Penal Code, 1860 – s.302 – Allegation against the appellant-accused that she took her children to a pond/lake and drowned them – Trial Court convicted accused u/s.302 of IPC solely on the basis of evidence of PW-2 – The High Court upheld the conviction – Correctness:
Held: The conviction in the present case could be sustainable only if the prosecution is in a position to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt and also establish a chain of events which is so connected to each other that it leads to no other conclusion than the guilt of the accused – The conviction is based solely on the evidence of PW-2 – The perusal of the cross-examination of PW-2 would reveal that he has fully improved his case in his examination-in-chief – He has narrated what does not find place in his statement u/s.161, CrPC – As such his evidence is totally contradictory and therefore totally unworthy – Apart from the testimony of PW-2, there is nothing to connect the present appellant with the crime in question – The prosecution has not even examined the Rickshaw Puller who was stated to have seen the appellant going towards the Pujari Talab and the children floating in the lake – The testimony of PW-2 being unreliable, at the most, can be treated as hearsay evidence – This Court is of the considered opinion that the conviction, as recorded by the trial Court and affirmed by the High Court is totally based on conjectures and surmises – The conviction of the appellant is not sustainable in law. [Paras 7, 8, 12, 13, 14] Evidence – Law on conviction in the case of circumstantial evidence – Discussed. [Paras 6 and 7]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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