Udayakumar vs State of Tamil Nadu

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

16 March 2023

Case No.

Criminal Appeal No. 1741 of 2010

Result

Allowed

Bench

Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Sanjay Karol

Citation

[2023] 2 S.C.R. 943 : 2023 INSC 239

Headnote

Penal Code, 1860 : ss. 302, 120B – Murder – Due to rivalry A-1 alongwith A-3 hatched a conspiracy to murder the victim and engaged services of A-2 for the same – A-2 killed the victim with a sickle thereafter, fled with A-1 and A-2 – Incident witnessed by PW-1 – Conviction of all of them for offences punishable u/s. 302 and 120B and awarded life imprisonment – High Court acquitted A-1 and A3 for both the offences and A-2 for the offence u/s 120B, however, conviction of A-2 for the offence punishable u/s 302 upheld on the basis of identification by PW1 – On appeal, held: Other than the identification of A-2 being the assailant as witnessed by PW-1, no material on record linking A-2 to the crime – No material to indicate that A-1 or A-3 hired the services of A-2 for murdering the victim – No material indicating A-2 to have murdered the victim with a sickle – Testimony of the PW1 contradicted and his version belied through the testimony of the IO – No basis or reason to have upheld the conviction of A-2, more so, when on the basis of the very same set of evidence led by the prosecution, the principle conspirators involved in the crime were acquitted – Accused cannot be convicted on the basis of the principles of preponderance of probability – Neither the chain of evidence completely established nor the circumstances, conclusively pointing towards the guilt of commission of crime by A-2 – Prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt – Thus, the impugned judgment and sentence quashed and set aside.

Test identification parade – Purpose and scope of.

Udayakumar & Ors. v. The State of Tamil Nadu dated 15.03.2010 in Criminal Appeal No. 17, 22 and 24 of 2010; State v. Panneerdass & Ors. the Ld. Trial Court dated 04.12.2009 in S.C. No. 113 of 2009; Anil Phukan v. State of Assam (1993) 3 SCC 282 : [1993] 2 SCR 389; Heera v. State of Rajasthan (2007) 10 SCC 175 : [2007] 7 SCR 1065; Sheikh Sintha Madhar v. State (2016) 11 SCC 265 : [2016] 2 SCR 936; State of Maharashtra v. Suresh (2000) 1 SCC 471 : [1999] 5 Suppl. SCR 215; Gireesan Nair & Others v. State of Kerala (2023) 1 SCC 180; Sujit Biswas v. State of Assam (2013) 12 SCC 406 : [2013] 3 SCR 830; Hanumant Govind Nargundkar v. State of M.P. AIR 1952 SC 343 : [1952] SCR 1091; State v. Mahender Singh Dahiya (2011) 3 SCC 109 : [2011] 1 SCR 1104; Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Mahrashtra (1984) 4 SCC

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SANJAY KAROL, J. 1. The Appellant Udayakumar (A-2) stands convicted by both the courts below for murdering one Purushothaman, thus having committed an offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Consequently he is sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life. However, in relation to an offence under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 he stands acquitted vide impugned judgement delivered by High Court dated 15.03.2010 in Criminal Appeal No. 17, 22 and 24 of 2010 titled as Udayakumar & Ors. v. The State of Tamil Nadu.

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