# HENRY WESTMULLER ROBERTS, ETC. ETC v. STATE OF ASSAM & ORS. ETC - **Citation:** [1985] 3 S.C.R. 533 - **Court:** Supreme Court of India - **Decided:** 1985-03-27 - **Bench:** S. Murtaza Fazal Ali, A. Varadarajan, SABYASACH! MUKllARJ! - **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/henry-westmuller-roberts-etc-etc-v-state-of-assam-ors-etc-8973 - **Pages:** 28 ## Headnote Code of Criniinal Procedure, 1973, s. J64-C011fessiona/ Statemet1t-Tin1e for Reflection to the accused-If ow muc:h sltould be given-Magistrate giving only three hours to accus'l!dfor rcf/ectio11-Wluther it is insufficient and 111akcs the state11ie11t inad1nissiblc in el'i:lcnce-Held, Confessional State1nent cannot be rejected merely bec~use 011/y 3 hours', time is given for reflection if it is otherwise acceptable. The deceased-a boy of 9 was playing with the children in the Pandal near a Shiva Temple on 26th March 1975 which was a day of 'Holi' festival. The prosecution's case is thJt accused Nos. l and 2 kidnapped and murdered the dece.ased with a view to c:- not pos::1ible to reject the confessional stetements m)rely because only three hours' time had been given for reflection, if they are otherwise acc.!ptable. Therefore, it is necessary to note what accused ~os. 1 and 2 have stated in their confessions to find out whether intrinsically they are voluntary statement<; or tutored one;; made under coercion. A perusal of the confessional statements of accused Nos. I and 2 shows that they are more or less exculpatory of the maker, for accused No. 1 had attributed everything to accussed No . 2 and stated that he had done every~ thing at the instance of accu<;ed No. 2 while accus<;ed No. 2 had attributed the in1portant role in the crime to accuo:;ed No. I. This would not normally be the position if the confessions were the result of tutoring by the police. The con~ fessional statement of accused No. 1 is quite Jong while that of accused No. 2 G is much longer. As remarked by the learned Scssio.ns Judge these confe"i sions are full of facts and minute details which would not be there normally if the confessions are the result of tutoring or of compulsion. Pursuant to the confessional statement, Ex. 33 (admissible portion) of accused No. 1 offering to show the place where the dead body of the boy ha.d been buried, some skeletal remains including the skull which have been later found to be that of a nine or ten years old human being were recovered from a pit or hole situate by the H -...4- ) ii.w. ROBERTS v. ASSAM side of a hillock io the Bapapung oil field area. There is no reason to disagree with the findings of the court-> below th3t the corpus de!ecti recovered fron1 the place pointed out by accused No. 1 as per his confessional statement, Ex. 33 has been proved to be that of the deceased who had disappeared from the panda! at the temple in Tinsukhia town in the evening of 26.3.1975. The circumstantial e\lidence relied upon by the trial court and the High Court lend assurance to th: genuineness and voluntary nature of these confessions. They have no doubt been retracted, but in view of the fact that they are gene· raJly corroborat~d by the drcumstantial evidence in a1np!e n1easure, there i:i no satisfactory reason for the confessions not being accepted and acti.:d upon. Jn these circumstances the learned Sessions Judge was right in holding that the confessional statements of accused Nos. 1 and 2 are voluntary and can be acted upon, together with the circumstantial evidence, for basing a conviction. [552f-H; 55J A-Cl 2. The case rests purely upon circumstantial evidence, there being no direct evidence about the kidnapping and oth:':r offences alleged. There is no evidence against accused Nos. 3 and 4 except their retracti;:d confessions and they may not be sufficient to prove any of the charges against the1n. There is also no satisfactory reason to interfere with the conclusion of the learned Judges ·of the l-ligh Court that the charge of conspiracy against all the four accused and the other charges again'>t accu'>ed Nos. 1 and 2 have not been proved satisfactorily.J553f;554D-El 3, (i) lhc circumstances found by the trial Court and the 1-ligh Court aga.inst accusei.l No. l are very strong and can safely be relied upon, They form a co111pletc chain pointing unerringly to the guilt of accu~ed No. I and A B c are inconsistent with his innocence. Accordingly, accussed No. 1 gliilt has }; been proved by the prosecution satisfactorily beyond all reasonable doubt in respect of all the charges framed against hin1 except the one under s. J 20B l.P.C. [547C-D] 3 (ii) The offences committed by accused No. 1, the oringinator or the ' idea of kidnapping children of rich people for extracting ransom, are very heinous and pre-planned. He had been atteinpting to extract n1oney f1on1 the unfortunate boy's fathl!r, P.W. 23 even after the boy had been murdered by making the father to believe that the boy was alive and would be returned to him if he paid the ransom. Therefore, this is one of the rarest of ran~ cases in which th~ cxtr.!in~ pcJa:ty of d.!ltb h c1!lcd for the murder of the innocent young boy, Saojay in cold blood after he had been kidnapped with promise to be given sw..::ets. Therefore, the sentence of death and the other sentences awarded to accu-;ed No. 1 by the High Court under ss. 302, 364, 201 and 387 1.P.C. arc confirmed and Criminal Appeal No. 545 of .1982 filed by him is dismissed.[559E'.Gl 3. (iii) As regards accussed No. 2, there is the evidence of P.Ws. 14, 15 and 21 about his Presence in the panda) at the Shiva temple in Tinsukhia town in the forenoon and evening of 26.3.1975. There is no reason for not accepting the evidence of these three witnesses, P.Ws. i4, 15 and 21 about the ]<' G H A B . c D E F sUrkE~il: couRt REPORtS (1985] 3 s.c.it presence of accused No. 1 in the panda! at the Shiva temple in Tinsukhia town on 26.3.1976 when the deceased was playing there with other boys, P.Ws. 12 and 13. There is also ,no reason for not accepting the evid!!ncc of P.W. 21 that accused No. 2 called the deceased when he was movin& away aloiig with her back to the place saying he .would give him chocolates, that he called accused No. 2 as 'Driver' a few minutes earlier and asked him to get chocolates, and that P.W. 21 left the deceased behind as desired by him and went away to her house at about 5.30 p.m. on the day of the decease's disappearance. He has been identified by 6 witnesses in all without any mistake. There is also the evidence of P.W. 41, the then officer in charge of Sibasagar Police Station that be arrested accused No. 2 on 14.4. 1975 from a house in Sibasagar town cremation ground after a long chase and that he was untill then hunting for him in vain from 11.4.1975, He has stated that he started to flee as soon as he saw him and that he succeeded in catching him after giving him a chase for 1 t or 2 furlongs. In his confessional statement, Ex. 7 accused No. 2 has admitted his presence with accused No. I in the panda! at Tinsukhia on 26.3.1975 and his arrest from the cremation ground on 14. 4. 1975. Then: are some other circumstances brought out in the cvi~ dence and his confessional statement extr~cted ·(supra) pointing to his guiJt unrnistakably. But, there no sati5factory material on record to show that accused No. 2 either did anything for killing the deceased or that he shared the intention of accused No. 1 to ki!l the boy. It appears that accused No.2's intention as reflected in his confessional statement, Ex. 7 was only to kidnap and keep the boy for two or three days and send him back after collecting the ransom. Having regard to all the circumstances of the case the offence proved against accused No. 2 is only kidnapping of Saajay with intent to ~ecretly and wrongfully confine him, an offence punishable under s. 365 l.P.C. [559B-H; 559A] Therefore, Criminal Appeal No. 209 of 1983 filed by the father of tho deceased, P.W. 23 against the acquittal of accused Nos. 2, 3 and 4 is allowed in part and only accused No. 2, is convicted under s. 365 1.P.C. for having kidnapped Sanjay in order to secretly ai~d wrongfully confine him and he is sentenced him to undergo rigorous hnprisonn1ent for seven years and it is disn1issed in other respects. Criminal Appeal No. 211 of 1983 is allowed as indicated in Criminal Appeal No. 209 of 1983 and Criminal Appeals No. 210, 212 and 213 of 1983 are dismissed, [559G-H ; 560AB] CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISl>JCTION : Criminal Appeal Nos. 545 of 1982, 209, and 210-213 of 1983. G From the Judgment and Order dated 13.9.82 of the Gauhati H High Court in Cr!. Death Ref. No. 1/81 and Cr!. Appeal No. 19(j), 24 & 25 of 1981. JD. Jain and Mrs. K. Kochar for the Appellants. SK. Nandy for the State of Assam. H.W. ROBERTS v. ASSAM (Vai'adarajan, J.) 537 Rajendra Singh, M/s. M.L. Lalwty, VB.Joshi Hrishikesh Roy & K. Kathahzarika for the appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 209 of 1983. CS. Vaidyanathan for the respondents. SC. Patel for the complainatn in Criminal Appeal No. 545 of 1982. BP. Singh for the respondents in Criminal Appeal Nos. 210-213 of 1983. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by VARADARAJAN, J. These appeals by special leave are against the common judgment of a Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court in Criminal Death Sentence Reference No. I of 1981 in regard to two accused persons Henry Westmuller Roberts and Sunil Chandra Biswas and Criminal Appeal No. 19 of 1981 filed by those two condemned pers6ns and Criminal Appeals Nos. 24 and 25 of 1981 filed by Narcsh Chandra Ghatani and Anil Chandra Barua respectively. The Sessions Judge, Dibrugarh in Sessions Case No. 33 (TSK) of 1978, convicted and sentenced Henry Westmuller Roberts and Sunil Chandra Biswas (hereinafter re· ferred to as Henry and Sunil respectively) to death under s. 302 read with s. 34 l.P.C. for the murder of a boy Sanjay), alias Gettu Agarwala (hereinafter referred to as Sanjay), and to impri· sonment for life under s. 364 read with s. 34 1.P.C. and rigorous imprisonment for seven years under s. 201 read with s. 34 J.P.C. and those two accused Henry and Sunil and accused Anil Chandra Barua and Naresh Chandra Ghatani (hereinafter referred to as Anil and Naresh respectively) to rigorous imprisonment for five years each separately under s. 120B and s. 387 read withs. 34 l.P.C. The sentences awarded to all the four accused were directed to run concurrently. Henry, Sunil, Anil and Naresh were accused I, 2, 3 and 4 respectively in the Sessions Court. The High Court allowed Criminal Appeals Nos. 24 and 25 of 1981 in full and acquitted Anil and Naresh and also allowed Criminal Appeal No. 19 of 198 l in full as regards Sunil and acquit· ted him and rejected the death sentence reference relating to him and allowed the appeal of Henry in part as regards his conviction uncler s. 120B 1.P.C. ancl qisn1issed his appeal in ot)\er respects A B c D F G H A B c D E F G H 538 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1985] 3 S.C.R. and accepted the death sentence reference relating to him. The result is that the High Court found Henry guilty under ss. 302, 364, 201 and 287 l.P.C. and not guilty under s. 1208 l.P.C. and maintained the sentence awarded to Henry by the Sessions Court except in regard to the offence under s. 1208 I.P.C. and acquitted the other three accused persons in full. Henry has filed Criminal Appeal 545 of 1982 against his conviction and sentence awarded to him under s. 302, 364, LOI and 387 l.P.C. The deceased Sanjay's father Chabil Prasad Agarwala has filed Criminal Appeal No. 209 of 19~3 against the acquittal of Sunil, A .. il and Naresh in entirety. The State of Assam has filed Criminal Appeal No. 210 of 1983 against the rejection of the death sentence reference in regard to Sunil and Criminal Appeals Nos. 22, 212 and 213 of 1983 against the acquittal of Sunil in Criminal Appeal No. 19 of 1981, Naresh in Criminal Appeal No. 25 of 1981 and Ani! in Criminal Appeal No. 24 of 1981. Henry who had been acquitted by the High Court under s. 120R T.P.C. is not a party to Criminal Appeal Nos. 209 to 213 of 1983. The case of the prosecution is this : .In 1975 Henry, Sunil and Naresh were employees of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) at Sibsagar in Assam. Henry, an Anglo-Burmese was a Laboratory Attendant. Sunil, a Bengali Hindu was a truck Driver. Naresh, a Nepalese was a Black-smith. Anil, an Assamese was a Mohurrir under a con· tractor of the ONGC at Sibsagar. These four accused entered into a conspiracy to kidnap minor children at Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukhia with a view to extract ransom. Chabil Prasad Agarwala, P.W. 23 was doing business. in food-grains in a shop at Siding Bazar, Tinsukhia situate in Dibrugarh district. He was living in a dwelling house situate adjacent to his shop with his wife Lilavati Agarwala, P.W. 19 and seveo children including Sumita Agarwala, P.W. 21 and the deceased Sanjay who w:is nine years old and Studying in the Girls' Hindu School. There was a day long 'Holi' (fagua) festival in Tinsukhia town on 26.3.1975. The people belonging to the Marwari community of Siding B.izar had erected a panda! near a Shiva (emplc in connection with the 'lfo!i' festival. On that day tliree H.W. ROBERTS v. ASSAM (Varadarajan. J.) 539 persons who came to the temple fur darshan at 9 or 9.30 a.m. stayed on in the temple till about 12.30 p.m. Two of them have been subsequently idenified as Henry and Sunil. A number of children collected in the panda\ to participate in the festivities. Sanjay was in the panda! at about 5 or 5.30 p.m. playing with some children including Anil Kumar Chetri, P. W. 12 and Nirmal Kumar Jain, P.W. 13. One man, who has been subseqnently identified as Henry, came and watched the play and remarked that Sanjay was playing well. A little later he gave chocolates to P.W. 12 and Sanjay and asked them for the names of their fathers which they readily mentioned. Soon thereafte' Sanjay's elder sister, P.W. 21 aged about 10 or 11 years came to the panda\ in search of Sanjay as directed by her mother, P.W. 19 and called him to go along with her. Then Henry who was in the panda! called Sunil, who was present there, as 'Driver' and asked him to bring choco late. When P.W. 21 and Saniay were moving away from the panda! Henry called San jay by his name and asked him to come saying tliat he would give him chocolates. Thereupon, Sanjay stayed behind after telling his sister, P.W. 21 that he would come a little later.· Sunil brought chocolates which Henry distributed to the children. Henry asked Sunil whether the car was ready and he answered in the affirmative. P.W. 13 left the panda! a little later while Henry, Sunil and Sanjay remained in the panda! at about 6 or 6.30 p.m. Sa11jay did not rett1rn home. His father, P.W. 23 who came home at about 7 p.m. on that day went out again and returned home only at about 3 a.m. on 27.3.1975. P.Ws. 19 and 21 told P.W. 23 that Sanjay Jiad not returned home. Thereafter, P.W. 23 and his men went out searching for Sanjay. Ramabatar Agarwala, P.W. 20, an accountant in the partnership business of P.W. 23 and Hanuman Prasad Agarwala, P. W. 35 informed the Inspector of Police, Tinsukhia Police Station, P.W. 42 at about 3.30 a.m. on 27.3.1975 about Sanjay missing since the previous day. At about 12 noon on 27.3.1975 when P.W. 23 and others including P.W .42 were in P.W. 23's shop a message came over telephone No. 159 located at the shop demanding a ransom of Rs. 3 Jakhs for the return of Sanjay. P.W. 23 informed P.W. 42 about this demand then and there and later sent a written complaint, Ex. 17 to Tinsukhia Police Station at about 4.30 p.m. on the same day. A few minutes before P.W. 42. registered a case on the basis of that report, Brahamadeo Rai, P. W. 29, a rickshawman, came to the A B c D E F G' ff A B CJ D E F G ff 540 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1985] 3 S.C.R. Police Station and handed over a packet saying that it was left behind by a passenger in his rickshaw who entered a market and did not turn up. P.W. 42 opened the packet and found it to contain a pair of a small boy's shorts, M. Ex. 26, two martons, M. Ex. 28 and an envelope, M. Ex. 1 containing the letter, M. Ex. 2 written in English and addressed to "Shri Chabil Das, Siding" and two other items. The letter written in capital letters read : "C0me with Rs. 3 lakhs to Jewel Hotel tomorrow 6 p.m. (28). Do not inform police. Come alone. If not I kill. If no money take loan." The address on the envelope, M. Ex. 1 and the body of the letter, M. Ex. 2 have been found by the hand-writing expert, P.W. I on a comparison with the specimen hand-writing and signatures taken from Henry to be in the hand-writing of Henry. Sanjay's mother, P.W. 19 identified the shorts, M. Ex. 26 as those which were worn by San jay on the day of his disappearance on which she had embroidered the alphabet "sha" in Marwari script. On 30.3.1975 P.W. 23 received the telegram, M. Ex. 13 addressed to "Chabin Das, Siding T.S." to the effect "I am not satisfied by your performance. Last chance for transaction. If you want your item wait instruction-Lal'', and he informed P.W. 35 and others about it. Ex. 3 is original of that telegram seized by the police from the Post Master, Moran Post Office, P.W. 9. On 31.3.1975 P.W. 23 received the bearing envelope, M. Ex. 6 containing the letter, M. Ex 7 written in Hindi. The hand-writing expert, P.W. I hos, on a comparison of M. Exs. 3 and 6 with the specimen hand writings of Henry found M. Exs. 3 and 6 to be in the hand-writing of Henry. On 8.4.\975 P.W. 23 received a telephone call from Digboi asking him whether he had received letter and telegram. When P.W. 23 answered the caller in the affirmative he asked P.W. 23 to come to Digboi if he wanted back his son. P.W. 23 told the caller that he could not pay such a huge amount. It was ultimately agreed over the phone that P.W. 23 should pay a ransom of Rs. 40,000/. The caller told P.W. 23 that he should come to the Church gate situate behind Digboi Railway Station and act according to a letter which would be found under a stone by the side of one of the panels of that gate. P.W. 23 and others accordingly went there and found a plastic cover underneath ~ stoqe ' ' fl. w. ROBERTS I'. ASSAM (Varadarajan, J.) 541 near the gate, conf_aining the letter, M. Ex. 5 written in English capital letters. The hrnd-writing expert, P.W. I has found M. Ex. 5, on a comparison with the specimen hand-writing of Henry to be in the hand-writing of Henry. The police had deployed some plain-clothed police personnel at the Digboi public call office for arresting anyone coming to book a cail to Tinsukhia telphone No. 159. Henry went to that office at about 7.30 or 8 p .. m. on 10.4.1975 and booked a call to that telephone number. After obtaining confirmntion about the booking of the cail from the telephone o:Tice employee, Ajit Kumar Chakraborti, P.W. 33, the Town Sub-Inspector of Police, P.W. 24 with help of two constables P. W.<. 26 and 34 ar.rested Henry near tint public call office. When interrog1ted by the Investigating Officer,. P.W . . 42 Henry made a statement, Ex. 33 offering to show the place where the dead body of San jay had been buried. On 11.4.1975 Henry took the police party including the Assis· tant Political Officer and Magistrate, Kanta Das, 0 P.W. 38 to a place situate by the side of a hillock in Bapapung. There was a mound from which the earth had been disturbed at that place. Two bones and three ribs were found near that mound and a big bone was found in the bushes and 8 more bones and a jaw-bone with some teeth were found nearby. When the mound was dug a human skull with some hair sticking to it and seven bones were found. At the Digboi Police Station, P.W- 38 obtained specimen hand-writing and signatures from Henry, M. Exs. 11 to 14. The Interrogation of Henry on 10.4 1975 led to the arrest of the other -'--L-. three accused Sunil, Anil and Naresh on 11.4.1975 at Sibsagar. Exs. ~ 15 to 17 are the specimen hand-writings of Naresh obtained by the Judicial Magistrate, P.W.3 on 27.5.1975. Ex.2 is the report of the hand-writing expert, P .W. l submitted to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dibrugarh on 20.8.1975, containing his opinion about the hand-writings. A B c D E F The Investigating Officer, P. W. 43 who had taken over from 9 P.W.42 produced Henry before the Chief. Judicial Magistrate, - Dibrugarh on 12.4.1975 for recording his confessional statement which he was in' a mood to 'make, and it was recorded by th~ Judicial Magistrate, P.W.3 on 12.4 1975 itself after giving him some time for ref1ection. Sunil was arrested by the Inspector of Police, ff 542 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1985} 3 S.C.R A P.W.4l on 14.4.1975. Sunil, Anil and Naresh made their confessional statements, Exs. 7, 8~and 9 on 18.4.124, 1975, 19.4.1975 and 21.4.1975 respectively before the Judicial Magistrate, P.W.3. B c D E F G The medical Officer, P.W.37 packed the incomplete skeletal rem.ains mentioned above in the presence of the Judicial Magistrate, P.'\)1.3 and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Gauhati on.24.4.1975 under the direction of the Chief Judicial Maistrate, Dibrugarh along with P.W.37's autopsy certificate.and two photographs ofSanjay. The Assistant Director, Biology Section, Forensic Science Lab.oratory, Gauhti, P.W,27 obtained some more photo graphs ofSanjay with their negatives and also a coat and a check-shirt of the boy from the Chief Judicial Magistarte, Dibtugarh. After a study of the .skeletal remains P.W.27 found that they related to a 9 to 10 years old boy. By making super imposition P.W.27 concluded thafthe skull in question could have been the skull of San jay as per his enlarged photographs. Ex.26 is the report of P.W.27. The Scientmc Officer of tl)e photograph Section of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Gauhati, P.W.28 performed the super-imposition experiment of the photograph of the skull, M.Ex.48 and the photograph of Sanjay, M.Ex. 59 and found them to be of the same person. Ex.27 is the report of P.W.28. The four accused were subjected to test indentification in the parade held by the Second Class Magistrate, P.W.2 on 30.4.1975 and 4.9.1975. In the parade held on 30.4.1975 Henry was indentified by 12 witnesses without any mistake while Sunil was indentified by 6 witnesses without any mistake and Anil was indentified by two witnesses without any mistake. Ex.5 is P.W.2's report relating to the proceedings of 30.4.1975. In the parade held on 4.9.1975 Henry was identified by Rajender Nath Sharma, P.W.9 and Jiten Barua,P.W.25 without any mistake. Ex.3 is the report relating to the proceedings of 4.9.1975. Jn their statements recorded under s.313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure all the four accused retracted their confessional statements and denied all the circumstances appearing against them in the edvidence. The learned Sessions Judge, Dibrugarh, on a consideration of the evidence convicted all .the four accused and sentenced them as H mentioned above, accepting the confessional statements, Bxs. 6 to 9, . .. 1H. w. ROBERTS v. ASSAM ( Varadarajan; J.) 543 of the four accused recorded by the Judicial Magistrate, P.W.3 and the other evidence in the case. The learned Sessions Judge has considered these confessions in paras IOI to 110 of his judgment 'and has observed that there is nothing improbable. or unbelievable in them, that they appear to be spontaneous and are ·studded with vivid facts about the manner.of commission of the crimes, that they receive assurance in several material particulars from the circumstantial evidence let in by tho prosecution and that they are all voluntary and reliable though it appeared from the cross-examination of the prosecution'witnesses and from the statements of the accused recorded under s. 313 Cr.P.C. that they are retracted. But the learned. Judges· of the High Court rejected all the . confessions and the evidence of P.\Vs. 10, 11, lo and 25 regarding the identification of the accused in the test identification parade. They have considered the confession of Henry in paras 45,55,62 and 64 of their judgment and have o'iserved that the Judicial Magistrate, P.W.3 had failed to act properly in giving only three hours to Henry for reflection before recording his confession, Ex.6 on_ 12.4.1975. They have further observed that though it is difficult to lay any hard and fast rule, in Serva Singh. Rattan Sing v. State of Punjab(') it has been held by this Court. that generally speaking when an accused is produced under police custody it is reasonable to. insist upon giving him at least. 24 hours for reflection, They have held that Henry's confessional statement, Ex.6 has been obtained by coercion and is not voluntary and that it suffers from serious infir· mity and cannot be acted upon. They have considered Sunil's confessional statement, Ex.7 in paras 74 and 76 of their judgment. and found that he too had been given only_ three hours for reflec~ tion before his confession was recorded by the Judicial Magistrate, P.W. 3 on 18.4.1975 al)d that it is not voluntary and therefore, it is invalid in law. They have _considered the confession, Ex.8, of Anil in paras 77!anrl 79 of their judgment and have observed that the Judicial Magistrate, P.W.3 who recorded it on 19.4.1975 had failed to see whether the accused was going to make the confession voluntarily after comprehending the implications of his admission. They have considered the confession, Ex. 9, of Naresh "r<:corded by the Judicial Megistrate, P.W. 3 on 21.4.1975 in paras 84, 87 and 88 of their judgmemt and found thai it has been made due to duress and (I) AIR J 957 SC 637 A B c D E F G H 544 SUPREMU COURT REPORTS (1985] 3 S C.R A inducement by the police and is not voluntary and that it suffers from serious infirmities and cannot be aeted upon. B c D On a consideration of the other evidence, the learned Judges found that Sanjay had been kindnapped and murdered, and they accepted the trial court's judgment that the corpus de/ecti has been correctly identified to be that of San jay .. They accepted the evidence of P.Ws. 12 to 15 and 21 about the presence of Henry and Su nil in the panda! at the temple before Sanjay had disappeared on 26.3.1975. They accepted the evidence of the rickshawman, P.W. 29 who has identified Henry in the test identification parade held by P.W.2 as the man wbo had left behind in his riskshaw the packet containing S~njay's shorts, M.Ex.26 and certain other things including the letter,M.Ex.2, enclosed in the envelope, M.Ex.l which he had produced at the police station on 27.3.1975, and found on the evidence of tlie hand-writing expert, P.W.l M.Ex.2 to be in the hand-writing of Henry. On the evidence of the Post Master, Moran, P.W.9 who has identified .Henry in the test identification parade hold by P.W.2 as the person who handed over the telegram, Ex. 3, copy whereof, Ex. 13 had been received by P.W. 23, the learned Judges fo.und that Henry had given the telegram, Ex. 3. On the evidence of the hand-writing E expert, P.W. I they found that Ex. 3 is in the hand-writing of Henry and they held that Ex. 3 connects Henry with the crime. F The learned Judges found on the evidence of P.W. 23 that he had received. a bearing letter, M. Ex. 7 written in Hindi on 31. 3.1975 enclosed in the envelope, M. Ex. 6, but held that it is not proved to be in the hand-writing of any of the accused though the address written on the envelope, M. Ex. 6, of that letter is proved by t~ hand-writing expert, P.W. I to be in the hand-writing of Henry, and they rejected the evidence relating to that letter. The learned Judges accepted the evidence of P.W. 23 about G the telephonic conversation he had with some caller from Digboi at about 8 or 8.30 p.m. on J.4.1975 when that caller demanded a ransom of Rs. 3 lakhs for the return of Sanjay and it was ultimately agreed that P.W. 23 should pay Rs. 40,000 for the purpose. They accepted the prosecntion evidence that in accordance with that conversation P.W. 23 accompanied by some police personnel in ff plain clothes who posted themselves at suitable places weQt near li.'w. ROBERTS v. ASSAM (Varadarojan, J.) 545 the gate of the Church situate behind Digboi Railway Station on 9.4.1975 and found· the letter, Ex. 5 which has been found by the hand-writing expert, P.W. I, to be in the hand-writing of Henry in English capital letters and they held that this was a strong piece of cirucmstantial evidence against Henry. . The learned Judges found that Henry attempted to run away when he was pointed out by P.W.33 while he was standing near a pan-shop in front of the public telephone call office at Digboi on I0.4.1975, waiting for the trunk-call booked by him. at about 7 or 7.30 p.m on that day to Tinsukhia telephone No. 159 to mature and that he bit the constable, P.W.34 and tried to escape from his hold and that the circumstances under which he was arrested and his conduct at that time~unerringly point to his guilt. The learned Judges accepted the evidence of P.Ws. 14, 15 and 21 about the identification of Henry and Sunil in the test identification parade held by the Judicial Magistrate, P .W.2 as the persons who were present in the panda! before the disappearance of Sanjay on 26.3.1975, observing that these three witnesses had seen the sus- . peels in broad-day light and were in a position to notice their physical features correcty. The learned Judges accepted · the prosecution evidence that skeletal remains were recovered at the instance of Henry and pursuant to his confessional statement, Ex. 33 (admissible portion) and found that the evidence of P.Ws.27, 28 and 37, agreeing with the trial court, that the skull bone recovered pursuant to Ex. 33 is that of Sanjay and they have observed that the recovery of the skull bone of San jay at the instance of Henry is an important piece of evidence pointing unerringly to his guilt. The learned Judges accepted the evidence of the witnesses who had identified Henry in the test identification parade held by the Judicial Magistrate,P.W.2 except the evidence of P.Ws. 10, ll, 16 and. 25 on the ground that the photographs of Henry had been shown to P. Ws.10, 11 and 25 before the identification and P.W. 16 could not identify Henry in the court during the trial. The learned Judges noticed the law relating to circumstantial evidence in para 19 of their judgment thus: A B c D E F G H A B c D E F G H 546 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1985}:; S.C.R· "The law regarding circumitantial evidence is well settled. When a case rests upon circumstantial evidence, such evidence must satisfy three tests: (i) the circumstances from which an inference of guilt is sought to be drawn must be cogently and firmly established; (ii) those circumstances should be of definite tendency unerringly pointing towards the gujlt of the accused; and (iii) the circumstances 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. The circumstantial evidence in order to sustain (a) conviction must be complete and incapable of explanation on any other hypothesis than that of the guilt of the accused. The circumstantial evidence should not only be consistent with the guilt of the accused but should be inconsistent with his innocence. After thus taking note of the law relating to circumstantial evidence the learned Judges have held in para 146 of their judgment that the circumstantial evidence against Henry taken cumulatively forms a chain so complete that there is no escape from the conclusion that the crime was committed by him and none else and that each of the circumstances established against him is incriminating and they cumulatively prove the complicity of the Henry in the kidnapping and murder of San jay. They found that the evidepce is not satisfactory to prove the offence of conspiracy ~under s. 120B I.P.C. against Henry and acquitted him of that charge, but agreed with the trial court in regard to the finding on the other charges and held him guilty under ss. 364, 387, 302 and 201 I.P.C. They thus allowed his appeal in part only as regards his conviction under s. 120B J.P.C. and dismissed it in other respects and they accepted the death sentence confirmation case against him and confirmed the sentence of death as well as the other sentences awarded to him by the trial court except under s. 120B I.P.C. As regards Sunil, apart from the confession, Ex.7 which has been rejected by the learned Judges they found that there was no other evidence except the evidence let in to prove his presence with Henry in the temple and the panda! in the morning and even- ' H.w. ROBERTS v. A~SAM (Varadarajan, J.) 547 ing of 26.3.1975 and they held that it is not sufficient to sustain his conviction and that as regards the other two accused, Anil and Naresh there is no evidence except their retracted confessions, Ex.8 and 9 which have been rejected by them. In that view they acquitted three accused, Sunil, Anil and Naresh of all the charges framed against them and rejected the death sentence confirmation case aginst Sunil. · The trial court acted upon the judicial confessional statements, Exs. 6 to 9 of all the four accused as being voluntary and reliable. But the learned Judges of the High Court rejected all of them as not being voluntary or acceptable. They have held that Henry's confession, Ex.6 has been obtained by coercion and suffers from serious infirmity. As regards Anil's confession, Ex. 8 they have observed that the Judicial Magistrate, P.W.3 who had recorded it on 19.4.1975, had failed to see whether Anil was going to make the confession voluntarily after comprehending the implications of his admission. As regards Naresh's confession, Ex.9 they have held tilat it has been made due to duress and inducement by the police and that it suffers from serious infirmities. In the view we are taking as regards Anil and Naresh, it is not necessary to consi der which of the two views, whether of the trial court or of the High Court is correct in regard to their confessional statements, Ex.8 and 9. The acceptability or otherwise of the confessional statements of the other two accused, Henry and Sunil, has to be considered in detail. The Judicial Magistrate, P. W. 3 who had recorded Exs.6 and 7 on 12.4.1975 and 18.4.1975 respectively had. admittedly given only three hours time for reflection before he recorded them. ·He has stated in his evidence that after Henry was produced before him by constable Hadi Hussein at ll a.m. on 12.4.1975 he told Henry that he is a Judicial Officer and no other person was present inside the court and nobody would harm if he showed any reluctance to confess and that he was not bound to make any confessional statement but if he made one it would be used against him. He bas stated that after Henry told him that .his mind was clear from the time of his arrest and that he wanted to confess out of repentance for what he had done be gave him three hours time for reflection and put him in the custody of a peon of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dibrugarh in his own chamber and saw to it· that no police officer was allowed to enter the court . until the recording of the A B c D E F G H A B c J) E F G H 548 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [i985] 3 S.C.R. confessional statement of Henry was over. He was stated that after Henry was brougl1t before him from his chamber after the said interval he cautioned him as above and that after being satisfied that Henry was going to confess voluntarily he recorded his statement in Ex.6. As regards Sunil also, P.W.3 has stated that be administered the caution as he did in the case of Henry ·when be was produced before him at 11.30 a.m. on 18.4.1975 and that Sunil told him that he wanted to confess because be was repentant for what he had.