AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (8) TMI 909
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....der Section 394 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC") and Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959, was turned down. FACTS & CASE HISTORY 2. The case of the prosecution is that the victim-complainant, Tabban Khan (PW-1), was riding his motorcycle on the main road near Shahdara around 11:30PM on 17.05.2001, when he stopped to ease himself near a fishpond. Suddenly, three boys (including the appellant) caught hold of him and started assaulting him. They were armed with a knife and revolver. Upon extortion, the complainant handed over a bundle of five-hundredrupees notes totalling around thirty thousand (Rs 30,000) to the boys, who then contemplated murdering him by stabbing, so that he would not report the matter to the police. Hearing commoti....
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....nd further found the likelihood of false implication being remote. All twelve prosecution witnesses were noted to have withstood cross-examination and their testimonies were designated as being stellar. The trial Court explained the absence of any public witness as being nothing abnormal given the circumstances of the case. The unreasoned refusal of the accused to take part in the TIP proceedings was found to be highly incriminating and substantiating their guilt. 6. The trial Court, thus, held all three accused guilty of robbery with attempt to cause grievous hurt and sentenced them to seven years rigorous imprisonment under Section 397/34 of IPC, five years rigorous imprisonment under Section 392/34 of IPC, two years rigorous imprisonm....
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....e the High Court. It was claimed that Mohd Anwar was merely 15 years at the time of occurence and was undergoing treatment for a mental disorder at a government hospital. This was supported through a copy of an OPD card and the testimony of the appellant's mother who stated that he sometimes had to be kept chained at home to prevent harm to himself and others. The High Court took notice of the appellant's age being 21 years at the time of recording of his Section 313 Cr.P.C. statement in March 2004 and concluded that the appellant would therefore have been an able-minded major at the time of incident in May, 2001. CONTENTIONS OF PARTIES 10. These very same arguments have again been canvassed before us by learned counsel for the appell....
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....do not find it a fit case for such re-appraisal of evidence. 13. Further, the testimonies of the witnesses are indeed impeccable and corroborative of each other. The crime of robbery with hurt has been established by the testimony of PW-1 and the other evidence on record. The complainant (PW-1) had no motive to falsely implicate the appellant and/or to allow the real culprits to go scot-free. The refusal to participate in the TIP proceedings and the lack of any reasons on the spot, undoubtedly establish the appellant's guilty conscience and ought to be given substantial weight. [Ashwani Kumar v. State of Punjab, (2015) 6 SCC 308] The three-day delay in registration of FIR, as projected by the appellant, is devoid of factual basis. The or....
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.... the appellant explains his refusal to participate in the TIP proceedings by alleging that his face had already been shown by the police to the complainant. 17. Mere production of photocopy of an OPD card and statement of mother on affidavit have little, if any, evidentiary value. In order to successfully claim defence of mental unsoundness under Section 84 of IPC, the accused must show by preponderance of probabilities that he/she suffered from a serious-enough mental disease or infirmity which would affect the individual's ability to distinguish right from wrong. [TN Lakshmaiah v. State of Karnataka, (2002) 1 SCC 219] Further, it must be established that the accused was afflicted by such disability particularly at the time of the crime....