessed their crime then this witness in the
normal course of conduct would have rushed to his employer i.e. K's father
and told him about the same. Bur curiously enough he informed no one
H about the so-called extra-judicial confessions and only when his further
(
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MULAK RAJ v. STATE
795
statement was recorded by the police he stated about this so-called confesA
sion. Evidence of extra-judicial confessions apart from being inherently
weak is not at all established on record. No reliance can be placed on this
evidence. Once th~t conclusion is reached the most important connecting
link between the accused on the one hand and the homicidal death of
deceased Kon the other gets snapped and eliminated. [810-A-D, 811-D]
4. The subsequent conduct of the accused had not revealed any
clinching circumstance to necessarily connect the accused with the crime.
[811-G]
5. There is no clear evidence led by the prosecution to show as to
what was the exact time of death of the deceased even though she died a
homicidal death in the household of the accused. Under these circumstances it is possible to visualise that when accused nos. 1 and 2 came back
from their respective places of work after being informed about the death
of the deceased there was no occasion for them to inform the father of the
deceased at any prior time as by the time they reached the scene of offence
the father of deceased had already been informed. [812-C]
6. So far as accused nos. 3 and 4 are concerned both of them were
ladies. The former being a girl aged about sixteen-and- a-half years .and
the latter being an elderely lady. Both of them might not have thought it
fit to inform the father of the deceased about the tragedy till the elder
males were informed. Consequently this cimdnct on their part also cannot
clinchingly show that they were co-conspirators who had shared a common
intention with accused nos. 1 and 2 to liquidate deceased K or that they
were the principle accused. [812-E]
7. The insistence of accused nos. 1 and 2 to cremate the body also
cannot by itself be a circumstance which would necessarily lead to their
culpability as accused no. 1 had already lodged a complaint before the
police about the suicide of his daughter-in-law. [812-G]
8. Merely because deceased K who was staying with the accused had
died a homicidal death in their household and her body was found in the
kitchen with post mortem burns it cannot be said that the said circumstance by itself would·connect all the accused or any one of them with
the crime. [813-E]
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
796
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1996] 1 S.C .. R.
A
9. However strong the suspicion may, it cannot take the place of
proof. It is impossible on the state of evidence on record to bring home
the offence under Section 302 read with Section 34 beyond the shadow of
reasonable doubt to any of the accused. (814-B]
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No.
B 5. of 1996.
From the Judgment and Order dated 10.12.81 of the Punjab &
Haryana High Court in Cr!. A. No. 1451 of 1979
U.R. Lalit, R.L. Kohli, H.M. Singh and K.K. Gogia for the AppelC !ants.
D
LS. Goyal for Ms. Indu Malhotra for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
S.B. MAJMUDAR, J. This is an unfortunate case in which a young
bride named Krishna Kumari lost her life on the altar of dowry demands
on the morning of 12th April 1977 in the household of present appellants
who were charged with the offence of murder under Section 302 read with
Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (in brief 'IPC'). The Trial Court
acquitted them. The respondent-State's appeal against acquittal was alE lowed by High Court and the appellants were convicted under Section 302
read with Section 34 of the !PC and were sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. Appellant Nos. 1 and 2 were further sentenced to pay a fine
of Rs. 3000. each and in default, to suffer further rigorous imprisonment
for two years each. Fine, if realised, was ordered to be paid to Wasanda
F Ram Taneja, P.W.23, father of the deceased Krishna Kumari and that is
how the appellant-accused are before us in the statutory appeal invoking
Section 2 of the Supreme Court {Enlargement of Criminal Appellate
Jurisdiction) Act, 1970.
As the acquittal of the appellants is reversed by the High Court in
G appeal and they have been sentenced to imprisonment for life we have
carefully gone through the entire evidence on record, both oral and
documentary, with the assistance of learned counsel appearing for both the
sides with a view to finding out whether deceased Krishna Kumari died a
homicidal death or had indulged in self-effacement by committing suicide
and whether appellants or any one of them had been guilty of murdering
H her.
I
(
•
•
MULAK RAJ v. STATE [S.B. MAIMUDAR, J.]
797
Prosecution Case
It will be apposite to note at the outset the salient features of the
prosecution case laid against the four appellants who _will be referred to as
accused nos. 1 to 4, for the sake of convenience, in the latter part of this
judgment. Accused no. 1 was the father-in-law of deceased Krishna
Kumari. Accused no. 2 was her husband. Accused no. 3 is the younger
sister of accused no. 2 while accused no. 4 is the sister-in-law of accused
no. 1. It is not in dispute that all the accused were living together in the
same house situated at Urban Estate, Gurgaon in the State of Haryana.
The prosecution story as emerging from the record is that marriage of
Krishna Kumari deceased with accused no. 2 was settled by her father
Wasanda Ram Taneja P.W. 23. This 'Shaggan' ceremony was performed
two days before. the date of marriage, Gopal Dass, P.W. 13Joginder Singh,
P.W. 18 had also accompanied Wasanda Ram on that occasion. When they
reached the house of the accused all the four accused were present there.
A
B
c
As soon as the articles of 'Shaggan' were placed before them, they asked D
as to what had been brought in the 'Shaggan'. They remarked that no
refrigerator, television, tape recorder etc. had been brought. Wasanda
Ram, P.W. 23 got puzzled and requested the accused with folded hands
that he would supply these articles slowly and slowly. All these persons
returned after the 'Shaggan' ceremony. Krishna Kumari deceased then was
married to Hira Lal accused no. 2 on 10th February 1977. Wasanda Ram E
gave seven Talas gold and other necessary articles worth Rs. 25,000. He,
however, could not provide refrigerator and television.
After marriage Krishna Kumari had been visiting the house of her
parents occasionally. A month prior to this occurrence she happened to
p
meet Saroj, P.W. 16, her elder sister while she was at Gurgaon. The
deceased was in a depressed mood at that time and on enquiry by Saroj
she replied with heavy heart and tears in her eyes that her in-laws were
harassing her as television and refrigerator were not given in the dowry.
Saroj, P .W. 16 told her that their father would satisfy the demand slowly
and slowly. The deceased further told that her in-law were keen to see their G
demands fulfilled immediately. She further told Saroj that her in-laws were
threatening her that in case the demand was not satisfied early she would
be finished.
Krishna Kumari deceased was P.Sc. B.Ed. M.A. in History and M.A. H
(
798
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1996] 1 S.C.R.
A Previous in English. She was employed as a teacher in a school at Farrakhnagar drawing a salary of Rs. 600 p.m. On her journey to Farrakhnagar
' J
in a bus Krishna Kumari was seen upset upon which Dr. Onkar Kapoor,
B
P.W. 22 talked to her and she commented that the system of giving and
taking dowry should be abolished. She wanted to consult Dr. Kapoor
otherwise also.
That one and a half months after the. marriage Krishna Kumari also
happened to meet Madan Lal, P.W. 17 and finding her in a depressed
mood he made enquiries from her upon which she told that the marriage
was a gamble and she had lost the same. One further enquiry she told that
C her in-law were demanding refrigerator and television, and were greedy
persons to which Madan Lal Kapoor, P.W. 17 told the deceased that she
was earning more than her husband and what else was needed by her
in-laws. Thereupon Krishna Kumari started weeping and went away.
D
Krishna Kumari, deceased, was also a private tutor of children of
Saroj Chopra, P.W. 26. Even after her marriage and on her visit to the
house of her parents she had been doing that work. She told her that she
was not happy and was in trouble. On enquiry by Saroj Chopra, P.W. 26,
the deceased told her that her in-laws were troubling her and she had been
tolerating. Some days later Smt. Saroj Chopra, P.W. 26 had gone to the
E house of Wasanda Ram, P.W. 23 where she met Santosh Kumari, P.W. 14
and told her that if Krishna Kumari comes to their house, she should be
sent to her house ( Saroj Chopra's house). She was informed that Krishna
Kumari would be coming on Baisakhi day for dinner.
F
That a month prior to the occurrence Krishna Kumari deceased had
come to the house of her parents where she talked to Santosh Kumari,
P.W. 14, her sister-in-law that her in-laws were demanding refrigerator and
television in the dowry.
At the end of March, 1977 Krishna Kumari, deceased had gone to
G the house of her parents when Mohan Lal Grover, P.W. 15 met her at her
house and found her in a depressed mood and weak in health. On enquiry
the deceased told him that her in-laws were harassing her by taking up the
demand of adequate dowry. Krishna Kumari stayed for a week at the house
of her parents before this occurrence and then she had gone to her in-laws'
H house telling that they were going to Vaishno Devi.
\ \
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MULAKRAJv. STATE(S.B.MAJMUDAR,J.)
799
The deceased and her husband actually went to Vaishno Devi and A
had returned two days earlier to the occurrence.
Coming to the date of incident it is revealed as per prosecution
evidence that on the fateful day of 12th April 1977 at about 11.30 a.m. to
11.45 a.m. Santosh Kumari, P.W. 14 had gone to the house of Krishna
Kumari, deceased, to enquire about her and to invite her for the meals on
the Baisakhi day. when she reached Krishna Kumari's house she found 2-3
boys present there besides 1 or 2 ladies including accused nos. 3 and 4. On
enquiring about the whereabouts of Krishna Kumari, deceased, accused
B
c
no. 4 told Santosh Kumari, P.W. 14 that she should go inside and see for
herself. Thereupon Santosh Kumari, P.W. 14 went inside the house of the
accused and found dead body of Krishna Kumari lying in the kitchen. Her
tongue was protruding out. There was bleeding from the nose. Santosh
Kumari, P.W. 14 informed the father of the deceased, P.W.23 who was her
father-in-law. She requested him to come immediately to the house of the
accused. Her father-in-law, P.W. 23, immediately rushed to the spot. D
Mother-in-law of Santosh Kumari also came to the spot. By that time
accused no. 1 had also reached there from the factory where he used to
go. He had been informed of the incident by his daughter, Veena, accused
no. 3 on phone. It is the further case of the prosecution that accused no.
2 also came on spot. That accused no. 1 wanted to cremate the dead body
of Krishna Kumari but on the objection taken by her father Wasanda Ram. E
P.W. 23, accused no. 1 went to the police station and lodged a complaint
alleging that the deceased Krishna Kumari had committed suicide. Thereafter Assistant Sub-Inspector Amar Chand, P.W. 25 took up investigation.
He came to the spot and prepared an Inc;uest Report. He recorded the
statements of Santosh Kumari, Vidya Wati, Ram Asra, Wasanda Ram and
of accused no. 1 accused no. 2 and Rajesh Kumar, brother of accused no.
2. Dr. S.K. Gupta, P.W. 1 conducted the post-mortem on the dead body
F
of Krishna Kumari on 13th April 1977 at 9.00 a.m. We shall refer. to the
result of the post-mortem examination a little later. Suffice it to say at this.
stage that on the basis of the said post mortem report the police registered
criminal case against all the accused under Section 302 read with Section G
34 of the !PC as it was felt that Krishna Kumari had not committed suicide
but had died a homicidal death. Thereafter it appears that the proceedings
lingered on at investigation stage but the accused were not arrested.
Ultimately the father of the•W;.cel!sed, P.W. 23 after making various attempts for attracting the attention of the higher authorities including the H
800
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1996] 1 S.C.R.
A Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Haryana and others, lodged a private
complaint before the learned Magistrate in August 1977. Thereafter further
statements of witnesses were recorded. We will refer to them at an appropriate place hereafter. Ultimately the accused were arrested in
February 1978 and after completing investigation chargesheet was subB mitted against the accused for offences under Section 302 read with Section
34, !PC and after usual committal proceedings the case reached the
Sessions Court being Sessions Case No. 26 of 1978 and Sessions Trial No.
39 of 1978. The offences with which the accused were charged were under
Section 302 read with Section 34, !PC and also under Section 201 read with
Section 34, !PC. The learned Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon, who
C tried the accused, after recording evidence offered by the prosecution as
well as by the defence, came to the conclusion that the prosecution was
not able to establish beyond reasonable donbt that deceased Krishna ·
· Kumari had died a homicidal death and that prosecution had also failed
to establish that the accused were guilty of murdering her. Consequently
D they were acquitted of the offences with which they wer~ charged. As noted
earlier it is this acquittal by the Trial Court that has been reversed by the
Division Bench of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in
Criminal Appeal No. 1451 of 1979, moved by the State of Haryana against
the present appellants and that has resulted in the present proceedings.
E Rival co11tentio11s
Shri Lalit, learned senior counsel for appellant-accused has vehemently contended that this is a case in which the prosecution has failed to
bring home the offences with which the appellants were charged. That
F
there is no clear evidence of motive against the appellants. That the
prosecution tried io prove the motive by leading evidence of various
witnesses but their version stood contradicted with their police statements
and were not worthy of acceptance. That the married life of deceased
Krishna Kumari was a very short one being of only two months and seven
days and that there was no evidence on record that during that time
G deceased was in any way harassed or physically tortured by the accused or
any one of them. That the demand for refrigerator or television as alleged ·
by the prosecution was also not clearly established on record. On the
contrary the evidence showed that Krishna Kurnari and accused no. 2, her
husband had gone on a pilgrimage of 'Vaishno Devi' only two days before
H the date of incident and even on the date of incident Krishna Kumari had
·•
'
MULAK RAJ v. STA TE [S.B. MAJMUDAR, J.]
801
served breakfast to accused no. 2, her husband who thereafter had gone to A
attend his duties as stenographer in the Agricultural Office at Delhi while
accused no. 1, father-in-law had gone to his factory at Gurgaon which he
reached before 8.00 a.m., that being the time at which the factory started
working. That there was nothing to show as to at what time exactly the
deceased died and accused or any one of them were involved in her death.
That the dead body was found in the kitchen in a burnt condition and the
door of the kitchen was closed from inside. That these circumstances
clearly ruled out case of murder but would remain a case of suicide. It was
further contended that the co-called extra judicial confessions said to have
been made by accused nos. 1 and 2 before P. Ws. 10 and 13 could not be
relied upon and were rightly rejected by the Trial Court. That the high
Court had believed these extra-judicial confessions without considering the
infirmities with which the evidence about these extra-judicial confessions
suffered. That once these extra-judicial confessions were ruled out there
remained nothing in the prosecution case to bring home the offences to
B
c
the accused. That this was a case of circumstantial evidence which suffered D
from absence of complete links and the entire chain of circumstances for
linking the accused with the crime was not established by the prosecution.
It was further contended that the appellant-accused nos. 1 and 2 could
establish by leading cogent evidence in defence that they were not present
on spot when the incident occurred. That accused no. 2 had gone to the
office of Agricultural Department where he served under the Marketing
E
Officer and his duty hours started from 10.00 a.m. onwards while accused
no. 1 had gone to his factory before 8.00 a.m. and was actually in the factory
from 8.00 a.m. onwards. That the prosecution has equally failed to establish
by cogent evidence the involvement or accused nos. 3 and 4 in the incident
F
in question. He, therefore, contended that this was a case of suicide for
which the accused cannot be held responsible and in any case there is no
charge against them under section 306 of the !PC. That if the main charge
under Section 302 read with Section 34, !PC failed nothing survived for
bringing home charge under Section 201, !PC to the accused. It was further
contended that the reasons which weighed with the Trial Court for acquit -
ting the accused represented a possible view and could not be treated to G
be an impossible or unreasonable view and hence in appeal against acquittal the High Court ought not to have interfered.
Learned counsel for respondent-State on the other hand tried to
support judgment and order of the High Court convicting the appellants H
802
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1996] 1 S.C.R.
A and sentencing them as aforesaid.
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
In the light of the aforesaid rival contentions the followingpoints arise
for our detennination :
(i) Whether deceased Krishna Kumari died a homicidal death on
the morning of 12th April 1977 or whether she had committed
suicide.
(ii) If it is held that deceased Krishna Kumari died a homicidal death
whether accused or any one of them can be held guilty of offences
under Section 302 read with Section .34, !PC for murdering
deceased Krishna Kumari.
We shall deal with these points seriatim :
Point No. (i)
So far as the nature of the death of Krishna Kumari is concerned it
has to be appreciated that P.W. 6 Balbir Singh has stated that on 12th April
1977 he was sitting in the 'verandah' of his Premises at about 10.30 a.m.
His premises are situated in the vicinity of the house the tragic event of
death of Krishna Kumari took place. The witness stated that he heard the
cries of accused no. 4 that there was fire. Hearing these cries he and his
worker Ram Asra came to the house of accused no. 1. On enquiry from
Raj Rani, accused no. 4, he was told that the fire was in the kitchen. He
tried to break open the door of the kitchen but it was bolted from inside.
When the door could not be opened he asked Ram Asra to bring 'Saddal'
(a small hammer) from the factory. Consequently he brought the 'saddal'
and with the held of the same the door of the kitchen was opened. On
opening the door he found the dead body lying there duly burnt inside the
kitchen. He felt the pulse of the body and it was not functioning. The
aforesaid evidence of the '.Vitness shows that the dead body of the deceased
Krishna Kumari was lying inside the kitchen in a burnt condition and the
door of the kitchen was bolted from inside. It is this evidence which
prompted the learned Trial Judge to come to the conclusion that this is
not a case of murder but probably of suicide. Though in the light of the
medical evidence the learned Trial Judge himself entertained doubt and
had to conclude that the death of deceased Krishna Kumari is shrouded
in mystery. The High Court, on the other hand on considering medical
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MUIAKRAlv. STATE[S.B. MAIMUDAR,J.]
803
evidence and other related evidence to which we will presently refer, took A
the view that deceased Krishna Kumari would not have committed suicide
but had suffered a homicidal death, ;,,e are inclined to agree with the said
finding of the High Court for obvious reasons which are well established
on record.
It must firstly be kept in view that deceased Krishna Kumari was
having normal health and was a working woman. She was highly qualified
and was serving as a teacher in a school. She was earning Rs. 600 per month
which was more than what her husband accused no. 2 was earning. If she
was out to commit suicide it would be natural tL 1t she would leave any
Suicide Note. No such note was found at the place of the incident.
Secondly, if she had committed suicide by setting herself on fire then at
least some cry or sound would have escaped from her mouth. No such
evidence is found in the case. Her mouth was not found gagged or closed.
B
c
On the contrary tongue was found protruding out when dead body was
detected on spot. It is true that the kitchen door was found bolted from
inside as witness Balbir Singh, P.W. 6 has stated and tbe door had to be D
broken open. There is evidence on record to show that there was a service
window about 3 ft. from the ground floor level which was open and from
which at least with difficulty any one inside could come out. The evidence
of photographer, P.W. 3 Surinder Singh as well as the evidence of investigating officers Amar Chand, P.W. 25 and Om Parkash, P.W. 27 clearly E
bring out this fact. Th~re are photographs, P. 7 and P. 9 to P.14 produced
by police photographer, P.W. 3 Surinder Singh which clearly show that the
kitchen which was the scene of incident could be approached or an exit
form there could be affected by any one from the service window though
may be with little difficulty. Consequently the reasoning of the High Court
that even though the kitch.en was found bolted from inside, and the dead
body could be found after breaking open the door of the kitchen, if any
F
one had committed the crime of liquidating Krishna Kumari then after
putting her dead body in the kitchen the concerned person could escape
through the service window even after bolting the door of the kitchen from
inside, cannot be faulted. The bolting of the door of the kitchen from inside G
was not a clinching circumstance which could rule out homicidal death of
deceased Krishna Kurnari. At this stage it is necessary to note that according to the prosecution case deceased Krishna Kumari was done to death
by earlier gagging her nose and mouth and she had died because of
suffocation and thereafter it was her dead body which was planted in the
kitchen and was subjected to post mortem burning. So far as this part of H
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804
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1996] 1 S.C.R.
A the case of the prosecution is concerned it gets fully supported by medical
evidence on which strong reliance is placed by the High Court: The said
evidence consists of the post mortem notes Ex. p. 8 proved by P.W. 1 Dr.
S.K. Gupta. The witness stated that on 13 th April 1977 at about 9.00 a.m.
he performed post mortem examination on the dead body of Smt. Krishna
Kumari, wife of Hira Lal (accused no. 2), aged about 25 years. The
B
observation of the witness in connection with the dead body was as follows:
c
"The length of the body was 5'2". A blackened body of medium
built. A young woman wearing a charred Kutcha Rigor Mortis was
present. There was bleeding through both the nostrils. Tongue
found protruded 1/3" outside the lips. Outer angles of the eyes
were congested and red. No mark of legature could be found.
Dissection did not show any redness and congestion under the skin
of the neck. Thyroid bone was in tact. The following were found
on the body -
D
(1) The body showed extensive burns of mostly second degree
(2)
E
(3)
(4)
(5)
F
(6)
(7)
G
(8)
and third degree (At the groins) from the head to the lower
one third of the legs, excepting the fast.
The body showed incomplete peeled of dried and burnt
epidermis all over.
There were no blisters present.
No red line was found around the margins of the burnt areas.
The floors of the burnt areas were of glistening white appearance.
There were no signs of congestion any where.
Separating epidermis did not contain any serum. There was
a dry appearance of the burnt areas all over.
There were no signs of information.
Right and left lungs were highly congested and haemorrhagic
at several areas.
11
H
In the opinion of the doctor death was probably because of asphyxia
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MULAK RAJ v. STATE [S.B. MAJMUDAR • .T.]
805
and the clear signs of the burnt area strongly suggested that burns were A
post mortem in nature. It is pertinent to note that in the light of the
aforesaid observations of the doctor as recorded in the post mortem notes
the police registered case under Section 302 read with Section 34 against
the appellants on 13th april 1977 itself. Still, curiously enough none of the
accused was arrested and the police appeared to have adopted a lukewarm
attitude. In the
meantime the investigating agency appears to have
solicited the opinion of the another doctor, P.W. 2 Dr. Agrawal. Senior
Superintendent of Police sent a letter on 19th July 1977 to the witness to
B
give his opinion on the post mortem report of Dr. Gupta. According to Dr.
Agrawal the person may die due to suffocation as a result of inhalation of
fumes and a smoke in the respiratory passages produced by burning of C
cloths. He further opined that the line of redness in burns caused during
life may take sometime to appear and therefore it is possible that the line
of redness may be absent if the death is immediate. There is medical
evidence of third doctor, P.W. 7 Dr. Radha Mohan. Witness was Chief
Medical Officer, Lucknow and Chief Medico Legal. Expert to the State of
U.P. He was Professor Forensic Medicines in medical colleges at Lucknow D
and Meerut. He had seen the post mortem examination report of the dead
body of Smt. Krishna Kumari. The witness clearly stated that in his opinion
Krishna Kumari died before and was burnt later and the death was due to
asphyxia which was a result of suffocation. His further opinion was that the
burns found on the dead body were post mortem. They did not show any E
signs of body reaction which invariably occurs if death was due to burns.
In this case the characteristic attitude of the body known as the pugilistic
attitude was not present. In deaths due to burns this sort of attitude is
found. This confirmed that the body was burnt after death had occurred.
There were no red lines and no blisters. There was no sign of congestion
in the skin. The lungs showed deep congestion but the wind pipe did not F
show the presence of any soot or carbon particles. In cases of death
resulting from burns soot particles are found in the wind pipe because they
go in with the breathing. Bleeding from nostrils showed that the death had
occurred from asphyxia which was of forceful nature, i.e., the patient must
have tried hard to breath. The protruding of the tongue showed that the G
deceased tried to breath hard or if something was introduced into the
mouth or the mouth was closed and the patient might have tried to breath
hard to overcome the obstruction, the tongue may have come out. Or if
something was introduced into the mouth and if that thing was taken out
after death, the tongue will come out. If an alive person is burnt there is
bound to be blister formation. But there will be no blister at all if the dead H
806
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1996] l S.C.R.
A body is burnt, because blister formation is sign of life. Nothing substantial
could be brought out in his cross examination. In view of this evidence it
becomes clear that deceased Krishna Kumari had died a homicidal death
and the burnt injuries found on her dead body were post mortem and not
ante mortem. The doubt expressed by learned Trial Judge about the nature
B
of death and which, according to learned Trial .Judge, was a mystery did
nut really remain a mystery in the light of the aforesaid clinching :nedical
evidence. Consequently we agree with the finding of the High Court that
deceased Krishna Kumari died a homicidal death on the fateful morning
of 12th April 1977 in the household of the accused. We answer Point No.
(i) accordingly. That takes us lo the consideration of the moot question as
C to whether the accused or any one of them had played part in liquidating
deceased Krishna Kumari.
Poilll No. (ii)
For bringing home the offence under Section 302 read with Section
D
34, !PC to the accused the prosecution has relied upon the following
aspects of the prosecution case :
(a) Motive;
(b) Extra-judicial confession.s of accused nos. l and 2;
E
( c) Subsequent conduct of the accused; and
( d) Situation of the scene of offence.
(a) Motive
F
We shall first deal with the prosecution evidence regarding motive.
The case of the prosecution as revealed by the evidence of P .W. 23, father
of the deceased Krishna Kumari, is to the effect that at the time of her
marriage he gave seven Tolas of gold and other necessary articles worth
Rs. 25,000 but he could not provide refrigerator and television, tape
G recorder etc. and that the accused were dissatisfied with the dowry. That
at the time of the betrothal ceremony the accused were not satisfied as the
father of the deceased had given only Rs. 101. After marriage Krishna
Kumari used to visit the house of her parents occasionally. This part of the
evidence is corroborated by the evidence of witness Saroj. P.W. 16, elder
sister of the deceased and the evidence of independent witnesses Dr.
H Onkar Kapoor, P.W. 22, Madan Lal, P.W. 17 and Saroj Chopra, P.W. 26
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MULAKRAJv. STATE [S.B. MAJMUDAR,.T.J
807
to which we have made reference while narrating the prosecution case.
Similar is the evidence of witness Santosh Kumari, P.W. 14 who stated that
deceased had complained about the conduct of the accused a month prior
to the occurrence. In our view the High Court has rightly relied upon the
aforesaid evidence for reaching the conclusion that the accused nos. 1 and
2 were dissatisfied with the dowry amount given by Krishna Kumari's father
at the time of her marriage with accused no. 2
and that they were
demanding refrigerator and television etc. The learned Trial judge on the
other hand disbelieved these witnesses on the spacious plea that in their
police statements they had not given details about the complaint of
deceased Krishna Kumari to which they referred to their evidence before
court and to that extent their version stood contradicted by their police
statements. In this connection it is to be noted that once it is observed
agreeing with the High Court that police investigation in the present case
was unfortunately most unsatisfactory and cursory, that aspect loses its
significance.