text
stringlengths
5
5.67k
The circumstances concerned must or should and not may be established; (2) the facts so established should be consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused,that is to say,they should not be explainable on any other hypothesis except that the accused is guilty; (3) the circumstances should be of a conc...
These aspects were highlighted in State of Rajasthan v Ratio
Rajaram (2003(8) SCC 180 2003 Indlaw SC 630),State of Haryana v Ratio
Jagbir Singh & Anr.(2003(11) SCC 261 2003 Indlaw SC 807 Ratio
The main circumstances relied upon by the prosecution relates to the statements of the accused leading to discovery of materials facts,admissible under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act,1872 (in short the 'Evidence Act Ratio
Law is well settled that the prosecution while relying upon the confessional statement leading to discovery of articles under Section 27 of the Evidence Act,has to prove through cogent evidence that the statement has been made voluntarily and leads to discovery of the relevant facts Ratio
The scope and ambit of Section 27 of the Evidence Act had been stated and restated in several decisions of this Court Ratio
However,in almost all such decisions reference is made to the observation of the Privy Council in Pulukuri Kotayya v PRE
Emperor (AIR 1947 PC 67 1946 Indlaw PC 23).It is worthwhile to extract such quoted observation: "It is fallacious to treat the 'fact discovered' within the section as equivalent to the object produced; the fact discovered embraces the place from which the object is produced and the knowledge of the accused as to this a...
Information as to past user or the past history,of the object produced is not related to his discovery in the setting in which it is discovered PRE
Information supplied by a person in custody that 'I will produce a knife concealed in the roof of my house' does not lead to the discovery of the knife; knives were discovered many years ago PRE
It leads to the discovery of the fact that a knife is concealed in the house of the informant to his knowledge,and if the knife is proved to have been used in the commission of the offence,the fact discovered is very relevant PRE
But if to the statement the words be added 'with which stabbed A',these words are inadmissible since they do not related to the discovery of the knife in the house of the informant PRE
At one time it was held that the expression "fact discovered" in the section is restricted to a physical or material fact which can be perceived by the senses,and that it does not include a mental fact,now it is fairly settled that the expression "fact discovered" includes not only the physical object produced,but also...
The various requirements of the section can be summed up as follows Ratio
The fact of which evidence is sought to be given must be relevant to the issue Ratio
It must be borne in mind that the provision has nothing to do with the question of relevancy Ratio
The relevancy of the fact discovered must be established according to the prescriptions relating to relevancy of other evidence connecting it with the crime in order to make the fact discovered admissible Ratio
The fact must have been discovered Ratio
The discovery must have been in consequence of some information received from the accused and not by the accused's own act Ratio
The person giving the information must be accused of any offence Ratio
He must be in the custody of a police officer Ratio
The discovery of a fact in consequence of information received from an accused in custody must be deposed to Ratio
7) Thereupon only that portion of the information which relates distinctly or strictly to the fact discovered can be proved Ratio
The rest is inadmissible Ratio
As observed in Pulukuri Kottaya's case 1946 Indlaw PC 23 (supra) it can seldom happen that information leading to the discovery of a fact forms the foundation of the prosecution case Ratio
It is one link in the chain of proof and the other links must be forged in a manner allowed by law Ratio
To similar effect was the view expressed in K.Chinnaswamy Reddy v Ratio
State of A.P.(AIR 1962 SC 1788 1962 Indlaw SC 192 Ratio
The above position was highlighted in Anter Singh v Ratio
State of Rajasthan (AIR 2004 SC 2665 2004 Indlaw SC 79 Ratio
In Rammi alias Rameshwar v PRE
State of Madhya Pradesh (AIR 1999 SC 3544 1999 Indlaw SC 1512) the scope and ambit of Section 27 of the Evidence Act was analysed in great detail and it was concluded in para 12 as follows: " True,such information is admissible in evidence under Section 27 of the Evidence Act,but admissibility alone would not render th...
While testing the reliability of such evidence the court has to see whether it was voluntarily stated by the accused PRE
Significantly,the prosecution has relied upon the evidence of PW 40 who was investigating initially FAC
His evidence has to be considered in the background of what has been stated by PW 22 and CW 1.It has been accepted by the prosecution that great efforts were made by PW 40 to falsely implicate to PWs 1 to 4 and for that purpose a departmental proceeding was initiated FAC
Even according to the statement of the subsequent investigating officer (PW 42),several blank papers with the signature of PW 22 and CW 1 had been by PW 40 and such documents had been used to create false records to implicate PWs 1 to 4.It is to be noted that PW 2 himself was one of the suspected person at the initial ...
That apart,materials on record such as the statement of P.W.22 recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 Ratio
in short 'the Code') and the statement of C.W.1,raise a reasonable doubt relating to voluntariness of the alleged confession Ratio
P.W.22,who is a close relation of the deceased (cousin) has stated that two days after the occurrence after the information that Bala Prasanna was roaming near LIC Colony,Anna Nagar Police brought him to the Police Station and Bala Prasanna was arrested at 5.00 P.M.and was taken to the police station and a witness was ...
It is further stated that at the time of enquiry,the accused was beaten up by the police and they have seized a gold ring and Rs.5000/-cash from him Ratio
If this is the statement of P.W.22 recorded under Section 164 of the Code a witness in whose presence the confessional statement leading to discovery of articles from the house of Hajeeali,P.W.3 had been made,it raises serious doubt regarding the voluntariness of the statement Ratio
In this context,it is also note worthy to indicate that C.W.1 in his evidence has stated that the accused was in police station on 24-4-2003 itself Ratio
Similar statement is made by P.W.4.That apart,C.W.1 has stated that no statement has been made in his presence Ratio
The prosecution version to the effect that even some signatures on blank papers had been taken from P.W.22 and C.W.1 thus assumes great importance Ratio
The alleged statement made by the accused led to discovery of knife,bloodstained clothes,rope,etc Ratio
Unfortunately,for the prosecution there is no evidence to show that in fact the wearing apparels containing bloodstains belonged to the accused,save and except the alleged confessional statement Ratio
No witness has spoken that those clothes were worn by the accused at any time far less at or about the time of occurrence Ratio
It is also to be kept in view that those articles were recovered from the house of P.W.3 and at the initial stage of investigation,P.W.3 himself was one of the suspected person and he was arrested Ratio
Therefore,the statement of P.W.3 and his mother that those articles were brought by the accused and left in the upstairs room is to be considered with a pinch of salt Ratio
Moreover,there is nothing to indicate that in fact the bloodstained clothes and rope had tallied with the blood grouping of the deceased Ratio
The knife did not contain any bloodstain Ratio
Therefore,the aspect relating to recovery of articles from the house of P.W.3 and his mother cannot be considered as a link to complete the chain of circumstantial evidence Ratio
The next recovery relates to recovery of computer and accessories Ratio
Apart from the fact that there is niggling doubt about the so called confession,in view of statement under Section 164 of the Code of P.W.22 and the statement of C.W.1,a further doubt is raised regarding such aspect in view of evidence of C.W.1 to the effect that he had seen such computer in the room of the deceased wh...
The fact that C.W.1 is a close relation of the deceased adds weight to his evidence rather than taking it away Ratio
Even accepting that the computer had been given to P.W.15 by the accused,such circumstance by itself does not unerringly points towards the guilt of the accused either in respect of offence of murder or even robbery Ratio
It is quite possible that such articles might have been borrowed by the accused from the deceased and not necessarily stolen by the accused from the deceased after killing her Ratio
The fact that P.W.9 had not initially stated anything before P.W.40 about the accused coming down with computer at 3.30 P.M.and stated so for the first time when she was re-examined after 5 months cannot be lost sight of Ratio
As a matter of fact,P.W.9 who was examined on the very date when police started investigation did not inform the police that she had seen the accused coming down from upstairs or that the accused had threatened her Ratio
Her statement to the following: "I did not tell anyone that Balaprasanna took away the computer and threatened me Ratio
I did not tell this even to the Inspector of Police after going to the police station Ratio
I do not tell this even to P.W.1 Ratio
The next recovery relates to the ingots Ratio
For the aforesaid aspect,the evidence of P.Ws.17,18 and 19 is relevant Ratio
Since the golden jewellery had been molten and were recovered in the shape of ingots,it would be very hazardous to come to the conclusion that in fact the golden jewellery belonged to the deceased Ratio
If the accused had killed the deceased and stolen those golden jewellery,there is no reason as to why he had also not taken ear rings from the deceased Ratio
The fact that ear rings were on the dead body is admitted by the prosecution Ratio
The prosecution has strongly relied upon the fact that "M" Dollar belonging to the deceased and a chain with key of the room of the deceased were discovered from inside the toilet in the room which was previously occupied by the accused Ratio
For the aforesaid purpose,they have relied upon the evidence of P.W.42 and the seizure witness P.W.24.The accused had allegedly made earlier confessional statement before P.W.40 on 26-4-2003 leading to discovery of several articles Ratio
The subsequent statement spoken to by P.W.42,the subsequent Investigating Officer,is alleged to have been made only in September,2003,after about five months Ratio
So far as the first confession statement made before P.W.40 is concerned,admittedly the accused was under physical custody,at that time,whereas at the time of last confession stated to have been made before P.W.42,the accused was on bail and he had been summoned by P.W.42 for further examination and,therefore,technical...
If the accused had not made such a statement at such first instance,when he had confessed about other articles,it is not understood as to how after 5 months when he was on bail he would make such a statement Ratio
Such alleged confession made belatedly thus creates doubt regarding its authenticity or voluntariness Ratio
In this context,it is to be noted that C.W.1 states that "M" Dollar was taken from him by P.W.42 for the purpose of facilitating investigation Ratio
Keeping in view the fact that C.W.1 is a close relation of the deceased and obviously interested in punishing the real culprit,such a statement coming from C.W.1 cannot be slightly brushed aside Ratio
The fact that there had been a statement allegedly made by P.W.1 leading to recovery of a parallel key from the dash board of the car of P.W.1,cannot be lost sight of Ratio
It is of course true that the prosecution has tried to exonerate P.W.1 by adducing evidence through P.Ws.36 and 39 to the effect that immediately after recovery of the dead body,P.W.40 had taken two such keys,thus contradicting the alleged confession of P.W.1.However,the very suspicious role of P.W.40,who apparently wa...
Law is well settled that when the prosecution relies upon circumstantial evidence,all the links in the chain of circumstances must be complete and should be proved through cogent evidence Ratio
When the judgment of the High Court is analysed in the background of what has been stated by this Court as regards circumstantial evidence,the inevitable conclusion is that the impugned judgment of the High Court does not suffer from any infirmity to warrant interference Ratio
The appeal is dismissed RPC
Appeal dismissed RPC
Leave granted FAC
Interpretation of the provisions of S.46(1)(b) of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act,1958 (hereinafter called and referred to for the sake of brevity as 'the said Act') is involved herein FAC
The factual matrix of the matter,which is not much in dispute is as under FAC
First Respondent is the registered proprietor of a trade mark 'Field Marshal' for Diesel Engines since 1964 bearing No.228867.One M/s FAC
Jain Industries got the trade mark 'Field Marshal' registered under clause (7),inter alia,for Flour Mills,Centrifugal Pumps,couplings for machines,pulleys included in class 7 and valves (parts of machines).The said registration was renewed for the periods 13.5.1972 and 12.5.1979; 13.5.1979 and 12.7.1986 and 13.7.1986 a...
Allegedly,on the premise that the first respondent is the proprietor of the said mark by reason of long user and,thus,acquired a reputation in that behalf,a legal notice was issued upon it questioning its right to use the said mark in respect of centrifugal pumps by the appellant laying a claim that it had been using t...
Respondent No.1 thereafter filed a suit in the Delhi High Court for grant of a decree of permanent injunction being Suit No.2408 of 1985 alleging infringement of the said mark and/or claiming right of passing off in respect thereof FAC
An ex parte order of injunction was passed on 19.12.1985 against the defendant (appellant herein) to the following effect FAC
Notice for April 8,1986.Meanwhile,a temporary ex parte injunction is issued against the defendants restraining them from manufacturing or selling either themselves or through any dealer or representative diesel oil engines or parts thereof with the trade mark 'Field Marshal' and/or any other trade mark identical therew...
The plaintiff shall comply with the requirements of Order 39 Rule 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure FAC
Indisputably,during the proceedings in the above suit,M/s FAC
Jain Industries by a deed of assignment assigned the said trade mark along with its goodwill in favour of the appellant FAC
One of the stipulations contained therein reads as under : "That the party of the second part has satisfied the party of the first part of having used the mark FIELD MARSHAL in respect of Centrifugal Pumps and Valves since 1973 FAC
Indisputably,First Respondent filed an application under Section 46,56 and 107 of the Act,marked as C.O.No.9 of 1986,contending that M/s FAC
Jain Industries having not used the trade mark in respect of Centrifugal Pumps for a period more than five years and one month,the mark should be taken off the register FAC
It claimed user of the said mark since 1963 and sought for rectification of the register by expunging the expression 'circulation and centrifugal pumps' from the specification of goods FAC
Indisputably,appellant filed an application in form TM 24 on 17.6.1986.The Assistant Registrar,Trade Marks,passed an order on 10.11.1986 certifying : "THAT the trade mark FIELD MARSHAL BRAND (word per se) is registered under No.228867 in part 'A' of the Register as of the date 13th FAC
May,1965 in class 7 in respect of Flour Mills,circulating and centrifugal pumps; coupling for machines; pulleys included in Class 7,and valves (parts of machines) in the name of Pooran Chand Jain and Kailash Chand Jain,trading as Jain Industries,1166,Phatak FAC