Case Note & Summary
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal of Hari Singh and another against their conviction for murder under Section 302 IPC by the Trial Court and upheld by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. The case arose from an incident on 17.10.1997 where the deceased Shyam was allegedly attacked by three persons, including the appellants, with knives. The FIR was lodged by the deceased himself at the police station, but there was a delay of over an hour in lodging it despite the police station being only 1 km away. The deceased died soon after in the hospital. During trial, all material witnesses turned hostile, including the daughter (a child witness) and an injured eyewitness Ramchander (PW-12), who stated he could not identify the assailants due to darkness. The prosecution relied on two dying declarations: the FIR and a statement recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. by the Investigating Officer (PW-14) in the hospital. The Supreme Court found both dying declarations unreliable. The second dying declaration was recorded without obtaining the doctor's opinion on the deceased's fitness to make a statement, despite the bed head ticket showing his blood pressure was not recordable and his condition was poor. The first dying declaration (FIR) was also suspect due to unexplained delay and lack of effort to compare the deceased's signatures on the FIR with his official records. Additionally, the prosecution failed to prove the identity of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, as the descriptions given were vague (e.g., 'Hari the Tempowala', 'son of Nathu'). The Court held that the burden of proof of identity lies on the prosecution, not the defence. Consequently, the Court allowed the appeal, set aside the convictions, and acquitted the appellants, giving them the benefit of doubt.
Headnote
A) Criminal Law - Dying Declaration - Recording of Dying Declaration - Requirement of Doctor's Certification - A dying declaration recorded without obtaining the opinion of the doctor that the declarant is in a fit condition to make a statement is unreliable and cannot be the sole basis for conviction - Held that the statement recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. when the injured's blood pressure was not recordable and without doctor's fitness certificate casts grave doubt on its admissibility and evidentiary value (Paras 5-6). B) Criminal Law - FIR - Delay in Lodging FIR by Injured Person - Suspicion - Where the injured person had multiple stab wounds and the police station was only 1 km away, a delay of over an hour in lodging the FIR without explanation raises suspicion about the veracity of the FIR - Held that natural course would have been to take the seriously injured person to the hospital first (Para 7). C) Criminal Law - Burden of Proof - Identity of Accused - It is for the prosecution to prove the identity of the accused beyond reasonable doubt; the burden does not shift to the defence to show that there were no other persons of the same name in the locality - Held that the prosecution failed to link the accused with the offence as the descriptions given were vague (Paras 8-9). D) Criminal Law - Hostile Witness - Injured Witness Turning Hostile - Mere suggestion of pressure is insufficient to discard the testimony of a hostile witness who was also injured in the same incident - Held that the prosecution must lead evidence to show that the witness was pressurized (Para 9).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the dying declarations recorded under suspicious circumstances and the lack of proper identification of the accused can sustain a conviction for murder.
Final Decision
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the judgments of the High Court and Trial Court, and acquitted the appellants. Their bail bonds were discharged.
Law Points
- Dying declaration must be recorded after obtaining doctor's opinion that declarant is fit to make statement
- Delay in lodging FIR by injured person raises suspicion
- Burden of proof of identity of accused is on prosecution
- Hostile witness testimony cannot be discarded without evidence of pressure
