TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2004 (2) TMI 701
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....imposed for the three offences. The other accused persons were found to be not guilty. The High Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. Prosecution version as unfolded during trial is as follows: On 11.4.1979, Ram Kumar (PW-21) found a crowd on the ground of Government college, Ganganagar at about 6.30 a.m. On reaching close to the spot, he found that a person was lying dead. While returning to his shop he found a police Constable whom he told about the dead body. The Constable Bhagwan Singh gave information to Hari Singh ASI and being satisfied that this was a murder, a case was registered under Section 302 IPC. Near the dead body some empty cartridges were found. Moulds of the footprints found nearby and the empty cartridges were collected. During Investigation four accused persons were arrested. The accused appellant while in custody gave information about a gun, which was treated to be information in terms of Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (for short 'the Evidence Act'). Search was made in the presence of accused and a pistol was recovered. The empty cartridges and the pistol were sent for forensic examination. During post-mortem of the dead body of the decea....
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....the ground that seizure witnesses did not support the prosecution version. Similar view was taken in Mohd. Aslam v. State of Maharashtra (2001 (9) SCC 362). It was held even if panch witnesses turn hostile, which happens very often in criminal cases, the evidence of the person who effected the recovery would not stand vitiated. But the crucial question which needs to be considered in this case is whether the prosecution has been able to show that the pistol recovered was the one which was used for commission of the offence. As rightly contended by learned counsel for the appellant there are several circumstances which affects credibility of the prosecution version. Firstly, the socalled information was recorded by the IO (PW-16), and he does not even indicate that the gun to which reference was allegedly made was the weapon of assault. Further the custody of empty cartridges purported to have been recovered from the spot has not been established. In fact, the claim is that on 11.4.1979 empty cartridges were recovered. They were sent to the forensic science laboratory on 12.5.1979. It has not been explained as to where the empty cartridges were till then lying and with whom. Similar....
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....empty cartridges and the pistol. The effect of such nonexplanation was considered by this Court in Santa Singh v. State of Punjab (AIR 1956 SC 526). The Constitution Bench, inter alia, observed as follows: "There is another element in the case which creates even greater difficulty. An empty cartridge case is alleged to have been recovered from the place of occurrence by the police on the 10th of September when they went there for investigation after receipt of the first information from Uttam Singh (P.W. 16); so also some blood-stained earth. They were carefully packed and sealed in two separate packets and dispatched to the Police Station. The sealed parcel of the earth was sent to the Chemical Examiner at Kasauli on the 11th October, 1954, and the sealed parcel of the empty cartridge case was sent to Dr. Goyle as late as the 27th October, 1954. Even if we accept the explanation given by the Sub-Inspector of Police that the empty cartridge case had to be kept at the police station till the rifle used was recovered so that both might be sent to the expert for his opinion, nothing has been stated why after the rifle was recovered on the 28th September, 1954, along with 24 cartr....
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....icer, so much of such information, whether it amounts to a confession or not, as relates distinctly to the fact thereby discovered may be proved." The expression "provided that" together with the phrase "whether it amounts to a confession or not" show that the section is in the nature of an exception to the preceding provisions particularly Section 25 and 26. It is not necessary in this case to consider if this Section qualifies, to any extent, Section 24, also. It will be seen that the first condition necessary for bringing this Section into operation is the discovery of a fact, albeit a relevant fact, in consequence of the information received from a person accused of an offence. The second is that the discovery of such fact must be deposed to. The third is that at the time of the receipt of the information the accused must be in police custody. The last but the most important condition is that only "so much of the information" as relates distinctly to the fact thereby discovered is admissible. The rest of the information has to be excluded. The word "distinctly" means "directly", "indubitably", "strictly", "unmistakably". The word has been advisedly used to limit and define the....