Case Note & Summary
The judgment text pertains to three appeals before the Supreme Court of India arising out of a common judgment of the Rajasthan High Court disposing of three criminal appeals. The appeals were filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh against Bal Kishan Das and another. The case concerned the disappearance and death of Rama, the daughter of S.S. Kela and Vimlawati, who was married to Suresh Narain on May 6, 1981. After marriage, Rama lived with her husband at his parents' house in Saharanpur. In March 1982, during Holi, Rama was not permitted to go with her father due to a custom, but she was sent to her elder sister's house nearby and returned to her matrimonial home on March 10, 1982. On March 14, 1982, Bal Kishan Dass, Rama's father-in-law, lodged a missing person report at Kotwali City Police Station, stating that Rama had retired for the night and was found missing in the morning with the main door open. He mentioned she suffered occasional fits and described her clothing and jewellery. Before lodging the report, he sent telegrams to Rama's father and others. Rama's sister Malti Devi and her husband visited the in-laws' house but were not satisfied with the explanation. On March 15, 1982, Rama's father S.S. Kela lodged a separate report at Saharanpur police station alleging that Rama had told him she was being tortured by her in-laws and that two earlier daughters-in-law of Bal Kishan Das had died mysteriously. On March 16, 1982, Bal Kishan Dass met the Additional Superintendent of Police and produced an inland letter purportedly from one Ahmed Hasan demanding a ransom of two lakh rupees for Rama's release and threatening her life if police were informed or ransom not paid by March 18, 1982. After no action was taken, Rama's relatives approached the Minister of State for Home Affairs on March 24, 1982 and also met press reporters. Meanwhile, on March 17, 1982, at about 1:00 a.m., a sanitary jamadar found an abandoned green hold-all near a bench at New Delhi Railway Station. Upon opening, the police found a decomposed and swollen corpse of a woman aged about 25-26 years, dressed in a red printed saree and other clothes matching the description given in the missing report. The police registered Crime No. 87/82 under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. A post mortem examination conducted by Dr. L.T. Ramani revealed a deep constricting groove around the neck caused by a coir rope, effusion of blood in neck tissues, and death due to asphyxia resulting from strangulation. The doctor opined that the ligature mark was ante-mortem and sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. The body was estimated to have been dead two to three days before the autopsy, though later the doctor said it could be four to five days but not later than the earlier estimate. Viscera and other samples were preserved for chemical examination, and Dr. K.S. Chabra of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory began examining the viscera, but the text ends before the results are stated. The available excerpt does not include the arguments of the parties, the legal issues framed, the court's analysis, or the final decision. It only provides the factual background and investigation details. Therefore, the outcome and legal principles cannot be extracted from the provided text.
Issue of Consideration
14871
