State of H.P. vs Harbans Lal and Others

Surjit Singh, J.—State of Himachal Pradesh is aggrieved by the judgment, dated 2nd June, 1997, of the learned Sessions Court, Kangra at Dharamshala, whereby the Respondents, who were charged with and tried for offences, under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, stand acquitted.

Prosecution case, stated in a nutshell, is like this. Deceased Saroj had been married to Respondent Harbans Lal for more than seven years at the time of her death, which took place on the night intervening 27th & 28th June, 1995. About three-four years after the marriage, when Respondent Harbans Lal was posted in Telecom Department at Solan, he developed illicit relations with a girl, namely Suman Chaudhary (PW-12). On account of this illicit relationship, Harbans Lal wanted to get rid of his wife deceased Saroj. He kept her at his place of posting, i.e. Solan, only for three months and then sent her back to his native place, village Sulah in Tehsil Palampur of Kangra District, so that he could continue the affair with Suman Chaudhary, without any hindrance. On 25th June, 1995, some social function was organized by Harbans Lal at his native place, i.e. village Sulah in Palampur Tehsil of Kangra District. He invited his in-laws also and the wife of a brother of deceased Saroj attended that function. On 28th June, 1995, three persons, including two brothers of Respondent Harbans Lal (names of those three persons are Rattan Chand, Desh Raj and Dina Nath) went to the house of Rawan Ram (PW-1), the father of deceased Saroj, in village Chimbal Har, at 5 in the morning and told him that Saroj had died in the night and her dead body had been cremated in the course of the night itself. PW-1 Rawan Ram, with the help of some residents of the village, caught hold of Rattan Chand and Desh Raj, while the third one managed to escape. The two captured persons were taken to Police Station, Palampur.

Report was lodged with the police, vide FIR Ex. PW-1/A. Police went to the house of Respondent Harbans Lal. It recovered from the house a blood stained Talai (Mattress) Ex. P-1 and pieces of broken bangles Ex. P-2. Some letters Ex. P-4 to Ex. P-11 written by Suman Chaudhary to Respondent Harbans Lal and his wife deceased Saroj and some written by deceased Saroj were taken into possession. Police then went to the cremation ground and took into possession some pieces of burning wood and embers from the pyre. The same are Ex. P-12 and Ex. P-13, respectively. Respondent Harbans Lal was taken into custody for allegedly murdering Saroj and other Respondents were booked for assisting him in cremating the dead body.

Case was filed in the Court of concerned Judicial Magistrate, who, after complying with the requirement of Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, committed it to the Sessions Court. Sessions Court charged Respondent Harbans Lal with offences, u/s 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, while the other Respondents were charged with offence, u/s 201, read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Prosecution examined the father, one brother, one sister and some residents from the village of the in-laws of Respondent Harbans Lal, besides examining some residents of Harbans Lal Respondent''s own village and also proved the letters taken into possession from the spot. It also proved report of the Chemical Examiner, per which blood stains were noticed on mattress (Talai), Ex. P-1.

Respondent Harbans Lal denied that he had murdered his wife and had cremated the dead body without informing his in-laws or without waiting for their arrival. He pleaded that the deceased developed stomach-ache in the course of night and before any medical aid could be arranged and provided she died and that in the night itself three persons, namely Rattan Chand, Dina Nath and Desh Raj, were deputed to inform the parents of the deceased and that after the father and other relatives of the deceased arrived, the dead body was taken to the cremation ground and the pyre was lit.

Trial Court has believed the defence version, on the basis of the testimony of some of the residents of Respondent Harbans Lal''s village, who testified that the father and the other relatives of the deceased were present at the cremation ground, when the pyre was lit.

We have heard the learned Assistant Advocate General as also the learned Counsel for the Respondents. Also, we have been taken through the prosecution evidence.

Prosecution''s allegation that Respondent Harbans Lal had developed illicit relations with Suman Chaudhary and with a view to continuing that relationship he killed his wife is not borne out from the evidence on record. Letters Ex. P-4 to Ex. P-11 do not indicate, even remotely, that Respondent Harbans Lal had illicit relations with Suman Chaudhary, who has been examined as PW-12. On the contrary, the letters suggest that PW-12 Suman Chaudhary treated Respondent Harbans Lal like her brother, as she, in some of the letters written by her to deceased Saroj, has addressed her as Bhabi and Respondent Harbans Lal as Bhaiya. Even Saroj used to write letters to Suman Chaudhary (PW-12) and there is nothing in those letters, not even a whisper, indicating that she had any suspicion that Suman Chaudhary and Respondent Harbans Lal were having illicit relations.

Also, we find from the evidence on record that PW-1 Rawan Ram, the father of the deceased, and some relatives of his and also some residents of his village were present when the dead body was taken to the cremation ground and consigned to flames. PW-6 Salig Ram, PW-8 Ranjit Singh and PW-11 Kaushalya Devi categorically stated that when the dead body was taken to the cremation ground and set afire, PW-1 Rawan Ram and other relatives of the deceased from parents'' side were present. PW-11 Kaushalya Devi further stated that she consoled PW-1 Rawan Ram, the father of the deceased, in the cremation ground.

Story that the dead body was cremated in the course of night appears to be concocted. In FIR Ex. PW-1/A lodged by PW-1 Rawan Ram, it was got recorded that three persons named therein, i.e. Rattan Lal, Desh Raj and Dina Nath, came to the house of PW-1 Rawan Ram at 7 a.m. This was not true, because PW-1 Rawan Ram, while in the witness-box, very categorically stated that they had come to his place at 5 in the morning. It appears that the timing of their arrival was got incorporated as 7 a.m. in the FIR, with a view to developing the story that cremation had been carried out in the night or atleast before the parents and other relatives of the deceased reached the village. PW-1 Rawan Ram, it appears, while in the witness-box, forgot that the timing in the FIR had been manipulated with a view to introducing the aforesaid concocted story that cremation had been carried out before informing him and other relatives.

It is also the case of the prosecution that the deceased had been poisoned to death. There is no evidence that the deceased died of poisoning. Also, there is no evidence that two of the three persons, who went to inform the parents of the deceased, had been captured and produced before the police.

In view of the abovestated position, we are of the considered view that the judgment of acquittal rendered by the trial Court cannot be said to be perverse or not substantiated by the evidence on record. Hence, we are not inclined to interfere with the same. Consequently, the appeal is dismissed.