{"id":11150,"date":"2011-10-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-10-12T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/mohd-anis-ahmed-vs-the-state-of-the-nct-of-delhi-on-13-october-2011"},"modified":"2018-03-04T11:58:38","modified_gmt":"2018-03-04T06:28:38","slug":"mohd-anis-ahmed-vs-the-state-of-the-nct-of-delhi-on-13-october-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/mohd-anis-ahmed-vs-the-state-of-the-nct-of-delhi-on-13-october-2011","title":{"rendered":"Mohd. Anis Ahmed vs The State Of The Nct Of Delhi on 13 October, 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"
Delhi High Court<\/div>\n
Mohd. Anis Ahmed vs The State Of The Nct Of Delhi on 13 October, 2011<\/div>\n
Author: Badar Durrez Ahmed<\/div>\n
*      IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI\n\n%                                      Judgment delivered on 13.10.2011\n\n+      CRL.A. 1225\/2010\n\nVIRPAL @ RAJU @ VIRA                                             ...      Appellant\n\n                                       - versus -\n\nTHE STATE OF NCT OF DELHI                                        ...      Respondent<\/pre>\n
Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n
\nFor the Appellant            : Mr A. J. Bhambhani with Ms Nisha Bhambhani and\n                               Ms Lakshita Sethi\nFor the Respondent           : Mr Sanjay Lao\n\n                                              AND\n\n+      CRL.A. 1236\/2010\n\nIBRAHIM @ GUDDU                                                  ...      Appellant\n\n                                       - versus -\n\nTHE STATE OF NCT OF DELHI                                        ...      Respondent\n\nAdvocates who appeared in this case:\nFor the Appellant            : Mr Arun Sharma\nFor the Respondent           : Mr Sanjay Lao\n\n                                              AND\n\n+      CRL.A. 1426\/2010\n\nMOHD. ANIS AHMED                                                 ...      Appellant\n\n                                       - versus -\n\nTHE STATE OF THE NCT OF DELHI                                    ...      Respondent\n\nAdvocates who appeared in this case:\nFor the Appellant            : Mr Rajesh Mahajan\nFor the Respondent           : Mr Sanjay Lao\n\n\n\nCRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                                Page 1 of 13<\/span>\n CORAM:\nHON'BLE MR JUSTICE BADAR DURREZ AHMED\nHON'BLE MR JUSTICE MANMOHAN SINGH\n\n1.     Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to\n       see the judgment?                                               Yes\n2.     To be referred to the Reporter or not?                          Yes\n\n3.     Whether the judgment should be reported in Digest?              Yes\n\nBADAR DURREZ AHMED, J\n\n<\/pre>\n
1.     These three appeals are directed against the judgment dated 11-06-2010
\ndelivered by the learned additional sessions judge-01\/South, Patiala house courts, New
\nDelhi in Sessions Case No.107\/2006 arising out of FIR No. 233\/06 of police station
\nMalviya Nagar under sections 302\/394\/34 IPC and sections 216A\/411\/120B IPC
\nwhereby the appellants Virpal @ Raju, Ibrahim @ Guddu and Mohd Anis Ahmed
\nwere convicted under sections 394\/302\/34 IPC. The appellants are also aggrieved by
\nthe order on sentence passed on 09-07-2010 by the learned Additional Sessions Judge
\nwhereby they were sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence under section
\n302\/34 IPC and were also directed to pay a fine of Rs. 2500\/- each, in default of which
\nthe defaulting convict was required to undergo simple imprisonment for two months.
\nThe appellants were also sentenced under section 394 IPC to rigourous imprisonment
\nfor 10 years as also to pay a fine of Rs. 2500\/- each, in default of which the defaulting
\nconvict was to undergo simple imprisonment for two months.\n<\/p>\n
2.     The charges framed against the appellants were, first of all, that on 28-02-
\n2006, between 11:30 AM to 12 noon at H.No.               J-4\/72-B, First Floor, Khirki
\nExtension, Malviya Nagar Extension, New Delhi, the appellants, in furtherance of
\ntheir common intention committed the murder of Rekha and thereby committed an
\noffence punishable under section 302 IPC read with section 34 IPC and, secondly, that
\non the above mentioned date, time and place, the appellants, in furtherance of their<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                               Page 2 of 13<\/span>
\n common intention committed robbery of cash of Rs. 80,000\/- – Rs. 90,000\/-, gold and
\njewellery consisting of one golden set, three gold chains, one gold coin, one silver
\ncoin, three other coins, one mobile phone and two bangles and while committing the
\nrobbery the appellants voluntarily caused hurt to Rekha and thereby committed an
\noffence punishable under section 394 IPC read with section 34 IPC. It is pertinent to
\npoint out at this juncture that two other persons namely Brij Pal and Asgar were also
\naccused of having committed the offence punishable under section 216A IPC.
\nHowever, by virtue of the said judgment, both these persons were acquitted.\n<\/p>\n
3.     The prosecution case, as narrated in the impugned judgment, is that on 28-02-
\n2006 head constable Bir Singh received DD No. 32-B at police station Malviya Nagar
\nwhich indicated that the duty constable Ajit Kumar at AIIMS hospital had given
\ntelephonic information that one Rekha, wife of Banarsi Dass Patil, resident of J-4\/72-
\nB, Khirki Extension was brought to hospital by one Manish s\/o Madan Mohan and the
\ndoctor had declared her dead. The said DD was given to Inspector Nirmal Singh,
\nIncharge, Police Post, Saket. He, along with head constable Jai Kishan, departed from
\nthe police station to AIIMS hospital and received the MLC in respect of the deceased
\nRekha. The dead body had been shifted to the mortuary. Thereafter, Inspector Nirmal
\nSingh along with the other police officers went to the place of the incident at J-4\/72-B,
\nKhirki Extension where they were met by Manish who gave a statement.\n<\/p>\n
4.     Manish stated that he was living in the ground floor at the said address along
\nwith his friend Roshan and was preparing for the IIT entrance test. At about 11:30
\nAM to 12 noon, when he was in his room, he heard a strange noise from the first floor
\nwhere his landlord resided. He also heard Rekha calling for Roshan. Upon hearing
\nthis, he ran up the stairs and called out – “auntie”. But in response he heard a strange
\nnoise coming from the bathroom which was bolted. He unbolted the door of the
\nbathroom and found that Rekha was lying on the floor and her throat was tied up with
\na cloth and there were injuries on her throat from which blood was flowing out. He<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                               Page 3 of 13<\/span>
\n also noticed some broken bangles lying on the floor. Rekha called out to him and said\n<\/p>\n
– “hospital”. He then took her in the injured condition, first, to Akash Nursing Home,
\nMalviya Nagar with the help of neighbours – Gaurav and Sanjay – in a Maruti car
\nbearing registration number DL 3CA 8873 and then, on the advise of the officials of
\nAkash Nursing Home, he took her to AIIMS hospital where the doctors reported her
\nas having been brought dead. He also stated that he had noticed that in the room
\nbelonging to Rekha the almirah was open and articles were strewn about.\n<\/p>\n
5.     Inspector Nirmal Singh received the statement of the complainant and
\ninspected the spot and found that blood had spread in the bathroom. Broken bangles
\nwere also lying there. He also found one bloodstained electric wire lying at the spot.
\nThere was also one handkerchief on which the image of an eagle was printed and the
\nwords – “Fly Eagle” – were written on it. On the kitchen slab he found one plastic toy
\npistol with the inscription ‘made in China’. Below that, broken bangles were found
\nlying. In the bedroom, the steel almirah was lying open and the lockers were open and
\nall the articles were lying spread about.       Inspector Nirmal Singh made his
\nendorsement on the statement of the complainant and sent the ruqqa through head
\nconstable Bir Singh for registration of the case. Thereafter, Inspector Nirmal Singh
\ncontinued with the investigation of the case with the preparation of the site plan,
\nrecording of statements of witnesses, seizing of blood samples, broken bangles,
\nbroken pieces of mangal sutra, PVC wire et cetera by virtue of different seizure
\nmemos. The site was also inspected by the crime team and the dog squad. The
\ninquest proceedings were completed and thereafter the post-mortem examination of
\nthe dead body was conducted at AIIMS hospital, after which the dead body of Rekha
\nwas handed over to her legal heirs.\n<\/p>\n
6.     As a result of investigation, the appellants Virpal, Ibrahim @ Guddu and Mohd
\nAnis were arrested and the following recoveries were allegedly made from them:-\n<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                            Page 4 of 13<\/span><\/p>\n
 Virpal                 1.      Rs. 38,000\/- Cash\n<\/p>\n
                       2.      One gold coin\n<\/p>\n
                       3.      One Mangal Sutra\n<\/p>\n
                       4.      One gold necklace\n<\/p>\n
                       5.      One gold chain\n<\/p>\n
                       6.      Knife\n<\/p>\n
                       7.      Shirt<\/p>\n
Ibrahim @ Guddu        1.      Rs. 18,000\/- cash\n<\/p>\n
                       2.      One gold ring<\/p>\n
Mohd. Anis             1.      8 door handles\n<\/p>\n
                       2.      6 magnetic door closers\n<\/p>\n
                       3.      Rs. 35,000\/- cash\n<\/p>\n
                       4.      2 coins of silver metal\n<\/p>\n
                       5.      One gold ring\n<\/p>\n
                       6.      One gold chain\n<\/p>\n
                       7.      One broken piece of Mangal Sutra of gold like metal with
\n                               black pearls\n<\/p>\n
                       8.      Shirt<\/p>\n
7.       The charges framed against the appellants have already been mentioned above.
\nThe appellants pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. The prosecution examined 24
\nwitnesses in support of its case. The appellant Ibrahim examined himself as DW1.
\nHis wife Shugufta testified as DW2. After considering the evidence on record and the
\narguments advanced on behalf of the parties, the learned and additional sessions judge
\ndelivered the impugned judgment and passed the impugned order on sentence.\n<\/p>\n
8.       The learned Additional Sessions Judge convicted the appellants on the basis of
\nthe following circumstances – (1) recovery of case property; (2) identification of case
\nproperty; (3) recovery of the weapon of offence; (4) medical evidence; (5) recovery of
\nbloodstained shirts and FSL report with regard to the blood group; (6) motive of
\nrobbery; (7) presumption of robbery and murder by invoking illustration (a) to section
\n114 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; and (8) false explanation provided by the
\ndefence being an additional link in the chain of circumstances.\n<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                               Page 5 of 13<\/span><\/p>\n
 9.     Mr Bhambani, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of Virpal, submitted
\nthat the entire case rests on the recoveries allegedly made. It was contended by Mr
\nBhambani that the recoveries attributed to Virpal were said to have been made
\npursuant to a disclosure statement exhibit PW1\/G on 22-03-2006. The seizure memos
\nin respect of the alleged recoveries are all dated 25-03-2006 and they are – Exhibit
\nPW20\/B in respect of the shirt; Exhibit PW20\/C in respect of the jewellery and cash
\namounting to Rs. 38,000\/-; and Exhibit PW20\/E in respect of the knife which is the
\nalleged murder weapon. Mr Bhambani pointed out that the date of the incident was
\n28-02-2006 and the alleged recoveries were made on 25-03-2006, that is, 25 days after
\nthe incident. He submitted that the alleged recoveries were made from the appellant
\nVirpal’s house in the village. He submitted that it is contrary to natural human
\nconduct that a murderer would preserve his bloodstained shirt and bloodstained knife
\nfor 25 days in his own house in the village along with the jewellery and coins
\ninscribed with the word ‘Hyatt’ which could easily and clearly identify him with the
\nmurder of Rekha.\n<\/p>\n
10.    Mr Bhambani further submitted that although the entire alleged disclosure
\nstatement has been marked as exhibit PW1\/G, only that portion of the statement would
\nbe admissible in evidence which leads to a discovery of fact. He submitted that when
\nthe recoveries themselves are doubtful, the disclosure statement would have no
\nmeaning.\n<\/p>\n
11.    It was also contended by Mr Bhambani that it is all very well that the articles
\nwhich were allegedly stolen from the house of the deceased have been identified by
\nPW1 Banarsi Dass but, such identification is meaningless when the recovery itself is
\nin grave doubt. According to Mr Bhambani, the articles allegedly recovered were
\nprovided by PW1 Banarsi Dass himself and in such a scenario it is obvious that he
\nwould identify the articles.\n<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                            Page 6 of 13<\/span><\/p>\n
 12.    Mr Rajesh Mahajan, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of Mohd Anis
\nAhmed submitted that Anis comes into the picture only through the disclosure
\nstatement of Ibrahim. He is not connected with PW1 Banarsi Dass. He referred to the
\ntestimony of PW1 and submitted that though PW1 knew Virpal and Ibrahim, Anis was
\nnot known to him prior to the incident and that he had seen Anis for the first time
\nupon his arrest.\n<\/p>\n
13.    Mr Mahajan further submitted that Anis is only connected through the alleged
\nrecoveries which were allegedly made on 22-03-2006, after a time gap of 22 days
\nfrom the date of the incident.         He further submitted that the learned Additional
\nSessions Judge fell in error in invoking illustration (a) of section 114 of the Indian
\nEvidence Act, 1872. According to him, the said illustration could only be invoked
\nwhen a person is found in possession of stolen goods “soon after” the theft. He
\nsubmitted that the time gap of 22 days cannot be regarded as falling within the
\nexpression “soon after”. Consequently, he submitted, the presumption which the trial
\ncourt drew could not have been drawn in the context of the factual matrix of the
\npresent case.\n<\/p>\n
14.    Mr Mahajan also submitted that the recovery of the shirt, which was allegedly
\nbloodstained and carried the blood group “A”, is extremely doubtful. He submitted
\nthat the seizure memo Exhibit PW1\/J in respect of the said shirt does not mention that
\nit was bloodstained. Even the disclosure statement does not mention that the shirt was
\nbloodstained. In any event, it was submitted that as per natural human conduct the
\nshirt would have been washed in the intervening period of 22 days. Thus the alleged
\nrecovery of the bloodstained shirt at the instance of the appellant Anis is not free from
\ndoubt. He submitted that similarly the other recoveries at the instance of the appellant
\nMohd Anis are extremely doubtful, to say the least.\n<\/p>\n
15.    With regard to the recovery of the cash amounts from the three appellants, Mr
\nMahajan submitted that as per PW1 Banarsi Dass a sum of Rs. 91,000\/- was found<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                               Page 7 of 13<\/span>
\n missing. The prosecution has alleged that a sum of Rs. 35,000\/- was recovered from
\nMohd Anis, Rs. 38,000\/- was allegedly recovered from Virpal and Rs. 18,000\/- from
\nIbrahim. The total of the three amounts comes to Rs. 91,000\/-, which is exactly the
\namount which PW1 Banarsi Dass stated to be missing. Mr Mahajan submitted that it
\nis astonishing that after three weeks none of the appellants spent a single rupee from
\nthe amounts allegedly robbed by them! This in itself, according to Mr Mahajan,
\nproves the falsity of the prosecution case with regard to recoveries.\n<\/p>\n
16.    Insofar as Ibrahim is concerned, it was submitted that the hair samples which
\nwere taken of Ibrahim did not match with the strands of hair which were found
\nclasped in the hands of the deceased Rekha. Exhibit PW23\/P2 indicates that the
\nstrands of hair were of human origin and that “no further opinion is offered from this
\nlaboratory”. According to the learned counsel, this implies that the possibility of the
\nhair belonging to someone else other than the appellants cannot be ruled out. With
\nregard to the recoveries allegedly made from Ibrahim, it was submitted that the gold
\nring was not identified by Banarsi Dass as per the TIP proceeding exhibit PW13\/B.
\nAnd, insofar as the cash amount of Rs. 18,000\/- is concerned, there were no specific
\nmarks or numbers by which Banarsi Dass could have identified the said sum of Rs.
\n18,000\/- as being the amount which was allegedly stolen from his house.\n<\/p>\n
17.    It was also contended on behalf of the appellant Ibrahim that as he was visiting
\nthe police station frequently after the alleged incident, it would have been natural for
\nhim, if he was in any way involved, to have removed the articles from his house. It
\nwas also submitted that the arrest of Ibrahim was also fake.\n<\/p>\n
18.    Thus, the learned counsel for the appellants submitted that a false case has been
\nfoisted on the appellants merely on the basis of alleged recoveries which are
\nextremely doubtful, to say the least. According to them, the impugned judgment and
\norder and sentence are liable to be set aside.\n<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                              Page 8 of 13<\/span><\/p>\n
 19.    Mr Sanjay Lao appearing for the state submitted that there was no error in the
\nimpugned judgment and order on the point of sentence.           According to him the
\nrecoveries from the appellants stand established.      The stolen articles have been
\nidentified by PW1 Banarsi Dass and the appellants Virpal and Mohd Anis have also
\ngot their bloodstained shirts recovered pursuant to the disclosure statements. The
\nbloodstained knife has also been recovered at the instance of Virpal. Insofar as
\nIbrahim is concerned he has also got the stolen articles recovered pursuant to his
\ndisclosure statement. It was also submitted that the learned Additional Sessions Judge
\nhas correctly concluded that the motive behind the crime was robbery. It was further
\nsubmitted that the trial court committed no error in raising the presumption of robbery
\nand murder based on the recovery of the stolen articles. Finally, it was submitted that
\nsince the explanation of the appellants was found to be false, the learned Additional
\nSessions Judge committed no error in treating that circumstance as an additional link.
\nAccording to the learned counsel, the chain of circumstances was complete and the
\nsame unerringly pointed towards the guilt of the appellants. He, therefore, contended
\nthat the impugned judgment and order on sentence do not warrant any interference by
\nthis court.\n<\/p>\n
20.    We find that the present case rests heavily on the alleged recoveries made at the
\ninstance of the appellants. There is no dispute with the medical evidence on record.
\nRekha died a homicidal death and she was stabbed in the neck with a sharp edged
\nweapon. The doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination was also of the
\nopinion that the knife which was allegedly recovered at the instance of Virpal could
\nhave caused the injuries found on the body of Rekha.\n<\/p>\n
21.    The first thing that needs to be established in the present case is whether the
\nrecoveries were genuine or not. Because, if we find that the recoveries were doubtful
\nthen the circumstance of identification of case property, as correctly submitted by Mr
\nBhambani, would lose all significance.\n<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                              Page 9 of 13<\/span><\/p>\n
 22.    Let us start with the recoveries allegedly made at the instance of Ibrahim. It is
\nalleged that one gold ring and a sum of Rs. 18,000\/- in cash was recovered at his
\ninstance. Insofar as the gold ring is concerned, we find that the same has not been
\nidentified by PW1 Banarsi Dass in the course of TIP proceedings Exhibit PW13\/B.
\nFurther more, the cash amount of Rs. 18,000\/- could not be specifically identified by
\nBanarsi Dass as he had not given the distinctive numbers of the currency. The cash
\namount also did not contain any specific marks from which it could be said that PW1
\nBanarsi Dass was in a position to identify the same as belonging to him.\n<\/p>\n
23.    We also agree with the submission made by the learned counsel for Ibrahim
\nthat it would have been unnatural for him to have retained the said articles, if they
\nbelonged to the deceased or to Banarsi Dass, for over three weeks when he knew that
\nthe police were actively investigating the crime. PW 23 Inspector Nirmal Singh who
\nwas the investigating officer in this case had stated in the course of his cross
\nexamination that several persons including Ibrahim were interrogated on the day of
\nthe incident and they had been left as there was no evidence against them. He also
\nadmitted that Ibrahim was again interrogated after 3-4 days of the murder. In this
\nbackdrop, when Ibrahim was being repeatedly interrogated by the police, it would
\nhave been against the course of normal conduct on his part to have retained stolen
\narticles which were allegedly recovered, much later, at his instance on 22\/03\/2006.\n<\/p>\n
24.    We may also point out that PW1 Banarsi Dass has stated that one gold chain
\nExhibit P-5 and a gold ring Exhibit P-6 were the same which were recovered from
\nIbrahim. But, we find that even as per the prosecution case no gold chain has
\nallegedly been recovered from Ibrahim. As regards the gold ring Exhibit P-6, we have
\nalready seen that the same was not identified by Banarsi Dass in the course of TIP
\nproceedings.\n<\/p>\n
25.    Even the arrest of Ibrahim is not free from doubt. According to Banarsi Dass,
\nhe arrived at Sai Baba mandir and made a call to the police and thereafter on their<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                                Page 10 of 13<\/span>
\n arrival pointed out the accused Ibrahim to them. Ibrahim was arrested and taken to the
\npolice station.    However, as per PW22 Inspector Sanjay Bhardwaj, Ibrahim was
\napprehended on the basis of secret information. We agree with the submission made
\nby the learned counsel that there was no need of secret information when the
\nwhereabouts of Ibrahim were already known and he had been attending the police
\nstation for interrogation on several occasions.\n<\/p>\n
26.    According to PW1 Banarsi Dass the alleged recovery from Ibrahim was made
\nfrom an almirah lying in his house. However, PW7 head constable Des Raj stated that
\nthe said items were recovered from a wooden attach\u00e9 from a chhajja in the room.
\nPW22 had a different story to tell. According to him the said items were recovered
\nfrom a grey plastic attach\u00e9 similar to VIP baggage. PW23 had an altogether different
\nversion. According to him the articles were recovered from an attach\u00e9 case which was
\nneither of wood or steel but of some soft material such as leather, rexine, cloth or
\nplastic.\n<\/p>\n
27.    From the above evidence, it is clear that the recoveries insofar as Ibrahim are
\nconcerned have not been established by the prosecution. Apart from the alleged
\nrecoveries there is no other evidence to connect Ibrahim with the crime.              The
\ndisclosure statement is of no meaning until and unless it leads to a discovery of a fact.
\nSince that has not happened, the alleged disclosure statement of Ibrahim cannot be
\nlooked into at all.\n<\/p>\n
28.    Insofar as Mohd Anis is concerned, we find that the stolen articles have
\nallegedly been recovered at his instance after a gap of 22 days. We are unable to
\nconvince ourselves that the recovery at his instance is not free from doubt. The most
\nimportant recovery allegedly made at his instance is that of a striped shirt which is
\nsaid to be bloodstained. There is no doubt that according to the FSL report the
\nbloodstains in the said shirt are of human origin and of the group “A” which,
\napparently, is also the blood group of the deceased Rekha.          But, the disclosure<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                               Page 11 of 13<\/span>
\n statement Exhibit PW1\/F alleged to have been made by the appellant Mohd Anis does
\nnot have any reference to a bloodstained shirt. Even the seizure memo Exhibit PW1\/J
\ndoes not refer to any bloodstains on the striped shirt allegedly recovered at the
\ninstance of the said appellant. PW7 also does not say that there were any bloodstains
\non the shirt allegedly produced by the said appellant.       Even PW23 who is the
\ninvestigating officer merely states that a used shirt was recovered from his jhuggi.
\nThere is no mention of bloodstains. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the shirt
\nbelonged to the accused or that he was wearing the same at the time of the incident.
\nIn any event, the mere production of bloodstained articles by themselves does not lead
\nto the conclusion that the person who produced the said articles was the murderer (see:
\nPrabhu v. State of UP: AIR 1963 SC 1113).\n<\/p>\n
29.    In these circumstances, it cannot be held that the prosecution has proved the
\nalleged recoveries at the instance of the appellant Mohd Anis.\n<\/p>\n
30.    The recoveries attributed to Virpal are also not believable. We agree with the
\nsubmission made by Mr Bhambani that it would be contrary to natural human conduct
\nthat a person involved in a murder would preserve a bloodstained shirt and a
\nbloodstained knife for 25 days in his own house in the village. We have already
\nindicated that the story with regard to the recovery of the exact amount of cash is also
\nnot believable. This is apart from the question that the cash, in our view, could not
\nhave been identified by PW1 Banarsi Dass as belonging to him without him first
\nsupplying any distinctive marks or numbers of the currency. The identification of
\ncertain articles is also meaningless once we come to the conclusion that the
\nprosecution has not been able to establish the recoveries at the instance of the
\nappellants.\n<\/p>\n
31.    Once the recoveries go, the entire case of the prosecution comes falling down
\nlike a pack of cards. Apart from the recoveries, there is no other evidence to link the
\nappellants with the crime. We may point out at this juncture that the presumption<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                              Page 12 of 13<\/span>
\n which was drawn by the learned Additional Sessions Judge could not, in any event,
\nhave been drawn in view of the fact that even the alleged recoveries were not effected
\n“soon after” the robbery. We must not forget that illustration (a) to section 114 of the
\nIndian Evidence Act, 1872 is only an illustration of the substantive provision
\ncontained in the said section which stipulates that the court may presume the existence
\nof any fact which it thinks likely to have happened, regard being had to the common
\ncourse of natural events, human conduct and public and private business, in their
\nrelation to the facts of the paricular case. Viewed in this light, the retention of stolen
\narticles and bloodstained clothes and bloodstained murder weapon for a period of over
\nthree weeks would certainly not fall within the expressions “common course of natural
\nevents” or “human conduct”. Consequently, the presumption could not have been
\ndrawn at all.\n<\/p>\n
32.    In view of the foregoing discussion, we are of the view that the prosecution has
\nnot been able to prove its case against the appellants beyond reasonable doubt.
\nConsequently, the impugned judgment and order on sentence are set aside. The
\nappellants are acquitted of all charges against them in this case. They are directed to
\nbe set at liberty forthwith.\n<\/p>\n
       The appeals are allowed.\n<\/p>\n
                                              BADAR DURREZ AHMED, J<\/p>\n
                                                MANMOHAN SINGH, J
\nOCTOBER 13, 2011
\nHJ<\/p>\n
CRL.A. Nos.1225\/2010, 1236\/2010 & 1426\/2010                                Page 13 of 13<\/span>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Delhi High Court Mohd. Anis Ahmed vs The State Of The Nct Of Delhi on 13 October, 2011 Author: Badar Durrez Ahmed * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment delivered on 13.10.2011 + CRL.A. 1225\/2010 VIRPAL @ RAJU @ VIRA … Appellant – versus – THE STATE OF NCT OF […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-delhi-high-court","category-high-court"],"yoast_head":"\nMohd. 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