Tags Murder

Supreme Court of India (Division Bench (DB)- Two Judge)

Appeal (Crl.), 2216-2217 of 2010, Judgment Date: Feb 09, 2016

                                                              NON-REPORTABLE

                   IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

                 CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

               CRIMINAL APPEAL NOs. 2216-2217 OF 2010

     BHARAMAPPA GOGI                                              …APPELLANT

                                  VERSUS

     PRAVEEN MURTHY & ORS. ETC.                                 …RESPONDENTS


                             J U D G M E N T

     AMITAVA ROY, J.

            These appeals register a challenge to  the  judgment  and  order
     dated 4.12.2009 rendered in Criminal Appeal Nos. 1126 of 2006 and  1167
     of 2006 preferred by the respondent Nos. 1 and 2 in Criminal Appeal No.
     2216 of 2010 and respondent No. 1 in Criminal Appeal No. 2217  of  2010
     respectively.

     2.     The appellant-complainant is aggrieved by the interference  with
     the conviction of the respondents-accused recorded by the trial  court.
     Whereas respondent Nos. 1 and 2 in Criminal Appeal  No.  2216  of  2010
     were convicted under Sections 390/392/457 read  with  Section  34  IPC,
     they  were  acquitted  of  the  charge  under  Section  302  IPC.   The
     respondent No. 1 in Criminal Appeal No. 2217 of 2010, however, had been
     additionally convicted under Section 302 IPC.  All  the  three  accused
     were sentenced accordingly.  Though the  respondents-accused  preferred
     appeals against their conviction, as above, the  State  refrained  from
     doing so, more particularly against the acquittal of respondent Nos.  1
     and 2  of the charge under Section 302 IPC.

     3.     We have heard learned counsel for the parties.

     4.     The prosecution case relates back to  the  night  of  18.4.2005.
     The deceased Nemiraj Gogi was in his house, while his wife and son were
     out of station.  It is alleged that the respondents-accused visited his
     house in the said night, committed robbery of  the  valuable  household
     items including gold and silver  articles  and  in  the  process,  also
     committed the murder of Nemiraj Gogi.  According  to  the  prosecution,
     the housemaid in the morning, having found the deceased body,  informed
     the brother of the deceased, who lodged the FIR on 19.4.2005 at 8  A.M.
     and the investigation was thus set in motion. The report mentioned that
     some unknown persons had committed the offence.

     5.     In course of  the  investigation,  recoveries  of  the  valuable
     articles, claimed to be at the  instance  of  the  respondents-accused,
     were made. According to the prosecution,  recovery  of  the  weapon  of
     assault i.e. the knife and seizure, amongst them, of the blood  stained
     clothes of the deceased were also  effected.   The  respondents-accused
     were arrested and on the completion of  the  inquisition,  charge-sheet
     under Sections 120B/302/380/394 and 397 read with Section  34  IPC  was
     laid  against  them.    The  case  of  the  prosecution  is  based   on
     circumstantial evidence.

     6.     The trial court framed charges against  the  respondents-accused
     under Sections 120B/302/390/392/457 read with Section 34 IPC and on the
     basis of the evidence adduced by the prosecution and on a consideration
     of  the  other  materials  on  record,  convicted  and  sentenced   the
     respondents-accused as above.

     7.     The High Court, as the impugned judgment and order would reveal,
     not only did find fault with the  trial  court  in  omitting  to  frame
     charge under Section 397 IPC against the respondents-accused, but  also
     recorded its disapproval of the analysis and the  appreciation  of  the
     evidence on record.  The High Court was, inter alia, of the  view  that
     the trial court was not justified in acquitting the respondent  Nos.  1
     and 2 in Criminal Appeal No. 1126 of 2006 of the charge  under  Section
     302 IPC.  Referring to Sections 386 and 401 Cr.P.C.  and  invoking  its
     suo motu  power  of  revision,  the  High  Court  interfered  with  the
     conviction of the respondents-accused and remitted the  matter  to  the
     trial  court  to  frame  charge  under  Section  397  IPC  against  the
     respondents-accused and to  undertake  a  fresh  consideration  of  the
     materials on record.  Liberty was also granted to the  trial  court  to
     record additional evidence, if construed necessary.

     8.     The learned counsel for the appellant-informant has  urged  that
     having regard to the conspectus of facts  on  which  the  case  of  the
     prosecution is founded, the trial court did not commit any error in not
     framing a charge under Section 397 IPC against the respondents-accused.
      He maintained that the High Court in this premise, ought not  to  have
     interfered with their  conviction,  but  ought  to  have   heard  their
     appeals on merit after affording due opportunity to the prosecution  to
     demonstrate that all of them were liable to be convicted on the charges
     framed and proved against them.

     9.     In  reply,  learned  counsel  for  the  respondents-accused  has
     submitted that he would not join  issue  with  the  appellant,  if  the
     matter is remanded to the High Court  by  maintaining  the  charges  as
     framed by the trial court for a decision on the appeals on merits.

     10.    We have extended our  thoughtful  consideration  to  the  debate
     involved. A plain reading of  the  decision  impugned  in  the  instant
     appeals, to start with, reveals that the High Court  though  the  final
     court of facts, did not adequately address itself to  the  evidence  on
     record as required, and instead laid more  emphasis  on  the  perceived
     omission on the part of the trial court in  not framing   charge  under
     Section 397 IPC against  the  respondents-accused.   We  would  refrain
     presently from offering any observation on the merits of the case,  for
     obvious reasons.

     11.    As adverted to hereinabove, the trial court  had  framed  charge
     against the  respondents-accused  under  Sections  120B/302/390/392/457
     read with Section 34 IPC.  For ready reference, the texts of the  above
     legal provisions are set-out hereunder:

            “120B :Punishment of criminal conspiracy.—

            (1) Whoever is a party to a criminal  conspiracy  to  commit  an
            offence  punishable  with  death,  [imprisonment  for  life]  or
            rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards, shall,
            where no  express  provision  is  made  in  this  Code  for  the
            punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the same  manner
            as if he had abetted such offence.


            (2) Whoever is a party to a criminal  conspiracy  other  than  a
            criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable as aforesaid
            shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for  a
            term not exceeding six months, or with fine or with both.]



            302 - Punishment for  murder—Whoever  commits  murder  shall  be
            punished with death, or [imprisonment for life], and shall  also
            be liable to fine.

            390- Robbery—In all robbery there is either theft or extortion.

            392-Punishment for  robbery—Whoever  commits  robbery  shall  be
            punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may  extend
            to ten years, and shall also be liable  to  fine;  and,  if  the
            robbery be committed on the highway between sunset and  sunrise,
            the imprisonment may be extended to fourteen years.

            457-Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night  in  order
            to commit offence punishable with  imprisonment—Whoever  commits
            lurking house-trespass by night, or house-breaking by night,  in
            order  to  the  committing  of  any  offence   punishable   with
            imprisonment, shall be  punished  with  imprisonment  of  either
            description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall
            also be liable to fine; and,  if  the  offence  intended  to  be
            committed is theft, the term of the imprisonment may be extended
            to fourteen years.

            34- Acts done  by  several  persons  in  furtherance  of  common
            intention—When a criminal act is  done  by  several  persons  in
            furtherance of the common intention of all, each of such persons
            is liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done  by
            him alone.”




     Section 397 IPC reads thus:

            “Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause  death  or  grievous
            hurt.—If, at the time of  committing  robbery  or  dacoity,  the
            offender uses any deadly weapon, or causes grievous hurt to  any
            person, or attempts to cause  death  or  grievous  hurt  to  any
            person, the imprisonment  with  which  such  offender  shall  be
            punished shall not be less than seven years.”

     12.    Having regard to the number of persons  allegedly  involved   in
     the offences, as disclosed by the prosecution, the crimes committed are
     of murder in the course of robbery together with lurking house trespass
     and house breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable  with
     imprisonment with common intention.  Though  Section    397  IPC  deals
     with robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death  or  grievous  hurt
     and prescribes  punishment by way of  imprisonment  of  not  less  than
     seven years, in our view, the High Court  ought  to  have  decided  the
     appeals on merit without remanding the case  to  the  trial  court  for
     fresh adjudication after framing  charge  under  Section  397  IPC  and
     recording additional evidence, if deemed necessary.

     13.    The purpose of framing a charge against an accused person is  to
     acquaint him with the incriminating facts and circumstances proposed to
     be proved against him in the trial to follow.  The principal  objective
     is to afford him an opportunity of preparing his  defence  against  the
     charge.  The possibility of prejudice to the accused arises, if  he  is
     not made conversant with the entire gamut  of  facts  constituting  the
     accusations leveled against him, as has been consistently propounded by
     this Court, amongst others, in V.C. Shukla vs. State through CBI (1980)
     Supp. SCC 92.  Though Section 397 IPC, having regard to the case of the
     prosecution, may not be wholly irrelevant, the charges  framed  against
     the respondents-accused by the trial  court,  do  adequately  encompass
     all essential facts building up the offences imputed against them.

     14.    In view of the inclusion of Section  34  IPC  in  the  array  of
     offences, for which the respondents-accused had  been  charged  by  the
     trial court, as well as the facts and the evidence sought to be  relied
     upon by the prosecution, in our estimate, the order of remand  was  not
     called for and the appeals should have been decided on merits,  on  the
     basis of the charges already framed and the materials on record.    The
     deduction of the High Court that the omission  to  frame  charge  under
     Section 397 IPC has resulted in miscarriage of justice is  unconvincing
     in the facts of this case.  That  meanwhile  more  than  a  decade  has
     passed since the date of the incident, cannot  also  be  readily  over-
     looked.

      15.   On an overall consideration of the above  aspects,  we  are  not
      inclined to sustain the impugned decision.  It  is,  thus,  set-aside.
      The criminal Appeal Nos. 1126 of 2006 and 1167 of 2006  filed  by  the
      respondents-accused before  the  High  Court  are  restored  to  their
      original numbers, for disposal afresh in accordance with  law  on  the
      basis of the charges already framed and the evidence on  record.    We
      make it clear that we have not offered any observation on  the  merits
      of the case.

     16.    The appeals are disposed of in the above terms.



                                                          ……..……………………..….J.
                                                               (S.A. BOBDE)



                                                         ……..……………………..….J.
                                                              (AMITAVA ROY)
       NEW DELHI;
       FEBRUARY 9,  2016.