Judgement of Nirbhaya Case

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IN THE COURT OF SHRI YOGESH KHANNA, ADDITIONAL SESSIONS JUDGE, SPECIAL - FAST TRACK COURTS, SAKET DISTRICT COURT COMPLEX, NEW DELHI. Unique ID No. 02406R002052201 02406R0020522013 3 SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 P.S. : Vasa Vasant nt Vihar, Vihar, New Delhi. Del hi. U/s : 120B IPC & U/s 365 / 366 / 376(2)(g) / 377 / 307 / 302 and / or 396 /395 IPC read with section 397 / 201 / 412 read with section 120B IPC. State ( Government of NCT of Delhi) ...... Complainant. Versus

1. Ram Singh, Singh, since deceased. deceased. S/o Shri Mange Lal R/o Jhuggi No. J-49, Ravidass Camp, Sector-3, R.K Puram, New Delhi. (Proceedings abated against him on 12-03-2013.) 2. Muk Mukesh esh S/o Shri Mange Lal Presently R/o Jhuggi No. J-49, Ravidass Camp, Sector-3, R.K Puram, New Delhi. Permanent R/o Village Karoli, District & P.S Karoli, Rajasthan. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 1 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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3. Akshay Akshay Kumar Kumar Singh Singh S/o Shri Saryu Singh R/o Village Karmalaungh P.S Tandwa, District Distric t Aurangabad, Aur angabad, Uttar Pradesh. 4. Vina Vinay y Sharma Sharma S/o Shri Hari Ram Sharma R/o Jhuggi No. J-105, Ravidass Camp, Sector-3, R.K Puram, New Delhi. 5. Pawan Pawan Kumar Kumar @ Kaalu Kaalu S/o Shri Heera R/o Jhuggi No. J-64, Ravidass Camp, Sector-3, R.K Puram, New Delhi. ...... Accused person.

Date of Institution : 21-01-2013. Date of arguments concluded : 03-09-2013 Date of judgment : 10-09-2013

JUDGMENT FACTS 1.

The incident is of dated 16-12-2012.

allegations,

the

complainant

an d

his

As per

friend,

the

prosecutrix, prosecutrix, had gone to PVR, Saket, New Delhi, for watching a movie. They came out of the the said place place at about 8:30 PM State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 2 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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and reached Munirka Bus Stand at 9 PM in an auto, where they were lured to board a white coloured chartered bus by its condu conducto ctorr.

Both Both of them them board boarded ed the the bus. bus.

They They saw saw

four boys in the driver’s cabin and two boys sitting behind the driver’s cabin i.e one on the left and another on the right side. The complain complainant ant and the the prosecutr prosecutrix ix both sat on on the left side - second seat in the bus and paid fare of Rs.20/-. As the bus reach reached ed near near Airpor Airportt Flyove Flyover, r, three three boys came came out of the driver’s driver’s cabin. cabin.

Two of them started started

abusing the complainant, asking him as to where he was takin taking g the prosecu prosecutri trix x in the night. night.

One of them them hit the

complaina complainant. nt. As the complainant complainant resisted resisted,, two other other boys joined the assailant in beating the complainant with iron rods rods lying lying in the the bus. bus.

As the the prosec prosecutrix utrix came forward forward to

save the complainant, two of the assailants pushed her to the back seat. While the complainant was caught and being beaten ; the other assailants took their turn to have sexual intercourse intercourse with the the prosecutrix. prosecutrix. They brutally ravished her by raping her ; doing unnatural sex and also damaged her internal organs and genitals by inserting iron rods ; hand hands s State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 3 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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into it and causing injuries dangerous to her life. The assailants even robbed the complainant of his mobile phone, his purse containing Rs.1000/- ; his bank cards ; made him naked by taking away his clothes and even his black black hush puppy puppy shoes. shoes. Similarly Similarly the the mobile phone phone of the prosecutrix, her ATM card, was all robbed. The assailants then tried to throw both the complainant and the prosecutrix out of the moving bus from its rear rear door but since since it could could not open, so they broug brought ht them at the front door and threw them out of the moving bus at National Highway No. 8 near Mahipal Pur flyover by the side of the road. They both were noticed by the passerbys. Police was informed and they were brought to Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi for their medical examination. The statement statement of the complainant was recorded. recorded. On

the

basis

of

above

statement

of

the

comp compla lain inan ant, t, as also also cons consid ider erin ing g thei theirr MLC( MLC(s) s) ; FIR FIR No. No.

413/2012 under section section 365/366/376(2)(g)/377/394/34 IPC at P.S Vasant Vihar, New Delhi was registered. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 4 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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2. near near

The crime team lifted the exhibits from the spot Mahi Mahipa palp lpur ur

flyo flyove ver, r,

wher where e

the the

comp compla lain inan antt

and and

prosecutrix were found lying naked.

3.

The description of the bus was given by the

complainant, as having a separate cabin for its driver ; red colour seat covers, yellow curtains on its windows and it was a 3 X 2 sitter. sitter. The CCTV camera camera footage, installed at Hotel Delhi Airport, Mahipal Pur, New Delhi, just opposite to this spot, near the time of incident, was obtained and it showed the bus of similar description passing twice in front of said hotel, firstly at 9:34 PM and secondly at 9:53 PM i.e. close to the time when one Raj Kumar first noticed the victims, lying ying nak naked by the side side of Mahi ahipal pal Pur Fly Flyover over..

The

complainant identified the bus in the footage.

4.

The search operations were conducted and bus

bearing no. DL-1PC-0149 was found parked near Ravi Dass Camp, Camp, R.K.P R.K.Pura uram, m, New Delhi. Delhi.

Accus Ac cused ed Ram Singh, Singh, since since

State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 5 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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deceased, deceased, was found found sitting sitting in it and he was interrog interrogated ated and arrested. He led to recovery of his bloodstained clothes, iron rods and the documents concerning the bus and also disclosed that he threw the SIM card of complainant's mobile in the morning of 17/12/2012 in the area of Noida, which was later seized from from one Jishan, who found it in Sector-37, Sector-37, Noida, UP. The bus was inspected by CFSL Team Team and exhibits were seized. Accused Ram Singh, since deceased, refused to partic participa ipate te in TIP. He led to the arrest arrest of

other other accused accused

person namely accused Vinay Sharma and accused Pawan @ Kalu.

5.

Accused

Vinay

Sharma

got

recovered

his

bloo bloodst dstai aine ned d clot clothe hes, s, hush hush pupp puppy y leat leathe herr sh shoe oes s of the the complainant, the mobile phone make Nokia Model 3110 of Black Black grey colour colour belongi belonging ng to the prosec prosecutr utrix. ix.

Simil Similarl arly y

accuse accused d Pawan awan Kumar umar got recov recover ered ed from from his jhuggi jhuggi his bloods bloodstai tained ned clothe clothes, s, shoes shoes and also also a wrist wrist watch watch make make Sonata and Rs. 1000/- robbed from the complainant. Both of State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 6 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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these accused refused to participate in the TIP. On

18-12-2012,

accused

Mukesh

was

apprehended from from his native village Karoli Karoli , Rajasthan Rajasthan and a Samsung Galaxy Trend DUOS Blue Black mobile belonging to the complain complainant ant was recover recovered ed from from him. He was brought brought to Delh Delhii and and was was arre arrest sted ed afte afterr inte interr rrog ogat atio ion. n. Late Laterr on 23.1 23 .12. 2.12 12,, he got prepa preparred

the the route oute chart chart of the the route oute

where he drove the bus at the time of incident. Besides that, he got recovered his bloodstained clothes from the garrage of his brother at Anupam Apartment, Saidulajab, Saket, New Delhi. He was identified

by the complaina complainant nt in the Test

Identification Parade . On 21.12.2 21.12.2012 012,, the juvenil juvenile e

was appre apprehen hended ded

from from ISBT and an ATM ATM debit card card of the prosec prosecutrix utrix and and a mobile phone, phone, besides his SIM were were seized. On 21.11.2012, accused Akshay was also arrested from from Aurang Aurangaba abad, d, Bih Bihar ar.. He led to his brot brother her's 's house house in village, Naharpur, Gurgaon, Haryana and got recovered his bloodstained clothes. He was identified by the complainant in the TIP proc procee eedi ding ngs. s. He also also got reco recove verred a

ring ring


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belonging belonging to the complainant, complainant, two metro metro cards cards and a Nokia Nokia phone with SIM of Vodafone company.

6.

The mobile phones of the accused person, as also

of the complainant and the prosecutrix were all seized and call call detail details s recor records ds with with requi requisit site e certif certifica icates tes u/s 65-B 65-B of Indian Evidence Act were obtained by the police.

7.

The prosecutrix on 16.12.12 gave a brief history

of the incid incident ent to the doctor doctor in her her MLC. On 21.12. 21.12.12, 12, on being being declar declared ed fit, fit, she gave gave her state statemen mentt under under sectio section n 164 Cr.P Cr.P.C .C to the SDM. Even on 25.12.12, 25.12.12,

her statement statement

under section 164 Cr.P.C was recorded by Shri Pawan Kumar, Ld.. MM by putt Ld puttin ing g her her mult multip iple le

choi choice ce quest questio ions ns and and

thr through ough gest gestur ures es.. On 27 27.1 .12. 2.12 12,, sh she e was was sh shiifted fted to Mt. Mt. Elizab Elizabeth eth Hospit Hospital, al, Singap Singapor ore e for her furth further er treat treatmen ment. t. Unfortunately, on 29.12.12, she expired expired due to sepsis with

multiple organ failure with multiple injuries .

8.

Hence sections 307 / 201 / 396/302 IPC were all


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added. The MLCs were collected and medical opinion were obta obtaiined ned from from the the doct doctor or as also also their heir opin opinio ion n on the the weap weapon ons s us used ed.. The The DNA DNA prof profil iles es wer were made made of all all the accused, of the victims and its reports were obtained and accordingly, on 03.01.2013 charge sheet was filed by the prose prosecut cution ion under under sectio section n 365/376 365/376(2)( (2)(g)/ g)/ 377/ 377/ 307/ 307/ 395/ 395/ 397/ 302/ 302/ 396/ 412/ 201/ 120/34 IPC.

9.

Sinc Since e it was was a Sess Sessio ion' n's s tria triabl ble e case case,, so on

17-1-2013 it was committed to this court. c ourt.

CHARGE 10. On 2.2.2013, the accused person were directed to be charged for the offences u/s

120-B IPC and under section

365 / 366 / 307 / 376 (2)(g) IPC / 377 IPC read with section 120-B IPC. IPC. Furth urther er the accu accuse sed d pers person ons s wer were

396 IPC IPC read charge charged d for for the offenc offences es u/s. u/s. 396 read with with sectio section n 120-B IPC and / or u/s. 302 IPC read with section 120-B IPC ; further u/s. 395 IPC read with section 397 IPC read with 120-B IPC and also u/s. 201 IPC read with section 120 State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 9 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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IPC and lastly for the offence u/s. 412 IPC.

EVIDENCE 11.

The prosecution

thereafter thereafter led its evidence.

Before proceeding proceeding further, it would be appropriate to discuss the nature of evidence given by the witnesses.

12.

Prosecution examined as many as 85 witnesses.

The witnesses involved in rescue of victims and lodging of FIR are :

(i) PW57 ASI Kapil Singh (ii)PW65 Ct. Kripal Singh (iii)PW70 Shri Ram Pal Singh. (iv)PW72 Shri Raj Kumar (v)PW73 HC Ram Chander (vi)PW74 SI Subhash Chand

The doctors involved involved in preparation preparation of MLCs are :

(i) PW2 Dr. Akhilesh Raj (ii)PW3 Dr. Chetan Kumar State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 10 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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(iii)PW6 Dr. Kulbhushan Prasad (iv)PW7 Dr. Shashank Pooniya (v)PW10 Dr. Mohit Gupta (vi)PW15 Dr. Dr. Kamran Faisal (vii)PW51 Dr. Sachin Bajaj (viii)PW59 Inspector Raj Kumari (ix)PW62 SI Mahesh Bhargava.

The Ld. MMs who recorded recorded the statements

under section 164 Cr.P.C of the victims are : (i) PW27 Smt Usha Chaturved. (ii) PW30 Shri Pawan Kumar (iii) PW69 Shri Prashant Sharma.

The doctors who accorded the fitness qua the prosecutrix prosecutrix for recording of her statement under section 164 Cr.P.C or otherwise, are :

(i) PW28 Dr. Rajesh Rastogi (ii)PW29 Dr. Ranju Gandhi (iii)PW52 PW5 2 Dr. P.K Verma State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 11 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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(iv)PW64 Dr. B.D Athani.

The police officials associated with the arrest of accused person and recoveries consequent thereupon are :

(i) PW53 SI Upender (ii)PW58 SI Arvind Kumar (iii)PW60 HC Mahabir (iv)PW61 SI Jeet Singh (v)PW68 SI Mandeep (vi)PW74 SI Subhash Chand (vii)PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma.

The doctors who treated the prose prosecut cutrix rix and who did her postmortem are :

(i) PW49 Dr. Rashmi Ahuja (ii)PW50 Dr. Raj Kumar Chejara (iii)PW52 Dr. P.K Verma (iv)PW34 Dr. Paul Chui (v)PW35 Dr. Anjula Thomas


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The

witnesses

involved

in

collection

of

evidence(s) / exhibits are : (i) PW11 Dr. Pintu Kumar Singh (ii)PW16 Shri Rajeev Jakhmola (iii)PW18 SI Vishal Choudhary (iv)PW36 Ct. Sandeep (v)PW37 Ct. Sanjeev (vi)PW39 Ct. Murari (vii)PW40 ASI Surender Kumar (viii)PW42 Ct Suresh Kumar (ix)PW48 HC Giri Raj (x)PW54 SI Sushil Sawariya (xi)PW55 SI Gajender Singh (xii)PW67 Shri Pramod Kumar Jha (xiii)PW81 Shri Ram Adhar.

The forensic experts who gave various reports on the exhibits lifted in this case from time to time are :

(i) PW45 Dr. B.K Mohapatra (ii)PW46 Shri A.D Shah State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 13 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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(iii)PW47 Dr. Rajender Singh (iv)PW66 Shri Asghar Hussain (v)PW71 Dr. Ashith B Acharya (vi)PW76 Shri Gautam Roy (vii)PW79 Shri P.K Gotam.

The Nodal Officer(s) are :

(i) PW19 Shri Vishal Gaurav (ii)PW20 Col. A.K Sachdeva (iii)PW21 Shri Amar Nath Singh (iv)PW22 Shri Shishir Malhotra (v)PW23 Shri Deepak, and (vi)PW24 Shri Rakesh Soni.

The MHC(M) was examined as PW77.

The witnesses from from Select City Mall staff are :

(i) PW25 Shri Rajender Singh Bisht, and (ii)PW26 Shri Sandeep Singh ;


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The Crime Team comprised of :

(i) PW41 Inspector Naresh Kumar (ii)PW43 Ct Jaiveer / Photographer.

The witnesses who countered the plea of alibi are :

(i) PW83 Shri Angad Singh

Father George Manimala (ii)PW84 Father (iii)PW85 Brother R. P. Samuel

The complainant PW1 and Shri Ram Adhar PW2 deposed on the aspect of conspiracy as also the incident.

13.

After fter exami examinat nation ion of the above above said said witnes witnesses ses,,

the statement under section 313 Cr.P.C of all the accused except accused Ram Singh, since deceased, was recorded where wherein in they they all denie denied d their their involv involveme ement nt and even even their their pres presen ence ce at the the time time of the the inci incide dent nt,, exce except pt of accu accuse sed d Mukesh who admitted of being driving the bus Ex.P1 at the relevant time. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 15 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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It is pertinent to mention that during the course of trial accused Ram Singh committed suicide in Tihar Jail and hence proceedings against him, stood abated.

14.

Accused person examined the following witnesses

in their defence :Accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu examined :

i. DW1 Shri Lal Chand ii. DW2 Shri Heera Lal iii.DW3 Shri Ram Charan iv. iv. DW4 Shri Gyan Chand v. DW16 Shri Hari Kishan Sharma

Accused Vinay Sharma had examined :

i. DW5 Smt Champa Devi ii. DW6 Shri Hari Ram Sharma iii.DW7 Shri Kishore Kumar Bhat iv. iv. DW8 Shri Sri Kant v. DW9 Shri Manu Sharma vi.DW10 Shri Ram Babu State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 16 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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vii.DW17 Shri Dinesh

Accus ccused ed Aksh Akshay ay Kumar umar Sing Singh h @ Thak Thakur ur had had examined :

i. DW11 Shri Chavinder ii. DW12 Shri Sarju Singh iii.DW13 Raj Mohan Singh iv. iv. DW14 Smt. Punita Devi v. DW15 Smt Sarita Devi

15.

Before coming to the contentions raised as also

the law cited, it would be appropriate appropriate to to find the crux of the evidence so recorded ;

16.

VICTIMS, RESCUE and FIR The

entire

incident

is

enumerated

in

the

deposition made by the complainant as PW1 who stated, inter alia, that he is an engineer by profession and that on 16-12-2012 at about 3:30 PM he took the prosecutrix from bus stand of Sector-1, Dwarka, New Delhi and went in an State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 17 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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auto auto to Sele Select ct City City Mall Mall,, Sak Saket, et, New New Delh Delhi. i. Ther There e they they watched watched movie movie “Li “Life fe of Pi” Pi”.. After watching watching the movie, movie, at about 8.30PM, 8.30PM, they they left Select Select City Mall, Mall, Saket, Saket, New Delhi. Delhi. As they could not get an auto for Dwarka so they hired an auto for Munirka bus stand from where they could get a bus of route no. no. 764 for Dwarka. Dwarka. At about 9 PM they reached reached at Munirka bus stand and found a white colour chartered bus on which Yadav Yadav was written. The bus had yellow and green lines / strips strips on it. He also noticed noticed the entry gate of the the bus being ahead ahead of its front front left left tyre, tyre, as is there there in the luxury luxury buses and that its front tyre was without a wheel cover. A boy, boy, in the bus was calli calling ng for commu commute ters rs

for for Dwar Dwarka ka /

Palam Mod. Both the victims boarded the bus and saw that besides the boy who was calling calling the passengers, two other person were sitting in driver’s cabin along with the driver of the bus. bus. PW1 notic noticed ed that that it was a

3 x 2 seater seater bus bus i.e., i.e.,

three seat's row behind the driver’s seat and the two seat's row on its other side. He also noticed a person sitting on the left side side i.e. on the row of two seats and the another on the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 18 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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right side i.e. on the row of three seats, just behind the driver’s driver’s seat. seat. Both PW1 PW1 and the prosecut prosecutrix rix sat behind behind the person sitting on the left side i.e. in the row of two seats. PW1 noticed the seats covers of the bus of red colour and its curtains of yellow colour and that it had a black colour film on its windows. windows. The windows windows were were at quite quite a height height as in luxury luxury buses. buses. PW1 also notice noticed d the person(s) person(s) sitting sitting in the driver driver’s ’s cabin cabin were were coming coming and retur returnin ning g to the driver driver’s ’s cabi cabin. n. PW1 paid paid Rs. Rs. 20 20//- to the the cond conduc ucto torr as fare. fare.

PW1 PW1

identified accused Mukesh to be the driver of the bus Ex.P1 and and accu accuse sed d Ram Sing Singh h and and accu accuse sed d Aksh Akshay ay to be the the pers person on sitt sittin ing g in the the driv driver er’s ’s cabi cabin n and and accu accuse sed d Pawan awan Kumar Kumar was sitting in front of him in two seat's row of the bus and whereas accused Vinay was sitting on three seat's row, just behind the driver’s driver’s seat. The conductor was the JCL. After boarding the bus, PW1 had a feeling that accused person did not allow anyone else to board the bus and and they hey move moved d the bus bus and lef left Muni unirka rka Bus Sta Stand. nd. Accus ccused ed pers person on put put of the ligh lights ts insi inside de the the bus. bus. Then Then accuse accused d Ram Ram Singh, Singh, accuse accused d Akshay Akshay Thaku Thakurr and the JCL State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 19 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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came came towar towards ds the compla complaina inant nt and start started ed abusin abusing g him asking as to where where he was taking the girl in the night. night. They started giving fist blows on his face. As the complainant tried to resis resistt them, them, they they called called their their associ associate ates s viz., viz., accuse accused d Vinay and accused Pawan by calling their names and asked them to bring iron rods. Thereafter all these accused started giving beatings to the complainant by iron rods, thus injuring him on his head, both legs and on other parts of his body. The prosecutrix prosecutrix was shouting and calling for help. As she trie tried d to call call poli police ce by her her mobi mobile le,, the the accu accuse sed d pers person on snatched away their their mobiles. PW1 was carrying carrying two mobiles mobiles having sim nos.9540034561 and 7827917720 whereas the prosecutrix prosecutrix was carrying carrying only only one mobile. mobile. Both the mobiles of the complainant were of dual SIMs facility but at that time he had only one SIM in each mobile. Because of the beatings, PW1 fell on the floor of the bus and that accused Pawan and accused Vinay pinned him down.

The accused person robbed the victims of their

mobiles besides robbing him of his purse carrying a City Bank credit card, ICICI Bank debit card ; his identity card State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 20 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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issued by his company, a metro card ; Rs. 1000/- in cash ; his watch of of Titan, Titan, a golden ring studded with with jewels and a silver silver ring studded studded with with pearl ; black colour colour Hush Hush Puppy’s Puppy’s shoe sh oes s ;

blac black k colo colour ur num numer ero o -uno -uno

jean jeans, s, a gre grey y colo colour ur

pullover ; a brown ( khaki) blazer. As the complainant was pinned down by accused Vinay and accused Pawan Kumar, the others viz., accused Ram Singh, accused Akshay and the JCL (not being tried by this court) took the prosecutrix to the rear side of the bus.

PW1 heard the cries of the prosecutrix like “chor do, bachao” bachao” as if she was was being beaten up. up. The complainant was was also also given given leg and fist fist blows blows..

The The pros prosec ecut utri rix x was was

cryi crying ng and and sh shou outi ting ng in a loud loud voic voice e and and her her voic voice e was was oscillati oscillating. ng.

Accused Accused Ram Ram Singh, Singh, since since deceased, deceased, accused accused

Akshay and the JCL ( not being tried by this court) then commit committed ted rape rape upon the prosec prosecutr utrix ix one by one. committing

rape, pe,

thos hose

accused

came

towards

After fter the

compla complaina inant nt and pinned pinned him down down and where whereas as accuse accused d Vinay and accused Pawan then went to the rear side of the bus and raped the prosecutrix. prosecutrix. PW1 noticed that that earlier the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 21 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

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bus was moving in a fast speed but after some time he felt that that

the speed speed of the the bus was reduc reduced ed and he saw that that

accused Mukesh who was driving the bus came near him and hit him with with the rod and and he also went to the rear side of the the bus and rape raped d his frien friend. d.

He also also heard heard one one of the

accused saying “mar “mar gayee, mar gayee”. gayee ”. The prosecutrix prosecutrix was carrying a grey colour purse having an Axis Bank ATM card and other belongings. The accused person robbed her of her belongings and took away her clothes and also of the complainant while beating him with iron iron rods. rods.

The accused accused were were exhorting exhorting that that both the the

victi victims ms be not left alive alive..

They They then pulled pulled PW1 near near the

rear door and put him on his friend, the prosecutrix. prosecutrix. The rear door was closed and it could not open despite being tried by the accused. accused. The accused accused person person then then pulled pulled him and his his friend, the prosecutrix, by their hairs and brought both of them them at the the fron frontt gat gate and and then then thr threw them them out out of the the moving moving bus,

opposite opposite to Hotel Hotel Delhi 37, 37, Mahipalpu Mahipalpur, r, New

Delhi. Af After ter throwing throwing the victims out out of the moving bus, bus, the accused turned the bus in a manner to crush both of them State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 22 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 23 ::-

under its wheels but PW1 pulled the the prosecutrix prosecutrix and himself out of the reach of the wheels of the bus and saved themselves. He found his his friend, the the prosecutrix, prosecutrix, naked naked and bleeding from all parts of her body.

PW72 Shri Raj Kumar, an employee of EGIS Infra Management

India

(P)

Limited,

K.M

24,

Toll

Plaza, za,

Dund Dundah aher era, a, Gurg Gurgao aon, n, with with Shri Shri Sure Surend nder er Sing Singh h was was on patro patrolin ling g duty in the said said area area from from 9:30 PM to 7 AM. At about 10:02 PM he heard the voice of “ bachao bachao” from the left side of the road near a milestone, opposite to Hote Hotell 37 37.. sitt sittin ing g

He saw the compl complai aina nant nt and the pros prosec ecut utri rix x

nak naked, ed, havi having ng bloo blood d

all all arou around nd..

Imme Immedi diat atel ely y

thereafter, at about 10:04 PM he informed PW70 Ram Pal Singh, sitting in the control room, requesting requesting him to call PCR.

PW70 Ram Phal of EGIS Infra Management India (P) Limited, then telephoned at no. 100 and even asked his other patrolling staff to reach the spot. At about bout 10 10:2 :24 4 PM PW73 HC Ram Chan Chande der, r, Incharge, PCR Van Zebra 54, received an information about the incident and of lying of victims in naked condition near State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 23 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 24 ::-

the the foot foot of Mahi Mahipa pall Pur flyo flyove verr towa towarrds Dhau Dhaula la Kuan, uan, oppo opposi site te GMR GMR gate gate.. He reach eached ed the the sp spot ot and and foun found d the the vict victim ims. s. He dispe dispers rsed ed the the crow crowd d and and brou brought ght a bott bottle le of water and a bed sheet and tore it in two parts and gave it to both the the victims victims to cover cover themselves. themselves. At about about 11 PM, he brought the victim, to Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. While leavin leaving g the compla complaina inant nt in the casual casualty ty,, PW73 took took the pros prosec ecut utri rix x to the the gyna gynae e buil buildi ding ng and and got got her her admi admitt tted ed there. On the way to to the hospital the victims informed him him about the incident.

PW57 AS ASII Kapi Kapill Sing Singh, h, the the Duty Duty Offi Office cerr at P.S Vasan asantt Vihar, har, New New Delh Delhii, in the int interv erveni ening nigh nightt of 16/17-12-2012, received an information about the incident and he lodged DD No. 6-A Ex.PW57/A and passed on the said DD to PW74 SI Subhash Chand, on emergency duty on that that night night at P.S Vasant asant Vihar Vihar..

Immedi Immediate ately, ly, thereaf thereafter ter

PW57 ASI Kapil Singh received yet another information qua admi admiss ssio ion n of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x and and of the the comp compla lain inan antt in Safdarjung Hospital and he lodged DD No. 7-A Ex.PW57/B and also passed on the said DD to SI Subhash Chand, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 24 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 25 ::-

PW74 SI Subhash Subhash Chand then left for Safdarjung Safdarjung Hospital, where he met PW59 Women-Inspector Women-Inspector Raj Kumari Kumari and PW62 SI Mahesh Bhargava.

PW59 Women-Inspector

Raj Kumari handed over to him the MLC and the exhibits concerning the prosecutrix, as given to her by the treating doctor and whereas PW62 SI Mahesh Bhargava handed over to him the MLC of the complainant.

PW74 SI Subh Subhas ash h Chan Chand, d, then then recor ecorde ded d the the statement Ex.PW1/A of the the comp compla lain inan antt and and made made his his endorsement Ex.PW74/A on it and gave the rukka to PW65 Ct. Kripal for being taken to P.S Vasant Vihar, New Delhi and to get the FIR registered. registered.

PW65 Ct. Kripal, then went to P.S Vasant Vihar, New Delhi and at 5:40 AM gave the rukka to PW57 ASI Kapil Singh, the Duty Officer, who recorded FIR Ex.PW57/D and made endorsement Ex.PW57/E on the rukka and returned it to PW65 Ct Kripal, who then gave it to PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma at P.S Vasant Vihar, to whom the investigation was entrusted. PW74 also handed over the blood stained bed sheet, used by the complainant to cover himself, to PW80, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 25 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 26 ::-

the Investigating Officer ; seized vide memo Ex.PW74/B.

PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma then collected the MLC of the prosecutrix from PW59 W/Inspector Raj Kumari and also also the exhib xhibit its s viz. viz.,, one one car card boar board d box, box, two two yell yellow ow envelopes, a white envelope along with sample seal seized vide memo Ex.PW59/A.

17.

TREATMENT PW57 Dr. Dr. Sach Sachin in Baja Bajajj alon along g with with Dr Dhee Dheera rajj

exami xamine ned d the the comp compla lain inan antt vide vide MLC MLC

Ex.PW51/A and

observed the following injuries on his person :

(a) 1 X 1 cm size clean lacerated wound over the vertex of scalp (head injury) ;

(b) 0.5 X 1cm size clean lacerated wound over left upper leg ;

(c) 1 X 0.2 cm size abrasion over right knee. The complainant was given initial treatment by the doctors.

PW49 Dr. Rashmi Ahuja on the other hand, on 16-12-2012

at

about

11:15

PM,

had

examined

the

prosecutrix prosecutrix and prepared prepared casualty / GRR paper Ex.PW-49/A State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 26 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 27 ::-

and also her MLC Ex.PW49/B. As per history told by the prosecutrix to her, it was a case of gang rape in a moving bus by 4-5 person when the prosecutrix was returning after watching a movie with her boyfriend. She was slapped on her face, kicked on her abdomen and bitten over lips, cheek, breast and and vulval regio region. n.

She remem remember bers s inter intercou course rse two time time and rect rectal al

penetration also. She was also forced to suck their penis but she refused. All this continued continued for half half an hour and then she was thrown off from the moving bus with her boy friend. The following injuries were noted by Dr. Dr. Rashmi Ahuja in

Ex.PW49/A : i. Bruise over left eye covering whole of the eye. ii. Injury mark (abrasion) at right angle of eye. iii.Bruise over left nostril involving upper lip. iv. iv. Both lips edematous. v. Bleeding from upper lip present. vi.Bite mark over right cheek. vii.Left angle of mouth injured ( small laceration). viii.Bite mark over left cheek. ix.Right breast breast bite marks marks below areola present. present. x. Left breast bruise over right lower quadrant, bite mark in inferior left quadrant. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 27 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 28 ::-

Per abdomen : i. Guarding & rigidity present Local examination : i. cut mark (sharp) over right labia present. ii. A tag of vagina (6cm in length) hanging outside the introitus.

iii. There There was profuse bleeding bleeding from vagina. vagina.

Per vaginal examination : i. A posterior vaginal wall tear of about about 7 to 8 cm.

Per rectal examination : i. Rectal tear of about 4 to 5 cm., communicating with the vaginal tear. The

prosecutrix

was

prepared prepared

for

complete

perineal tear repair.

PW50 Dr. Raj Kumar Chijjara, Surgical Specialist, Department of of Surgery, Surgery, Safdarjung Hospital, Hospital, New Delhi with a surgery surgery team comprisin comprising g of himself, himself, Dr. Dr. Gaurav Gaurav

and

Dr. Piyush operated the prosecutrix in the intervening night of 16/17-12-2012 and his operative findings are as under :

a. Collection of around 500 ml of blood in peritoneal cavity

b. stomach pale, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 28 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 29 ::-

c. Duodenum contused d. Jejunu Jejunum m contus contused ed

& bruise bruised d

at

whole of the length and lacerated & tran transe sect cted ed

at man many y plac places es.. Fir First st

tran transe sect ctio ion n was was 5cm 5cm away away from from D J junction. Second was 2 feet from the the D J, after that there was transection and lace lacera rati tion on at man many y place places. s.

Jeju Jejuna nall

loop was of doubtful doubtful viability viability.

Distal Distal

ileum was compl completely etely detached detached from from the mese mesent ntry ry til till junction).

It

ICJ ICJ ( ile ileocae ocaeca call was

completely

devascularized.

e. Lar Large bowe bowell was was also also cont contus used ed brui bruise sed d

and and

Desc Descen endi ding ng

of

doub doubttful ful

colo colon n was was

via viabili bility ty. lace lacera rate ted d

vertically downward in such a manner that it was completely open.

f.

Sigmoid

colon

&

rectum

was

lace lacera rate ted d at many many plac places es line linear arly ly , mucosa mucosa was was

detached detached comple completely tely at

plac places es,, a port portio ion n of it arou around nd 10 10cm cm was was

prol prolap apsi sing ng

thro throug ugh h peri perine neal al

wound.

g. Liver and spleen was normal. h.

both

(pos (poste teri rior or

sides wall wall

retro

peritoneal

of the the abdo abdome men) n)


-:: 30 ::-

haematoma present .

i. Mesent Mesentry ry & omen omentum tum was

total totally ly

contused and bruised.

j. Vaginal tear present, recto vaginal septum was completely torn. Gut Gut was was

total otallly brui bruise sed d and and

cont contus used ed in su such ch a mann manner er

that that

it

coul could d not not be repai epairred so pro proxim ximal Jejunostomy was made made Laparostomy ( abdomen was left open) was made.

PW50 proved the OT notes as Ex.PW50/A, bearing signature of Dr. Gaurav and his own note in this regard is Ex.PW-50/B . As per his opinion, opinion, the condition condition of the small small and large large bowels bowels were were extremely bad for any

definitiv definitive e

repair repair.

After fter perfor performin ming g the opera operatio tion, n, the the

patien patientt was was shift shifted ed to ICU. ICU.

The 1st surgery surgery was

damage damage

control surgery and it was expected that unhealthy bowel would be there. The

second

surgery

was

performed

on

19.12.2012 by him along with his operating team consisting of Prof. Prof. Sunil Kumar, Kumar, Dr. Dr. Pintu Pintu and Dr. Dr. Siddharth. From the the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 30 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 31 ::-

gynecological side Dr. Aruna Batra and Dr. Rekha Bharti were present present along along with anaesthetic anaesthetic team. team. The findings findings were as under :

Abdominal findings : i. Rectum was longitudi longitudinally nally on

anterior

aspect

torn torn in

continuat continuation ion with perineal perineal tear. tear. This tear was continuing upward involving

sigmoid

desc desce endi nding

colo colon n

col colon,

whic hich

was

splayed open. The margin were edematous. There were multiple longi longitud tudina inall tear tear in the mucosa mucosa of

recto

si s igmoid

ar a rea.

Transverse Transverse colon was also torn and flex flexur ure, e,

gangrenous.

Hep Hepatic

asce ascend ndin ing g

colo colon n &

caecum caecum were were

gangrenous gangrenous with

mult multip iple le perf perfor orat atio ions ns at many many places.

Terminal

appr appro oxima ximate tely ly

ileum

one one and and a half half

feet eet loo loosely sely han hangi ging ng

in the the

abdominal cavity, it was avulsed from its mesentry and was non viable viable.. Rest of the small small bowel bowel was was

non non exis existe tent nt

with with only only


-:: 32 ::-

patches of mucosa at places and bor borders ders of the mese esentry ntry was contused. mesentry

The

contused

borders

initially

appeared ( during 1 st surgery) as contused small bowel.

ii. Jejunostomy gang gangre reno nous us

stoma for for

was

appr appro oxima ximate tely ly

2cm.

iii.Stom Stomac ach h and and

duod duoden enum um was was

distended but healthy.

The

clinical

prep prepa ared by the

notes

Ex.PW-50/C

and and

note notes s

gyna gynae ecolo cology gy team team were ere pro proved ved as

Ex.PW50/D. The The gyne gyneco colo logi gica call note notes s wer were prep prepar ared ed on actual actual exami examinat nation ion of the patien patientt

on the operati operation on table table

during the surgery. PW50 further operated the prosecutrix on 23-1223-12-2012 2012 for peritoneal peritoneal lavage lavage & placement placement of drain drain under general anaesthesia anaesthesia and his notes are Ex.PW50/E. On 26-1226-12-201 2012 2 the condit condition ion of the prose prosecut cutrix rix was examined and it was decided to shift her abroad for further further manageme management. nt. Notes Notes in this regar regard d are Ex.PW50/F bearing bearing signatur signatures es of Dr. Dr. Raj Kumar, Dr. Dr. Sunil Kumar, Dr. Dr. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 32 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 33 ::-

Aruna Batra and Dr. P.K.Verma.

18.

FITNESS AND STATEMENTS U/s 164 Cr.P.C From time to time, the applications were moved

by the Investigating Officer for determining the fitness of the prosecutrix prosecutrix for the purpose of recording of her statement(s). On 21-12-2012 an application Ex.PW27/D-B was moved by PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma for seeking an opinion regarding fitness of the prosecutrix.

PW52 Dr. P.K P.K Verma

examined the prosecutrix and found her to be fit, conscious, orie orient nted ed

and and

mean meanin ingf gful ully ly

comm commun unic icat ativ ive e

for for

maki making ng

statement vide his endorsement at point A on application

Ex.PW27/DB. PW27 Smt. Usha Chaturvedi, SDM, Vivek Vihar, Delhi, Delhi,

before before recording recording of statement statement satisfie satisfied d herself that that

the prose prosecut cutrix rix was fit and then then she reco recorde rded d state statemen mentt

Ex.PW27/A of the prosecutrix bearing the signatures of the prosecut prosecutrix rix on all pages. pages.

The prosec prosecutrix utrix even even wrote wrote the

date and time. PW27 then sent the said statement to ACP, Vasant Vihar alongwith her forwarding letter Ex.PW27/B. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 33 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 34 ::-

In her her stat statem emen entt Ex.PW27/A, the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x narrated the entire incident, specifying the role of each of accused person ; the gang rape / unnat nnatu ural offence nce committed upon her, the injuries suffered by her and her friend in the incident including thrusting of iron rods and hands in her private parts ; the description of the bus and ultimately throwing them naked of the moving bus at the footfall of Mahipal Pur Flyover. On 25-12-2012, the Investigating Officer PW80 SI

Pratib atibha ha

Sha Sharma,

moved ved

yet yet

anot anothe herr

appli pplica cati tio on

Ex.PW28/A to see seek an opi opinio nion qua the fit fitness ness of the prose prosecut cutrix rix for recor recordi ding ng of her another another stateme statement. nt.

The

prose prosecut cutrix rix was having having endotr endotrach acheal eal tube tube in place place i.e in larynx and trachea and was on ventilator and she could not speak. In the opinion of PW52 Dr. Dr. P.K Verma erma the the prosecutrix was though unable to speak, but per PW28 Dr. Dr. Rajesh Rastogi, at 12:40 PM, the prosecutrix was conscious, oriented,

co-o o-operati ative,

comfortable,

meaningfully

commun communic icati ative ve to make make a statem statement ent throug through h non-v non-verb erbal al State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 34 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 35 ::-

gest gestur ures es.. After fter seek seekin ing g opin opinio ion n of the the doct doctor ors, s, anot anothe herr statement Ex.PW30/D-1 (u/s 164 Cr.P.C.) of the prosecutrix was recorded by PW30 Shri Pawan Kumar, the Ld. MM, by way of gestures and multiple choice questions. Even

in

her

Ex.PW30/D-1

statement

the

prosecutrix described the entire incident, through multiple choice questions and her gestures, as also the role of each of the accused person. Prosecutrix Prosecutrix even wrote wrote the names of of accused person on a sheet Ex.PW30/E. gave gave

a

correct ectness ness

The The Ld. Ld. MM also also

Ex.PW30/F

cert ertifi ificate ate

of

the

proceedings. Even Even the compla complaina inant nt PW1 on 19 19-1 -122-12 12 had had made made a stat statem emen entt Ex.PW1/B under under sectio section n 164 Cr.P Cr.P.C .C before Shri Prashant Sharma, the Ld. MM, Saket, New Delhi. The correctness correctness certificate is Ex.PW69/B. The queries queries put by the Ld. MM to satisfy satisfy himself himself qua volunta voluntarilin riliness ess of the complainant to gave his statement are Ex.PW69/D. The

Ex.PW1/A Ex.PW27/A

statements

and

Ex.PW1/B

and

of

the

complainant

as also also dyin dying g

Ex.PW30/D-1

of

the

viz.,

decl declar arat atio ions ns prosecutrix


-:: 36 ::-

corroborate each other in all material aspects and narrate the incident dated 16-12-2012 exhaustively.

19.

ARREST AND RECOVERIES As stated above, PW53, PW58, PW60, PW61,

PW68, PW74 and PW80 were all involved in the arrest of accused accused and recoveri recoveries es made therefr therefrom. om. Let me find find how accuse accused d were were arre arreste sted d and what what was recov recover ered ed at their their instance.

ACCUSED RAM SINGH (SINCE DECEASED) As vari vario ous teams eams wer were work workin ing g in the the case case,,

PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, the Investigating Officer received a secret information that a bus of similar description was seen in the area of Ravi Dass Camp, R.K Puram, New Delhi. She then went there and found the bus parked at Ravi Dass jhuggi Camp. She summoned other other police staff. staff. The person, inside the bus, on seeing the police party got down and started running but was overpowered and his identity was revealed as Ram Singh, Singh, since deceased. He was arrested arrested on 17-1 17 -122-2 201 012 2 at 4:15 4:15 PM vide mem memo Ex.PW74/D ; his State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 36 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 37 ::-

personal search was conducted vide memo Ex.PW74/E and his disclosure Ex.PW74/F was recorded. recorded. The Investigating Officer seized the bus Ex.P1 vide memo Ex.PW74/K . She seiz seized ed the the seat seat cove covers rs of the the bus bus of red colo colour ur and and its its curtains curtains of yellow yellow colour. colour.

On the bus “Yadav “Yadav” ” was found

written written on its body body with green green and yellow yellow stripes stripes on it. The cap on the front wheel of the bus was found missing and that the front entry gate of the bus was ahead of its front tyre. The entry gate of the the bus opened in the driver's driver's cabin. The Investigating Officer seized the key Ex.P-74/2 of the bus vide memo Ex.PW74/J. Accu Ac cuse sed d Ram Sing Singh h then then led led the the poli police ce part party y insi inside de the the bus bus and and took took out out some some docu docume ment nts s Ex.P-74/4 from a shelf in its cabin, seized vide memo Ex.PW74/I. He also got recover recovered ed two iron iron rods-bl rods-blood ood stained stained Ex.P-49/1 and Ex.P-49/2 , seized vide memo Ex.PW74/G.

Accused

Ram Singh also produced a debit card Ex.P-74/3 of Indian Bank, in the name of Asha Devi, the mother of the prosecut prosecutrix, rix, seized seized vide memo Ex.PW74/H.

The T-Shirt -Shirt

Ex.P-74/6 and the brown colour chappal Ex.P-74/7 , having State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 37 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 38 ::-

bloodstains, belonging to accused Ram Singh were seized vide memo Ex.PW-74/L . He also also got got recov recovered ered the ashes ashes and partly unburnt clothes, lying lying near the the bus ; seized vide memo Ex.PW74/M ; and UNIX mobile phone with MTNL Sim

Ex.P74/5 from from his his pers person onal al sear search ch,, sei seized zed vide vide memo memo Ex.P-74/E . Accused Ram Ram Singh was was put in in muffled face. face. The Investigating Officer prepared prepared the site plans of the places where the bus was found parked and from where the ashes were found.

ACCUSED MUKESH Accused Mukesh was apprehended on 18-12-2012 from village Karoli, Karoli, Rajasthan by a team headed by PW58 SI Arvi Arvind nd.. He prod produc uced ed accu accuse sed d Muk Mukesh esh befo beforre PW80 SI Prati Pratibha bha Sharm Sharma, a, the Invest Investiga igatin ting g Office Officerr at Safdar Safdarjun jung g Hospital in muffled face, alongwith a mobile make Samsung Galaxy Duos Ex.P-6 ; seized by her vide memo Ex.PW58/A. Accused was arrested at 6:30 PM of 18-12-2012 by her vide memo Ex.PW58/B ; his personal search was conducted vide memo Ex.PW58/C. Accused pointed the the Munirka Munirka bus stand State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 38 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 39 ::-

vide memo Ex.PW68/K and the dumping spot vide memo

Ex.PW68/L. On 23-12-2012 accused Mukesh led the police to Anupam Apartment, garage no. 2, Saidulajab, Saket, New Delhi and got recovered a green colour t-shirt Ex.P-48/1 on which the word “play boy” was printed ; a grey colour pant

Ex.P-48/2 and a jacket Ex.P-48/3 of bluish grey colour, all seized vide memo Ex.PW48/B.

The Investigati Investigating ng Officer Officer

also also prep prepar ared ed the the site site plan plan Ex.PW80/I of the plac place e of recovery. recovery. On 24-12-2012 24-12-2 012 accused Mukesh Mukesh also got prepared a route chart Ex.PW80/H.

ACCUSED PAWAN GUPTA @ KAALU On 18 18-1 -122-20 2012 12 acc accus used ed Ram Sing Singh h led the Investigating Officer to Ravi Dass Camp and pointed towards his associates namely, accused Vinay and accused Pawan. Accus Ac cused ed Pawan awan was appre apprehen hended ded and arre arreste sted d at about about 1:15 PM vide memo Ex.PW60/A ; his disclosure Ex.PW60/G was recorded and his personal search was conducted vide memo Ex.PW60/C. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 39 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 40 ::-

Accused Pawan Gupta pointed Munirka bus stand and a pointing out memo Ex.PW68/I was prepared. prepared. He also poin pointe ted d the the dump dumpin ing g sp spot ot and and memo memo Ex.PW68/J was prepared in this regard. On 19-12-2012, accused Mukesh got effected the following recoveries :

(a)

complainant's wrist watch Ex.P3 seized vide memo

Ex.PW68/G ; (b)

two currency notes of denomination of Rs.500/- Ex.P-7 colly were seized vide memo Ex.PW68/G ;

(c)

clothes

worn

by

the

accused

at

the

time

of

incident,seized vide memo Ex.PW68/F ;

(b)

black coloured sweater having grey stripes with label Abercrombie and Fitch Ex.P-68/6 and a pair of cocacola colour pants Ex.P-68/7 colly ; under wear having elastic

labeled Redzone Redzone Ex.P-68/8 and a pair of

sports sports shoes shoes with

columbus columbus inscribed inscribed on them as

Ex.P-68/9 .

ACCUSED VINAY SHARMA On 18-12-2012 at about 1:30 PM accused Vinay

Sharma was arrest arrested ed from from in front front of Ravi Ravi Dass Dass Mandir Mandir,, main main Road, oad, Sect Sector or-3 -3,, R.K Puram uram,, New New Delh Delhii vide vide arr arrest State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 40 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 41 ::-

memo Ex.PW60/B ; his dis disclo closur sure e Ex.PW60/H was was also also recor recorded ded..

He poi pointe nted d out out the the Mur Murnir nirka ka bus stand stand fro from m

where the victims were picked up vide memo Ex.PW68/I and and

he also also poin pointe ted d out out Mahi Mahipa palp lpur ur Flyov Flyover er,, the the plac place e

where the victims were thrown out of the moving bus vide pointing out memo Ex.PW68/J. On 19-12-2012 he had got effected the following recoveries :

(a)

Compla Complaina inant' nt's s

shoes shoes

Ex.P-2

seize eized d

vide vide memo emo

Ex.PW68/C ; (b)

Nokia Nokia mobile mobile phone phone Ex.P-68/5

of the prose prosecut cutrix rix

seized vide memo Ex.PW68/D ;

On 19-12-2012 19-12-2012 in pursuant to his supplementary disclosure statement Ex.PW68/A, the following recoveries were made vide seizure memo Ex.PW68/B :

(a)

One blue coloured jeans having monogram of Expert

Ex.P-68/1 ; (b)

a black coloured sports jacket with white stripes and a monogram of moments as Ex.P-68/3 and a pair of rubber slippers as Ex.P-68/4 .

During his personal search following articles were State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 41 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 42 ::-

recovered :

(a)

Nokia mobile phone with IMEI No. 35413805830821418 belonging to the accused, which was returned to him on superdari vide order dated 4-4-2013

AKSHAY KUMAR SINGH @ THAKUR On 21-12-2012 at about 9:15 PM accused Akshay

Kumar

Singh

@

Thakur

was was

arr arreste ested d

from from Villa illage ge

Kamalang, P.S Tandwa, Aurangabad, vide memo Ex.PW53/A ; on 21-12-2012 21-12-2012 and 22-12-2012 22-12-2012 his disclosur disclosures es Ex.PW53/I and Ex.PW53/D respectively were recorded. On 22-12-2012 he had got effected the following recoveries from the residence of his brother Abhay from the rented house of one Tara Chand, Village Naharpur, Gurgaon viz;

i. Blood stained jeans ( Ex.P-53/3 ) worn by the accused at the time of the incident, recovered from a black bag (Ex.P-53/2 )

ii. A blue black coloured Nokia mobile phone ( Ex. P-53/1)

On

27-12-2012

he

got

recovered

the

complaina complainant's nt's Metro Metro card card Ex.P-5 and complaina complainant's nt's silver silver State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 42 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 43 ::-

ring Ex.P-4 from House no. 1943, 3 rd floor, Gali No. 3, Rajiv Nagar, Sector 14, Gurgaon, Haryana.

20.

MEDICAL(S) OF ACCUSED AND EXHIBITS : All All the the accu accuse sed d wer were got got medi medica call lly y exam examin ined ed

after they were arrested. arrested. The MLCs of all the accused person show sh ow vari variou ous s inju injuri ries es on thei theirr pers person on ; viz. viz.,, in the the MLC MLC

Ex.PW2/A of accused Ram Singh, PW2 Dr. Akhilesh Raj had opined that the injuries mentioned at point Q to P1 could be possible in a struggle. Similarly the opinion of PW7 Dr. Dr. Shashank Pooniya proved that the injuries present on the body of accused Akshay were a week old and were suggestive of struggle, per MLC Ex.PW7/A. Similarly the MLC Ex.PW7/B of accuse accused d Pawan awan show show that that he suffer suffered ed

injuries on his body which were simple in nature, though claim claimed ed to be self inflict inflicted ed by accused accused Pawa Pawan. n.

The MLC

Ex.PW7/C of accu accuse sed d Vinay inay Shar Sharma ma prov proved ed that that he too too suffered injuries, simple in nature, 2 to 3 days old, though inju injury ry no. no. 8 was was clai claime med d to be self self infl inflic icte ted d by accu accuse sed d himself. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 43 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 44 ::-

21.

COLLECTION OF EXHIBITS PW49

prosecut prosecutrix rix

Dr.

Rashmi

Ahuja

examined

the

vide MLC Ex.PW49/B and had even collected

the follow following ing exhib exhibits its during during her exami examinat nation ion viz., viz., outer outer clothes i.e sweater torned; inner clothes i.e. Sameej torned ; dust, grass present in hairs, dust in clothes ; debries from in between fingers ; debries from nails ; nail clippings ; nail scrappings ; breast swab ; body fluid collection ( swab from saliva) ; combing, matted clipping of pubic hair ; cervical mucu mucus s coll collec ecti tion on ; vagi vagina nall secr secret etio ions ns ; vagi vagina nall cult cultur ure e ; washing from vaginal ; rectal swab ; Oral Swab ; Urine and Oxalate blood vial ; blood samples, etc. Further, PW11 Dr. Pintu, on 24-12-2012 gave a samp sample le of gang gangrrenou enous s bowe bowell of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix, x, to SI Gajender Singh PW55 with sample seal, seized vide memo

Ex.PW11/A. PW16 Shri Rajeev Jakhmola, Manager, Birla Vidya Niketan, Niketan, produced the documents of bus Ex.P1 including the copy of the agreement of the school with the owner of the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 44 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 45 ::-

bus, copy of the RC, copy of the fitness certificate, certificate of third party technical inspection, pollution certificate, two copies of certificate–cum-policy schedule (Insurance), copy of driving license of Ram Singh, copy of certificate of training undergone by accused Ram Singh, copy of permit and list of the transporters, collectively Ex.PW16/A.

PW18 SI Vishal Chaudhray on 1-1-2013 went to Safdarjung Hospital and collected from Dr. Sarvesh Tandon 20 photographs of bite marks and had also collected eight letters / documents ; seized by Inspector Anil Sharma, vide memo Ex.PW18/A. On 2-1-2012 he collected collected an envelope envelope with three three boxes boxes sealed with the seal of department of Forensic SJH and went to deposit it at Department of Forensic Odontology , SDM Colleg College e of Dental Dental Scienc Science, e, Dharw Dharwad, ad, Karn Karnata ataka ka.. He brought the report along with exhibits and handed it over to Inspector Anil Sharma. He deposited the exhibits with the MHC(M).

PW36 Ct. Ct. Sand Sandee eep, p, on 18 18-1 -122-20 2012 12 took took two two sealed parcels from the doctor qua accused Vinay, sealed State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 45 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 46 ::-

with the seal of hospital ; seized by the Investigating Officer, vide memo Ex.PW36/A. Similarly, PW37 Ct. Ct. Sanj Sanjee eev, v, on 18 18-1 -122-20 2012 12,, brought two sample parcels qua accused Mukesh with the seal of hospital ; seized by the Investigating Officer, vide memo Ex.PW37/A.

PW39 Ct. Ct. Mura Murari ri,, on 18-12 18-12-2 -201 012, 2, brou brough ghtt six six sealed parcels qua accused Ram Singh sealed with the seal of hospital alongwith alongwith sample seal and handed handed it over to the Investigating Officer vide memo Ex.PW39/A.

PW40 AS ASII Sur Surende enderr

Kumar umar,, on 22 22-1 -122-20 2012 12,,

brought 11 sealed parcels qua accused Akshay, sealed with the seal of AIIMS along with sample seal and handed it over to the Investigating Officer, seized vide memo Ex.PW40/A.

PW42 Ct. Suresh Kumar, likewise, on 25-12-2012 brought blood samples of the complainant from the doctors of Safdarjung Hospital in sealed condition with sample seal and and gave gave it to Inve Invest stig igat atin ing g Offi Office cer, r, seiz seized ed vide vide memo memo

Ex.PW15/A. PW48 HC Giri Raj, on 18-12-2012, brought one State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 46 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 47 ::-

seal sealed ed par parcel cel qua qua accu accuse sed d Pawan awan alon along g with with the the seal seal of hos hospit pital, al,

sei seized zed

by

Inves nvesti tiga gatting ing

Office ficer, r,

vide vide

memo memo

Ex.PW48/A. On 24-12-2012 24-12-2012 hard-disk hard-disk and CDs were were seized from different hotels vide memos Ex.PW48/C, Ex.PW48/D and Ex.PW48/E.

PW54 SI Sushi Sushill Sawa Sawari riya ya was was also also asso associ ciat ated ed with the seizure of CDs and hard-disks from from the hotels. On 29-12-2012 PW55 SI Gajender Singh went to Department of Forensic, AIIMS, where Dr. O.P Murthy handed over over to him him a CD and and a cert certif ific icat ate, e, sei seized zed vide vide memo emo

Ex.PW55/A. The said said CD contain contain 25 photogra photographs phs taken taken at the time of medical examination of accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur.

PW67 Shri Shri Pramo Pramod d Kumar umar Jha, Jha, on 17-1217-12-201 2012, 2, handed over a pen drive and a CD of the CCTV footage at Hotel Delhi Airport ; seized vide memo Ex.PW67/A. He also gave a requisite certificate u/s 65-B of Indian Evidence Act

Ex.PW67/B. PW29 Dr. Dr. Ranju anju Gand Gandhi hi,, on 24 24-1 -122-20 2012 12,, had had take taken n the specimen specimen of scalp scalp hairs hairs of the prose prosecut cutrix rix and State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 47 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 48 ::-

gave it to the Investigating Officer vide memo Ex.PW29/A on the application Ex.PW80/G moved by the Investigating Officer.

PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma on the instructions of the crime team had collected the exhibits from the spot near Mahipalpur viz., bloodstained leaves of mulberry ( shahtut) tree, tree, the

bloods bloodstai tained ned grass, grass, the tree tree leaves leaves and grass grass

without blood vide memo Ex.PW74/C ; she also seized the exhibits from the bus Ex.P1 parked at Tyagraj Stadium vide memo Ex.PW74/B.

She also also seiz seized ed the the lower lower and and upper upper

seat covers from the 8 th row behind the driver's seat of the bus bus Ex.P Ex.P1 1 vide vide memo memo Ex.PW60/F.

She She al also mov moved an

application Ex.PW80/D to get the swab bite marks of the prosecutrix. prosecutrix. She also seized seized two CDs CDs and 7 photographs of the victim from the Manager, Select City Mall, taken by CCTV camera, of the relevant time when the victims had visited the mall for watching the movie “Life of Pi”. Further

PW78

Inspector

Anil

Sharma

on

31-12-2012, took permission for taking finger / palm prints of accused accused person throu through gh CFSL, CBI experts experts.. He also sent State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 48 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 49 ::-

dental models of accused along with photographs of the bite marks suffered by the prosecutrix ; to the SDM College of Dental Science, Dharwad, Karnatak Karnataka, a, for its opinion. He also sent the pen drive and CDs for examination. Various exhibits were thus collected from the spot ; from the bus ; from the doctors after medical examination of the the accu accuse sed d pers person on and and of the vict victim ims s and and that that the the Investigating Officer also seized the recoveries effected at the instance of the accused from time to time viz., their bloo blood d stai staine ned d clot clothe hes, s, sh shoe oes/ s/c chapp happal als s and and the the robbed bbed articles.

sealed condit condition ion(s) (s) were The exhibits in sealed were all all sent to CFSL for examination and comparison purposes. The MHC( MHC(M), M), when when exam examin ined ed as PW77 prove proved d the relev relevant ant ent entries ies

of

the Malkh alkha ana Regis egistter, er,

the relev elevan antt

Road oad

Certificates and receipts of CFSL in this regard. This aspect I would deal yet again, in detail, later while discussing the chain of custody.


-:: 50 ::-

22.

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS PW46 Shri hri A.D Shah hah on 17 17--12 12--20 2012 12 and on

18-12-2012 had visited Tyagraj Stadium and inspected the bus Ex.P1 and and prep prepar ared ed his his repor eportt Ex.PW46/A. 26-1 26 -122-2 201 012 2

the

fin finger ger

pri prints nts

of

the

compl mplaina ainant nt,,

On of

prosecutrix, of accused Vinay, of accused Pawan, of accused Muk Mukesh esh and and of accu accuse sed d Ram Sing Singh, h, as deve develo lope ped, d, wer were received by him vide memo Ex.PW46/B. On 28-12-2012 on the request request Ex.PW46/C of the SHO, P.S Vasant Vihar, he went to Tihar Jail and took the specimen finger / palm / foot prin prints ts of accu accuse sed d Ram Sing Singh, h, accu accuse sed d Muk Mukesh, esh, accu accuse sed d Vinay inay,, accu accuse sed d Pawan awan and and accu accuse sed d Aksh Akshay ay and and afte afterr comparing the chance prints lifted from the bus Ex.P1 with the finger finger / palm / foot print prints s of the accused accused he prepar prepared ed the report Ex.PW46/D. The entire entire documents documents Ex.PW46/E also helped him to prepare the report.

PW79 Dr. P.K Gautam, on 17-12-2012, carried out the inspection of the bus Ex.P1 along with the team and took took photo photogra graphs phs.. On 18-1218-12-201 2012 2 he again again went went to take take photographs from different angles from inside and outside State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 50 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 51 ::-

the bus. He developed these photographs photographs and handed over over its hard hard copy copy in DVD DVD to Biolog Biology y divisi division on and Finger inger Print Print Division. Division.

The photograp photographs hs are Ex.P-76/B, Ex.P-76/C and

Ex.P-77/D . On

20--12 20 12--20 201 12

PW66

Asgar

Hussain,

a

photog photograp rapher her,, workin working g under under the name name and style style of M/s. M/s. Ankit Photo Studio, took 10 photographs of different parts of the body of the prosecutrix by his digital camera make Nikon Nikon and then developed these photographs and gave it to the Inve Invest stig igat atin ing g Offi Office cerr.

Smal Smalll seiz seized ed phot photog ogra raph phs s (10 (10 in

number) are Ex.P-66/B (colly) and large sized photographs (10 (10 in numb number er)) are are Ex.PW-66/C coll colly. y.

He also also gave gave a

certificate Ex.PW66/A unde underr sect sectio ion n 65 65--B of the the Indi Indian an Evidence Act.

PW45 Shri B.K. B.K. Mahapatra, Mahapatra, on on 17-12-2012, along with his team examined the bus Ex.P-1 parked at Tyagraj Stadium and four exhibits were lifted and were given to SI Pratibha Sharma Sharma who seized such exhibits. exhibits. Another team on the next day visited the bus and 10 exhibits were lifted. He proved the report Ex.PW-45/G describing the exhibits being State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 51 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 52 ::-

lifted from bus.

PW45

Shri

B.K.

Mahapatra

on

21-12-2012

recei eceive ved d four four seal sealed ed par parcels cels ; on 24 24.1 .12. 2.12 12 receiv eceived ed 61 seal sealed ed parc parcel els s and and

on 26 26.1 .12. 2.12 12

receiv eceived ed four four seal sealed ed

par parcels cels relat elatin ing g to this this case case and and aft after exami xamini ning ng su such ch exhibits, he gave his reports Ex.PW-45/A, Ex.PW-45/B and

Ex.PW-45/C . The remnants of sample were forwarded by him

to

the

SHO

by

forwarding

letters

Ex.PW-45/D,

Ex.PW-45/E and Ex.PW-45/F. PW47

Dr. Dr.

Rajen ajende derr

Sin Singh, gh,

on

28-1 28 -122-20 2012 12,,

recei received ved two sealed sealed parcels parcels from from the Biolog Biology y divisi division on

of

CFSL, sealed with the seal of BKM SSO-1(BIO) CFSL, CBI, New Delhi. The said parcels parcels were marked marked as Ex.1a and Ex.

18e,

containing

earth

sample

and

vide

his

report

Ex.PW47/A, he found found that both both the samples samples were were similar similar in respect of colour, density, gradient distribution and other general physical characteristic. On 22-11-20 2012 12 PW76 Shr Shri Gaut autam Roy, SSO SSO, Grade-1, CFSL, CBI, Delhi, received two parcels sealed with the seal of PS, one containing containing the the blue colour colour pen drive drive and State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 52 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 53 ::-

another containing CD of moserbear along with questionair

Ex.PW-76/A. The pen pen dri drive and and CD was play played ed on the computer and he found that bus Ex.P1 was seen twice at

9.34 PM and 9.54 PM in the footage. The word “Yadav” was written on the said bus and its front wheel cover was

missing and it had a dent on its rear side. He made the comparison chart containing questioned photographs on one side and and the specimen specimen photogr photographs aphs on the other other and the the said chart is Ex.PW-76/B, Ex.PW-76/C and Ex.PW-76/D. He gave his detail report Ex.PW-76/E and also proved proved his draft report Ex.PW-76/F where he had given actual timings when the bus was seen in in the footage. He identified the the pen drive as Ex.P-67/1 and CD as Ex.P-67/2 . On 33-11-20 2013 13 PW71 Dr. Dr. Asit sith B. Achar harya of Department of Forensic Odontology , SDM College of Dental Science, Dharwad, Karnataka, received the case property of this

case,

per

list

Ex.PW-71/B

viz., z.,

10

enlarged

photog photograp raphs, hs, 10 small small photo photogra graphs phs and a box box contai containin ning g dental dental model models s of five five accused accused person person..

He compar compared ed the

injuries depicted in the photographs with the dental models State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 53 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 54 ::-

and prepared prepared his report Ex.PW-71/C and then sent it to the Investigating Officer vide forwarding letter Ex.PW-71/B. He proved the dental models of all the accused persons (colly) as Ex.PW-71/C .

23.

Death of the prosecutrix The prosecutrix died on 29-12-2012 at Mount

Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore. PW34 Dr. Paul Chui, Forensic Pathologist, Health Sciences Authority, Singapore, deposed that the exact time of her death was 4.45 PM of 29.12.12. The death occurred occurred at Mt. Elizabeth Hospital and the cause of

death

was

Seps Sepsis is

follow following ing multip multiple le postmo postmort rtem em

Ex.PW-34/B

repor reportt ;

with with

injuri injuries es.

mult multip iple le He

Ex.PW-34/A

Toxicology

org organ

proved ;

report

its dated

the

fail failur ure e original

scanned

copy

4-1-2013

as

Ex.PW-34/C . In the postmortem report Ex. PW34/A, besides othe otherr

seri serio ous inju injuri ries es,,

vari arious bite ite

marks arks hav have

been een

observed on her face, lips, jaw, near ear, on the right and left left breas breasts, ts, left left upper upper arm, arm, right right lower lower limb, limb, right right upper upper State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 54 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 55 ::-

inner thigh (groin) , right lower thigh, left thigh lateral, left lower anterior , genital ; further abrasions and bruise on all parts of the body.

PW35 Dr. Dr. An Anju jula la Thom Thomas as,, Medi Medica call Dire Direct ctor or & Consultant (Pathologist), Par Way Laboratory Services Ltd., Sing Singap apor ore, e, prov proved ed the the sc scan anne ned d copy copy of Hist Histop opat atho holo logy gy report of prosecutrix as Ex. PW35/A . There

was no serious challenge

to both these

reports Ex. PW34/A and Ex. PW35/A. Eighteen witnesses were examined on behalf of accused Pawan, accused Akshay and accused Vinay sharma. In rebut rebutta tal, l, three three more more witness witnesses es were were exami examined ned by the prosecution.

CONCLUSIONS After havi having ng a bro broad view iew on the fac facts and and eviden evidence ce so recor recorded ded

and on hearin hearing g either either side. side. I now

proceed further to decide the real controversies in this case vis-a-vis the contentions raised by the defence.


-:: 56 ::-

INCIDENT The incident has been fairly described in the deposition of PW1, an eye witness. witness. I need not repeat repeat his entire testimony but suffice is to say that while he was inside the bus Ex.P1 ; he was was beaten beaten and and was was pinned pinned down down by accuse accused d Pawan Pawan Gupta Gupta and accused accused Vinay Vinay Sharma Sharma othe others rs,,

name namely ly,,

Ram Sing Singh, h, sinc since e

dece deceas ased ed,,

while while

accu accuse sed d

Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur and JCL (not being tried by this court) took the prosecutrix to the rear side of the bus

Ex.P1

and

repeatedly.

committed

unnatu atural

sex

a nd

raped ped

her

PW1 heard heard the cries cries of the prose prosecut cutrix rix like like

Chhor do, Chhor do , as if she was being beaten. PW1 was also also given leg and fist blows. blows.

The pros prosecut ecutrix rix was crying crying

and shouting in loud voice and her voice was oscillating. Accused Ram Singh, since deceased, the JCL (not being tried by this court) and accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur then came towards towards the the complainant, pinned him down while othe otherr accu accuse sed d Vina Vinay y Shar Sharma ma and and accu accuse sed d Pawan awan Gupt Gupta a went to the rear side and had raped her.

PW1 also also notice noticed d accuse accused d Mukesh Mukesh,, the driver driver,, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 56 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 57 ::-

came near him ; hit him with an iron rod ; then went to rear side of the bus and had raped the prosecutrix.

PW1 heard

gayee, mar gayee gayee” . one one of the the accu accuse sed d sayi saying ng “mar gayee Thereafter Thereafter the accused exhorted that both the victims be

not left alive and they pulled the complainant to the rear door and put him on the prosecutrix prosecutrix to throw throw them out, but the rear rear door door could could not open. open.

The accus accused ed person person then then

pulled pulled the compl complain ainant ant and the prose prosecut cutrix rix by their their hairs hairs and brought both of them at the front gate and threw them out of the moving moving bus, bus, opposit opposite e to Hotel Delhi Delhi 37.

After fter

thr throwin owing g the vict victim ims, s, the accu accuse sed d tur turned ned the the bus bus in a manner to crush both of them under its wheel but PW1 pulled the prosecutrix out of the reach of the wheel and saved saved themsel themselves ves..

He found found the prosecu prosecutri trix x naked naked and

bleeding from all all parts of her body. body. The prosecutrix prosecutrix and the complainant were robbed and the prosecutrix was raped / ravished / beaten / injured inside the moving bus Ex.P1. The complainant PW1 in his his depo deposi siti tio on had had corro corrobor borate ated d his compla complaint int Ex.PW1/A ; his his stat statem emen entt

Ex.PW80/D-1 recor ecorde ded d unde underr sect sectio ion n 16 161 1 Cr.P Cr.P.C ; his his State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 57 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 58 ::-

supplementary statement Ex.PW80/D-3 and his statement

Ex.PW1/B recorded under section 164 CrPC; qua his visit to Select City Mall, Saket ; then moving to Munirka in an auto; boarding the bus Ex.P1 ; the incident ; throwing them out of the the movi moving ng bus bus and and atte attemp mptt of accu accuse sed d to over overru run n the the victims by their bus. It was argued by the Ld. Defence counsel that during his cross examination PW1 was confronted with his statement Ex. PW1/A qua the factum of of not disclosing in it the user of iron rods ; the description of bus, the name of the assailants either in MLC Ex. PW51/A

or in his complain complaintt

Ex.PW1/A . However, However, I do not not conside considerr such omissions omissions as as fatal as it is a settled law that FIR is not an encyclopedia of facts. The victim victim is not precluded precluded from from explaining explaining the facts in his subsequent statements. It is not expected of a victim to disclose all all the finer aspects of the the incident in the FIR or in the the

brief brief

histor history y given given to to the doc doctor tor;; as docto doctor(s r(s)) are are

more concerned with treatment of the victims. Moreso the victim who suffers from an an incident, obviously, obviously, is in a state of shock and it is only when we moves in his comfort zone, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 58 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 59 ::-

he starts recollecting recollecting the events one by one and thus to stop the victim from elaborating the facts to describe the finer details, if left out earlier, would be too much. Thus if PW1 had failed to to give the description description of the bus bus or of iron iron rods to the the doctor doctor in his MLC Ex. PW51/A or in his complaint Ex. PW1/A it shall shall not not have have any any fata fatall effect on the the prosecution prosecution case. What is fatal fatal is the material omissions, omissions , if any. any.

“Pudhu u Raja Raja In “Pudh

v.

State” State”,, (2012) (2012) 11 SCC

196, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that : “While appreciating the evidence, the court has to take into considerat consideration ion whether whether the contradictions / omissions were of such magnitude so as materially affect to the tria trial. l. Mino Minorr cont contra radi dict ctio ions ns,, inconsistencies, embellishments or improvements in relation to not trivia triviall matter matters, s, which which do not affect the core of the case of the the pros prosec ecut utio ion, n, must must not not be made a ground for rejection of evid eviden ence ce in its its enti entire rety ty.. The The trial court, after going through the entire entire eviden evidence ce availa available ble,, must form an opinion about the credibility of the witnesses, and the appellate court in the normal course of action, would State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 59 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 60 ::-

not be justified in reviewing the same same again again withou withoutt provi providin ding g justifiable reasons reasons for the same. Where the omission(s) amount to a contradiction, creating a serious doubt rega regard rdin ing g the the trut truthf hful ulne ness ss of a witness, and the other witn witnes ess s also also make makes s mater ateria iall improvements before the court, in order to make the evidence acceptable, it would not be safe to rely upon such evidence.”

Jaswantt Singh Singh In “Jaswan

v.

State State of Rajast Rajastha han n

(2000) 4 SCC 484 , it was held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that : “Now “Now the the expl explan anat atio ion n to Section Section 162(2) provides provides that an omission to state a fact in the stat state ement ent may amoun ount to a contra contradic dictio tion. n. Howeve Howeverr, the explanation makes it clear that the omission must be a significant one and whether any omission amounts to a contra contradic dictio tion n in the partic particula ular r cont contex extt sh shal alll be a ques questi tion on of fact. “Reading Section 161(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code with the explanation to Section 162, an omission in order to be signif sig nifica icant nt must must depend depend upon upon whethe whetherr the speci specific fic questi question, on, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 60 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 61 ::-

the answer to which is omitted, was was aske asked d of the the wit witne ness. ss. In this case the investigating offi office cerr, PW13 PW13 was was not not aske asked d whethe whetherr he had put questi questions ons to Gurdeep Kaur aski sking for details of the injuries inflicted or of the person who had caused the injuries.”

Thus, the law discussed above amply makes it clear that the contradictions which do not effect the core of the prosecution prosecution case or the omissions omissions which are not put to to the Investig Investigating ating Office Officerr

in his evidence evidence are are not material material

and need be ignored. Here, Here, I would would

also also like like to refe referr to “Akhtar v.

State of Uttaranchal”, (2009) 13 SCC 722 , wherein it was held that : “if the prosecution case is supported by two injured eyewitnesses and if their ( injured eyewitnesses ) testim testimony ony is consis consisten tentt before before the the poli police ce and and the the cour courtt and and corr corrob obor orat ated ed by the the medi medica call evidence, their testimony cannot be discarded. Similarly, in Surender Sing Singh h v. Stat State e of Hary Haryan ana a this court has opined that : “the testimony of an State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 61 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 62 ::-

inju injurred witnes tness s has its its own relevancy an d efficacy. efficacy. The fact that the witn witnes ess s is inju injure red d at the the time and in the same occurrence, lends support to the testimony that the witness was present during occurrence and he saw saw the the happ happen enin ing g with with his own eyes.”

The incident has been aptly described by the

PW1, the injured injured.. The injuries injuries on his person person do show that that he was was pres presen entt in the the bus bus at the the time time of inci incide dent nt.. His His presence presence is furthe furtherr confirme confirmed d by the DNA analysis analysis which which I shall discuss in the later part of my judgment. The contradictions to his statement Ex.PW1/A are not not mate materi rial al enou enough gh to dest destrroy the the su subs bstr trat atum um of the the prosecution prosecution case

DYING DECLARATION After fter analy analysin sing g the state statemen mentt of PW1 who who had aptly described the inci ncident dent I move on to the dying decl declar arat atio ions ns made made by pros prosec ecut utri rix. x. Duri During ng the the cour course se of arguments it was argued by the ld counsel for accused that State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 62 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 63 ::-

(a)

the

dying ying

dec declarat aratio ions ns

of

the

pro prosecu secuttrix, ix,

sinc since e

deceased, should should not be relied relied upon since since she was never in a position to make such dying declarations and that such dyin dying g decl declar arat atio ions ns,, even even othe otherw rwis ise, e, are are tuto tutorred as the the prosecutrix did not name any of the accused in her MLC

Ex.PW49/A, prepa prepare red d immedi immediate ately ly after after the incide incident nt and that (b) the dying declaration made by gestures, in itself, is illegal. The first dying declaration by the prosecutrix was made to PW49 Dr. Rashmi Ahuja recorded in Ex. PW49/A and in MLC Ex.PW49/B. It was at 11:30 PM of 16-12-2012. 16-12-2012. The prose prosecut cutrix rix due to her medical medical condit condition ion

though though broadl broadly y

described the incident of gang rape / injuries caused to her & her her friend friend but could not give the graphi graphic c details details of the the inci incide dent nt..

Her Her stat statem emen entt made made to Dr. Dr. Rashm ashmii Ah Ahuj uja, a, as

elab elabor orat ated ed in the the medi medica call docu docume ment nts s Ex. Ex. PW49/A and

circum umsta stanc nces es of the the Ex.PW49/B , duly duly desc descri ribe be the the circ transaction, hence is relevant for the purposes of section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act. I have have also also gone gone thr through ugh her

othe otherr dyin dying g


-:: 64 ::-

declarations Ex.PW27/A and Ex.PW30/D-1 made made by

the

prosecutrix, firstly, on 21-1-2012 at about 9:10 PM before the ld. SDM and secondly, on 25-12-2012 before the Ld. MM. It

has

already

came

on

record

that

while

recording both the dying declarations, the ld. SDM and the Ld. MM had taken precautions to find if the prosecutrix was

fit to make make such such statement statements. s. While While recor recording ding of her first dying dying declarati declaration on Ex.PW27/A, Dr. Dr. P.K Verma erma PW52 had found

her

conscious,

oriented

and

meaningfully

communicative vide his endorsement at point A on the application Ex.PW27/DB. It was only thereafter thereafter PW27 Smt Usha Usha Chat Chatur urve vedi di,, the the ld. ld. SDM SDM recor ecorde ded d the the stat statem emen entt

Ex.PW27/A of the prose prosecut cutrix rix..

The The prosecu prosecutri trix x not only

signed it but even wrote the dat date and time in this statement statement.. She narrated narrated the entire entire incident incident specifyi specifying ng the role of each accused ; gang rape / unnatural sex committed upon her; the injuries caused in her vagina & rectum rectum by use use of

iron iron rod rods s & by inse insert rtin ing g of han hands ds

by the the acc accus used ed;;

descripti description on of the bus, robbery robbery and lastly lastly throwing throwing of both the victims out of the moving bus Ex.P1 in naked condition State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 64 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 65 ::-

at the footfall of Mahipalpur flyover. Yet Yet

again

on 25-12-2012

on

an

application

Ex.PW28/A, thou though gh Dr. Dr. P.K Verma erma PW52 opin opined ed that that prosecutrix

was

unable

to

speak

as

was

having

endo endotr trac ache heal al tube tube i.e i.e in lary larynx nx and and trac trache hea a and and was was on ventilator, but PW28 Dr. Rajesh Rastogi declared her to be

conscious, oriented and meaningfully communicative to make statement through non-verbal gestures. Shri Pawan Kumar, PW30, Ld. MM also satisfied himself qua fitness and ability of the prosecut prosecutrix rix to give rational answers by gesture to his multiple choice questions. The opinion of the doctors obtained prior to recording of the statements Ex.PW27/A and Ex.PW30/D-1 as also the observations made by the Ld. SDM and Ld. MM qua her rationality, goes on to prove that the prosecutrix

mentally alert to give was mentally give her her stat statem emen ents ts on both both the the occasions. The said statements statements relate relate to the circumstances

of the transa transacti ction on which resu result lted ed in her her death and hence are most relevant in this case as the cause of her

death is in question. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 65 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 66 ::-

In

“Pakala

Narayana

Swami

vs.

King

Emperor”, 1939 AIR Privy Council 47 , the Hon'ble Court held the following :

“ “Circumstances

of

the

transaction” is a phrase no doubt that conveys conveys some some limitation. limitation. It is not as broad as the analogous use in

“circumstantial

evidence”

whic which h incl includ udes es evid eviden ence ce of all all relevant relevant facts. facts. It is on the other hand narrower than “res gestae.” Circumstan Circumstances ces

must have some

proximate relation to the actual occu occurr rren ence ce and and must must be of the the

transactio transaction n which which resulted resulted in the death of the declarant. It is not necess necessary ary that that there there should should be a known transaction other than that that the the deat death h of the the decl declar aran ant t has has ulti ultima mate tely ly been been caus caused ed for for the condition of the admissibility of the evidence evidence is that “the cause of decl declar aran ant' t's s deat death h come comes s into into question.” State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 66 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 67 ::-

Furth urther er,,

in

“ Amar

Singh

vs.

State

of

Rajasthan”, (2010) 9 SCC 64 , it was held that : “Clause (1) of Section 32 of the Evidence Act provides that statements made by a person as to the cause of his death , or as to any of the circumstances of the transactio transaction n which which resulted resulted in his death, in cases in which the cau cause of that hat per person son's death comes into question, are themselves relevant facts. Section 32 of the Evidence Act is an exception to the rule of hearsay evidence and in view of the peculi peculiar ar condit condition ions s in the Indi Indian an soci societ ety y has has wide widene ned d the the sphere to avoid injustice.”

Coming to the contentions :

(i) that as the prosecutrix failed to disclose the names of any of the accused person in the brief history given by her to the doctor in MLC Ex.PW49/A, so her dying declarations Ex.PW27/A and Ex.PW30/D-1 be looked with susp su spic icio ion n as may be a resul esultt of tuto tutori ring ng ;

seem seems s to be

wholly wholly untenable. untenable. The facts facts show that the the prosecutri prosecutrix x was certainly in a state of shock when she was brought to the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 67 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 68 ::-

hosp hospit ital al imme immedi diat atel ely y afte afterr the the inci incide dent nt..

Ex.PW49/B,

her

condition

is

described

In her her MLC MLC as

drowsy

responding only to verbal commands, hence not completely alert due to the shock shock & excessive excessive loss of blood, hence she gave brief brief account account of the incident. incident. In the hospital hospital she was given first aid and then was operated thrice and when she found herself stable she gave statements Ex.PW27/A and

Ex.PW30/D-1 and hence it cannot be said such statements are a result of tutoring. Her dying declarations Ex.PW27/A and Ex.PW30/D-1 rather corroborate the deposi depositio tion n of

PW1. Hence the contention (i) stands rejected. Even otherwise, otherwise,

where where there there are are more more than than

one dying dying declaratio declarations, ns, the court court has to follow the the law laid down in “Sudhakar v. State of M.P, (2012) 7 SCC 569 , wherein it has been held that : “the case involving the multiple dyin dying g decl declar arat atio ions ns,, whic which h are are contradictory or are at variance with each other to a large extent, the test of common prudence would be to first exam examiine whic which h of the dying ying declar declarati ations ons is corroborated by other prosecution evidence. attendant Further, the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 68 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 69 ::-

circumstances, the the condition of the deceased at the relevan relevantt time time, the medical evidence, the voluntariness genuineness and of the statement made by by th the physical deceased, and mental fitness of the deceased and possibility of the deceased being tutored are some of the factors which woul ould gui guide the the exer exerc cise ise of judicial discretion by the court in such matters.” The Hon Hon'ble 'ble Supr Suprem eme e Court in this case rather relied upon the second and and thir third d dyin dying g decl declar arat atio ions ns to be authentic, voluntary duly corrob corrobora orated ted by and duly othe otherr pros prosec ecut utio ion n witn witnes esse ses s including medical the evidence.

Per Per the settled settled positio position n of

law the the declarati declarations ons

Ex. PW27/A and Ex PW30/DA do corroborate the deposition of PW1 qua the incident; the number of the assailants ; the manner in which the incident occurred ; the user of hands and iron rods to cause injuries to her private parts ; throwing the victi victims ms out of the moving moving bus etc.

Further urther the dying dying

decl declar arat atio ions ns also also get get cor corrobor oborat atio ion n from from the the

medical

evidence viz., her medical history, treatment paper etc., and State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 69 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 70 ::-

henc hence e ther there e is no reaso eason n to hold hold the the dyin dying g decl declar arat atio ions ns

ExPW27/A and Ex PW30/D-1 being tutored tutored or false. false.

On

the other other hand I find find them most reliable reliable and truthful. I would even go to the extent to say that even the brief history recorded in MLC Ex. PW49/B do corroborate the the incid nciden entt and and the the mann manner er in whic which h the the offe offenc nce e was was committed. The names of accused at that stage were even not relevant as firstly the assailants were not known to the victi victims; ms; second secondly ly for the the shock

she has suffe suffere red d due to

incident and lastly the presence of of accused, even even otherwise, need to be, established by the prosecution. prosecution. Now coming to the contention (ii) that the dying declaration made by gestures cannot be relied upon, is duly

Andra answered in “Meesala Ramakrishna v. State of Andra Pradesh, (1994) 4 SCC 182 , wherein it is observed that : “the “the dying dying declar declarati ation on record recorded ed on the basis of nods and gestures is not only admissible but possesses evidentiary value, the extent of which shall depend upon who recorded the statement ; educational what is his atta attain inme ment nt ; what what gest gestur ures es and and nods were made, ; what were the questi questions ons asked asked – whethe whetherr they they State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 70 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 71 ::-

were simple or complicated – and how effect effective ive or unders understan tandab dable le the nods and gestures were.

v. State of A.P, (2004) and, in “B. Shashikala v. 13 SCC 249, it was was observed observed that that : “the court may take into consid considera eratio tion n the circum circumsta stance nces s prevailing at the time of recording of the statement of the deceased. In this case, the evidence of the deceased was recorded after taking all precaution and care and the the pers person on who who reco record rded ed it had had opportunity to analyse the gestures of deceased. and in “Nallapati Sivaiah

v.

Sub-Divisional

Officer, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, (2007) 15 SCC 465 , it was observed that : “the “the cour courtt has has to cons consid ider er each each case in the circumstances of the case. What value should be given to a dying declaration is left to the court, which on assessment of the circum circumsta stance nces s and the eviden evidence ce and material on record, record, will come to a conclusion about the truth or othe otherw rwis ise e of the the vers versio ion, n, be it written, oral, verbal or by sign or by gestures.” Hence,

it

stands

settled

that

the

dying


-:: 72 ::-

declarations can be by signs, gestures or by nods. The only caution the court ought to take is the person recording the dying declaration is able to notice correctly as to what the the decl declar aran antt mean means s by answ answer erin ing g by gest gestur ures es or nods nods.. Here the person who recorded her dying declarations were SDM or the Ld. MM and that they both had satisfied themselves qua her mental alertness had recor recorded ded such declara declaration tions. s.

and only thereafter thereafter

Thus content contention ion (b) also

fails. I may also refer to the statement of PW73 HC Ram Chander, in-charge, PCR Van Zebra 54, who took the victims to Safdarjung hospital from the dumping spot and to whom the the victims victims first infor informed med & described described the incident incident.. The factum of spontaneity and immediacy of narration of facts by the victims to PW73 would make such narration

admissible even even under under sectio section n 6 of the Indian Indian Eviden Evidence ce Vijayavardhan Rao v. Act, as res-gestae, per “Gentela Vijayavardhan State of A.P”, (1996) 6 SCC 241 . Thus, there is no reason to doubt the dying declarations of the prosecutrix qua the cause of her death ; State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 72 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 73 ::-

the circumstances leading to her death and the person behind her death.

(c) It was

also also argued by the the Ld Ld.. defe defenc nce e

counsels that the declarations made by the prosecutrix be not treated as dying declarations as the prosecutrix died on 29-1229-12-201 2012, 2, i.e., i.e., much much later later than than such such statem statement ents s were were made,

hence

such

statements

were

not

made

in

anticipation of death. death. The said said contentio contention n is also useless useless as the Indian Indian law being slightly slightly differ different ent from from the English English law do not contemplate the making of such statement in antici anticipat pation ion of deat death, h,

per sectio section n 32(1) of the the Indi Indian an

Evidence Act, Act, which too too clarifies this position. position.

(d) The contention that that the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x was was never administered administered oath is also wholly irrelevant irrelevant in view view of

“Laxman v. v. State of Maharashtra,” Maharashtra,” (2002) 6 SCC 710, wherein it was held that : “A dying declaration can be oral or in writing and any adequate method of communication whether by words or by signs or otherwise otherwise will suffice suffice provided provided the the indi indica cati tion on is posi positi tive ve and and definite. In most cases, howeve howeverr, such such statem statement ents s are State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 73 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 74 ::-

made orally before death ensues and is reduced to writing by someone like a Magistrate or a doctor or a police officer. officer. When it is no oath is recorded, necessary nor is the presence of a Magistrate absolutely necess necessary ary,, althou although gh to assure assure authenticity it is usual to call a Magistrate, if available ble for reco record rdin ing g the the stat statem emen entt of a man about to die. There is no requirement of law that a dying declaration must necessarily be made to a Magistrate and when such statement is recorded by a Magistrat Magistrate e there is no specified specified statutory form for such recording. recording. Consequent Consequently ly,, what eviden evidentia tiall value value or weight weight has to be attached to such statement statement necessaril necessarily y depends depends on the facts and circumstances of each particular particular case. What is essentially required is that the person who records a dying decl declar arat atio ion n must must be sati satisf sfie ied d that the deceased was in a fit state of mind. Where it is proved by the testimony of the Magi Magist stra rate te that that the the decl declar aran ant t was fit to make the statement even even with withou outt exam examin inat atio ion n by the doctor doctor the declar declarati ation on can be act acted upon pon prov provid ide ed the the court ultimately holds the same to be voluntary and truthful. A cert certif ific icat atio ion n by the the doct doctor or is rule of caut cautio ion n essentially essentially a rule State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 74 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 75 ::-

and therefore the voluntary and truthful nature of the declarati declaration on can be establishe established d otherwise.” The aforesaid judgment rather clarifies that no oath is required to be administered to the person making the dying dying declaratio declaration n and that no form form or particula particularr person is pres presc cribe ribed d

to

reco ecord

dyi dying

dec declarat aratio ions ns..

Even ven

the

certification by the doctor is a rule of caution to determine voluntariness and truthful nature of the dying declaration, though, though, it can be establis established hed even otherwi otherwise. se. Suffice Suffice is to say that that Dr. Dr. Ranju Ranju Gandhi Gandhi was prese present nt when when PW30 Shri Pawan Kumar recorded the dying declaration Ex.PW30/D-1 and

that

Dr.

P.K.Verma

( PW52)

was

present

when

Ex.PW27/A was being recorded. (e) Even the contention that the prosecutrix was administered Morphine and was not in a condition to make dying declaration declaration dated dated 21.12.2012 has no force force as PW52 Dr. Dr. P.K Verma, erma, in his cross cross examinat examination ion has deposed deposed that Inje Inject ctio ion n Morp Morphi hine ne was was not not give given n to the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x on 21-12-2012 21-12-2012 when her dying dying declaratio declaration n was recorded recorded and that such injection was given at 6 PM of 20-12-2012 and its State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 75 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 76 ::-

effect effect would would have lasted lasted only only for for 3 to 4 hours. hours. He denied denied that the prosecutrix was in drowsiness and had difficulty in breathing at the time of making statement. Thus, I hold all the three three dying declarations being being consistent, corroborati corroborative ve of the material material aspects of the case qua the visiting of the victims to Select City Mall ; boarding of an auto for Munirka ; boarding a white colour bus Ex.P1 from Munirka Munirka Bus Bus Stand ; the the incident that occurred occurred in bus

Ex.P1 ; the injuries suffered by both the victims ; robbing them of their valuables ; dumping them in a cold winter night at the dumping spot ; the the number of accused involved involved in the incident incident and their attempt to crush the victims under the wheels wheels of the the bus Ex. P1.

(f) The Ld. defence Counsels further argued that the the Delh Delhii High High Cour Courtt Rules ules,, qua qua recor ecordi ding ng of the the dyin dying g declaration, as enumerated in Chapter 13 were violated by the SDM SDM as also by the the Ld. MM.

The said said rules rules envisa envisage ge

recording recording of the the dying declarations declarations by a Judicial Magistrate, Magistrate, if poss possib ible le and and seco second ndly ly it is requi equire red d to be reco record rded ed at once

; whereas in the present case the first dying


-:: 77 ::-

declaratio declaration n was never recorded recorded by the Judicial Judicial Magistrate Magistrate and secondly, it was recorded on 21-12-2012 much after the prosecutrix prosecutrix was admitted in the hospital. I had given considerable thought on the matter. It is to be noted that the Delhi High Court Rules, of course, are to be followed in letter and spirit but one can not ignore the law laid down in Laxman's case (supra) wherein it has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that there is no person person / form form presc prescrib ribed ed for recod recoding ing dying dying declar declarati ations ons.. Thus, if the dying declaration declaration was recorded recorded by the Ld. SDM it would hardly make it illegal or inadmissible. On delay I may say that the efforts were made by the Invest Investigat igating ing Office Officerr from from time time to time time to record ecord the dying declaration of the prosecutrix as is evident from her application Ex.PW80/D date dated d 17 17-1 -122-20 2012 12 wher wherei ein n the the prosecut prosecutrix rix was declar declared ed unfit for stateme statement. nt. 19-1 19 -122-20 2012 12,,

the the

Inve Invest stig igat atin ing g

Offi Office cerr

Similarl Similarly y on

move moved d

anot anothe herr

application Ex.PW80/C but yet again the prosecutrix was declared unfit unfit for recording recording of her statement. statement. It was only on 21-1 21 -122-20 2012 12 when when the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x was was decla declare red d fit, fit, her her State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 77 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 78 ::-

stat statem emen entt was was recor ecorde ded. d.

Henc Hence, e, ther there e is no del delay in

recording her statement.

(g) It was also contended that the Ld. MM failed to record the mental fitness of the deceased in the dying declaration. In this regard I may refer to “Goverdhan Raoji

Ghya Ghyare re

v.

Stat State e of of Mah Mahar aras asht htra ra,” ,” 1993 1993 Sup Sup (4) (4)

Supreme Court Cases 316 , wherein it was was held that : “it will be wholly unjustified to hold hold that that simp simply ly beca becaus use e the the Magistrate did not put a direct question to the deceased as to whether she was in a fit state of mind mind to make make the the stat statem emen ent, t, the dying declaration was required to be discarded.”

Thus, the factual matrix of this case reveal that the doct docto ors had had cert ertifi ified the ment mental al ale alertne rtness ss of the pros prosec ecut utri rix x on both both the the occa occasi sion ons s and and rath rather er they they were were present with the prosecutrix during the recording of dying declarations and thus it can not be said that the prosecutrix was not in a fit state of mind at the time of recording of her dying declarations or that the Ld. MM had not taken such State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 78 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 79 ::-

caution.

(h) Yet another argument was raised by the ld defe defenc nce e coun counse sels ls that that the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x died died prio priorr to her her transportation to Singapore. The document Ex.PW60/D was refer eferrred to wher wherei ein n her her date date of deat death h is ment mentio ione ned d as 21-1 21 -122-20 2012 12..

I have have exa exami mine ned d the the said said doc docum umen ent. t.

It

appear appears s to be an inadve inadvert rtent ent mistak mistake e as the conne connecti cting ng documents rather show the date of death of the prosecutrix as 29-12-2012. 29-12-2012. Moreso if the deceased died died on 21-12-2012 then then how on 25-12-2 25-12-2012 012

the Ld. Ld. MM recor recorded ded her dying dying

declaration Ex.PW30/D-1. Hence, an incorrect incorrect recording recording of the date of death would never benefit the accused in any manner, as also some unimportant / inadvertent cuttings or overwriting of date(s) on some documents. I may here refer to the following judgment cited by accused viz.,

(i) K. Rama Ramach chan andr dran an Reddy eddy and and anot anothe herr

vs.. vs

Publ Pu blic ic

Prosecutor, Prosecutor, (1976) 3 SCC 618 ;

(ii)Uka Ram Ram v. v. State of Rajasthan Rajasthan,, (2001) SCC 254 ; (iii)Lella Lella Sriniw Sriniwasa asa Rao v. State of Andra Andra Prades Pradesh, h, AIR 2004 SC 1720 ; State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 79 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 80 ::-

(iv)Ram Nath Nath Madhoprasad and and other v. v. State of Madhya Madhya Pradesh, AIR 1953 SC 420 ;

(v)Arumuga Thevan and other v. State, 32 Cr Cr.L.J 1931 ; besides other judgments. None None of the the judg judgme ment nts s cite cited d by accu accuse sed d were were similar on facts or discuss any connecting scientific evidence viz., DNA etc., as in this case ; hence are not applicable.

COROBORATION WITH OTHER FACTS. There is yet another angle to look

at the

truthfulness of dying declaration(s). The prosecutrix and the comp compla lain inan ant, t, in thei theirr

stat statem emen ents ts have have sp spok oken en abou aboutt

incident being inside the moving bus; a particular route it

iron rods rods; the dumpin dumping g spot spot where foll follow owed ed;; us use e of iron victims were finally thrown by the accused person and lastly the presence of accused in the bus Ex.P1 at the relevant time. time. I would take take these aspects aspects one by one to co-relate co-relate it with the deposition of PW1 and with the dying declarations

Ex.PW27/A and ExPW30/D1 to find the truthfulness truthfulness of the claim of victims.


-:: 81 ::-

BUS The

bus

Ex.P1

bear beariing

regi egistr strati ation

no. no.

DL-1PC-0149 is is alleged to to be involved involved in the the incident. It has been identified by PW1, the complainant. Further PW67 Shri Pramod Jha had provided a pen drive Ex.P67/1 and a CD Ex.P67/2 and deposed that the CCTV footage recording is automatic and the data is fed on regular basis in the hard disk of CCTV installation at his hotel in due course of business transaction. He also proved the requisite certificate u/s 65-B of Indian Evidence Act, as

Ex.PW67/B, to prove prove the authen authentic ticity ity of such such electr electroni onic c evidence. The said pen drive Ex.P-67/1, at the instance of Ld.. Defe Ld Defenc nce e coun counse sel, l, was was us used ed in a Lapt Laptop op and and a whit white e colour bus was seen moving in front of Hotel Delhi Airport at

9:34 PM and 9:53 PM. The front front wheel cap of the bus was found found missing and the word word “Yadav “Yadav” ” was found written written on the side of the bus Ex.P1.. The registration registration number of the the bus could not not be located located in the the said CCTV coverage. The CD

Ex.P-67/2 was also run on the laptop. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 81 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 82 ::-

PW76 Shri Gautam Roy, Senior Scientific Officer, Grade-I, Grade-I, Head of Department Department,, had examine examined d scientific scientifically ally the the pen pen driv drive e as also also the the CD of Mose Moserb rbea ear, r, seiz seized ed from from

PW67 Shri Shri Pram Pramod od Jha. Jha.

He gave gave his his deta detail iled ed repo report rt

Ex.PW76/E and also a draft report along with worksheet as Ex.PW76/F.

He expl explai aine ned d that that there there is a typo typogr grap aphi hica call

mistake in his report Ex.PW76/E where only one timing is written as 21:34, but in his obser observat vation ion and and

draft draft repo report rt

Ex.PW76/F the bus is seen twice at 21:34 and 21:54 and the

same

timings

are

depicted

in

the

photographs phs

Ex.PW76/B, Ex.PW76/C and Ex.PW76/D. If one looks looks at the photograph Ex.PW76/B, the word “Yadav” is written on the bus Ex.P1. On back back left side, a dent on the bus is seen seen in the photo photogra graph ph Ex.PW76/C and the photo photogra graph ph

Ex.PW76/D confirms the front left side wheel of the bus had no cover and also that the front door of the bus was ahead of its front front wheel. wheel. No serious serious challenge challenge was was made to these these reports by the defence. The bus is shown to be connected to the crime not only by the depositions of PW1 ; of PW67 and of PW76 State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 82 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 83 ::-

but also by the electronic evidence viz., pen drive Ex.P-76/1

Ex.PW76/B-1 B-1 to ; CD Ex.P-76/2 and the photog photograp raphs hs Ex.PW76/ Ex.PW76/B-7. The bus is also proved to be connected with the crime by DNA reports as the blood stains found on the curtains, seat covers, roof near the back gate, as also hairs found on the floor of the bus below the 6 th row seat, all matched with the DNA profile prepared prepared from the blood of the prosecutrix prosecutrix and that of PW1, the complainant. Though,

the

ld

defence

counsels

have

challenged the authenticity authenticity of the DNA reports reports saying saying that if the bus was washed, as alleged by PW13 and PW14, then how DNA was lifted; cannot be a basis to reject the DNA reports since such reports are duly proved and no serious challenge to the process of lifting of exhibits was made. Even Even otherw otherwise ise,, the follow following ing resea researc rch h articl articles es clarifies such contention. According According to a research article “Enhancement of

Bloodstains on washed clothing using Luminol and LC Reagents” by Thomas W. Adair and Rebecca L. Shaw : State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 83 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 84 ::-

“Investigators may be presented with washed clothing that is believed to contain bloo bloodst dstai ains ns from from viol violen entt acts acts such su ch as homi homici cide de,, assau assault lt,, or sexual assault. assault. Suspects, Suspects, their associates, or victims may wash clot clothi hing ng foll follow owin ing g bloo bloods dshe hed, d, thereby destroying blood evid eviden ence ce and and comp compli lica cate te the the reconstruction process. Diluted blo bloods dsttains resulting ing from mach machin ine e wash washin ing g may may not not be visible on dark colored clothing. our research indicates that that phenol phenolpht phthal halein ein will will yield yield presumptively positive results on washed clothing, even after application of these two chemic chemical al reagen reagents. ts. Analys Analysis is are encouraged to report similar testing results to aid in defi defin ning ing the the sens sensiitivi tivitty and and proper usage parameters of LCV LCV and and lumin uminol ol on clea cleane ned d porous and non-porous surfaces.”

Further in another article “Detecting Evidence

After Bleaching” it is said by Ian Murnaghan that : “Chlorine bleaches can remove a Bloodstain to the naked eye but fortunately, forensics experts can use the application of substa substance nces s such such as lumino luminoll or phenolphthalein to show that haemoglobin is present. In fact, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 84 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 85 ::-

even if the shady criminal washed a bloodstained item of clothing times, these chemicals could still reveal blood. Though one may object to the use of such articles, but since these articles help to find solution to a scie sc ient ntif ific ic quer query, y, may may be us used ed in the the abse absenc nce e of othe otherr literature. The contention that the bus ExP1 was taken to Tyagraj Tyagraj Stadium only to plant blood of victims is nothing but a blame strategy as no enmity has been allegedly proved betw betwee een n the poli police ce and and the the accu accuse sed d whic which h coul could d have have motivated the Delhi Police to do such an act. The question as to how the police got secret information and how it reached the bus Ex.P1 is beyond the relm of trial trial and is an unnecessary unnecessary attempt to peep into the the investigative tools. Thus the user of bus Ex.P1 by accused during the incident stands established beyond doubt.

ROUTE MAP On 24-12-2012 the route map Ex.PW80/H was State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 85 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 86 ::-

prep prepar ared ed at the the inst instan ance ce of accu accuse sed d Muk Mukesh. esh.

Accu Ac cuse sed d

Mukesh had admitted in his statement u/s 313 Cr.P.C that he drove the bus only once on the the said route. This route route map map is admissible u/s 8 and 27 of the Indian Evidence Act per

Delhi v. v. Navjot Sandhu, Sandhu, (2005) 11 SCC 600 600 , “State of Delhi as it was a new new fact, disclosed disclosed by accused Mukesh. Mukesh. The said route map is in consonance with the deposition of PW1 as also also with with the

elect electro ronic nic eviden evidence ce which which corro corrobor borate ate the

location of accused and the victims.

PW25

Shr Shri

Raje ajender nder Bish Bishtt

and

PW26

Shri

Sandeep Singh, both of Select City Mall, Saket, New Delhi had proved the CCTV footage from 6:15 PM to 8:57 PM of the Select Select City Mall, Saket, New Delhi, Delhi, showing showing the presence presence of the victims in the Mall. Now, Now, the mobile mobile no. no. 981835 9818358144 8144,, used used by the prosecutrix, received SMS at 9:04 PM at Lado Sarai while victims were moving towards Munirka.

PW19 Shri Vishal

Gaurav, Nodal Officer of Airtel Company has proved this fact. Even PW75 Smt Asha Devi, the mother of the prosecutrix had also deposed that this phone was being used by her State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 86 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 87 ::-

daughter, the prosecutrix on the fateful night.

PW24 Shri Shri Rak Rakesh Soni Soni of Dolphi Dolphin n had prove proved d that the mobile phone no. 9868612958, registered in the name of Ram Singh (since deceased) was used at 9:16 PM of 16-12-2012 when a call was received at this mobile for 13 seconds at Hauz Khas.

PW23 Shri Shri Deepak Deepak from from Vodapho odaphone ne compa company ny proved that the mobile phone no. 9711927157 registered in the name of accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu was used for 54 seconds at 9:32 PM of 16-12-2012 16-12-2012 at Naval Officer's Officer's Mess, ahea ahead d of the the bus bus stop stop at Muni Munirk rka. a.

PW12 Shri Santosh Santosh

corro corrobor borate ates s the factum factum of making making this this call to

accuse accused d

Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu on that day.

PW20 Col. A.K Sachdeva, GSM, Reliance deposed that the mobile phone 7827917720, registered in the name of the complainant PW1, was used for 2 seconds at 9:34 PM of 16-12-2012 at Mahipal Pur Extension; probably the call was was recei eceive ved d when when the the mobi mobile le set set was was in the the hand hands s of accused and it was disconnected.

PW67 Shri Pramod Jha of Hotel Delhi Airport had State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 87 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 88 ::-

provi provided ded the CCTV CCTV footag footage e showi showing ng the white white colour colour bus with word “Yadav” written on it had passed in front of his Hotel at 9:34 PM and 9:53 PM of 16-12-2012.

PW22 Shri Shri Shishi Shishirr Malhot Malhotra ra of Airc Aircel el compa company ny depose deposed d that that the mobile mobile phone phone bearin bearing g no. no. 828594 828594754 7545, 5, registered registered in the name of Smt Champa Devi and admittedly with with accuse accused d Vinay Vinay Sharm Sharma a was used used for 58 second seconds s at

9:55 PM of 16-12-2012 at NH-8 near IGI Airport, Mahipalpur, just after the incident. Similarly PW24 Shri Rakesh Soni of Dolphin had depo depose sed d

that that mobi mobile le phon phone e

bear bearin ing g

no. no. 98 9868 6861 6129 2958 58,,

registered in the name of Ram Singh was used twice for 51 seconds at 10:04 PM and for 25 seconds at 10:06 PM of 16-12-2012 at Vasant Gaon, Munirka where they went after the crime. The

above

said

electronic

evidence,

duly

supported with the certificates certificates under section section 65-B of Indian Evidence Act do confirm the authenticity of the route map

Ex.PW80/H. Though a vain attempt was made by the ld State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 88 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 89 ::-

defence counsels referring referring to the deposition deposition of PW19 Vishal, Vishal, alle allegi ging ng inter nteral alia ia,, that hat the route ute cha chart of mobi mobille no. no. 9818358144 show the presence of prosecutrix at Firozshah Kotla otla at

the relev relevant ant time, time, but it stood clarif clarified ied by PW19

himself himself when when she said that it was was only a human human error error due due due to

non feedin feeding g of data data in time time and that that

her corre correct ct

location was at Lado Sarai.

IRON RODS The

rods

Ex.P-49/1

and

Ex.P-49/2

were

recov ecover ered ed at the the inst instan ance ce of accu accuse sed d Ram Sing Singh, h, sinc since e deceased.

PW80 SI Prati Pratibha bha Sharm Sharma, a, the Invest Investigat igating ing

Officer of this case had deposed that accused Ram Singh had led her inside the bus ExP1 and had taken taken out two iron rods rods from from the shelf shelf of the drive driver's r's cabin. cabin.

The rods rods were were

having blood stains. stains. The said rods rods were sealed with the seal of PS and after being deposited in the Malkhana were sent for for for forensi ensic c exami xamina nattion ion and and that that vide vide the the DNA DNA repor eportt prepa prepare red d by Dr. Dr. B.K Mahapa Mahapatra tra PW45,

the DNA profi profile le

developed from the bloodstains from both the iron rods was State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 89 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 90 ::-

found found

consis consiste tent nt with the DNA profi profile le of the prosec prosecutr utrix. ix.

These rods are also mentioned in the dying declarations of the prosecut prosecutrix. rix.

Further urther per medical medical opinio opinion n Ex.PW49/G

the doctors also opined that the recto-vaginal injury of the pros prosec ecut utri rix x coul could d be caus caused ed by the the rods rods Ex.P-49/1 and

Ex.P-49/2 .

Henc Hence, e, the the user of rods rods in the the crim crime e stand stands s

established. The contention that victims do not refer to the use of iron rods in their MLC is irrelevant even scientifically as if one looks at the MLC Ex.PW49/B of the prosecutrix one may may find find that hat when when the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x was was bro brought ught to the hos hospit pital she was cold cold and and clam lamy i.e. i.e. whit hitish (due due to vasoconstriction) meaning thereby there was heavy loss of blood blood due to blunt blunt truma. truma. It was the the result result of insertio insertion n of iron rods in the private parts of the prosecutrix. prosecutrix. Thus, the

factum of

user of

rods is

even

otherwise, corroborated corroborated by the medical evidence.

DUMPING SPOT PW1 the the comp compla lain inan antt had had depo depose sed d that that they they State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 90 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 91 ::-

both both were were dumped dumped in naked naked condit condition ion opposi opposite te Hotel Hotel 37, Mahipalpur, New Delhi. PW72 Shri Raj Kumar and PW73 HC Ram Chander confirm this fact.

PW47 Dr. Rajender Singh

examined the sample collected by the Investigating Officer with the Sexual Assault Kit from the body of the prosecutrix had found found that it matche matched d the debries debries collected collected from from the dump dumpin ing g sp spot ot by the the Crim Crime e Team eam and and had had reach eached ed the the conc conclu lusi sio on that hat the debri ebries es foun found d on the body body of the prosecut prosecutrix rix

and the debries debries collec collected ted by the

crime crime team team

from the dumping spot had the consistency in respect of its colo colour ur,, ingr ingred edie ient nt,, dens densit ity y and and othe otherr gene genera rall phys physic ical al character characteristi istics. cs.

Even the DNA profil profile e developed developed from from the

blood stained dry leaves collected by the crime team from the dumping spot had matched with the DNA profile of the complainant. A query was raised as to how the sample 1(a) was sealed by the seal of BKM

when when it reach reached ed to Dr. Dr.

Rajen Rajender der Singh Singh PW47 was repli plied by the Ld Ld.. Spec Specia iall Prosecutor that the said debries / samples were collected and were were first sent sent to the FSL FSL to be examine examined d by Shri B.K B.K State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 91 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 92 ::-

Mahapa Mahapatr tra a (PW45) (PW45) and then then said said sample samples s were were re-se re-seale aled d with the seal of BKM and sent to PW47 Dr. Rajender Singh, hence were found sealed with this seal.

IDENTIFICATION / PRESENCE Yet Yet

another

aspect

of

the

case,

seriously

challenged by the defence, except acused Mukesh, is their prese presence nce inside inside the bus Ex. P1 at the the time time of inci incide dent nt.. Hence it needs to be established beyond doubt. Identity of an accused can be established by (a) the traditional method of identifying them in the dock as also by test identification parade and (b) scientific method viz., DNA, finger printing, bite mark analysis. Now PW1 and PW82 Ram Adhar dhar

both both had had

identified all the accused to be the assailants moving in the bus ExP1 at different different times. Further accused Akshay Akshay Kumar Kumar Singh @ Thakur and accused Mukesh had been identified in Test Test Identification Parades and whereas accused Ram Singh, since deceased, accused Vinay Sharma and accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu refused to participate in Test Identification State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 92 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 93 ::-

Parade, Parade, hence leading to an adverse inference against them. Rathe atherr accu accuse sed d Vinay inay Shar Sharma ma and and accu accuse sed d Pawan awan had had refused the Test Identification Parades on the plea that they had committed horrible crime. Now Now let let me come come to the the sc scie ient ntif ific ic meth method od of iden identi tifi fica cati tion on..

First irst I woul would d tak take the the

DNA DNA analys analysis is.

However, before before looking looking to this aspect, let me examine the legal position to rely upon this scientific piece of evidence. In “Santosh Kumar Singh v. State”, (2010) 9

SCC 747, it has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that : “71. We feel that the trial court was not justified in rejecting the DNA report, as nothing adverse coul could d be poin pointe ted d out out agai agains nst t the two experts who had submitted it. We must, therefore, accept the DNA repo report rt as bein being g sc scie ient ntif ific ical ally ly accurate and an exact science as held held by this this Cour Courtt in Kamti amti Devi Devi v. Posh Poshii Ram Ram [(200 [(2001) 1) 5 SCC 311 : 2001 SCC (Cri) 892 : AIR 2001 SC 2226]. In arriving at its conclusions the trial court was also influenced by the fact that the semen swabs and slides and the blood samples of the appellant had not been kept State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 93 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 94 ::-

in proper custody and had been tampered with, as already indicated above. We are of the opinion that the trial court was in error on this score. We, accordingly, endorse the conc conclu lusi sion ons s of the the High High Cour Court t on circumstance.”

“Pantangi ngi Balarama Balarama Venkat Venkata a Ganesh Ganesh In “Panta

v.

Stat State e of Andh Andhra ra Prad Pradesh esh”, ”, (200 (2009) 9) 14 SCC SCC 607 607 , the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that : “Deoxyribonucleic acid, which is foun found d in the the chro chromo moso some mes s of the cells of living beings is the blueprint of an individual. DNA decides the characteristics of the person such as the colour of the the skin skin,, type type of hair hair,, nail nails s and so on. on. Using Using this this geneti genetic c fingerpri fingerprinting nting,, identific identification ation of an individual is done like in the traditional method of identifying finger fingerpri prints nts of offe offende nders. rs. The iden identi tifi fica cati tion on is hund hundre red d per per cent precise, experts opine. There cannot be any doubt whatsoever that there is a need of quality control. Precautions are required to be taken to ensure preparation of high high mole molecu cula larr weigh eightt DNA, NA, complete digestion of the samples with appropriate enzyme enzymes, s, and perfec perfectt trans transfer fer and hybridization of the blot to State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 94 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 95 ::-

obtain distinct bands with appropriate control (See article of Lalji Singh, centre for Cellular an d Molecular Biology, Hyderabad in DNA profiling and its applications) But in this case ther there e is noth nothin ing g to sh show ow that that suc su ch precautions were not taken. Indisputably, Indisputably, the evidence of the experts is admissible in evidence in terms of Sect Sectio ion n 45 of the the Evid Eviden ence ce Act, 1872. In crossexaminati examination, on, PW46 had stated stated as under : “If the DNA fingerprint of a person matches with that of a sample, it means that the sam sample has come from that person only. only. The probability of two two pers person on exc except ept ident dentic ical al twin twins s havi aving the sam same DNA DNA fing finger erpr prin intt is arou around nd 1 to 30 billion world population.”

“Vinay y Kumar Kumar In “Vina

v.

State” State”,, 2012 2012 (4) (4) JCC

2857, the Hon'ble court has held that : “In “In case cases s invo involv lvin ing g biol biolog ogic ical al eviden evidence ce the concep conceptt of”chain of”chain of custody” needs to be established. “Chain of custody” means means the comple complete te record record of biol biolog ogic ical al evid eviden ence ce from from the the place of its extraction and up to its presentation in the court and State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 95 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 96 ::-

its complete complete documentat documentation ion at every every stage. stage. The posses possessio sion, n, time and date of transfer, and loca locati tion on of evid evidenc ence e from from the the time it is obtained to the time it is presented in the court is called the “chain of custody”.

Thus, to rely upon the DNA analysis one need to establish (a) the the puri purity ty of the the samp sample le,, (b) the the chai chain n of custody, and (c) that there is no tampering of the exhibits by anyone. Hence there is an obligation upon the court to find find if the the inve invest stig igat atin ing g team team had had ensu ensure red d puri purity ty of the the samples and for this we we may examine examine the chain of custody of the samples. The DNA samples were collected from the person of the victims ; the accused ; their clothes / articles ; the dump dumpin ing g sp spot ot ;

from from the the iron iron rods rods ; the the ashe ashes s of burnt burnt

clothe clothes s ; from from the offendi offending ng bus. Let me examin examine e if such such exhibits were preserved and how and by whom were sent to the forensic experts for analysis.

(i)

On 25.12.2012 the blood sample of the complainant

was was coll collec ecte ted d by Dr. Dr. Kamr Kamran an Faisa aisall ( PW-15), Safdarjung Safdarjung State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 96 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 97 ::-

Hospital, Hospital, was was sealed and and then handed handed over to SI Pratibh Pratibha a (PW-80) vide vide seiz seizur ure e memo memo Ex.PW-15/A by Consta Constable ble Sure Suresh sh Kuma Kumarr (P (PW W-4 -42) 2)..

It was depos deposit ited ed by PW80 PW80 S.I.

Pratibha Sharma on 25.12.2012 with the MHC(M) along with the seizure memo, reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2151 dated 25.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/L. On 26.12.2012, the said exhibits, with sample seal, were sent to CFSL, CBI for examination through S.I. Nand Kishore (PW-31) vide RC No.180/21/12, a copy of which is

Ex.PW-77/U. S.I. Nand Kishore (PW-31) handed over to the MHC( MHC(M), M), the the recei eceipt pt give given n by the the CFSL CFSL and and the the same same is

Ex.PW-77/U-1 . (ii)

Likewise Dr. Rashmi Ahuja had collected the following

samples from the person of the prosecutrix at the time of initial check-up :Debris Debris colle collecti ction on (dust, (dust, grass grass prese present nt in hairs, hairs, dust in clothes), Debris from in between fingers, Debris from nails, Nail clippings, Nail scrapings, Breast swab, Body fluid collection (swab from Saliva), Combing of pubic hair, Matted pubi pubic c hair hair,, Clip Clippi ping ng of pubi pubic c hair hair,, Cerv Cervic ical al mucu mucus s swab swab,, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 97 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 98 ::-

Vaginal aginal secre secreti tion, on, Vaginal aginal cultur culture, e, Washing ashing from from vagina vagina,, Recta ectall swab swab,, Oral Oral swab swab,, Urin Urine e and and oxala xalate te bloo blood, d, Bloo Blood d samples,

Outer

clot lothing/swe sweater,

Inner

clothes

of

prosecutrix, prosecutrix, Bed sheet of prosecutrix. prosecutrix. The details of these samples are mentioned in

Ex.PW-49/A from point B to B. These samples, duly sealed with the seal of the hospital, along with sample seal, were handed over to Inspector Raj Kumari (PW-59). Inspector Inspector Raj Kumari (PW-59) (PW-59) deposed deposed that she collected the exhibits and sample seal, seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-59/A and handed it over to PW80 SI Pratibha Shar Sharma ma at Safd Safdar arju jung ng Hosp Hospit ital al itse itself lf in the the morn morniing of 17.12.2012. PW80 PW80 SI Prat Pratib ibha ha Shar Sharma ma on 17 17.1 .12. 2.20 2012 12 had had deposited the said samples, along with the seizure memo (Ex.PW-59/A ), with the MHC(M), reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2104 dated 17.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/A (Colly.). On 21.12.2012, four such parcels sealed with the seal of Safdarjung Hospital along with sample seal were sent State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 98 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 99 ::-

from the MHC(M) to CFSL, CBI for examination through SI Vish ishal

Choud houdha hary ry

( PW-18)

vide

RC.

No.

177/21/12

Ex.PW-77/P . Af After ter depositin depositing g the parcels parcels at CFSL, CFSL, CBI, SI Vishal Choudhary (PW-18) handed the receipt given by CFSL to him, proved as Ex.PW-77/Q. S.I. S.I. Visha Vishall Choudh Choudhary ary (PW-18 (PW-18)) corro corrobor borate ates s the test testim imon ony y of HC Rajen ajende derr Pras Prasad ad Meen Meena a (P (PW W-7 -77) 7) in this this respect and testifies that on 21.12.2012, on the instructions of PW80 PW80 SI Prat ratibha ibha Shar Sharma ma,, he had had tak taken four four seal sealed ed parcel parcels s from from MHC(M), MHC(M), P.S. Vasant asant Vihar Vihar to CFSL, CFSL, CBI and deposited them there vide Road Certificate No. 177/21/12. He further testifies that the acknowledgement obtained with regard to the receipt of said exhibits from CFSL was then deposited with the MHC(M) and that the said exhibits were

not tampered with in any manner till they were in his custody during transit. On 24.12.2012 samples of gangrenous bowels of the prosecutrix were taken and sealed in a jar. The sealed jar, along with a sample seal, was handed over to SI Gajender Singh ( PW-55), who seized the same vide seizure State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 99 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 100 ::-

memo

Ex.PW-11/A.

cor corrobor oborat ates es the the

SI

Gajender

Singh

( PW-55)

test testim imon ony y of Dr. Dr. Pintu intu Kumar umar Sing Singh h

(PW-11) in this respect. On 24.12.2012 itself SI Gajender Singh (PW-55) deposited the said samples, along with the seizure memo with the MHC(M), reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2145 dated 24.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/K . On 26.12.2012, the same samples were taken to CFSL, CBI by SI Nand Kishore ( PW-31) vide RC No. 180/2 18 0/21/ 1/12 12,, for for exam examin inat atio ion. n.

Ex.PW-77/U.

He prove proves s the the said said RC, RC, as

The MHC( MHC(M) M) testif testified ied that that SI Nand Nand Kishor Kishore e

(PW-31 (PW-31)) after after deposi depositin ting g the parcel parcels s with with CFSL, CFSL, gave gave the receipt

of

the

same

to

the

MHC(M),

proved

as

cor corrobora borattes

the

Ex.PW-77/U-1 . SI

Nand

Kishore

(PW-31)

testimony of the MHC(M) (PW-77) in this respect and testifies that the parcels were taken from MHC(M) to CFSL vide RC No. 180/21 and were not tampered with by anyone as long as they were in his custody. On 24.12.2012, Dr. Ranju Gandhi (PW-29), at the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 100 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 101 ::-

request of PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, took a specimen of

scalp scalp hair hair of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix, x, seal sealed ed it with with the the seal seal of Safdarjung Safdarjung Hospital Hospital and handed handed it over to PW80 SI Pratibha Pratibha Shar Sharm ma along long with ith a sam sample ple seal seal vide vide sei seizur zure mem memo

Ex.PW29/A. On

24.12.2 2.2012,

PW80

SI

Pratibha

Sharma

deposi deposited ted the said said sample sample along along with with seizur seizure e memo memo with with MHC(M), reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2144 dated 24.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/J . On 26.12.2012, the said sample was sent to CFSL through SI Nand Kishore (PW-31) vide RC No.180/21/12, for examination.

The

witnes ness

proves

the

said

RC,

as

Ex.PW-77/U. The recei receipt pt given given by the CFSL CFSL was deposit deposited ed with

him

by

SI

Nand

Kishore

(PW-31)

is

proved

as

Ex.PW-77/U-1 . (iii) A number of biological samples were collected from the person of accused Ram Singh after his examination by Dr. Akhi Akhile lesh sh Raj ( PW-2) at AIIMS IIMS Hos Hospit pital on 18 18..12 12.2 .20 012 12,, namely, a penile swab, blood in gauze, underwear, saliva in gauze and nail clipping were, preserved and handed over, in State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 101 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 102 ::-

sealed condition with the seal of the Department of Forensic Medicines and Toxicology, AIIMS, along with sample seal, to duty officer, Constable Murari ( PW-39). Cons Consttable ble

Mura Murari ri

(PW (P W-39 39))

cor corrobor borates ates

testimony of Dr. Akhilesh Raj ( PW-2) iin n thi this s res respec pect. t.

the He

testifies in Court that on 18.12.2012, accused Ram Singh was was medi medica call lly y exam examin ined ed and and afte afterr his his exam examin inat atio ion, n, the the concerned doctor gave him six sealed parcels along with a samp sample le seal seal,, whic which h he hande handed d over over to PW80 PW80 SI Prat Pratib ibha ha Shar Sharma ma,, who who seiz seized ed the the said said item items s vide vide seiz seizur ure e memo memo

Ex.PW-39/A. On

18.12.2012

PW80

SI

Pratibha

Sharma

deposi deposited ted the said said sample samples s with with MHC(M) MHC(M),, along along with with the seizure memo, reflected in Register No.19 at serial No.2106 dated 18.12.2012 proved as Ex.PW-77/B (Colly.). On 24.12.2012, the biological samples collected from accused Ram Singh were sent to CFSL, CBI through SI Subhash (PW-74 ) vide RC No.178/21 No.178/21/12, /12, for examinat examination. ion. The witness proves the said RC, as Ex.PW-77/R. He further testifies that after depositing the parcels at CFSL, SI Subhash State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 102 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 103 ::-

(PW-74)

han handed

over the

receipt to

him, proved

as

Ex.PW-77/S. The Biological evidence was also collected from the blood stained T-Shirt Ex.P-74/6 and slippers Ex.P-74/7 worn by accused Ram Singh at the time of the incident, seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW74/L. The said exhibits were deposed by PW80 SI Prat Pratib ibha ha Shar Sharma ma on 17 17-1 -122-20 2012 12,, alon along g with with the the seiz seizur ure e memo, reflected in Register no. 19 at Serial No. 2104 dated 17-12-2012, proved as Ex.PW77/A colly. On 24 24-1 -122-20 2012 12,, the the exhi exhibi bits ts,, with with the the samp sample le seal, were sent to CFSL, CBI through SI Subhash PW74 vide RC No. No. 178/21/ 178/21/12, 12, for examina examinatio tion. n.

After fter depositi depositing ng the

parcels at CFSL, CBI, SI Subhash handed over the receipt given by CFSL to him, proved as Ex.PW77/S.

(iv) On 18.12.2012, Dr. Mohit Gupta (PW-10) conducted the medical examination of accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu at Safdarjung Hospital. The following biological samples were coll collec ecte ted d for for DNA DNA anal analys ysis is : viz., viz., bloo blood d samp sample le in gauze gauze piece, saliva on whatmans filter paper, nail clippings of right State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 103 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 104 ::-

and left hands preserved separately, pubic hair, swab glans of penis and urethra and single stray hair found on the body of the accused. The exhibits were sealed with the seal of Department of Forensic Medicine, Safdarjung Hospital. The examining doctor handed over to HC Giri Raj (PW-48) one sealed parcel with the seal of the Department of

Foren orensi sic c

Medi Medici cine nes, s,

Safd Safdar arju jung ng

Hosp Hospit ital al,,

cont contai aini ning ng

exhibits belonging to the accused with one sample seal. The same were handed over to PW80 SI Pratibha Shar Sharma ma,, and and tak taken into into posse possess ssio ion n by her her vide vide seiz seizur ure e memo Ex.PW-48/A . On

18.12.2 2.2012,

PW80

SI

Pratibha

Sharma

deposited the said samples with the seizure memo, with the MHC(M), reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2106 dated 18.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/B (Colly.). On 24.12.2012, the said samples were taken to CFSL by S.I. Subhash ( PW-74) vide RC No.178/21/12, for examination. He proves the said RC Ex.PW-77/R. The MHC(M) test testif ifie ied d that that SI Subh Subhas ash h (PW (PW-74) -74) depo deposi site ted d the the recei eceipt pt obtained from the CFSL with him, proved as Ex.PW-77/S. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 104 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 105 ::-

SI Subh Subhas ash h (P (PW W-7 -74) 4) test testif ifie ies s in Cour Courtt that that on 24.12.2012, on the instructions of PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, he deposited the said samples with CFSL, CBI vide RC No. 178/21 178/21/12 /12 and deposi deposited ted the recei receipt pt obtain obtained ed from from CFSL CFSL with MHC(M). He further testifies that that the samples were were not

tampered with as long as they remained in his custody. Further,

pursuant

to

the

disc scllosure

dated

18.12.2012 (Ex.PW-60/G) of accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu, a

sweater

(Ex.P-68/6 ),

pant

(Ex.P-68/7 ),

unde underw rwea earr

(Ex.P-68/8 ) and shoes (Ex.P-68/9 ) were seized at the instance of accused Pawan Pawan vide seizure memo Ex.PW-68/F. On

19.12.2 2.2012,

PW80

SI

Prati atibha

Sharma

deposited the said sample, along with the seizure memo, with the MHC(M), reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2109 dated 19.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/C (Colly.). On 24.12.2012, the biological samples collected from from accu accuse sed d Pawan awan were were sent sent to CFSL, CFSL, CBI CBI thro throug ugh h SI Subhash (PW-74 ) vide RC No.178/21 No.178/21/12, /12, for examinat examination. ion. The witness proves the said RC, a copy of which is

Ex.PW-77/R.

After ter depo deposi siti ting ng the the par parcels cels at CFSL CFSL,, SI


-:: 106 ::-

Subhash (PW-74) handed over the receipt to MHC(M), a copy of which is marked Ex.PW-77/S . SI Subhash (PW-74) corroborates corroborates the testimony of the the MHC( MHC(M) M) (P (PW W-7 -77) 7) in this this resp respec ect. t. He test testif ifie ies s that that on 24.12.2012, on the instructions of PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, he deposited the said samples with CFSL, CBI and gave the receipt so obtained to the MHC(M). He further testifies that

tampered with as long the sample samples s were were not tampered long as they they remained in his custody.

(v)

After fter the the medi medica call exam examin inat atio ion n of accu accuse sed d

Vinay

Sharma on 18.12.2012 at Safdarjung Hospital, two sealed parcels sealed with the seal of the Department of Forensic Medicines, Safdarjung Hospital, along with the sample seal, were handed over to Constable Sandeep (PW-36), which in turn were taken taken into possession by PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma vide seizure memo Ex. PW-36/A. On

19.12.2 2.2012,

PW80

SI

Prati atibha

Sharma

deposited the said samples, along with seizure memo, with MHC(M), reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2109 dated 19.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/C (Colly.). State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 106 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 107 ::-

On 24.12.2012, the biological samples collected from from accu accuse sed d Vinay inay wer were sent sent to CFSL CFSL,, CBI CBI thr through ough SI Subhas Subhash h (PW-74 (PW-74)) vide vide RC No.17 No.178/2 8/21/1 1/12, 2, for exami examinat nation ion.. The witness proves the said RC, a copy of which is

Ex.PW-77/R. The MHC(M) testified testified that after depositing the the parcels at CFSL, SI Subhash (PW-74) handed over the receipt to him, proved as Ex.PW-77/S. SI Subhash (PW-74) corroborates corroborates the testimony of the the MHC( MHC(M) M) (P (PW W-7 -77) 7) in this this resp respec ect. t. He test testif ifie ies s that that on 24.12.2012, on the instructions of PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, he deposited the said samples with CFSL, CBI and gave the receipt so obtained to the MHC(M). MHC(M). He further testifies that

tampered with as long the sample samples s were were not tampered long as they they remained in his custody. Furth urther er,, purs pursua uant nt to the the disc disclo losu surre made made by accused

Vinay,

one

blue

jeans

( Ex.P-68/1 ),

jacket

(Ex.P-68/2), T-sh -shirt irt ( Ex.P-68/3 ) and and sli slipper ppers s ( Ex.P-68/4 ) were seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-68/B . PW80

SI

Pratibha

Sharma

on

19.12.2012

depo deposit sited ed the the said said samp sample les s alon along g with with thei theirr respe espect ctiv ive e State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 107 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 108 ::-

seizur seizure e memos, memos, refle reflect cted ed in Registe egisterr No.19 No.19 at serial serial No. No. 2109, proved as Ex.PW-77/C (Colly.). On 24.12. 24.12.201 2012, 2, the said said sample samples s were were sent sent to CFSL, CBI through SI Subhash (PW-74) vide RC No. 178/21/12

Ex.PW-77/R. The The MHC( MHC(M) M) test estifie ified d that hat the recei eceipt pt so obtained from CFSL was deposited by SI Subhash (PW-74) with him, proved as Ex.PW-77/S. SI Subh Subhas ash h (P (PW W-7 -74) 4) furt furthe herr cor corrobor oborat ates es the the test testim imon ony y of the MHC( MHC(M) M) (P (PW W-7 -77) 7) in this this respe respect ct..

He

test testif ifie ies s that that,, on the inst instru ruct ctio ions ns of PW80 PW80 SI Prati ratibh bha a Sharma, he deposited the said samples with the CFSL, CBI and deposited the receipt collected from CFSL with MHC(M). He further testifies that the samples were not tampered

with as long as they were in his custody. (vi) After

arr arrest est

of

acc accus used ed

Mukesh,

his

MLC

was

cond conduc ucte ted d in the the even evenin ing g of 18 18.1 .12. 2.20 2012 12 at Safd Safdar arju jung ng Hospital by Dr. Chetan Kumar (PW-3). It is submitted that Dr. Chetan Kumar (PW-3) after examining accused, he collected his blood sample in gauze piece, saliva on whatmans filter paper, nail clippings of right and left hands, pubic hair, swab State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 108 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 109 ::-

of glans penis and urethra, underwear, and single stray hair found on the body. These biological samples were preserved and handed over, in sealed condition, sealed with the seal of Department of Forensic Medicine, Safdarjung Hospital, along with a sample seal. This fact is testified by Dr. Dr. Chetan Kumar (PW-3) and is also recorded in the MLC of accused Mukesh,

Ex.PW-3/A. Cons Consta tabl ble e 18.12.2012

Sanj Sanjee eev v

accused

(PW (P W-3 -37) 7)

Muke ukesh

was

test testif ifie ies s

taken

for

that that on medical

exami xamina nati tion on in his his cust custod ody y and and the the conc concer erne ned d doct doctor or handed over two sealed parcels along with a sample seal to him. He further testifies that that he handed over these items to PW80 W80 SI Prat ratibha ibha Sha Sharma, sei seized zed vide vide seiz seizur ure e memo

Ex.PW-37/A. The witness witness further further testifie testifies s that the the parcels parcels were not tampered with in any manner as long as they were in his custody cu stody.. On

18.12.2012,

I.O.

S.I S.I.

Pratibha

Sharma

deposi deposited ted the said said sample sample with with the MHC(M) MHC(M),, refle reflect cted ed in Register No.19 at serial No. 2106 dated 18.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/B (Colly.). State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 109 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 110 ::-

The

testimony

of

the

MHC(M)

( PW-77)

corr corrob obor orat ated ed by SI Subh Subhas ash h (P (PWW-74 74)) in this this resp respec ect. t.

is SI

Subh Subhas ash h (P (PW W-7 -74) 4) has has test testif ifie ied d that that on 24 24.1 .12. 2.20 2012 12,, on instructions of PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, he took the said samp sample les s from from the the MHC( MHC(M) M) vide vide RC No. No. 17 178/ 8/21 21/1 /12 2 and and deposi deposited ted them them with CFSL, CFSL, CBI. CBI.

The recei receipt pt so obtained obtained

from CFSL was given to the MHC(M). The witness further testifies that the samples were not tampered with as long as they were in his custody. Pursu ursuan antt to the the disc disclo losu surre made made by accu accuse sed d Muk Mukesh esh on 18 18.1 .12. 2.201 2012, 2, the the accu accuse sed d got got recov ecover ered ed the the clot clothe hes s wor worn by him him at the the time time of the the incid nciden ent, t, i.e. i.e. a T-shirt T-shirt

( Ex.PW-48/1), pants (Ex.PW-48/2) and and jack acket

(Ex.PW-48/3),

which ich

were

seized zed vide sei seizur zure

memo

Ex.PW-48/B. On 23.12.2012, I.O. SI Pratibha Sharma deposited the said sample, which is reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2134 dated 23.12.2012, a copy of which is marked as

Ex.PW-77/H (Colly.). On 24.12.2012, these exhibits, with sample seal, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 110 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 111 ::-

were sent to CFSL, CBI through SI Subhash (PW-74) vide RC No.178/21/12, for examination, a copy of which is marked as

Ex.PW-77/R. After ter depo deposi siti ting ng the the par parcels cels at CFSL CFSL,, the the recei receipt pt obtain obtained ed from from CFSL CFSL was deposi deposited ted by SI Subhas Subhash h (PW-74), proved as Ex.PW-77/S. SI Subhash (PW-74) corroborates corroborates the testimony of the MHC(M) MHC(M) (PW-77 (PW-77)) in this this respe respect. ct. SI Subhas Subhash h (PW-74 (PW-74)) testifies that on 24.12.2012, on the instructions of PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, he took the parcels from the MHC(M) vide RC No. 178/21/12 and deposited them with CFSL, CBI. The recei eceipt pt so obt obtaine ained d from from CFSL CFSL was was depo deposi site ted d with with the the MHC( MHC(M). M). He furt furthe herr test testif ifie ies s that that the the samp sample les s were were not

tampered with as long as they remained in his custody. (vii) After the arrest of accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur ,

h is

medical

examinati ation

was

conducted

on

22.12. 22.12.201 2012 2 at AIIMS AIIMS by Dr. Dr. Shasha Shashank nk Pooni Poonia a (PW-7) (PW-7) vide vide MLC No.5424 of 2012, marked as Ex.PW-7/A, The following biolo biologic gical al sample samples s were were colle collecte cted: d: blood blood in gauze gauze piece, piece, saliva in gauze, control gauze, penile swab, control swab, nail scrapings and clippings, carbon teeth impression, red State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 111 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 112 ::-

coloured Sandoz banyan, dark brown coloured underwear, scalp hair, and pubic hair. The same were preserved and handed over in sealed condition, sealed with the seal of the department, along with the sample seal. ASII Suri AS Surind nder er Kumar umar ( PW-40) test testif ifie ies s that that on 22.12.2012, on the instructions of PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, accused Akshay was taken in his custody to AIIMS and his medical examination was got done. He further testifies that after his examination, the concerned doctor handed over 11 seal sealed ed par parcels cels,, seal sealed ed with with the the seal seal of Depa Depart rtme ment nt of Forens orensic ic Medicin Medicine, e, AIIMS, AIIMS, along along with a sample sample seal. seal.

The

witness has further testified that he then handed over these items to PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma, Sharma, which were seized by her vide seizure memo Ex.PW-40/A . SI Surinder Surinder Kumar Kumar (PW-40) has also testified that the parcels were not tampered with in any manner as long as they remained in his custody. On

22.12.2 2.2012,

PW80

SI

Prati atibha

Sharma

deposited the said sample with MHC(M), reflected in Register No.1 No.19 9 at seri serial al No. No. 21 2127 27 date dated d 22 22.1 .12. 2.20 2012 12,, prov proved ed as

Ex.PW-77/G (Colly). State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 112 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 113 ::-

On 24.12. 24.12.201 2012, 2, the said said sample samples s were were sent sent to CFSL, CBI through SI Subhash (PW-74) vide RC No.178/21/12, No.178/21/12, for examination, a copy of which is marked as Ex.PW-77/R. The receipt receipt obtained from from CFSL was deposited by SI Subhash Subhash (PW-74), proved as Ex.PW-77/S. Pursu ursuan antt to the the disc disclo losu surre made made by accu accuse sed d Akshay, a blood stained jeans ( Ex.P-53/3 ), which was worn by him at the time of the incident, was seized from village Naharpur, Gurgaon, vide seizure memo Ex.PW-53/G. SI Upen Upende derr Sing Singh h (P (PW W-5 -53) 3) depo deposi site ted d the the said said sample with the seizure memo on 22.12.2012, reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2126 dated 22.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/F (Colly.). On 24.12. 24.12.201 2012, 2, the said said sample samples s were were sent sent to CFSL, CBI through SI Subhash (PW-74) vide RC No. 178/21/12 for examinatio examination, n, a copy of which which is marked marked as Ex. PW-77/R PW-77/R.. The receipt receipt obtained from from CFSL was deposited by SI Subhash Subhash (PW-74), proved as Ex.PW-77/S. The testimony of MHC(M) in this respect has been corroborated by the evidence of SI Subhash (PW-74), who State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 113 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 114 ::-

has testified that on 24.12.2012, on the instructions of PW80 SI Pratibha, he took the said samples from the MHC(M) vide RC No. 179/21/12 179/21/12 and and deposited deposited them them with CFSL, CFSL, CBI. The receipt so obtained from CFSL was deposited by SI Subhash (PW-74) with the the MHC(M). The witness witness has further testified testified that the samples were not tampered with as long as they remained in his custody.

(viii)

A numb number er of samp sample les s wer were coll collec ecte ted d from from the the

dumping spot i.e., the place where the prosecutrix and PW1, the the comp compla lain inan antt wer were thr thrown own off off the the movi moving ng bus bus near near Mahipalpur flyover for DNA examination. The samples, i.e., blood blood staine stained d leaves leaves,, blood blood staine stained d grass grass blades blades,, leaves leaves without blood, blades of grass without blood, blood stained dust along with leaves and grass were lifted from the said spot sp ot.. The The

depo deposi siti tion on of Dr. Dr. B. B.K. K. Moha Mohapa patr tra, a, (P (PW W-4 -45) 5),,

extr extract acted ed above, above, shows shows that that the blood blood match matched ed with with the DNA profile of the complainant. On 17 17.1 .12. 2.20 2012 12,, on insp inspec ectting ing the the said said sp spot ot,, Inspector Naresh Kumar ( PW-41) found blood lying on the leaves, grass and on the ground. ground. On his instructions, instructions, PW80 PW80 State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 114 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 115 ::-

SI Prati Pratibha bha lifted lifted the exhib exhibit its, s, which which he descri described bed in his report (Ex.PW-41/A). The spot was secured with the tape of Delhi Police and was guarded by a police constable. SI Subhash (PW-74) has testified in Court that the crime team, headed by Inspector Naresh (PW-41), inspected the spot where blood was lying. He further testifies that as per instructions of the crime team, PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma lift lifted ed the the exhi exhibi bits ts from from the the sp spot ot incl includ udin ing g bloo blood d stai staine ned d leaves of Mulberry and blood stained grass. He has further testified that leaves and grass without blood, and leaves and grass staine stained d with mud/eart mud/earth h were also also lifted. lifted.

He further further

testifies that PW80 SI Pratibha kept the exhibits separately in small plastic container, which was then sealed with the seal and seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-74/C. SI Subhash (PW-74) on 17.12.2012 deposited the said samples with the MHC(M), reflected in Register Register No.19 at seri serial al No. No. 21 2104 04,, a copy copy of whic which h is mark marked ed as PW-7 PW-77/A 7/A (Colly.). (Colly.). On 24.12.2012, the said samples were were sent to CFSL, CBI, with sample seal, through SI Subhash (PW-74) vide RC No.178/21/12, for examination, proved as Ex.PW-77/R. The State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 115 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 116 ::-

witness has further testified that the receipt obtained from CFSL was deposited by SI Subhash (PW-74) on the same day, proved as Ex.PW-77/S.

(ix) The The iron iron rods ods Ex.PW-49/1 and Ex.PW-49/2 were seized at the instance of accused Ram Singh and seized vide memo Ex.PW-74/G. The iron rods recovered recovered at the instance of acc accus used ed Ram

Sing Singh h

were ere

depos eposiited ted

with

MHC(M HC(M)) on

17.12.2012 by PW80 SI Pratibha, reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2104 dated 17.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/A (Colly.). On 24.12.2012, the two iron rods, rods, along with the sample seal, were sent to CFSL, CBI for examination through SI Subh Subhas ash h (P (PW W-7 -74) 4) vide vide RC No. No. 17 178/ 8/21 21/1 /12, 2, prov proved ed as

Ex.PW-77/R.

The The recei eceipt pt so obt obtaine ained d fro from CFSL CFSL was was

deposited by SI Subhash (PW-74), proved proved as Ex.PW-77/S .

(x) After his arrest, accused Ram Singh got recovered ashes unburntt pieces pieces of clothe clothes s from of burn burntt clot clothe hes s and and unburn Ravid avidas ass s Mand Mandir ir Road, oad, Sect Sector or-3 -3,, R.K. .K. Pu Pura ram. m.

The The said said

exhib exhibit its s were were seized seized by SI Subhas Subhash h (PW-74 (PW-74)) vide vide seizur seizure e State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 116 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 117 ::-

memo Ex.PW-74/M. The said samples were deposited by PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma with the MHC(M) on 17.12.2012, along with the seizure memo, which is reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2104 dated 17.12.2012, proved as

Ex.PW-77/A

(Colly.). On 24.12. 24.12.201 2012, 2, the said said sample samples s were were sent sent to CFSL, CBI through SI Subhash (PW-74) for examination vide RC

No.1 No.178 78/2 /21/ 1/12 12,,

prov proved ed

as

Ex.PW-77/R.

He

further

depose deposed d that that after after deposi depositin ting g the parcel parcels s with with CFSL, CFSL, the receipt so obtained from CFSL was deposited by SI Subhash (PW-74), which is marked as Ex.PW-77/S .

(xi) On 17 17.1 .12. 2.20 2012 12,, a team team of expe expert rts s from from CFSL CFSL,, CBI CBI inspected the bus Ex.P1 and lifted the following samples seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-74/P :

a.

hair recovered recovered from the the third row of of the bus on the left side ;

b.

hair recovered from the floor of the bus near the back seat ;

c.

one golden yellow coloured curtain hanging over the back seat of the bus ;


-:: 118 ::-

d.

one golden yellow coloured curtain lying on the ninth row seat on the right site of the bus.

Dr. B. K. Mohapatra ( PW-45) has testified in Court in respect to the inspection of the bus ( Ex. P-1) and lifting of samples by the CFSL team on 17.12.2012. SI Subhash (PW-74) has testified in Court that on 17.12.2012 17.12.2012,, the CFSL team reached reached Thyagraj Thyagraj Stadium for insp inspec ecti tio on of the the bus bus and and afte afterr insp inspec ecti tion on lift lifted ed some some sample samples, s, handed handed over over to PW80 PW80 SI Prati Pratibha bha Sharm Sharma, a, who then sealed the said exhibits separately with the seal of the

PS and seized them vide seizure memo Ex.PW-74/P. The bus was constantly guarded by officers of the Delhi Police from the time of its being parked there on the evening of 17.12.2012 till the lifting of the exhibits on the even eveniing of

18..12 18 12.2 .201 012, 2, and and

ther herefo efore, ther here

was no

possibility of any contamination. On

17.12.2 2.2012,

PW80

SI

Prati atibha

Sharma

deposited the said samples with the MHC(M) along with the seizur seizure e memos, memos, refle reflect cted ed in Registe egisterr No.19 No.19 at serial serial No. No. 2104 dated 17.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/A . State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 118 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 119 ::-

The

samples

collected

on

17.12.2012

and

18.12.2012 from the bus were sent to CFSL for analysis on 24..12 24 12..20 2012 12 thro hrough ugh SI Subh Subha ash (P (PW W-7 -74) 4) vide vide RC No. 178/21/12

Ex.PW-77/R.

The

rec receipt

ob obtained

aft after

depo deposit sitin ing g the the said said samp sample le at CFSL CFSL was was depo deposi site ted d by SI Subhash (PW-74), proved as Ex.PW-77/S. The CFSL team on 18.12.2012 also collected the follow following ing sample samples s from from the bus No. No. DL-1P DL-1P-01 -0149 49 (Ex.P-1) parked at Thyagraj Stadium :

(a)

hair recovered from from the floor of the bus second row left side ;

(b)

hair recovered recovered from lower steps of back gate ;

(c)

bunch of hair recovered from the floor of the bus found below the sixth row seats on the right side of the bus ;

(d)

material recovered recovered from the floor of lower steps of back gate of the bus ;

(e)

a small paper piece recovered from the floor of the bus near the bonnet ;

(f)

a stain prepared from the roof of the bus near the back gate ;

(g)

a stain prepared from the side of the back stairs of the bus near the back gate ;

(h)

a stain prepared from the floor near the back gate of the bus ;


-:: 120 ::-

(i)

a stain prepared from the inner side of the back door of the bus ;

(j)

seven pieces of aluminium strips of difference sizes cut out from the floor of the back gate stairs and from the floor adjacent to the eighth row seats on the right side of the bus

(k)

three lower seat covers and three upper seat covers from the eighth row on the right side of the bus were also seized vide vide seizure memo Ex.PW-60/F Ex.PW-60/F by PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma.

HC Mahabir (PW-60) has testified in Court that he, alon along g with with PW80 PW80 SI Prat ratibha ibha Shar Sharma ma,, went went to Tyagr yagraj aj Stadium on 18.12.2012 where the CFSL team lifted several exhibits and handed them over in containers and envelopes. He further testified that the exhibits were sealed with the seal of the PS and seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-60/E. The witness has also testified that the CFSL team also broke broke some parts of the flooring of the bus into strips and took samp sample les s of floo floori ring ng of the the bus. bus. The The witn witnes ess s has has furt furthe herr testified that on instructions of the CFSL team, PW80 SI State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 120 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 121 ::-

Pratibha Sharma seized three sets of upper and lower seat covers covers vide vide seizur seizure e memo memo Ex.PW-60/F and sealed sealed them them with the seal of the PS. All the samples were in the custody of PW80 SI Pratibha Sharma. On 18.12.2012, I.O. SI Pratibha Sharma deposited the said samples, along with the seizure memos, reflected in Register No.19 at serial No. 2106 dated 18.12.2012, proved as Ex.PW-77/B (Colly.). On 17.12.2012 and 18.12.2012 the samples were tak taken to CFSL CFSL,, CBI CBI by SI Subh Subhas ash h (P (PW W-7 -74) 4) vide vide RC No. No. 178/21/12 for examination, a copy of which is Ex.PW-77/R. He has further testified that the receipt obtained from the CFSL was deposited by SI Subhash (PW-74), Ex.PW-77/S. The above evidence is also corroborated corroborated by the testimony of PW80 S.I. Pratibha (DW-80). Thus the above facts not only established the

chain chain of custody custody but also the purity of samples, being maintained during investigation..


-:: 122 ::-

In the the abov above e back backgr grou ound nd now now I come come to DNA

profiling. (i). The The DNA profile of the prosecutrix developed from blood sample of the prosecutrix matched with the DNA profile generated from her hair, debris, swab between finger fingers, s, nail nail clippi clippings ngs,, saliva saliva,, combi combing ng of pubic pubic hair, hair, matt matted ed pubi pubic c hair hair,, clip clippi ping ng of pubi pubic c hair hair,, cerv cervic ical al mucus mucus swab, swab, vagina vaginall secre secretio tion, n, vagina vaginall wash, wash, recta rectall swab, oral swab, urine and oxalate blood, wrist watch of prosecutrix, bed sheet of prosecutrix, sweater and pieces of inner clothes of prosecutrix provided to the CFSL vide memo no. 3573/SHO/Vasant Vihar/New Delhi dated 21.12.2012

(ii). The The DNA of the complainant was generated from the blood sample of complainant provided to the CFSL vide memo memo no. no. 3614/S 3614/SHO/ HO/V Vasant asant Vihar Vihar/Ne /New w Delhi Delhi dated dated 26.12.2012.

(iii). The The DNA profile developed from the blood of Ram Singh matched with the DNA profile developed from penile swab, saliva, nail clippings, and semen stains appearing on his underwear, provided to the CFSL vide memo memo no. no. 3602/SH 3602/SHO/V O/Vasa asant nt Vihar Vihar/Ne /New w Delhi Delhi dated dated 24.12.2012.

(iv). The The DNA profile developed from blood sample of awan Gupta Gupta @ Kaalu Kaalu matche accused Pawan matched d with with his DNA develo developed ped from from saliva saliva,, nail nail clippi clippings, ngs, uret urethra hrall State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 122 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 123 ::-

swab, glans swab and pubic hair provided to the CFSL vide vide memo memo no. no. 36 3602 02/SH /SHO/ O/V Vasan asantt Vihar ihar/Ne /New w Delh Delhii dated 24.12.2012.

(v). The The DNA profile developed from the blood sample of accused Vinay matched with his DNA developed from saliva, nail clippings, urethral swab, glans swab, semen on the underwear underwear and pubic hair provided provided to the CFSL vide vide memo memo no. no. 36 3602 02/SH /SHO/ O/V Vasan asantt Vihar ihar/Ne /New w Delh Delhii dated 24.12.2012.

(vi). The The DNA profile developed from the blood sample of accused Mukesh matc matche hed d with with his his DNA DNA deve develo lope ped d from saliva, nail clippings, urethral swab, glans swab, semen on the underwear and pubic hair provided to the CFSL vide memo no. 3602/SHO/Vasant Vihar/New Delhi dated 24.12.2012.

(vii). The The DNA profile developed from the blood sample of accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur matched with the DNA developed from saliva, penile swab, nail clip clippi pings ngs and and pubi pubic c hair hair prov provid ided ed to the the CFSL CFSL vide vide memo memo no. no. 3602/SH 3602/SHO/V O/Vasa asant nt Vihar Vihar/Ne /New w Delhi Delhi dated dated 24.12.2012.

ANALYSIS After profiling, now I come to the DNA analysis which duly establish the identity of the victims and of the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 123 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 124 ::-

accused person beyond doubt to be the person inside the bus Ex.P-1 at the relevant time.

Accused Ram Singh ( since deceased) (a). Rectal swab from the prosecutrix contained DNA of male origin, which matched the DNA developed from blood sample of accused Ram Singh.

(b) The DNA profile developed from the blood stains from the underwear of accused Ram Singh matched with the DNA of the prosecutrix. prosecutrix.

(c) The DNA profile developed developed from the blood stains found on the the T-shi -shirt rt and and slip slippe pers rs of accu accuse sed d Ram Ram Sing Singh h matched the DNA profile of the prosecutrix.

Accused Vinay Sharma (a) The DNA profile developed from the sample of the bloo blood d of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x matc matche hed d the the DNA DNA prof profil ile e developed from stains from under garments of Vinay.

(b) The DNA profile developed from blood stains from jacket of Vinay matched the DNA profile developed from the sample of the blood of the prosecutrix.

(c)

A separate DNA profile developed from blood stains from jac jacket of Vinay nay matc atched hed the DNA DNA prof profiile dev develo eloped ped from the samp samplle of the blo blood of the complainant.


-:: 125 ::-

(d) The DNA profile developed from the sample of the bloo blood d of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x matc matche hed d the the DNA DNA prof profil ile e developed from the pair of slippers of Vinay.

Accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu (a) The DNA profile developed from the sweater of Pawan Pawan matched the DNA profile developed from the sample of the blood of the prosecutrix. prosecutrix.

(b)

A separate DNA profile developed from the sweater of Pawan matched the DNA profile developed from the sample of the blood of the complainant.

(c) The DNA profile developed from the sample of the bloo blood d of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x matc matche hed d the the DNA DNA prof profil ile e developed from pair of shoes of Pawan.

Accused Mukesh The DNA profile profile developed from the the sample of the blood of the prosecutrix matched the DNA profile developed fro from blo blood stai stain ns from the pant pants, s, T-shi -shirt rt and jack acket recovered from accused Mukesh.

Accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur (a)

Breast swab from the prosecutrix contained DNA of male origin which matched the DNA of Akshay.

(b) The DNA profile developed from the sample of the bloo blood d of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x matc matche hed d the the DNA DNA prof profil ile e developed from blood stains from T-shirt and pair of State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 125 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 126 ::-

slippers of Akshay.

(c) The first DNA profile developed from the jeans of Akshay matched the DNA profile developed from the sample of the blood of the prosecutrix.

(d) The second DNA profile developed from the jeans of Akshay matched the DNA profile developed from the sample of the blood of the complainant.

BUS ; IRON RODS ; ASH ; UNBURNT CLOTHES CLOTHES Furth urther er the the DNA DNA prof profil iles es foun found d on biol biolog ogic ical al samples lifted from the material objects such as the bus, the iron rods and the ash and unburnt pieces of clothes matched with the following :

Complainant : (a) The DNA profile developed from burnt clothes pieces was found to be of male origin and was consistent with the DNA profile of complainant.

(b) The DNA profile profile developed from hair hair and blood stained pieces of paper recovered from the bus matched with the

DNA profile of complainant.

(c) The DNA profile developed from blood stained dried leaves collected from the place where both the victims were ere thro hrown match atche ed wit with the DNA DNA pro profil file of complainant.


-:: 127 ::-

The prosecutrix: (a) The DNA profile profile developed from from blood stains from from both the iron rods recovered at the instance of accused Ram Singh from bus is of female origin and was consistent with the DNA profile of prosecutrix.

(b)

The The DNA pro profil file dev develo eloped ped from bloo blood d stai stains ns from curtains matched with the DNA profile of prosecutrix.

(c) The DNA profile developed from from blood stains from seat covers matched with the DNA profile of prosecutrix.

(d)

DNA profi profile le develo developed ped from from blood blood stains stains from from the bunch of the hair recovered recovered from floor of the bus below sixth row seat, blood stains prepared from the roof of the bus near back gate, blood stains prepared prepared from the floor of the bus near back gate, blood stains taken from side of back stairs of the bus, blood stains taken from the inner side of the back door of the bus matched with the DNA profile of prosecutrix. prosecutrix.

FINGER PRINT REPORT Now I come to the finger print report Ex.PW46/D. A bare perusal of the report would show the chance print marked marked as Q1 lifted lifted from from inside inside the bus Ex P1 was found

identical with left finger print specimen of accused Vinay State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 127 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 128 ::-

Sharma. Further Further the chance chance print marked marked as Q4 lifted from from inside the bus Ex.P1 was found identical with right thumb impression of the accused Vinay Sharma.. The

admissibility of finger print report was not

seriously challenged except the factum of washing of the bus ExP1, already already dealt dealt by me above. above. Hence the presence presence of accused accused Vinay Vinay inside inside the bus ExP1 at the time of incident stood established by the report Ex PW46/D.

ODONTOLOGY REPORT Before analysing this report, let me see if the bite marks analysis can be used as a method of identification.

“Medical al Jurisp Jurisprud rudenc ence e and For this, his, I may refer fer to “Medic Toxicol oxicology ogy”, ”, by K.S K.S Naryan Naryana a Reddy Reddy wher wherei ein n he has has mentioned that : “They are useful in identification because the alignment of teeth is peculiar to the individua individual l . Bite marks marks may be found in materials left at the place of crime, e.g., foo foods dstu tuff ffs, s, su such ch as chee cheese se,, bre bread, butter, fruit, or in humans involved in assaults, when either the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 128 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 129 ::-

victim or the accused may show the marks, usually on the hands, hands, fingers, fingers, forearms, forearms, nose and ears. Several Several methods methods are are

suggested suggested to to analyse analyse the

bite marks.

Photogra graphi phic c Method Method : “(1) Photo The bite mark is fully photographed with two scales at righ rightt angl angle e to one one anot another her in the horizontal plane. Phot Ph otog ogra raph phs s of the the teet teeth h are are taken taken by using using specia speciall mirror mirrors s which allow the inclusion of all the teeth in the upper or lower jaws in one photograph. The photographs of the teeth are matc matche hed d with with phot photog ogra raph phs s or tracings tracings of of the teeth. teeth. Tracings racings can be made from positive casts of a bite impre pression , inking the cutting edges of the front te teeth. These ar are transfe sferred to transp spa arent ent sheets, and superimposed over the photographs, or a negative photograph of the teeth is superimposed over the positive photograph of the bite Exclusive is easier than positive matching. (2) CASTS : A plastic substance, such as a rubber or silicone based medium contai containin ning g cataly catalytic tic harder harderner ner is laid over the bite mark, which produces a permanent negative State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 129 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 130 ::-

cast. cast. Plaste Plasterr of Paris Paris also also can be used. (3) CHARTING OF TEETH : There are more than 150 different methods of identifying num numbering and charting of teeth. Coming to to facts : In the present case PW66 Shri Asgar had taken 10 photographs of different parts of the body

of

the

prosecutrix

and

prepared

two

sets

of

photograph photographs s one of small size of 8 cm X 12 cm and another another of the size of of 8 cm X 7 cm. The small size size photographs were were proved as Ex.PW66/B and the large size photographs as

Ex.PW66/C

coll collec ecti tive vely ly..

He

also also

prov proved ed

cert certif ific icat ate e

Ex.PW66/A under section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act. PW18 SI Vishl Chaudhary then had carried the pullanda pullanda to SDM Education Educational al Society's, Society's, Shri Dharamsth Dharamsthala ala Manjunatheshwara College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Sattur, Dharwad – 580009, Karnataka, for its examination and and brought ught it bac back and and depo depose sed d that hat ther here was no

tampering in the the samp sample les; s; thus thus ensu ensuri ring ng the the purity of samples.

PW71 Dr. Asith B. Acharya identified all the five State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 130 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 131 ::-

dental models in the court stating, interalia, that these were shown shown to him at the time of examinat examination. ion. As per his report report

Ex.PW71/C Dr. Asith B. Acharya had opined as under : “Overall, there is a concordance of sufficient distinctive, indi indivi vidu dual al char charac acte teri rist stic ics s to con confer fer (vir (virtu tual al)) uniq uniqu uene eness withi ithin n the popul opulat atiion unde under r There is consideration. absence of any unexplainab lainable le discre discrepan pancie cies s betbetween the bite marks on Phot Photog ogra raph ph No. No. 4 and and the the biting surfaces of one of the accused person's teeth, namely Ram Singh. Theref Therefore ore,, there there is reason reasonabl able e medical certainty that the teeth on the den dental tal mode models ls of the the accu accuse sed d pers person on name named d Ram Singh caused the bite marks visi visibl ble e on Phot Photog ogra raph ph No. No. 4 ; also, the bite marks on Photogr ograph Nos. 1 and 2 show some degree of spec specif ific icit ity y to this this accu accuse sed d person's teeth by virtue of a sufficient number of concordant points, including some corresponding unconventional / indiv dividual characteristics. Threfore, the teeth on the dent dental al mode models ls of the the accu accuse sed d person with the name of Ram Singh probably also caused the bite marks visible on Photograph Nos. 1 and 2. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 131 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 132 ::-

The The comp omparis arison on of exhibits nos. 1 and 2 excludes the biting surfaces on the dent dental al models dels of four our of the accuse accused d person persons, s, namely namely Ram Ram Sing Singh, h, Pawa Pawan, n, Vina Vinay y Shar Sharma ma an d Mukesh, from having caused the bite mark on Phot Ph otog ogra raph ph no. no. 5 owin owing g to a lack of fit in the 1:1 comparison, as well as unexplainable discordant points in relation to tooth arrangement. The comparison also show that there is a concordance in terms of general alignment and angulation of the biting surrfac su faces of the the teeth eeth of the lower jaw on the dental models of the accused person with the name Akshay and the corresponding bite marks visible on the Photograph No. 5. In part partic icul ular ar,, the the comp compar aris ison on revealed concordance between the biting surface of the teeth on the lower jaw of the dental models models of the accuse accused d person person with the name of Akshay and the bite mark visible on Photograph No. 5 in relation to the rotated left first inci inciso sorr whos whose e mesi mesial al su surf rfac ace e pointed towards the tongue. Overall, the bite mark shows some some degr degree ee of spec specif ific icit ity y to the accused person's teeth by virtue of a number of concordant points, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 132 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 133 ::-

incl includ udin ing g one one corr corres espo pond ndin ing g unc unconv onvent ention ional / indi ndividu vidual al char charac acte teri rist stic ic.. Ther There e is is an an absenc absence e of any unexpl unexplain ainabl able e discrepancies between the bite mark and the biting surfaces of this this accu accuse sed d pers person on's 's teet teeth. h. teeth h on the the Theref Therefore ore,, the teet dental models of the accused person with the name name of Aksh Aksha ay prob probab ably ly caused the bite marks visi visibl ble e on Phot Photog ogra raph ph No. No. 5.” So, the report Ex.PW71/C

also established the

bite marks of accused Ram Singh and accused Akshay on the person of the p prosecutri rosecutrix, x, since deceased. It was was argued by the the ld coun counse sell for for accu accuse sed d Akshay Akshay Kumar umar @ Thaku Thakurr that that the repor reports ts itself itself says says that that accused Akshay Kumar @ Thakur probably caused the bite marks visible in photograph no. 5 and hence, the scientific repor eportt is not cert certai ain. n.

I am not incl inclin ined ed to acce accept pt the

cont conten enti tion ons s sinc since e the the doct doctor or hims himsel elff when when exam examin ined ed as

PW71 had answered to a query viz. : Q: You had us used ed the words ords “probably and most likely” in your report Ex.PW71/C so I suggest you that your report is not relia reliable ble,, concr concrete ete and can State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 133 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 134 ::-

not be acted upon? Ans: We derived the conclusions based on a number of degre degrees es of certai certainty nty linki linking ng the the su susp spec ects ts teet teeth h to the the bite bite marks. The fir first of th these degrees is referred to as “ reasonable medical certainty ”, which denotes the highest order of cert certai aint nty y that that the the su susp spec ectt caused the bite marks and there is no reasonable or practical possibility that someone else could have caused the bite marks. The second of these degrees is referred to as “probably the biter ” and denotes some degree of specificity based on a number of conc concor orda dant nt indi indivi vidu dual al char charac acte teri rist stic ics s bet between ween the the suspect’s dentition and the bite marks.

Thus, the expert had himself stated that the word probably denotes some degree of specificity and this has to be read in consonance with the positive evidence against the accused proved on record and hence is a circumstance against accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur. Thus, besides the identity of accused being esta establ blis ishe hed d by the tradi traditi tion onal al metho method; d;

the the iden identi tity ty &


-:: 135 ::-

presence presence of accused accused is, even even otherwise, otherwise, confir confirmed med by the scientific reports viz., DNA ; finger printing and odontology report. Rather with with the aid of the evidence so recorded recorded the following stood established ;-

(a)

the incident of sexual assault in the bus Ex.P1 ;

(b)

the fact that victims and accused person were together in the bus Ex.P1 when the incident took place ;

(c)

the seized rods Ex.P-49/1 and Ex.P-49/2 were used in the crime ;

(d)

the prosecutrix was gang raped by accused and was subjected to unnatural sex;

(e)

the prosecutrix and the complainant received various injuries at the hands of accused, per medical evidence on record. record.

(f)

the victims were dumped in front of Delhi Airport after the

(g)

crime, and

the prosecutrix died due to injuries inflicted by accused ;

(h)

the DNA profile from the burnt cloth pieces found near the bus Ex.P1 were found to be of male original consistent with the DNA profile of the complainant, also established the destruction of evidence.

(i)

The injuries to all the accused person person found per


-:: 136 ::-

MLC(s) Ex.PW2/A of accused Ram Singh, since deceased ; MLC Ex.PW7/A of accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur ; MLC Ex.PW7/B of accused Pawan Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu and MLC

Ex.PW7/C of accused Vinay Sharma all are suggestive of struggle by the victims during the incident. Thus the contents of the deposition of PW1 and the dying declarations find support from the facts proved from the exhibits lifted from the bus, iron rods, route map as also also by the electr electroni onic c evidence evidence..

The The identi identity ty of accused, accused,

even even otherw otherwise ise,, stood stood establ establish ished ed by scient scientifi ific c evidenc evidence. e. Hence in addition to the testimony of an eye witness PW1, the chain of circumstance also stood established against all the accused.

MISC. CONTENTIONS A. the

The manner of arrest arrest of the accused person and recover recoveries ies effected effected therefr therefrom om has been been discussed discussed by

me in the evidence part of my judgment and I need not repeat the same. However qua their arrest & recoveries the following contentions were raised by accused accused : a) illegality State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 136 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 137 ::-

in arrest, as not been shown arrested at the places where they were apprehended ; b) the recoveries being tainted as not effected effected in presence of public witnesses. witnesses. Regarding (a) I need to say that the evidence of the police officials associated in the arrest of the accused person is found as trustworthy. trustworthy. Despite some contradictions contradic tions here and there, the accused person have not been able to create a dent in the story of the prosecution qua the manner of their arrest. arrest. Even otherwise, I may may go to the extent extent to say that illegality in arrest, if any, has no bearing on the trial of a case.

“Prabu u v. v. In “Prab

Emperor Emperor”, ”, AIR 194 1944 4 PC 73 , it

was held that illegality in the arrest of accused do not vitiate the trial. Further, in “Mobarik Ali Ahmed v. State of

Bombay”, AIR 1957 SC 857 , the Hon'ble Supreme Court laid the same preposition of law. Thus, I need not dwell on the aspect of alleged vitiating of trial on account of any alleged illegality in the arre arrest st of any of the accused accused person person.. Even Even otherw otherwise ise the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 137 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 138 ::-

accused accused person person

has not proved proved the factum factum of they being

arrested arrested from somewhere else than the places proved by the prosecution. Though , accused Akshay Kumar Kumar Singh @ Thakur raised an issue that he was not arrested from his house but he

surrendered

at

Police ice

Station ion

Tandwa,

District

Aurangabad and hence the version of the police that he was brought from from his house by the police is patently false and do not appeal to me since Arrest Arrest Memo Ex.PW53/A of accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur show that he was arrested at his

native

village

Karmalang,

P.S

Tandwa,

Distr strict

Aura Au rang ngab abad ad,, Biha Bihar, r, whic which h infa infact ct is also also admi admitt tted ed by the the defence witnesses, he had produced. Now, I may may even refer refer to the arrest arrest of accused accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu . It is claimed by defence witnesses that this accused was lifted by 4-5 persons in the evening of 17.12.2012

but

is

shown

18-1 18 -122-20 2012 12 at 1:15 1:15 PM.

to

have

been

arrested

on

It is also also alleg alleged ed on beha behalf lf of

accused Vinay Sharma that he was taken to police station by his father and was never arrested at the instance of accused State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 138 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 139 ::-

Ram Sing Singh, h, as alle allege ged d on 18 18--12 12-2 -201 012 2 at 1:30 1:30 PM. PM. The The defence defence witnesses witnesses on their their behalf behalf depose depose that they raised raised hue and cry with police qua lifting of accused but failed to prod produc uce e anyt anythi hing ng on recor ecord d exce except pt a docu docume ment nt Mark

DW7/1, not not even bearing bearing stamp stamp of any any office office / authorised authorised person

or

a

postal

receipt.

On

the

other

hand

the

prosecution had proved the chain of events, including arrest of all accused, one after the other, the recoveries effected at their instance and hence the version of the accused that they were not arrested in the manner as described by police is not acceptable. It is settl settled ed law that that as the disco discover very y of fact fact

/

articles recovered recovered at at the instance instance of accused are admissible admissible in evidence evidence under section section 27 of Indian Indian Eviden Evidence ce Act. Act. Let me now now see if there there was any any necessi necessity ty of joining joining of public public witnesses at the time of recoveries effected at the instance of accused accused or if in their absence absence the recover recoveries ies could could be treated as tainted as contended. To To answer this contention (b) let let me refer efer to section 100 Cr.P.C wherein only the requirement of public State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 139 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 140 ::-

witnes witnesses ses is stress stressed. ed.

Suffic Suffice e is to say that that section section 100

Cr.P.C is not related to recoveries effected at the instance of the the accu accuse sed d pers person on befo beforre it is made made admi admiss ssib ible le unde underr section 27 Indian Evidence Act. I would like to refer to “State v. Sunil, (2001)

1

SCC

652,

wher herein ein

the diff differ ere ence nce

betw etween een

sear searc ch

cond conduc ucte ted d unde underr sect sectio ion n 10 100 0 Cr.P Cr.P.C and and the the recov ecover ery y effect effected ed at the instan instance ce of accuse accused d has been been elabor elaborate ately ly discussed. It has been observed that : “It must be remembered that a sear search ch is made ade to find out out a thing or document about which the the sear search chin ing g offi office cerr has has no prior idea as to where ere the thing or document document is kept. kept. He prowls for it either on reasonable suspic picion or on some some gues guessw swor ork k that that it coul could d possibly be ferreted out in such prowling. The legislative idea in insisting on such searches to be made made in the the pres presen ence ce of two two independent inhabitants of the locality is to ensure the safety of all such articles meddled an object pursuant to the information supplied by an accused in custody is different from from the the sear search chin ing g ende endevo vour ur envisaged in Chapter VII of the Code.” State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 140 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 141 ::-

The Hon'ble Supreme Court also deliberated on this

issue

Hyderabad Hyderabad

in

vs.

“Tra “T rans nspo port rt

Comm Commis issi sion oner er

.,

A.P A.P.

S. Sardar Sardar Ali, 1983 SCC (Criminal (Criminal))

827, wherein it was held that : “it is a fallacious impression that when when any recove recovery ry is effect effected ed pursuant to any statement made by the accused the document prepared by the investigating Officer cont ontemp emporan oraneo eous us with su such ch recove recovery ry,, must must necess necessari arily ly be atte attest sted ed by any any inde indepe pend nden ent t witnesses. It was also been held that when a police official gives the the evid eviden ence ce in the the cour courtt that that the some articles were recovered by him on the strength of the statement made by the accused it is always open to the court to believe the version to be correct if it is not otherwise shown to be unreliable.

Dr. Suni Sunill Clif Cliffo ford rd Dani Daniel el In “Dr.

v.

Stat State e of of

Punjab”, (2012) 11 SCC 205 , the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the absenc absence e of examin examinati ation on of public witnesses had relied State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 141 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 142 ::-

upon the testimony of two police officials on the recovery of Panchnama and it was not declared to be illegal from the evid eviden ence ce othe otherw rwis ise e refe referr rred ed inadmissible.

Ashok Kumar Choudhary Choudhary In “Ashok

vs.

State of

Bihar, (2008) 12 SCC 173 , it was observed that : “One “One cann cannot ot lose lose sigh sightt of the the ground realities that the mem member bers of the public are nsensi sittive ive and and generally insen reluctant to come forward to repo report rt and and depo depose se abou aboutt the the crime even though it is committed in their presence. In our opinio opinion, n, even even otherw otherwise ise it will be erroneous to lay down as a rule rule of univer universal sal applic applicati ation on that non-examination of a public witness by itself gives rise rise to an adve advers rse e infe infere renc nce e against the prosecution or that the the test testim imon ony y of a rela relati tive ve of the victim victim,, which which is otherw otherwise ise credit creditwor worthy thy,, cannot cannot be relied relied upon upon unle unless ss corr corrob obor orat ated ed by public witnesses.” Thus, the law discussed above do make out a case for the prosecution that no illegality can be seen in the arrest or recoveries effected at the instance of accused by State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 142 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 143 ::-

the police officials, without joining any public person and that non-examination of public person would not lead to any adverse inference against the prosecution & such recoveries cannot be termed as tainted. tainted. I have have meticu meticulou lously sly exami examined ned the deposi depositi tions ons,, especi especiall ally y the cross cross exami examinat natio ion n of such such police police offici officials als asso associ ciat ated ed with with the the recov ecover erie ies s of the the case case prop proper erti ties es.. Nothing material has come in their cross examination which may destroy the substratum of the case of the prosecution on the alleged plea that the recoveries either were not made at the the inst instan ance ce of the the accu accuse sed d pers person on or the the said said poli police ce offi offici cial als s were were neve neverr asso associ ciat ated ed in su such ch reco recove veri ries es.. The The minor minor contraction contractions s qua timing timing etc. or otherwise otherwise,, if any, do not not dest destrroy the the fabr fabric ic of the the case case

and and henc hence e need need be

ignored. Thus the defence of accused being not plausible stands rejected.

(B)

Yet Yet

another

contention

raised

was

the

post postmo mort rtem em was was done done with withou outt the the requ reques estt of the the SHO SHO / Investigating Investig ating Officer. Officer. The ld. Special Prosecutors argued that State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 143 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 144 ::-

as the prosecutrix died an unnatural death in Singapore, the postmortem was conducted per sections 11 and 18 of The

Coroners Act, 2010, of Singapore. It runs as under : “Police Officer to report to Coroner (1) Af Afte terr a poli police ce offi office cerr has has star starte ted d inve invest stig igat atio ions ns into into a dea death, he shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, inform a Coro Corone nerr of the the deat death h and and any any particulars concerning the cause of death which have come to his knowledge. (2) The police officer investigating into the cause of death shall (a) from from time time to time time,, furnish the Coroner with such such furthe furtherr partic particula ulars rs concer concernin ning g the death death as may subseq subsequen uently tly come come to his knowledge, together with the name of any person who has been arrest arrested ed and charge charged d in connect ection with the death ; and (b) comp comply ly with with su such ch directions as the Coroner may give concerning the investigation.

“When “When post-m post-mort ortem em examexamination necessary Section 18. (1) In a case of a death State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 144 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 145 ::-

repor eporte ted d to a Cor Coroner oner unde underr sect sectio ion n 11, the the Coro Corone nerr may, may, after after consul consulti ting ng a pathol pathologi ogist, st, order a post-mortem examination to be conducted if the the Cor Coroner oner is of the the opin opinio ion n that a post-mortem examination examination is necessary in the circumsta circumstances nces to establish establish the manner and cause of death. (2) Notwithstanding Notwithstanding sub-section (1), 1), a Coroner shall order a post-mortem examination to be conducted if he is directed to do so by the the Publi ublic c Pros Prosec ecut utor or in any particular case.”

Since

the

body

was

in

Singapore

so

the

postmortem was conducted at the directions of the Coroner. The postmortem report Ex.PW34/A do show the reporting of the police officer officer to the Coroner Coroner. Hence, Hence, this contention contention do not has force too.

(C) PLEA OF ALIBI The defence has raised the plea of alibi, stating, interalia, that accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur had left Delhi on 15-12-2012 and hence it was not possible for him to be in the bus Ex.P1 on 16-12-2012 at the time of commission of of the offence. offence. Similarly accused Vinay Vinay Sharma Sharma State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 145 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 146 ::-

and accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu had argued that they had attended attended a musical musical event in the evening evening of 16-12-2012 16-12-2012 and had entered the DDA District Park, Hauz Khas at around

8:30 PM / 9:00 PM and left late in the night at about 11 PM with with their heir relat elativ ives es,, par parents ents who who wer were also also in the the said said District Park with them enjoying the event organized by a Church, hence there was no possibility that they could have gone on a joy joy

ride in th the bus bus Ex.P1 or coul could d have have

committed serious offences as alleged. Before analysing their plea of alibi, it would be appropriate appropriate to find the law relating to it.

“Binay Kumar Kumar Singh In “Binay (199 (1997) 7)

v.

State of Bihar, Bihar,

1 SCC SCC 283 283, it has has been been hel held by the Hon' Hon'bl ble e

Supreme Court that : “An alib alibii is not not an exce except ptiion (speci (special al or genera general) l) envisa envisaged ged in the Indian Penal Code or any othe otherr law. law. It is is only only a rule rule of evidence recognized in Section 11 of the Evidence Act that fact facts s whic which h are are inco incons nsis iste tent nt with the fact in issue are relevant. The Latin word alibi mean means s “els “elsew ewhe here re” ” and and that that word word is us used ed for for conv conven enie ienc nce e State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 146 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 147 ::-

when an accused takes recourse to a defence line that when the occurrence took place he was was so far far away away from from the the place of occurrence that it was extrem extremely ely improb improbabl able e that that he would have participated in the crime. It is a basic law that in a criminal case, in which the accused is alleged to have inflicted physic sical injury to anothe anotherr person person,, the burden burden is on the the pros prosec ecu ution tion to prove ove that the accused was present at the scene and has participated in the crime. The burden would not not be less lessen ened ed by the the mere mere fact that the accused has adop adopte ted d the the defe defenc nce e of alib alibi. i. The plea of the accused in such cases need be considered only when the burden has been discha dis charge rged d by the prosec prosecuti ution on sati satis sfac factori torily ly.. Bu Butt once once the prosecution succeeds in dis discharging the burden it is incumbent on the accused, who adopts the plea of alibi, to absolute prove it with certainty so as to exclude the possibility of his presence at the place of occurrence. When the presence of the accused at the the sc scen ene e of occu occurr rren ence ce has has been establish established ed satisfac satisfactoril torily y by the the pros prosec ecut utio ion n throu hrough gh reliable evidence, normally the court would be slow to believe any any coun counte terr-evi -evide denc nce e to the the effe effect ct that that he was was else elsewh wher ere e State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 147 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 148 ::-

when the occurrence happened. But if the evidence adduced by the accused is of such a quality and of such a standard that the court may entertain some reasonable doubt regarding his presence at the scene when the occurrence took place, the accu accuse sed d woul would, d, no dou doubt, bt, be enti entitl tled ed to the the bene benefi fitt of that that reasonable doubt. For that purpose, it would be a sound proposition to be laid down that, in such circumstances, the burden on the accused is rather heavy. It follows, therefore, that stri strict ct proo proof f is requi equirred for for establishing the plea of alibi.

“Jitender er Kumar Kumar In “Jitend

v.

State of Haryana, Haryana,

(2012) 6 SCC 204 , the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that : “Once PW10 and PW11 are believ believed ed and their their statem statement ents s are found to be trustworthy, as rightly dealt with by the courts below, then the plea of alibi raised by the accused loses loses its signif significa icance nce. The burden of establishing the plea of alibi lay upon the appellants and the appellants have failed to bring on record any such su ch evid eviden enc ce whi which would ould,, even by reasonable probability, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 148 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 149 ::-

establish their plea of of alibi. alibi. The plea of alibi in fact is required to be proved proved with certainty so as to com ompl plet etel ely y ex exc clude lude the possibility of the presence of the accused at the place of occurrence and in the house which was the home of their relatives.”

In “Shahabuddin v. State of Assam, (2012)

6 SCALE 241 , the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that : “Onc “Once, e, the the cour court t disbelieves the plea of alibi and the accused does not give any expl explan anat atio ion n in his his stat statem emen ent t under Section 313 Cr.P Cr.P.C, .C, the court is entitled to draw adverse inference against the accused. In “Babudas vs. State of M.P, (2003) 9 SCC

86, it was held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that : “the “the false alse ple plea of ali alibi is an additi additiona onall circum circumsta stance nce in the chain of circumstances against the accused.” The crux of the judgments judgments cited above is once the prose prosecut cution ion succee succeeds ds in dis discha charg rging ing its its burden burden,, it is then then incu incumb mben entt upon upon the the accu accuse sed, d, to prov prove e it with with absolute State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 149 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 150 ::-

certainty the circumstances which excludes the possibility of his presence at the place of occurrence at the relevant time. time.

The court normall normally y should should be be slow to believe any

coun counte terr-evi -evide denc nce e if the the pres presen ence ce of accu accuse sed d has has been been established satisfactorily satisfactorily by the prosecution. prosecution. The burden burden on the accused is rather heavy and it would not be an exaggeration to say that strict proof is required. The judgments even go to the extent of saying that once once the the pros prosec ecut utio ion n witn witnes esse ses s are are beli believ eved ed and and thei theirr stat statem emen ents ts are are foun found d trus trustw twor orth thy y then then the the plea plea of alib alibii raised by the accused loses its significance and in that event the

false

plea

may

be

treated

as

an

additional

circumstance to nail the accused. Now, in the light of above I come to the defence taken by each accused.

Accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu He has taken taken the plea of of alibi statin stating, g, inter inter alia, that throughout throughout the the evening evening of 16-12-2012 till late night he was in the DDA District Park, Hauz Khas, Opposite IIT Gate, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 150 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 151 ::-

New Delhi, enjoying a musical musical event and that he was never in the bus Ex.P1 and had not committed any offence with the prosecutrix prosecutrix or with the complainant. Befo Beforre comi coming ng to the the defe defenc nce e evid eviden ence ce led led by him him , let let me me ref refer er to to the the answ answer ers s give given n by him him

to

the the

questions put to him in his statement u/s. 313 CrPC, wherein he has admitted admitted that mobile mobile no. no. 9711927157 9711927157 belongs belongs to him. He had further stated that he has taken liquor in the evening of 16.12.2012 and had accompanied accused accused Vinay Vinay Sharma to the musical musical event at DDA District Park, Park, where where he took more liquor and fell unconscious and later was brought to his house by his father & uncle. He stated that he went out in the evening evening of 16.12.2012 and saw a quarrel quarrel between acc accus used ed Vinay nay Shar Sharma ma and and accu accuse sed d Ram Sing Singh, h, sinc since e deceased. Then he returned returned to his his juggi. After After sometime, he came out of his jhuggi and saw accused Vinay Sharma, his sister, mother mother and others others were were going to a musical musical party party so he also also went went with them and took took more more liquor liquor in in the party party and even lost his mobile mobile phone. phone.

Strangely Strangely enough, enough, in his his

supple supplemen mentar tary y statem statement ent recor recorded ded on 16-8-2 16-8-2013 013 under under State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 151 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 152 ::-

section 313 Cr.P.C he said that he was present in the said party with his family members and friends friends and that a video video clip was was prepared prepared by one Ram Ram Babu (DW-13) (DW-13) & that he do

not remem emembe berr if he had had acco accomp mpan anie ied d accu accuse sed d Vinay inay Sharma to the said park in that evening. It is in contradiction to the stand stand taken taken by him in his earlier statement statement recorded recorded u/s 313 Cr.P.C. Accused Accused Pawan examined examined his father father DW-2 Shri Hira Lal Ram who deposed that on 16-12-2012 at about 7:15 PM when he came to his house he was informed by his daughter that accused Pawan had gone to DDA District Park, Hauz Khas. It is in contradiction to the depositio deposition n made by other other defenc defence e witnes witnesses ses who said said that that accuse accused d Vinay Vinay Sharma and his family members had left Ravi Dass Camp, Sector-3, Sector-3, R.K. R.K. Puram, Puram, New New Delhi, at about 8/8:30 PM and that accused Pawan accompanied them. Accused Pawan Pawan also said so in his initial statement u/s. 313 CrPC.

DW4 Shri Shri Gyan Gyan Chan Chand, d, the the mate materrnal uncl uncle e of accuse accused d Pawan, awan, depose deposed d that that he broug brought ht accuse accused d Pawan awan Gupta @ Kaalu to the jhuggi from the DDA District Park and State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 152 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 153 ::-

saw one Ram Ram Charan Charan warming warming his hands hands on a bonfire bonfire just

outside his jhuggi, who came and and asked asked him about the the well being of accused Pawan. Shri Ram Charan DW3, however deposed that at about 8:30/9:00 PM he was sitting sitting inside inside his jhuggi jhuggi with its door open and he saw accused accused Pawan Pawan being brought brought by his unc uncle in dr drunken sta state.

This is

yet aga again in

contradiction to what has been deposed by other defence witnesses who say that accused Pawan Gupta and accused Vinay Sharma had rather left Ravi Dass Camp, Sector-3, R.K. Puram, New Delhi at about 8 / 8:30 PM for the DDA district park.

DW16 a shopkeeper shopkeeper of the locality had deposed that he had seen vehicle of Shri Gyan Chand at about 9 /

9:30 PM of 16-12-2012 when accused Pawan Gupta was brought in drunken condition and was taken to his jhuggi. Initially

he

failed

to

mention

if

Shri

Hira

Ram

was

accompanying Shri Gyan Chand. Though the witnesses have also deposed about the the taki taking ng away away of accu accuse sed d Pawan awan by 3 / 4 pers person on on State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 153 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 154 ::-

17-1217-12-201 2012 2 but but that that

plea plea too too is is

in cont contrad radict iction ion to the the

arrest memo Ex.PW60/A wherein wherein the the accused accused is stated stated to to have been arrested on 18-12-2012 at about 1:15 PM at the pointing out of accused Ram Singh, since deceased. Hence,

there

exist

contradictions

statem statement ents s of defenc defence e witness witnesses es produc produced ed

in

the

on behalf behalf of

accused Pawan Gupta (a) qua the timings the accused had left left

his jhugg jhuggii at Ravi Dass Dass Camp on the fateful fateful night night of

16-12-2012 as some of witnesses say that accused Pawan left for DDA District Park at 8/8:30 PM but whereas some say that they saw him being brought to his jhuggi at about

8:30 PM / 9 PM and (b) qua the fact if DW-2 had gone with DW-1 to the park to fetch his son and (c) qua the fact if accused Pawan went to park with accused Vinay Sharma or not.

Accused Vinay Sharma In respo response nse to the the questi questions ons put put to him him

in his his

statement u/s 313 Cr.P.C, accused Vinay had admitted that mobile no. 8285947545 Ex.DW10/1 belongs to his mother State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 154 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 155 ::-

and and its its sim sim was lost prio priorr to 16 16--12 12--20 201 12 and that hat on 16-12-2012 16-12-2012 at 9:30 PM his friend Vipin had taken taken his phone in the said park and had returned it in the next morning with withou outt SIM SIM car card and and memo memory ry card. card.

The The inten ntenti tion on of

accuse accused d appear appears s to wriggl wriggle e himsel himselff out of expla explaini ining ng the receipt of call on his mobile at 9:55 PM of 16-12-2012. In response to question no. 221 he stated that at about 8 / 8:30 PM he went to see accused Ram Singh and he had a scuffle / exchange of fist blow and then he returned to his jhuggi jhuggi.. Thereaf Thereafter ter

he left for for musical musical party party with his

sister, sister, mother mother and others. others. He did did not say if his father father ever ever accompanied them. He also told that at about 11:30PM he had returned returned to his jhuggi. Howeve However, r, the prose prosecut cution ion had prov proved ed the Call Call Detail Detail Record ecord Ex.PW22/B of phone hone of acc accus used ed Vinay nay Shar Sharma ma,, havi having ng sim sim no. no. 82 8285 8594 9475 7545 45,, admi admitt tted edly ly in the the name of his mother, Smt Champa Devi, but in the poss posses essi sion on of accu accuse sed d Vina Vinay y Shar Sharma ma in the the even evenin ing g of 16-1216-12-201 2012, 2, alleged allegedly ly snatche snatched d by one Vipin Vipin

in the said

music party and returned to him in the morning of State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 155 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 156 ::-

17-1217-12-201 2012. 2. The Call Call Detail Detail Record ecord Ex.PW22/B do show show that the the accused accused

has been makin making g calls to one one particul particular ar

number viz., 8601274533 from 15-12-20212 till 20:19:37 AM of 17-12-2012. The authenticity authenticity of the the CDR is proved under section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act. Now if the accused was not having a sim card in his phone no. 8285947545 then how could he called from this this SIM SIM on 15 15-1 -122-20 2012, 12, then then on 16 16-1 -122-20 2012 12 and and in the the morning of 17-12-2012 till about 8:23:42PM. Accu Ac cuse sed d rath rather er said said that that his his SIM and and memo memory ry car card wer were not not in his his phon phone e when when it was was retur eturne ned d by his his friend Vipin and that the phone was not with him at 9:55:21 when when it regis egiste terred a call call for for 58 seco second nds s and and when when his his location was found near IGI Airport i.e the road covered by the Route oute Map Map

Ex.PW80/H

movi moving ng on that that night night..

wher where e the the bus bus Ex.P Ex.P1 1 was was

Furth urther er if as per per accu accuse sed d Vinay inay

Sharma he had no memory card and sim card in his mobile phone then the question of making of a video clip from his mobile phone by his friend DW10 Shri Ram Babu do not arise. Even his personal search memo Ex.PW60/D do not State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 156 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 157 ::-

show the said mobile phone, when seized, had any memory card in it. The question is how such memory card was being produced later on behalf of accused. It rather shows that the memory card card was inserted in the said said phone only only after the phone was taken on Superdari. Lastly it appears to be strange that both accused Vinay and accused Pawan went to a party where one lost his mobile and the other's was snatched. It all show that it was was lost or snatched probably for a reason to save them from the calls registered on their mobiles on that evening between 9 PM to 10 PM.

VIDEO CLIP Before coming to the alleged video clip taken by his mobile mobile Ex.DW10/1, it woul would d be appr approp opri riat ate, e, at this this stage, to refer to Col. Ram Singh vs. Ram Singh, 1985

Supplementary SCC 611, wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court has laid down the law as to how one should look at such electronic evidence : “Thus , so far as this Court is State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 157 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 158 ::-

conc concer erne ned d the the cond condit itio ions ns for for admissibility of a tape-recorded stat statem emen entt may may be stat stated ed as follows : (i) The voice of the speaker must be duly identified by the maker of the record or by othe others rs who who reco recogn gnis ise e his voice. In other words, it manifestly follows as a logic logical al coroll corollary ary that that the firs firstt cond condit itio ion n for for the the admissibility of su suc ch a stat statem emen entt is to iden identi tify fy the voice of the speaker. Where the voice has been denied by the maker it will require very strict proof to determine whether or not it was reality the voice of the speaker. (ii)The accuracy of the taperecorded statement has to be proved by the maker of the record by satisfactory evidence – direct or circumstantial. (iii)Every possibility of tampering with or erasure of a pa part of of a tape-r tape-reco ecorde rded d statem statement ent must be ruled out otherwise it may render the said statement out of cont contex extt and, and, ther theref efor ore, e, inadmissible. (iv)The The stat statem emen entt must must be relevant relevant accordin according g to the rules of Evidence Act. (v)The The recor ecorde ded d casse assett tte e State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 158 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 159 ::-

must be carefully sealed and kept kept in safe or official custody. (vi)The voice of the speaker should should be clear clearly ly audib audible le and and not not lost lost or dist distor orte ted d by other sounds or disturbance.

It was further observed that : “In American American Jurisprud Jurisprudence ence 2d (vol. 29) the learned author on a conspectus of the authorities refe referr rred ed to in the the foot foot-n -not ote e in rega regard rd to the the admi admiss ssib ibil ilit ity y of tape-r tape-reco ecorde rded d statem statement ents s at page 494 observes thus thus : The The case cases s are are in gene genera rall agreement as to what constitutes a proper foundation for for the the admi admiss ssio ion n of a soun sound d recording, and indicate a reasonable reasonable strict strict adherence adherence to the rules prescribed for testing the admissibi admissibility lity of recordin recordings, gs, which which have have been been outlin outlined ed as follows : (1)a showing that the recording device was capable of taking testimony ; (2)a showing that the operator of the device was competent ; (3)establishment of the authenticity and correctness of the recording ; (4)a showing that changes, State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 159 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 160 ::-

additions, or deletions have not been made ; (5)a showing of the manner of the preservation of the recording ; (6)identification of the speakers ; and (7)a showing that the testi estim mony ony elic elicit ited ed was volunt voluntari arily ly made made withou without t any kind of inducement.”

It was further observed : “We would , therefore, have to test test the admi dmissibi sibillity ity of the tape-recorded tape-recorded statements of the resp respon onde dent nt,, give given n in the the High High Cour Courtt as also also in this this Cour Court, t, in the the ligh lightt of the the vari variou ous s test tests s and and safe safegu guar ards ds lai laid down down by this this Cour Courts ts and and othe otherr cour courtts, referred to above. We shall give a detailed survey of the nature and the character of the statement of the respondent in a separate paragraph which we intend to devote to this part of the the case case,, whic which h is reall eally y an important feature an and, if accepted, may clinch the issue and and the the cont contrrover oversy sy betw betwee een n the parties on the point of corrupt practice.


-:: 161 ::-

Considerin Considering g tthe he rules rules settled settled above . I may say that

accused

Vinay

miserably

failed

to

prove

the

authenticity of video clip in terms of the above judgment. The accused had failed to show if DW Ram Babu, aged 15 years, was ever competent to record the clip and how such device was preserved. Admittedly by him the memory card was not in the phone when returned to him by his friend Vipin. It is also not shown in seizure seizure memo Ex.PW60/D that mobile Ex.DW10/1 was was seized seized along along with with memory memory card. card. Thus, it raises a doubt as to how and by whom this memory card was later inserted in his phone Ex.DW10/1 or how and when when the the vide video o clip clip was was tak taken or whet whethe herr ther there e was was no tampering etc ; thus the compliance of section section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act was mandatory in these circumstances to ensure the purity of the evidence and in its absence it shall be difficult to rely upon such evidence. Even otherwise, in the alternative the properties of mobile Ex.DW10/1 show the timings of video clip as 8:16 PM of 16-12-2012 16-12-2012 which patently patently is false because as per the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 161 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 162 ::-

defenc defence e witness witnesses, es, accuse accused d Vinay Vinay Sharm Sharma a with with his family family had left Ravi Dass Camp at 8:00 PM / 8:30 PM and per Smt Champa Champa Devi, Devi, DW5, DW5, it take takes s about about one hour on foot to reach the said park, thus even if we believe their theory then also accused Vinay Sharma and accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu were not in the park at 8:16 PM of 16-12-2012. Now let me analyse the evidence produced in his defence by accused accused Vinay Vinay Sharma. Sharma. His mother Smt Champa Devi DW5 deposed that her son accused Vinay Sharma had gone to meet accused Ram Singh, since deceased, at about

8 PM of 16-12-2012 16-12-2012 and and he had a quarrel quarrel with with Ram Ram Singh, he was was beat beaten en and and then then accu accuse sed d retu return rned ed to his his jhug jhuggi gi.. Thereafter Thereafter accused Vinay Sharma accompanied her to DDA District Park, Park, Hauz Khas, Opposite IIT Gate, New Delhi, Delhi, and stayed stayed in the the park park till till late late in the the night. night. His mother mother do not not speak if her her husband husband had also also accompanied her to to the the said DDA District Park but whereas DW6 deposed that his son had returned at about 8 PM after the quarrel and then they had gone to said DDA District Park. Park. DW7 Shri Kishore Kumar Bhat also deposed that at about 8 / 8:30 PM he was in his State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 162 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 163 ::-

jhuggi, when the father of accused Vinay Sharma with his children came came to his jhuggi and they they all went to DDA DDA District Park. ark.

He also also stat stated ed that that a musi musica call pro program gramme me was

organized by St. Thomas Church, Sector-2, R.K. Puram, New Delhi in the said DDA District D istrict Park, Park, Hauz Khas on that night.

DW9 Shri Manu Sharma deposed that he went with with accuse accused d Vinay Vinay Sharm Sharma a to reaso reason n with with accuse accused d Ram Ram Singh, since deceased but whereas accused Vinay Sharma had stated stated that his brothe brotherr had accompanie accompanied d him to meet accused accused Ram Ram Singh, Singh, since since deceased. deceased.

Further, urther, DW9 Manu

Shar Sharma ma says says that that he had had acco accoma mapa pani nied ed accu accuse sed d Vinay inay Sharma to the musical event but accused Vinay Sharma did not say so. Hence, per statements of accused Vinay Sharma (under section 313 Cr.P.C) and per statements of defence witn witnes esse ses s ; accu accuse sed d Vinay inay Shar Sharma ma and and his his fami family ly with with accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu had left Ravi Dass Camp at about 8:15 PM to 8:30 PM and per DW5 Smt Champa Devi, it takes about one hour to reach the DDA District Park, Hauz Khas Khas,, on foot foot,, so even even acco accord rdin ing g to them them they they alle allege gedl dly y State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 163 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 164 ::-

reached reached the the park at about 9:15 9:15 PM or 9:30 9:30 PM. Thus even even from this angle too the video clip showing the accused in the park park on 16 16--12 12--20 201 12 at about bout 8:16 8:16 PM appea ppearrs to be tempered. The

defence

further

got

a

jolt

from

the

depositions of PW83, PW84 and PW85.

PW83 Shri Shri An Anga gad d Sing Singh, h, the the Deput Deputy y Dire Direct ctor or (Hort (Horticu icultu lture re), ), DDA had depose deposed d that that no such such permis permissio sion n was

ever ever granted granted by any authorit authority y to organi organize ze any such

like like function function in the evening evening of 16.12.2012 16.12.2012 in the the said DDA District Park, Hauz Khas, New Delhi and that no function was ever organized in the park on 16-12-2012 by anyone.

PW84 Father George Manimala of St. Thomas Church as also PW85 Brother Brother R.P.Sam .P.Samual, ual, Secretary Secretary,, Ebenezer Ebenezer Assembly Assembly Church, do depose that their Church(es) never organize any musical programme / event in the DDA District Park, Hauz Khas, in in the evening evening of Sunday Sunday i.e. on on 16-12-2012. 16-12-2012. Rather Rather they depose that on Sundays there is always a mass prayer in the church and there is no question of organizing any pro progra gram outsi utside de the Chur Churc ch prem premis ises es and that hat eve even State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 164 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 165 ::-

othe otherw rwis ise e they they have have thei theirr own own church

pre premises ses

where

they

spac sp ace e / lawn lawn withi within n the the can

hol hold

such

type

of

programmes programmes / functions. Though Shri A.P A.P.. Singh, Advocate Advocate tried to press upon a document Ex.PW84/B a programme pamphlet of St. Thomas Church, wherein it was mentioned that the Church was holding programmes of 'Carol Singing” from 10-12-2012 to 23-12-2012 at 7 PM at public places but in view of the categorical denial by PW84 that any such program was organized by the Church on 16-12-2012 in the DDA District Park, opposite IIT Gate, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, the plea has no meaning. Thus, the plea of alibi that accused Vinay Sharma and and acc accus used ed Pawan awan Gupt Gupta a @ Kaalu aalu had had atte attend nded ed any any alleged musical programme in the evening of 16.12.2012 in DDA District Park, Hauz Khas opposite IIT Gate, New Delhi, appear to be sham and has to be ignored.

Akshahy Kumar Singh @ Thakur Accused Akshahy Kumar Singh @ Thakur in his statement u/s 313 Cr.P Cr.P.C .C stated that he was not in Delhi on State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 165 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 166 ::-

the fateful night and on 15-12-2012 had left Delhi for his village, in Mahabodhi Express, on the ticket of his brother Abhay, Abhay, along along

with with his

brot brother her’s ’s wife wife and nephew nephew..

He

produced the following following witnesses in his defence defence :

DW11 Shri Shri Chavin Chavinder der,, an auto auto driver driver from from his villag village, e, deposed deposed that that he

had broug brought ht accused accused Akshah Akshahy y

Kumar mar Sing Singh h @ Thak hakur and his his fami family ly mem member bers fro from Anugrah Narayan Railway Station, Aurangabad to his native village

Kamarlang,

P.S

16-1 16 -122-20 2012 12 at at 10 10 AM. AM.

Tandwa dwa

in

Howe Howeve ver, r,

his

own

auto

on

he do do not not reme rememb mber er

about any other passenger / native who who shared shared his auto on that day.

DW13 Sh. Raj Mohan Singh, the father-in-law, of accused deposed that when he reached accused Akshay’s house he found his son-in-law being implicated in a rape case case committ committed ed on 16-12-20 16-12-2012. 12. It

proba probably bly shows shows that that

DW-13 had gone to meet Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur only when he had come to know about his implication in the rape case and when accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur was on the run. run. It is an admitted admitted fact that the Chowkidar of State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 166 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 167 ::-

P.S Tandwa had met the father of accused on 20-12-2012 and had informed him about implication of accused Akshay for the the first time time..

If it was so then then DW13 Shri Shri Raj Mohan Mohan

must have visited the house of accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur on 20-12-2012 or on 21-12-2012.

DW12 DW12,,

DW14 DW14

and

DW15,

all all

relat elatiives ves

of

accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur tried to wriggle him out of the the messy situatio situation, n, as is the natural natural instinct instinct of the the family family members. members. However, However, it is to be be seen that during during the the evidence of PW14, wife of accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur, Thakur,

she was interrupted interrupted from answering by accused

Akshay from behind on more than one occasion. Similarly,

DW15,

the sis sister ter in law

of accuse accused, d, who who had had allege allegedly dly

accomp accompani anied ed accuse accused d to her native native villag village, e, inter interest esting ingly, ly, was not not aware aware as to why her husba husband nd Abhay Abhay who who was to accompany her on 15-12-2012 to the native village did not accompany accompany her. her.

She was not aware aware of

the reason reason which which

made her husband stay behind in Delhi. Being the wife she was expected to know all this, at least. Even otherwise, a suggestion was put to PW61 SI State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 167 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 168 ::-

Jeet Singh, who went to village Kamarlang, Kamarlang, P.S Tandwa to arre arrest st accuse accused d Akshay Akshay Kumar umar Singh Singh @ Thaku Thakurr : that that the brother of accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur was made to sit in the police station and it was because of this reason acc accus used ed Aksh Akshay ay had had su surr rren ende derred, ed, thoug hough h lat later the the ld. ld. defence counsel pleaded that the suggestion relate to police at Delhi and not to the police at P.S Tandwa as his brother Abhay did did not visit his his village village during during that time. time.

However, However,

regard must be had to the fact that despite being given an opport opportuni unity ty to prod produce uce witnes witnesses ses,, Abhay, Abhay, the brot brother her of accused, did not come forward to save his brother but rather he produced his wife, who strangely was not even aware of the the reas reason on of her husban husband d stay stayin ing g back back at Delh Delhi. i.

If her

husband was held by Delhi Police she ought to have deposed this fact in the court. court. Hence, the plea plea of alibi appears to be afterthought. While weighing the plea of alibi I am also to remin emind d

myse myself lf

that that it it has has to to be weig weighe hed d aga again inst st the the

posi positi tive ve evid eviden ence ce led led by the the pros prosec ecut utio ion n i.e. i.e.,, not not only only substantive evidence of PW1 ; of PW83 Shri Ram Adhar ; the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 168 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 169 ::-

dying declarations Ex.PW27/A and Ex.PW30/D-1 but also against the scientific evidence viz the DNA analysis, Finger print analysis and bite marks analysis, the accuracy of which is scientifically acclaimed. Consi Consider dering ing the incon inconsis siste tent nt and contr contradi adicto ctory ry nature of the evidence of alibi led by the accused against the the posit positiv ive e evid eviden ence ce of the the pros prosec ecut utio ion, n, incl includ udin ing g the the scientific one, I hold that accused have miserably failed to discharge their burden of absolute certainty qua their plea of alibi. The

plea

taken

by

them

appears

to

be

afte aftert rtho houg ught ht and and rat rather her may may be read ead as an additional

circumstance against them.

OFFENCES Now, coming to the offences committed by the accused ; the first and foremost issue involved in the present case is if the accused acted in conspiracy or if everyone acted on his own. Conspiracy has been defined in section 120-A IPC State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 169 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 170 ::-

which runs as under : “120A. Defi Defini niti tion on of crim crimin inal al conspiracy.-- When two or more persons agree to do, or cause to be done,(1) an illegal act, or (2) an act which is not illegal by illegal means, such an agreement is designated a crimin criminal al conspi conspirac racy: y: Provid Provided ed that that no agre agreem emen entt exce except pt an agreement to commit an offence shall amount to a criminal conspiracy unless some act besides the agre agreem emen entt is done done by one one or more parties to such agreement in pursuance thereof. Expl Explan anat atio ion. n.-- It is imma immate teri rial al whet whethe herr the the ille illega gall act act is the the ultimate object of such agreement, or is merely incidental to that object.” It is a set settled led law that hat cons conspi pirracy acy is alw always ays hatche hatched d in privacy privacy or in secre secrecy cy..

It is rarely rarely possib possible le to

establish a conspiracy by direct evidence. Usually both, the exist xisten ence ce of the the cons conspi pira racy cy and and its its obje object cts s have have to be

inferred from from the the circumst circumstances ances and the the conduct of the accused. In

Regin egina a v. Murp Murphy hy (187 (1873) 3) 173 173 ER 502 502 ,

while summoning up for the Jury it was held that : State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 170 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 171 ::-

“…I am bound to tell you, that although the common design is the root of the charge, it is not necess necessary ary to prove prove that that these these two parties came together and actually agreed in terms to have have this this common common design design and to pursue it by comroeff means and so to carry it into execution. This is not nece necess ssar ary y, beca becaus use e in many many cases of the most clearly establishe established d conspirac conspiracies ies there there are are no mean means s of prov proviing any any such thing and neither law nor common sense requires that it shou sh ould ld be prov proved ed.. If you you find find that these two persons pursued by their acts the same object, often often by the same means, means, one performing one part of an act, so as to complete it, with a view to the attainment of the object which they were pursuing, you will will be at libe libert rty y to draw draw the the conclusion that they have been engaged in a conspiracy to effect that object. The question you have to ask yourselves is, common ‘Had they this design, and did they pursue pursue it common means — by thes these e common the design being unlawful ?’ ? ’ it is not necess necessary ary that that it shoul should d be proved that these defendants met to concoct this scheme, nor is it necessary that they should have originated it. If a conspiracy be already formed, and a person joins it State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 171 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 172 ::-

afterwards, he is equally guilty . You are to say whether, from from the the acts acts that that have have been been proved, you are satisfied that these defendants were acting in concert in this matter . Himachal Pradesh Pradesh vs. Krishan Krishan In “State of Himachal Lal Pardhan, (1987) 2 SCC 17 , it was held that “If purs ursuant to the criminal con consp spir irac acy y the cons onspir pirato ators commit commit severa severall offenc offences, es, then then all of them will be liable for the offences even if some of them had not actively participated in the commission of offences.”

In Nalini's case the the Hon'b Hon'ble le Supr Suprem eme e Cour Courtt explaine explained d that conspi conspiracy racy result result in a joint responsibility and and ever everyt ythi hing ng sai said, writ writtten or done done in furt furthe hera ranc nce e of common purpose is deemed to have been done by each of them.

“Yakub akub Abdul Razak Memon vs. State of In “Y Maharashtra, 2012 (3) SCALE 565 , it was observed that : “A char charge ge of cons conspi pira racy cy may may prejudice the accused because State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 172 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 173 ::-

it forces them into a joint trial and the court may consider the entire mass of evidence against every accused. Prosecution has to produce evidence not only to show that each of the accused has knowledge of the object of cons conspi pira racy cy but but also also of the the agreement . In the char charge ge of con consp spir irac acy y the cour ourt has has to guard itself against the danger of unfa unfair irne ness ss to the the accu accuse sed. d. Introduction of evidence against some may result in the conviction of all, which is to be avoided. By means of evidence in conspiracy, which is othe otherw rwis ise e inad inadmi miss ssiible ble in the the tria triall of any any othe otherr su subs bsta tant ntiv ive e offe offenc nce e prosec osecu ution tion trie tries s to implicate the accused not only in the conspiracy itself but also in the substantive crime of the allege alleged d conspi conspirat rators ors.. There There is always always diffic difficult ulty y in tracin tracing g the precise contribution of each member member of the conspi conspirac racy y but then there has to be cogent and conv convin inci cing ng evid eviden ence ce agai agains nst t each one of the accused char charge ged d with the offe offen nce of con consp spir irac acy y. As obse obserrved ved by Judge Learned Hand “this distin dis tincti ction on is impor importan tantt today today when many prosecutors seek to swee sweep p with within in the the drag dragne nett of conspi conspirac racy y all those those who who have have been associated in any degree whatever with the main offenders”. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 173 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 174 ::-

8. As stated abov bove it is the unlawful agreement and not its accomplishment , which is the gist or essence of the crime of conspiracy. Offence of criminal conspiracy is complete even though there is no agreement as to the means by which the purpose is to be accomplished.” It was further observed that : “Regar egardi din ng adm admissi issibi bili litty of evidence, loosened standards prev prevai aill in a cons conspi pira racy cy trial rial.. Cont Contra rary ry to the the us usua uall rule rule,, in cons conspi pira racy cy pros prosec ecut utio ions ns,, any any declaration by one conspirator, made in furtherance of a conspiracy and during its pendency, is admissible against each co-conspirator.”

It was further observed that : “78. “78. Sect Sectio ion n 10 of the Evidence Evidence Act further further provides a unique and special rule of evidence to be followed in cases of conspirac conspiracy y. Section 10 reads as under : “10. “1 0. Thin Things gs sai said d or don done e by conspirator in reference to common design – Where there is reasonable ground to believe that two or more persons have conspi conspired red togeth together er to commit commit an offe offenc nce e or an acti action onab ablle State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 174 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 175 ::-

wrong, wrong, anythi anything ng said, said, done done or written by any one of such person in reference to their comm common on inte intent ntio ion, n, afte afterr the the time time when when such such intent intention ion was was first entertained by any one of them, is a relevant fact as against each of the person beli believ eved ed to so cons conspi piri ring ng,, as well for the purpose of proving the existence of conspiracy as for the purpose of showing that any such person was a party to it” It is to be seen that ther there e are are thre three e cond condit itio ions ns in the the Sect Sectio ion. n. One One is, is, befo before re utilizing the section for admitting certain statements of co-acc co-accuse used d from from a confes confessio sion, n, ther there e sh shou ould ld be a reas reason onab able le groun ground d to beli believe eve that that two two or more more pers person ons s have have cons conspi pire red d together to commit an offence or an actionable wrong. According to this Section, only when this condition is satisfied in a given case, then only the question of utilizing the statement of an accused against the co-accused can be taken into consideration. Thus, as per Section 10, the following principles are agreed upon unanimously :1. There shall be prima facie evidence affording a reasonbale ground for the Court to believe that two or more persons were part State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 175 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 176 ::-

of a conspiracy to commit a wrongful act or offence ; 2. Once Once this this cond condit itio ion n was was fulf fulfil ille led, d, anyt anythi hing ng said said,, done or written by any of its members, in reference to their common intention, will be cons consid ider ered ed as evid eviden ence ce agaisnt other coconspirators ; 3. This fact would be eviden evidence ce for the purpos purpose e of existence of a cons conspi pira racy cy and and that that the the person were a part part of such conspiracy.” The ld defence counsels counsels also referred referred to to :

i. Saju v. v. State of Kerala, Kerala, (2001) 1 SCC 378 ; ii. State of Kerala v. P. Sugathan and others, (2000) 8 SCC 203 ;

iii.Baliya vs. vs. State, (2012) 9 SCC 696 ; iv. iv. Param Hans Yadav v. State of Bihar, (1987) 2 SCC 197 ; v. V.C Shukla v. State (Delhi Administration), (1980) 2 SCC 665 ;

vi.Ram Narayan Narayan Popli v. CBI, (2003) 3 SCC 641 ; vii.State State of of Utta Uttarr Prad Pradesh esh

v.

Sukhb Sukhbasi asi,, A AIR IR 1985 1985 SCC

1224.

viii. Jethusarang Jethusarang Bhai v. v. State of Gujrat, Gujrat, AIR 1984 SC 151.

All these judgments, propounded, broadly the law State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 176 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 177 ::-

discussed above. Applying

the

tests

laid

down

by

aforesaid

judgments, we need to find if in the present case the prosecution proved : (a) common object ; (b) knowledge of the object ; (c) knowledge knowledge of of an unlawful unlawful agree agreement. ment. It is only when the above three are proved, the words spoken or conduct of accused can be used as evidence u/s 10 of the Indian Evidence Act. The prosecution has also tried to prove the above three three ingre ingredie dients nts with with the help help of deposi depositio tion n of

PW1 ;

PW82 as also also by dyin dying g decl declar arat atio ions ns Ex.PW27/A and Ex.PW30/D-1 to show that conspiracy existed between the the accused person. As

is

held

in

judgments

cited

above,

the

prosecution if proves the conspiracy then it need not prove the active participation of each accused. The

conspiracy

can

be

proved

by

taking

inferences from the circumstances and by the conduct of accused person during the incident. Now, PW82, Shri Ram Adhar, had deposed that at State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 177 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 178 ::-

about 8:30 PM he had boarded bus Ex.P1 from Munirka Bus Stand, New Delhi. The conductor conductor of the bus was calling calling the commuters commuters for Khanpur Khanpur..

However, However, once he

boarded boarded the

bus, he was told told by one of the accused accused that it was not going to Khanpur and and rather he would would be dropped dropped at Nehru Nehru Place.

PW82 pleaded to get down but was forcibly pulled inside the bus, beaten and was robbed of his belongings viz., Rs. 1500/- in cash and a mobile phone, for which a separate FIR bearing no. 414/2012 was registered at P.S. Vasant Vihar, New Delhi Delhi under under sections sections 365, 397,342 397,342 IPC. IPC.

This incide incident nt

continued for few minutes and then PW82 was thrown out of the running bus at the foot of the flyover of IIT and he could hardly save his life.

PW82 Shri Shri Ram Ram Ad Adhar har identified all all the the four four accused, namely, Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur, accused Pawan Gupta, accused Vinay Sharma and accused Mukesh besides besides two others others to be present present inside inside the bus ; whereas whereas accused Mukesh was driving it and others took him inside the bus and committed the crime. It appears that after throwing PW82 out of the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 178 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 179 ::-

moving bus, the accused yet again brought their bus Ex.P1 at

Munirka

Bus

Stand

from

where

they

enti nticed

the

complainant PW1 and the prosecutrix to board their private bus by making them believe that it was a public carriage. The complainant in his deposition as PW1 had deposed that as he entered the bus he had a feeling that accused accused person person did not allow allow anyone anyone else to enter the the bus and started started running running it. He saw three three person person in the driver's driver's cabin and they were moving in and out of the driver's cabin. Imme Immedi diat atel ely y afte afterr ente enteri ring ng insi inside de the the bus, bus, the the accu accuse sed d person put of the lights and within minutes, two of them, namely, Ram Singh, since deceased and accused Askshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur came near him and asked him where he was taking taking the girl girl in such time time of the evening evening.. On his objection they started beating him and while some pinned him down, the others committed rape / unnatural sex with the prose prosecut cutrix rix

by taking taking her her at the rear rear side of the bus

Ex.P1. Later they changed their positions positions to commit commit sexual offences. They all inflicted inflicted numerous numerous injuries injuries on the body of the prosecutrix including biting her on all parts of her body State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 179 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 180 ::-

and inserting iron rods in her vagina and rectum. They even exhorted that the victims be not left alive and spoke the words “mar “mar gayee – mar gayee” .

They They tried tried to thr throw ow the the

victims out of the moving bus from its rear door but since it could not open they all pulled the victims by their hairs to the front door and threw them out of the moving bus in naked condition in a cold winter night and even tried to overrun / crush them under the wheels of the bus Ex.P1. Now the act of the accused in making PW82 and victims of this case believe the bus was a public carriage and then robbing them and committing various crimes with the victims, including the the prosecutrix, prosecutrix, goes on to show that the accused had an object of merry making on that fateful night by not only robbing the passengers but doing sex with with female female passen passenger ger,, if she happen happen to board board their bus. bus.

The

conduct of accused person in not allowing anyone else to enter the bus after PW82 or the victims of this case had boarded it and to move the bus immediately away from the bus stop do speak of their unlawful object and their prior

meeting of minds. Then Then once once insi inside de the the bus bus Ex.P1, the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 180 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 181 ::-

accused took PW82 and then the victims of this case to the rear rear side side of the bus and commi committe tted d various various crimes crimes..

The

conduc conductt of accuse accused d Mukesh Mukesh who kept on drivin driving g the bus Ex.P1 on both these occasions rather facilitated others to comm commit it the the crim crime, e, do sp spea eak k of his his know knowle ledg dge e and and his his consent to unlawful agreement. Further, the act of the accused of switching of the lights ; pinning the complainant PW1 down by some while

others commit rape / unnatural sex with the prosecutrix at the rear side of the bus, do show that they all not only have the knowledge of the object but agreed to do the said illega illegall acts acts ; viz., viz., robbi robbing ng rape, rape, unnatu unnatural ral sex, sex, beatin beatings, gs, causi ausing ng

griev rievo ous

inju njurie ries

and and

att attempt emptiing

to

kil kill

the

passengers, distribution of booty, destroying evidence viz., washing, burning etc with their other associates viz., Ram Singh, since deceased and JCL (not being tried by this court). Hence, Hence, the conduct of all all the the accu accuse sed d pers person on lead to only inference that they have conspired together to commit commit vario various us offenc offences es in the night night of 16-1216-12-201 2012 2 with with passenger(s) who would board their bus Ex.P1. Their act of State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 181 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 182 ::-

allowing only a single person / unit to board the bus Ex.P1 on each occasion speaks volumes of their common object. Hence, once the conspiracy is established then the words spoken by the accused viz., “the victims be not left alive” and “mar “mar gayee – mar gayee” gayee ” and then their act of throwing them out of the running bus believing both of them dead and trying to overrun the bus, do cover under section 10 of the Indian Evidence Act. Here Here,, accu accuse sed d Muk Mukesh esh argued that he was merely driving the bus Ex.P1 and had nothing to do with the act of others and hence be acquitted is of no consequence. It

is

the

unlawful

agreement

whic hich

the

pros prosec ecut utio ion n need need to prov prove e and and not not its its acco accomp mpli lish shme ment nt,, which is the gist or or essence of the crime crime of conspiracy. conspiracy. It is a settled settled law that crimin criminal al respon responsib sibili ility ty for

conspi conspirac racy y

requi require res s more more than than a mere merely ly passiv passive e attitu attitude de towar towards ds an exist existing ing consp conspira iracy cy.. One who commit commits s an overt overt act with with knowledge of the conspiracy is of course guilty. guilty. The one who

tacitly consents to the object of a conspiracy and goes along with other conspirators, actually standing by while State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 182 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 183 ::-

the the othe others rs put the the cons conspi pira racy cy into into effe effect ct,, is also also guil guilty ty though he intends to take take no active part part in the crime. crime. Even per settled law, if any person joins the conspiracy later, is equall equally y respo responsi nsible ble..

Thus Thus offenc offence e can can be proved proved largel largely y

from the inferences drawn from the acts and also from

illegal illegal omissions omissions of the the cons conspi pira rato tors rs in purs pursua uanc nce e of a common design. Thus, the arguments of the accused Mukesh that he was merely driving the bus on both the occasions do not help him and and rather makes makes him him equally responsible. He can not not esca escape pe his his guil guiltt by mere merely ly sayi saying ng that that he was was only only driv drivin ing g the the bus bus whil while e othe others rs wer were brut brutal ally ly beat beatin ing g the the vict victim ims, s, comm commit itti ting ng unna unnatu tura rall sex, sex, gang gang rape rape with with the the prosecutrix, prosecutrix, one after the other, causing injuries dangerous to her life, life, committing committing dacoity dacoity and other other offences. offences. Rather, Rather, the DNA reports go against the claim of accused Mukesh as the blood of the prosecutrix was also found on his pant, Tshirt and jacket, which he wore at the time of incident and recovered recovered at his instance. instance. It rather rather corroborate the version of PW1 when he says that even accused Mukesh had hit him State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 183 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 184 ::-

with a rod and had gone to the rear side of the bus Ex.P1 to commit rape rape with the prosecutrix. Further, Further, in his statement under section 313 Cr.P.C , accused Mukesh said that out of the two rounds, rounds, he drove drove the bus for one round. round. It obviously lead to an inference that in another round, he went to the rear ear side side and and rape raped d the the pros prosec ecut utri rix. x.

Rathe atherr his his plea plea

supports the deposition of PW1 on this aspect. Thus the act(s) of abducting abducting the victims victims by deceit, robbing, causing injuries and the act of some of accused in pinning the complainant PW1 down while others took their turn in committing rape / unnatural sex and while one of them continued driving the bus Ex.P1 ; and lastly throwing them out of moving bus, sharing booty, destroying evidence thoroughly show an illegal agreement between them to commit such illegal act(s) and they had knowledge of the same. Hence the the offence offence of conspiracy conspiracy stands stands establis established hed agai against nst the the accu accuse sed d and and they they are are liab liable le to be conv convic icte ted d

120-B B IPC IPC for under under sectio section n 120for comm commit itti ting ng the the afor afores esai aid d offences. Thus convicted.


-:: 185 ::-

GANG RAPE The accused, in view of the discussions above, also are liable for gang rape / committed with the prosecut prosecutrix rix in pursuance pursuance of the aforesai aforesaid d conspiracy conspiracy..

The

plea that accused Mukesh be taken out from the purview of this offence as he merely drove bus Ex.P1 is even otherwise answered by the following judgments viz., In “Bhupinder Sharma v. State of Himachal

Pradesh, (2003) 8 SCC 551 , the Hon'ble Supreme Court held as under : “In cases of gang rape the proof of complete act of rape by each accused on the victim is not required. The statutory intention in introd introduci ucing ng Explan Explanati ation on 1 in relat elatio ion n to Secti ection on 37 376( 6(2) 2)(g (g)) appears to have been done with a view view to effe effect ctiv ivel ely y deal deal with with the the growin owing g men menace ace of gan gang rape. In such circumstan circumstances, ces, it is not necessary that the prosecution should adduce clin clinch chin ing g proo prooff of a comp comple lete ted d act of rape by each one of the accused on the victim or on each one of the victims victims where where there there are are more more than than one one in orde orderr to find the accused guilty of gang rape ape and and con convic vict them them under nder Section 376 IPC.” State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 185 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 186 ::-

“Pramod Mahto Mahto and others others vs. State of In “Pramod Bihar”, 1989 Sup (2) SCC 672 , it was held that : “This Explanation has been intr introd oduc uced ed by the the legi legisl slat atur ure e with with a view view to effe effect ctiv ivel ely y deal deal with the growing menace of gang ra rape. In su such circumstances, it is not necess necessary ary that that the prosec prosecuti ution on should adduce clinching proof of a completed act of rape by each one of the accused on the victim or on each each one one of the the vict victim ims s where there are more than one in order to find the accused guilty of gang rape and convict them under Section 376 IPC.”

Ankush sh Maru Maruti ti Shin Shinde der r In “Anku

v.

Stat State e of

Maharashtra”, (2009) 6 SCC 667 , wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that : “in “in a case ase of gan gang rape and and murd murder er the the liab liabil ilit ity y of all all the the accused is equal.” Hence, if the accused person had participated in the incident then the question as to who committed rape or who could not complete the act of rape becomes irrelevant for conviction of gang rape. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 186 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 187 ::-

Henc Hence, e, all the accu accuse sed d in purs pursua uanc nce e of the conspiracy committed gang rape with the prosecutrix and thus are convicted under section 376(2)(g) IPC with the aid of section 120-B IPC.

SECTION 377 IPC Section 377 IPC runs as under :

offences. “Unnatural Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal animal,, shall shall be punish punished ed with with (imprisonment for life), or with imprisonment of either desc descri ript ptio ion n for for a ter term whic hich may may exte extend nd to ten ten year years, s, and and shall also be liable to fine.”

The MLC Ex.PW49/A shows the brief history of intercourse intercourse through through vagina and anus. It rather shows rectal rectal tear tear.. Furth urther er in her her dyin dying g decl declar arat atio ion n

Ex.PW27/A the

prosecutrix stated before the SDM that the accused person not only raped her but also committed unnatural sex with her through through her anus. This fact is is further proved proved by the DNA repor reportt of accuse accused d Ram Ram Singh Singh where where the anal anal swab swab taken taken State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 187 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 188 ::-

from the person of the prosecutrix was found to contain the DNA of accused accused Ram Ram Singh. Singh. Hence, all all the accused accused person person are also also convict convicted ed

for the the offence offence under under section section 377 IPC

read with section 120-B IPC.

ABDUCTION Abduct Abduction ion has been been define defined d under under sectio section n 362

IPC as under :“whoever by force compels, or by any deceitful means induced, any person to go from any place, is said to abduct that person.” In Mall Malle esh v. Stat State e of Karnat nataka aka

(200 (2004 4) 8

Supreme Court Cases 95, it has been held that “to “ind “induc uce” e” mean means s “to “to lead lead into into”. ”. Dece Deceit it acco accord rdin ing g to its its plain dictionary meaning signif sig nifies ies anythi anything ng intend intended ed to mislead mislead another another.. It is a matter matter of intention and even if promise held held out out by the the accu accuse sed d was was fulfilled by him, the question is : whether he was acting in a bonafide manner.


-:: 189 ::-

Thus, the act of

making the victims i.e., the

complainant PW1 and the proscutrix believe that the white colour bus Ex.P-1 was a public carrier carrier bus proceedi proceeding ng to Dwarka and that the act of accused person in moving the bus away from the bus stand and not allowing any other person to enter the bus immediately after they had boarded the bus and then taking the victims for a ride do cover the case case agai agains nstt the the accu accuse sed d unde underr secti section on 36 365 5 IPC IPC as also also under section 366 IPC as they in purs ursuance of their conspiracy not not only kidnapped the victims victims with an an intention to cause cause them to be be secret secretly ly and wrongful wrongfully ly confi confined ned but but also also wit with h an int inten enti tion on compelled compelled to

that that the the

pro prosecu secuttrix rix may may be be

have forced forced / illici illicitt inter intercour course. se.

Hence, the

accused person stands convicted for the offences punishable under section 365/366 IPC read with section 120 IPC.

DACOITY Now the question is if the act of the accused is cover covered ed under under sectio section n 395 IPC. IPC. Sectio Section n 395 IPC provi provides des punishment punishmen t for dacoity. dacoity. The dacoity is defined under section State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 189 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 190 ::-

391 IPC as under :-

391. Daco Dacoit ity y .-- When “391. five or more persons conjointly commit or attempt to commit a robb robber ery y, or wher where e the the whol whole e numb number er of pers person ons s conj conjoi oint ntly ly comm commit itti ting ng or atte attem mptin pting g to commit a robbery robbery,, and and persons persons present and aiding such commission or attempt, amount to five or more, every person so committing, attempting or aiding, is said to commit “dacoity”.” It has has bee been pro proved ved above bove that hat the accu accuse sed d person persons s were were more more than than five five includ including ing Ram Ram Singh, Singh, since since deceased and JCL (not being tried by this court) and that they conspired to commit various offences with the victims who were deceitfully made to board the bus ; not only had beaten them but had robbed them all of their belongings while while inflic inflictin ting g variou various s injuri injuries es upon upon them them and throwi throwing ng them naked out of moving bus in a cold winter night. The robbed property was recovered at the instance of the each of the the accu accuse sed d pers person ons s and and they they all all accu accuse sed d have have been been identi identifie fied d

in the court court by PW-1, the complainant. Their

identity even stood established by the scientific evidence. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 190 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 191 ::-

Henc Hence, e, it stan stands ds prov proved ed beyo beyond nd doub doubtt that that the the accu accuse sed d person conjointly committed the robbery in pursuance of their conspiracy and hence the offence under section 395

IPC with the aid of section 120-B IPC stands proved against all the accused. Thus convicted.

Section 397 IPC Section 397 IPC runs as under :

Robb bber ery y, or daco dacoit ity y, with with “Ro atte attemp mptt to caus cause e deat death h or grievous hurt – If, at the time of committing robbery or dacoit dacoity, y, the offend offender er uses uses any deadly weapon, or causes grievous hurt to any person, or attempts to cause death or grievous hurt to any person, the impris imprisonm onment ent with with which which such such offender shall be punished not be less then seven years.” It was argued by the ld defence counsels that section 397 IPC is not made out as the prosecution has failed to prove the use of deadly weapons and further this offence is the offence offence of indivi individua duall liabil liability ity.

I dis disagr agree ee with the

arguments as firstly the iron rods with such size(s), having curve at one end and abrasions on the other, were inserted State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 191 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 192 ::-

into into the the priv privat ate e part parts s of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix x woul would d not not be consid consider ered ed less less than than a deadly deadly weapon weapon for the manner manner in which such rods were used. Nevertheless, the rigors of section 397 IPC does not end only on a condition that the offender must use a deadly weapon. It has other other ingredients ingredients too. too. If at the time of committing robbery or dacoity the offender attempts to cause death to any person, rigors of section 397 IPC shall still be applicable. Since in this case the conspiracy conspiracy among the accused stands proved so the question as to who caused the the inju injury ry or who who us used ed the the weap weapon on has has no sign signif ific ican ance ce.. Even Even otherwi otherwise se an attemp attemptt

was made made to cause cause death death of

PW1, the complainant and hence the act of all the accused come within the ambit of section 397 IPC with the aid of section 120-B IPC. Thus convicted.

MURDER It stands proved that the prosecutrix died due to injuries inflicted by the accused while committing various offences with the victims inside the moving bus Ex.P1, on State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 192 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 193 ::-

the fatefu fatefull night of 16-12-2 16-12-2012. 012.

Such Such injuries injuries have have been

described by the doctor as dangerous ; extremely bad for definite repair ; sufficient in the ordinary course to cause death.

Now, the moot question of vital importance is as to

under which clause of Sec. 299 or 300 IPC, these acts will fall. In both these Sections i.e. in 299 and 300 IPC, the “intention” is a basic ingredient. Such intention may be for causing death or for causing bodily injury as described in Section 299(b) or Section 300(2) or (3) of the IPC. since the injuries were caused in such a brutal manner which leaves no scope for discussing the case from the point of view of knowledge. The death was also not an accidental death. So the issue which is to be adjudicated is as to whether these acts were done with the “intention of causing death” or with “the intention to cause bodily injuries” which are covered under Section Section 299(b) and 300(2)/(3) of IPC. Sections read read as under :-

Section 299 – Whoever causes death by doing an act (a) with the intention of causing death State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 193 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 194 ::-

or (b) with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death or (c) with with the the know knowle ledg dge e that that he is likely by such act to cause death, commits

the

offence

of

culpable

homicide.

Sectio Section n 300 –

Exce Except pt in the the case cases s

her hereina einaft fter er

excepted, culpable homicide is murder, murder, if the act by which the death is caused is done (1) with the intention of causing deat death h or (2) with ith the inten ntenttion ion of causing

such

bodily

injury

as

the

offe offend nder er know knows s to be lik likely ely to caus cause e death of the person to whom the harm is caused or (3) with with the intent intention ion of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in ordinary course of nature to caus cause e deat death h or (4) if the the pers person on committing the act knows that it is so State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 194 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 195 ::-

imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause death or such bodily inju injury ry as is lik likely ely to caus cause e deat death h and and commit commits s such such act withou withoutt any excus excuse e for incusing the risk of causing death or such injury as aforesaid. By the language of Sec. 300 of IPC, it is much clear that “Culpable Homicide” is the genus and “Murder” is one of its species. Since clause (a) of Sec. 299 is identical to clause (1) of sec. 300, the acts resulted in death if done with the intentio intention n of causing causing death will will always always be murder murder

This

act will fall within the ambit of sec. 299 r/w sec. 304 IPC if it falls in any of exception exception mentioned in sec. 300 of IPC. The State has argued that the present case does not fall in any of the exceptions mention in Sec. 300 nor has any any su such ch exce except ptio ion n been been prov proved ed by any any of the the accu accuse sed d during the trial, trial, so these exceptions exceptions are are not applicable. applicable. The State argued that the acts of all these accused are squarely falling in the first category of Section 300 as these acts were done with the intention of causing death. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 195 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 196 ::-

It is matter on record that the incidence occurred during intervening night of 16/17-12-2012 in between 9:24 PM to 9:57 PM. The victim died on 29.12.2012 in Singapore at Mt. Elizabeth Hospital due to the injuries suffered by her on the night of the incident. The victim was shifted to Mt. Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore on 26-12-2012 where she later died died and and her her post post-m -mor orte tem m was was cond conduc ucte ted. d. Henc Hence, e, the the following documents are prima facie capable of showing the complete set of acts done by the accused persons with the prosecutrix: prosecutrix: –

(i) MLC of prosecutrix ; (ii)her her trea treatm tmen entt pape papers rs from from 16 16.1 .12. 2.12 12 till till 26 26.1 .12. 2.12 12 prepared prepared at Safdarjung Hospital.

(iii)Post Mortem report of Mt. Elizabeth Hospital and (iv)Dying Dying declar declarati ations ons dated dated 21/12/ 21/12/12 12 Ex.PW2 Ex.PW27/A 7/A and dated 25-12-2012 ex.PW30/D-1. The MLC dated 16-12-12 Ex.PW49/B shows profuse bleeding from from vagina and anal opening. opening. The tag tag of vaginal wall 6 cm in length was hanging out of interiolus and posterior of vagina was having tear of 7-8 cm. The tear of State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 196 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 197 ::-

rectum of size about 4 cm was found communicating with tear of vagina. The bleeding from vagina & anus was so enormous that the bed sheet wrapping the body was soaked with blood coming out only from vagina. The other injuries on body were not found bleeding so there was no question of oozing of blood from any other part of the body. There was fall in blood pressure and it was recorded as 60/100 mmHg. The Doctor who prepared MLC was of the opinion that in this case high risk consent is required for operation. Immediately after preparation of MLC, urgent USG was was done done and and pati patient ent was was sh shif ifte ted d to OT for for su surg rger ery y. On 17-12-12 at about 12:55 AM, the treating Doctors made the clinical note which explains the magnitude of injury. By that time, surgery was not performed yet by the report of USG etc., the doctors were of the opinion that it was case of sexua sexuall assaul assaultt with with comple complete te perenn perennial ial tear tear with with anteri anterior or rectal wall injury with blunt abdominal trauma. On 17-12-12 at about 3:30 AM, it was explained to the father of victim by Doctors that they are going to do laparotomy, colostomy and Illi Illios osto tomy my beca becaus use e of rupt ruptur ure e of inte intest stin ine. e. The The risk risk of State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 197 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 198 ::-

development of severe anemia and requirement of putting the patient on ventilator were explained. Now, after the USG, the victim was examined by Senior Resident Surgery at 12:30 AM. He has observed that there was mucosal injury in lower rectum, anus was absent and there there was was comple complete te perine perineal al tear tear. He sus suspec pected ted the abdominal collection of blood and hemorrhage. The victim was was put put on the the oper operat atio ion n tabl table e at abou aboutt 2:30 2:30 AM. AM. The The exte exteri rior or anal anal sp spin inst ster er inju injury ry with with defi defici cien entt ante anteri rior or anal anal spinst spi nster er and anal anal was observ observed. ed. From rom outsid outside, e, the upper upper exten xtentt of rect ectal tear ear coul could d

not not visu isuali alize. ze. The act actual ual

magnitude of damage caused to internal organs of victim by the acts of accused persons was visualized when laparotory, was performed at Safdarjung Hospital on 19-12-12. As

per

O.T.

Notes

Ex.PW50/B,

foll follo owing ing

observations were made : –

(a) Blunt trauma abdomen with sexual assault ; (b)

Complete perineal tear ;

(c)

Hemoperitonium with small & large bowel injury ;

(d) There was was collection of 500 ml. of blood State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 198 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 199 ::-

in peritonial cavity ;

(e)

Stomach – pale ;

(f)

Deudonum was contused ;

(g) Jejunum – contused bruised at whole of the length and lacerated lacerated and transacted transacted at many places. 1 st transaction was 5 cm away from DJ Junction ( Duodenum – Jejunum Junction) ;

(h)

2nd transaction was 2 ft. from the DJ junction after that there was laceration and transaction at many places.

(i) (j)

Jejunum loop was was of doubtful viability viability ; Whole of Ileum (small intestine) was totally contused and it was of doubtful viability ;

(k)

Distal ileum was completely detached from the mesentry (the tight membrane which holds the loops of small intestine ) till ICJ (ileum – colon junction). It was completely devascularized (with no supply of blood) ;

(l)

Large bowel was also contused, bruised and of doubtful viability. Descending colon was lacerated vertically downward in such a manner that it was completely opened.

(m) Sigmoid colon & rectum was lacerated at many places linearly. linearly. Mucosa was detached completely a portion of it around 10 cm was prolapsing prolapsing through perineal wound. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 199 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 200 ::-

(n)

Both side Retroperitoneal hematoma was present.

(o)

Mesentery and omentum was totally contused and bruised

(p)

Vaginal tear was present. Rectovaginal septum was completely torn.

(q)

Gut injury was totally bruised and contused in such manner that it could not be repaired. Hence, proximal Jejunostomy was made.

Because of intra abdominal injuries, PW50 Dr. Raj Kumar Chijjara Doctor opined that the condition of small and large bowl was extremely bad for any definite repair. The prosecutrix was subjected to a second opera perattion ion

on

19--12 19 12-1 -12 2

becau ecause se

of

her

det deteri eriorat oratiing

condition. The OT findings Ex.PW50/C are as follows –

(a)

A gap gap is pres presen entt in the post poster erio iorr vagi vagina nall wall wall of peri perine neum um

invo involv lvin ing g

rectovaginal nal

septum.

lowe lowerr

2/3 2/3 rd

of

vaginal

and

The

wall

of

vagina

was

edematous and adherent to the rectovaginal rectovaginal septum in the upper part and lateral edge of rectal wall ;

(b)

Perineum completely completely torn and deficient ;

(c)

Exte Extern rnal al and and inte intern rnal al anal anal sp sphi hinc ncte terr (rin (ring g sh shap aped ed muscle whose function is to constrict or close the body opening or passage which it surrounds) completely torn


-:: 201 ::-

along the anterior wall of the anal canal ;

(d) The anterior wall of the anal canal and rectum is deficient deficient and the upper limits limits of the tear could not be reached from below ;

(e)

Rectum ectum is longi longitud tudina inally lly torn torn on anteri anterior or aspect aspect in continuation with with perineal tear. tear. This tear is continuing continuing upwar upward d involv involving ing sig sigmoi moid d colon, colon, descen descendin ding g colon colon which is explored open ;

(f)

The margins margins are edematous edematous ;

(g) There are multiple longitudinal tear in the mucosa of rectosigmoid area ;

(h) Transverse Transverse colon was torn and and gangrenous ; (i)

Hepati Hepatic c plexus plexus ascend ascending ing colon colon and caecum caecum whole whole gangrenous with multiple perforation perforation at many places ;

(j)

Terminal Terminal ileum approximat approximately ely 1½ ft. loosely hanging in the abdominal cavity it was avulsed from its mesentery and was non viable ;

(k) The rest of small bowel was non-existent with only patches of mucosa at places and borders of mesentery was was cont contus used ed.. The The cont contus used ed mese mesent nter ery y bord border ers s initially appeared during 1 st surgery as contused small bowl ;

(l)

The jejunostomy stoma was gangrenous for approx. approx. 2 cm ;

(m) Resec esecti tion on of gang gangre reno nous us ter terminal minal ileu ileum, m, caec caecum um appe append ndix ix,, asce ascend ndin ing g colo colon, n, hepa hepati tic c flex flexur ures es and and transverse colon was done. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 201 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 202 ::-

The prosecutrix was shifted to Mt. Elizabeth Hospital on 26/12/12 and she expired there on 29/12/12. The post post mort mortem em was was cond conduc ucte ted d on 29 29/1 /12/ 2/12 12.. Besi Beside des s the the findings about other internal organs, the findings about the alimentary

canal

as

shown

in

post

mortem

report

Ex.PW34/A are as follows(a)

Only Only the the tong tongue ue,, epig epiglo lott ttis is and and Es Esop opha hagu gus s wer were normal.

(b) The stomach was having signs of gastrostomy gastrostomy near greater curve (it is the part near duodenum).

(c)

Great omentum was absent.

(d)

Only duodenum was present.

(e) The jejunum, ileum and most of the large intestine were were comp comple lete tely ly abse absent nt from from liga ligame ment nt of Treit reitz z (Suspensory muscle of duodenum) all the way to the anorectal canal.

(f)

Margins of the residual mesentery showed signs of healing.

(g)

Large intestine completely absent except anal stump.

(h)

Anal canal stump remnant measuring between 4.5 to 6 cm long from anal verge was present.

(i)

Urin Urinar ary y

blad bladde derr

show sh owed ed

muco mucosa sall

haem haemor orrh rhag ages es

present 2.5 cm diameter and the posterior wall. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 202 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 203 ::-

Other injuries to external genitals and vagina are mentioned in respective columns of P.M. Report. Thus by combined reading of MLC Ex.PW49/B , OT notes notes Ex.PW50/A and Ex.PW50/C dated dated 17/12/ 17/12/12 12 & 19/12/12 and P.M. report Ex.PW34/A, it is much clear that by the acts of accused persons, the most vital organ of the body body i.e. i.e. alime alimenta ntary ry canal canal was badly badly damage damaged. d. Multi Multiple ple seve severe re inju injuri ries es to alim alimen enta tary ry cana canall can can by no stre stretc tch h of imagin imaginati ation on be the outcom outcome e of commi commissi ssion on of offenc offence e of gang gang rape rape by six six pers person ons. s. The The dyin dying g decl declar arat atio ion n of the the prosecutrix prosecutrix recorded by SDM Ms. Usha Chaturvedi is capable of explaining the acts done by these accused persons for causing these internal injuries. The exact statement given by victim is reproduced as under:-“ bu yksxks us yksgs dh jksM ls eqKs esjs isV ij ekjk ”

oStkbuy@xqIrkax vkS oS vkSj “bu yksxks us yksgs dh jksM dks esjs 'kjhj ds vUnj xqnk (ihNs ls through rectum) Mkyk vkSj fQj ckgj Hkh fudkyk vkSj xqIrkaxks gkFk vkSj yksgs dh jksM Mkydj esjs 'kjhj ds van:uh fgLlksa dks ckgj fudkyk vkSj pksV igqapkbZ”


-:: 204 ::-

After fter commit committi ting ng the gang gang rape rape and doing doing the acts of insertion of hand and iron rods through anal opening and vagina and after pulling out internal organs both the victims in naked condition were thrown out of the bus. The prose prosecut cutrix rix was bleedi bleeding ng profu profusel sely y from from the vagin vagina. a. The presence of victim near Mahipalpur flyover was noticed by chance by PW Rajkumar Rajkumar who informed PCR and medical help was provided to victim. During the investigation, two iron rods Ex.P-49/1 and Ex.P-49/2 were recovered at the instance of accused Ram Sing Singh. h. The The DNA DNA exam examin inat atio ion n on the the basi basis s of bloo blood d present on both these rods has confirmed that these rods were used by accused and were inserted inside the body of the prosecutrix. The complainant PW1 who is the sole eye witness has also identified these rods. The rods were also produced before the Board of Doctors treating the prosecutrix and the complainant. One rod Ex.P-49/1 was of about 59 cm (about 2 ft) in length, flat at one end and curved like hook on other end. The rod was having multiple serrations. The circumference of this rod State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 204 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 205 ::-

was about 6 cm. The serrations were present on both sides upto 7 cm from edge. One edge of the rod was chiselled and the rod was slight curved in it length. The other rod Ex.P-49/2 was abo about 70 cm in lengt ength. h. One end end upto pto 2.2 2.2 cm was cons consttric ricted ted hav having ing circumfe umferrenc ences of 3.5 3.5 cm ; the othe otherr end end was hav having ing

irregular margin. The circumference of whole rod except one end of 2.2 cm was 6.5 cm. The opinion given by Board of Doctors after examining both the rods in light of medical record of the victim is as follows –

(i). The The injury on the body of the patient could be caused by the weapons examined.

(ii). The The perineal injury was severe and complete tear invol nvolvi ving ng

low lower

2/3 2/3 rd

of

post poste erio rior

vagi vagina nall

wall all,

recto ectova vagi gina nall sept septum um anus anus and and anal anal cana canal, l, ante anteri rior or recta ectall wall wall exte extend ndin ing g upwa upward rd into into adjo adjoin inin ing g larg large e int intesti estine ne.. The The inju injury ry coul could d have have been been caus caused ed by thru thrust stin ing g of blun bluntt rod rod lik like obje object ct forc forcib ibly ly thro throug ugh h vagina

and/or

anus.

During

the

struggle

and


-:: 206 ::-

withdr withdrawa awall of rod rod like like struct structur ure e from from the abdom abdomen, en, intestine prolapsed/ herniated which led to irreparable damage and loss and severe injury to large and small intestine. It is matter on record that complete alimentary cana canall from from the the leve levell of duod duoden enum um upto upto 5 cm from from anal anal sphincter was completely damaged. It was beyond repair. Causing of damage to jejunum is indicative of the fact that the rods were inserted through vagina and/or anus upto the level of jejunum. The length of both these rods is about 2 feet and is sufficient to travel from vaginal or anal opening through rectum, large intestine and loops of small intestine upto level of jejunum. This process of forcible insertion cut the intestine at several several places places verticall vertically y and then damaged damaged the the mese mesent ntry ry beyo beyond nd repai epairr. The The dama damage ge to rectu ectum, m, rectovag rectovaginal inal septum, septum, mesentrie mesentries, s, small intestine intestine,, jejunum jejunum and duodenum clearly indicate that the act of insertion and pulling out was committed repeatedly. The irregular margin of one rod and hook like structure of other rod alongwith serrations on it aggravated this damage to these internal State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 206 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 207 ::-

organs. The blood of victim as confirmed by CFSL by DNA finger printing was found on both these rods. This aspect is able to establish that both these rods were used for insertion and pulling out. As per per huma human n anat anatom omy, y, the the alim alimen enta tary ry cana canall starts starts from from buccal buccal cavity cavity and through through esophagus esophagus reaches reaches stomach. After the stomach, it has two major parts which are small intestine (ileum) and large intestine (colon). The colon terminates in rectum which is connected with anal sphincter. sphincter. In betwee between n stomac stomach h and ileum, ileum, there there lies lies two two import important ant parts of this canal. The part of this canal soon after the stomach is the duodenum and this duodenum is linked with ileum through Jejunum. The total length of small intestine in human human being is approx approx.. 7.1 m (approx (approx.. 22-25 feet). Though the digestion starts from buccal cavity, but major part of this proc proces ess s tak takes plac place e in the the stom stomac ach h wher where e the the comp comple lex x nutrients are converted into simpler forms by the action of enzymes secreted through the stomach walls. The pancreas and gall bladder also secrete enzymes which accelerate the digestion of fat and glyceroids. The enzymes secreted from State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 207 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 208 ::-

pancreas and gall bladder come to the alimentary canal at the the leve levell of duod duoden enum um and and jeju jejunu num. m. The The whol whole e of the the dige digest stiv ive e

pro process ess

is

maint aintai aine ned d

by

cont contra rac ctio tion

and and

retraction of the muscles of the alimentary canal. Each part of the canal is separated from other through the openings having one sided walls. The walls of small intestine contain contain a dense web of blood capillaries because upto reaching the smal smalll inte intest stin ine e the the comp comple lex x food food part partic icle les s have have alr already eady conv conver erte ted d into into simp simple lerr form forms. s. In the the smal smalll inte intest stin ine e the the maxi maximu mum m abso absorp rpti tion on of these these dige digest sted ed simp simple lerr food food of nutrients into blood takes place. The weighty and large loops of small intestine remain tied within abdominal cavity tightly with the help of mesentery. Any damage in mesentery will result spreading of all the loops of small intestine having length of 7.1m. The duodenum and jejunum are at proximal end of small intestine just near its start part after stomach whereas rectum is at distal end of this canal. The whole of the the alim alimen enta tary ry cana canall is a vita vitall part part of body body beca becaus use e it provides all the nutrients responsible for metabolism, repair of tissues and growth of the body. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 208 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 209 ::-

In absence of this alimentary canal, all these vital organs of the body will become functionless. In absence of func functi tion onin ing g of thes these e orga organs, ns, the the hear heartt will will only only be in a position to supply blood to the cells of the body including the brain cells having the oxygen but no nutrient responsible for metabolism of these cells. including brain cells. In absence of supply of these metabolites each and every cells of the body will become functionless. So, the remaining organs of body will not gai gain any energy for their voluntary or involuntary activities. All these factors will ultimately result in cert certai ain n deat death h of the the pers person on.. The The dama damage ge to inte interrnal nal organs as mentioned in OT notes Ex.PW50/C of 19-12-12, clearly indicates that anal spinster, rectum, colon ileum and mesent mesenteri eries es were were complet completely ely damage damaged d and beyond beyond any repai epairr. The The cana canall coul could d be repai epairred only only at the the leve levell of proximal end of jejunum i.e. the part just near the duoden duodenum. um. Even Even the duoden duodenum um was was also also found found contus contused ed and the stomach was also having the injuries. The large

magnitude of the force whil while e inse insert rtin ing g thes these e rods rods is evident from the the fact that the colon and rectum were found found State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 209 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 210 ::-

vertically torn at places. places. After fter the operat operatio ion, n, the victim victim was kept on ventil ventilato atorr. The sympto symptoms ms of failur failure e of other other organs including the lungs are evident from the fact that after the first operation, the victim permanently remained on ventilator. The important aspect of this trial is the manner in which both these rods and hands were used for damaging the alimentary canal and pulling it out from the body. Now it stands stands prove proved d that that the prose prosecut cutrix rix was taken to rear seat of the bus. The accused persons tried to commit rape and unnatural acts with her. When she resisted she was beaten by these rods on her abdomen. They all committed rape one by one in brutal manner and robbed her valuables. The beatings were given to both complainant & the prosecutrix. prosecutrix. The accused persons may had the reason of giving beating and causing external injuries to complainant for robbi robbing ng him or for preve preventi nting ng him from from rescu rescuing ing the pros prosec ecut utri rix. x. Simi Simila larl rly y for for givi giving ng blow blows s by thes these e rods rods on abdo abdome men n of the the pros prosec ecut utri rix, x, ther there e was was a reaso eason n that that State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 210 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 211 ::-

prosecutrix was putting up stiff resistance in commission of offence of rape. If it had been the case that while committing rape these accused persons inflicted injuries on head head or othe otherr exter xterna nall vita vitall part parts s of body body,, the the topi topic c of discussion would certainly be as to whether the accused was inte intend ndin ing g to infl inflic ictt su such ch bodi bodily ly inju injury ry whic which h they they knew knew sufficient to cause death or they were intending to inflict such bodily injury which in ordinary course of nature was sufficient to cause death but it is not the case here. In this case whole of alimentary canal was damaged by multiple insertions of these rods and hands through vagina and anus and a major part of this alimentary canal was taken out

pulling ng out these while pulli hese rods and hands ands.. This his act act of complete destruction of the most vital parts of the body in the the mann manner er desc descri ribe bed d abov above e can can neve neverr be ter termed med as intending to cause bodily injury and rather it will be acts done with the intention of causing death. It is a matter of common prudence that removal of these major parts of the alimentary canal was not only capable of stopping the metabolism but also retarding the State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 211 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 212 ::-

process of of blood circulation circulation to the remaining remaining organs. organs. These rods were inside the bus. It is established during the trial that that these these rods rods were were provi provided ded by the accuse accused d who were present in cabin of the bus on the demand of remaining accused who took the prosecutrix to the rear seat of the bus. This fact tends to show that all the accused were aware of the specific design and dimensions of the rods. Now coming to legal aspect, I may reiterate that in the scheme of Indian Penal Code, all murders are culpable homi homici cide de but but not not vice vice vers versa. a. For the the purp purpos ose e of fixi fixing ng puni punish shme ment nt,, prop propor orti tion onat ate e to the the grav gravit ity y of the the gene generi ric c offe offenc nce, e, the the IPC IPC prac practi tica call lly y recog ecogni nizes zes thr three degr degree ee of culpable homicide. The first is what may be called culpable homicide of first degree. This is gravest form of culpable homic homicide ide which is define defined d in the Sec. 300 “Mur “Murder”. der”. The offence made punishable under first part of Sec. 304 falls in second category whereas offence of second part of Sec. 304 are the third category of culpable homicide. The acts done with the intention of causing death will always be murder as defined in 300(1) of IPC and it will State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 212 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 213 ::-

be culpable homicide only if the act falls in any of exception of Sec. 300 IPC. It is pertinent pertinent to note that words “intention “intention to cause death” is not an essential requirement of clause (2) or clause (3) of Sec. 300 IPC. For clause (2) the intention of caus causin ing g the the bodi bodily ly inju injury ry coup couple led d with with the the offe offend nder er’s ’s knowledge of the likelihood of such injury causing the death of the particular victim is sufficient to bring the killing within the ambit of this clause. Clause (3) of Sec. 300 deals with those cases where act is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury which are sufficient in ordinary course of nature to cause death. So, by this interpretation interpretation it can safely be said that the intention to cause death” is the essential ingredient of only clause (1) of 300 IPC whereas for clauses (2) and (3) the intention is not for causing death and rather it is limited to the intention to inflict bodily injuries. Thus for the cases falling in clause (1) the main emphasis is upon the acts done with the intention of causing death. For all 4 clauses of Sec 300 one proper illustration is given in IPC. For clause (1) the illustration (a) is given which simply says that A shoots Z with the intention to kill State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 213 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 214 ::-

him, him, Z dies dies in conseq consequen uence ce A commi commits ts murder murder.. Simila Similarly rly illustration (b) (c) & (d) are given for the remaining clauses i.e. Clauses (2), (3) and (4) of Sec. 300 IPC. According to the rule laid down in Virsa Singh

vs. vs. Stat State e of Punj Punjab ab (AIR (AIR 1958 1958 SC 465) 465) even even if the intention of accused was limited to the infliction of bodily injury injury suffic sufficient ient to cause cause death death in the ordin ordinary ary course course of nature, and did not extend to the intention of causing death, the offence would be of murder. To To judge as to whether act was done with the inte intent ntio ion n of caus causin ing g deat death, h, all all the the acts acts,, utte uttera ranc nces es and and circumstances will be counted together otherwise there will be no difference in cases falling in clause (1) and clause (3) of Sec 300. To clarify the position the discussion held in the House of Lords in R V. Moloney (All England Law Reports 1025 10 25 HL 19 1985 85)) will will be sign signif ific ican antt wher wherei ein n the the poin pointt of cons consid ider erat atio ion n was was whet whethe herr the the accu accuse sed d was was havi having ng the the nece necess ssar ary y inte intent nt eith either er to kill kill or to caus cause e real really ly seri seriou ous s bodi bodily ly harm harm.. The The foll follow owin ing g pass passag age e quot quoted ed from from this this judgment clarifies clarifies the position: State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 214 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 215 ::-

“In decidi deciding ng the quest question ion of the the accu accuse sed d man’ man’s s inte intent nt,, you will decide whether he did intend or foresee that result by refe refere renc nce e to all all the the evid eviden ence ce,, drawi drawing ng such such infere inference nces s from from the evidence as appear proper in the circumstances. Members of the jury, it is a question of fact for you to decide. As I said I think when I was directing you origin originall ally y you cannot cannot take take the top top of a man man’s head ead off off and and look into his mind and actually see what his intent was at any give given n momen oment. t. You have have to decide it by reference to what he did, what he said and all the circum circumsta stance nces s of the case. case. An inte inten nt may may be an impu mpulsi lsive intent or it may be premeditated. Nobody has sug su ggest geste ed in this case that there was that element of premeditation. What the prosecution have said is that when when he pull pulled ed the the trig trigge gerr of that gun it must have been pointing at the deceased and that that the the accu accuse sed d knew knew that that it was was poin pointi ting ng at him, him, knew knew it was loaded and when he by a deliberate act pulled the trigger and fired the live barrel of that gun at his stepfather then, say the Crown, he must have inte intend nded ed at the the very very leas leastt to have have caus caused ed him him some some real really ly serious bodily injury. To constitute murder what State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 215 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 216 ::-

had now to be proved was either an intention to kill e xpress ress mal malice ice ) ( exp or an intention to do grievous bodily implied d malic malice e ). The harm ( implie adm admirab irably ly clea lear and and sim simple ple directions to the jury given by Hinc Hinchd hdif iffe fe J., J., the the tria triall judg judge, e, were ere expr expre ess sslly appr approv ove ed as ‘impeccab ‘impeccable’. le’. Those direction directions s several times indicated that to support a conviction for murder an intention to kill or do grievo grievous us bodily bodily harm harm must must be proved.

The next case I must consider is DPP Vs Smith

(1960) All ER 161, (1961) AC 290 . The case is important for three reasons. The first is that the House, reversing the court of criminal appeal, approved a direction by the trial judge, Donovan J, in a capital murder case, in the following terms: “Th “The inte intent ntio ion n with ith whic hich a man did something can usually be determined by a jury only by inference from the surrounding circ circum umst stan ance ces s incl includ udin ing g the the presumption of law that a man intends the natural and probable consequences of his acts.” State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 216 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 217 ::-

We resp respec ectf tful ully ly acce accept pt [the [the coun counse sell for for the the apellant’s] submission, based on the dictum of Lawton LJ. in the R v. Beer (1976 Cr) 1976 R 222 at 225, that in most cases there is no need, indeed it is undesirable to give a jury any definition of intent or intention in a murder case. It is usually sufficient to direct them, as indeed the learned judge afte afterr the the passa passage ge to whic which h I have have alre alread ady y refe referr rred ed,, that that intent ent or intention is a que question of fact for them to determine, taking into account all the circumstances of the case.” case.” If the above mentioned principles are applied in this this case case the the foll follow owin ing g impo import rtan antt aspe aspect cts s emer emerge ge for for establishing that the accused persons did the acts only with the intention of causing death.

(a) That the girl was lean and thin from her physique and all these accused knew this physique of the victim from the very beginning ;

(b)

immediately after boarding of the bus by the prosecutrix and the complainant, all these accused did not allow any other persons to board the bus, uttered


-:: 218 ::-

filthy and indecent language towards the girl and put off the lights. Thereafter they pulled the victim to the rear rear seat seat and starte started d beati beating ng the compla complaina inant. nt. All these acts were done in a very short span of time and were were capable capable of creating creating a fear factor in the mind of the prosecutrix because the prosecutrix boarded the bus under the impression that it was a public transport vehicle and such types of acts were not in the foresight of the victim. All these acts were capable of developing a fear factor which was able to render the prosecutrix defenseless ;

(c)

in that state of mind of the prosecutrix, she was pulled to the rear seat of the bus atleast by more than 2 persons persons of good built. built. The place place where where she was kept kept was of a seat measuring approximately 2 feet. Just ahead of this seat was the back of the seat in front and within this compact area, it was not possible for the victim to make any sort of defense ;

(d)

first of all, she was humiliated, her clothes were torn and pulled away from her body. She was hit by iron


-:: 219 ::-

rods on the abdomen. Thereafter she was gang raped by 6 persons one by one and when her body became devoid of any resistance due to these factors, the iron

rods of the the desc descri ript ptio ion n abov above e and and hands were inserted into the abdominal cavity through vagina and anus repeatedly in a forceful manner which completely damaged the alimentary canal and during the process of pulling out of these rods and hand, the major part of her her inte intest stin ines es was was pull pulled ed out out from from the the body body.. This This aspect shows the severity of the injuries caused to the victim

(e)

all these acts were done in a premeditated manner. The nature of these acts suggests that none of the acts were an impulsive act and rather the manner in which these acts were done clearly establishes the acts as being premeditated acts. The manner in which these rods were used and the injury on the body of the victim rules out the possibility that these accused brought these rods only to overpower the prosecutrix. The act of insertion of rods and pulling the internal organs after


-:: 220 ::-

committing the gang rape can in no manner be seen as acts done only to facilitate the commission of gang rape. Rather this aspect makes the act of pulling out

the internal organs of the prosecutrix to kill her an intentional act ; (f)

these acts were done by the accused in a planned manner which is evident from the fact that even before reaching Munirka and committing the said offences, these accused persons had similarly picked up PW83 Ramadhar, beat him, robbed him and thrown him out of the bus after removing his clothes. By this robbery, Rs. 1500/1600 came in the hands of these accused persons. After committing this offence, these accused came to Munirka. In the same manner they lured the passengers to board the bus and when the victim and complainant boarded the bus, they did not allow any other passenger to board the bus. While committing robbery with Ramadhar in a similar manner also, no one else was allowed to board the bus. This clearly establishes that the accused persons started plying the


-:: 221 ::-

bus bus on the the road oad not not for for ear earning ning thro throug ugh h drop droppi ping ng passengers to their destination but the purpose was to

commit

crimes.

When

the

victim

and

the

compla complaina inant nt board boarded ed the bus they they used used filth filthy y and abusive language and put off the lights inside the bus. The complainant was kept in the middle of the bus while the prosecutrix was taken to the rear seat. All these acts clearly establish that they conspired to commit the offence of gang rape. After commission of gang rape, they inserted the rods and in a profusely bleeding and unconscious condition threw the girl and compla complaina inant nt near near Mahip Mahipalp alpur ur flyove flyoverr naked naked in cold cold wint winter er night night.. It is pert pertin inen entt to ment mentio ion n that that whil while e committing the offence either with PW82 Ramadhar or with with the prose prosecut cutrix rix and compla complaina inant, nt, the accuse accused d persons did not stop the bus to allow any other persons to board the bus ;

(g)

the commission of the acts of damaging and removing the internal organs of the prosecutrix in the manner and the circumstances described above and the fact


-:: 222 ::-

that they were thrown out of the bus into the bushes at a considerable distance from the road so that their presence could not be easily noticed by passers-by and the act of moving the bus in a manner so that the victim comes under the wheels of the bus makes the acts of these accused as done with the intention of

certainty resulting in death ; (h)

the shape of the rods used for causing as many as 18 internal injuries to several organs makes these acts done done with with cert certai aint nty y of caus causin ing g the the deat death h of the the prose prosecut cutrix rix..

The fact fact that there there was no mitiga mitigati ting ng

circum circumsta stance nce for commis commissio sion n of this this inhuma inhuman n and brutal attack on the victim also brings the case within the purview of Section 300(1) IPC ;

(i)

these rods were first used for hitting the prosecutrix in her abdom abdomen en during during the proce process ss of commi commissi ssion on of gang rape. After committing committing the gang rape, these rods and hands were inserted in the body which resulted in the above mentioned injuries. This aspect makes the act a planned act as well as an act done with the


-:: 223 ::-

intention of causing death.

(j)

The cause of death in this case was the direct consequence of the multiple injuries sustained by her. The septicemia was the direct result of internal mult multip iple le inju injuri ries es and and was was not not an inde indepe pend nden entt or unconnected with the serious injuries sustained by her. The post mortem doctor described the reason of this septicemia as multiple organ failure due to multiple injuries to the internal parts of the body. Hence the death was a direct consequence of the acts of the accused persons ;

(k)

accused persons adopted a unique modus operandi to do the acts. They besides causing external bodily harm inserted the rods in abdomen of victim through vagina and anus. They did this act repeatedly and pulled out internal vital organs even by their hands. All these circumst circumstance ances s made the act of accused accused an intended

act done with sole intention of causing death. (l)

afte afterr comm commit itti ting ng thes these e acts acts,, with with an inte intent ntio ion n to destroy any evidence of their acts, they cleaned the


-:: 224 ::-

bus bus and and bur burnt all all the the conn connec ecte ted d item items s and and then hen washed the bus and after washing the bus, parked the same at the place where it was usually parked ;

(m) the evi evidenc dence e of PW1 PW1 is of vit vital impo import rtan ance ce for deciding the act of all the accused fall within clause (1) of section 300 of IPC. PW1 who is sole eye witness witness has stated that he heard the prosecutrix prosecutrix shouting “chhor

do – chhor do” . She was observ observed ed crying crying in loud loud voice voice but the sound sound was was oscillati oscillating. ng.

PW1 also also heard heard

“Mar gaye gayee, e, Mar Mar gaye gayee” e”. accused accused saying saying “Mar

PW1

also also heard heard accuse accused d exhor exhortat tating ing that that victim victims s should should

not be left alive . This This piece piece of evide evidence nce by way of of utte uttera ranc nces es made made by vict victim ims s and and by the the accu accuse sed d is part of same transaction and admissible under section

6 of Evidence Act. Thus, it stood established that the accused in pursuance of their conspiracy with accused Ram Singh, since deceased (proceedings abated) and JCL (not being tried by this this court) court),, commit committed ted murd murder er of the prose prosecut cutrix rix with with an intention to to cause her death. Hence, all the accused person person State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 224 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 225 ::-

namely, accused Akshay Kumar Singh @ Thakur, accused Vinay Sharma, accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu and accused Mukesh stands convicted for the offence under section 302 IPC read with section 102-B IPC. Though, the Ld. Counsel for the accused argued that the deceased did not die due to the injuries suffered by her her in the inc incide ident and and rat rather her it is a case case of medical

negligence in two ways (a) the delay in providing her the treatment i.e. the victim was though found at 10:21 PM at the dumping spot and was brought to the hospital at about 11:30 PM per MLC Ex.PW49/B but despite that her actual treatment started at 12:55 AM i.e more more than after after 1½ hour, hence, the delay in bringing the prosecutrix to the hospital and starti starting ng her treat treatmen mentt all led led to consid considera erable ble loss loss of blood and her condition deteriorated and ultimately she died ; and (b) the the dece deceas ased ed died died due due to sept septic icem emia ia due due to infe infect ctio ion n sh she e got got whil while e sh she e was was bein being g admi admitt tted ed in the the hospital. I disagree with both the submissions as the MLC

Ex.PW49/B do show that immediately after her admission in State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 225 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 226 ::-

the hospital at 11:30 PM, she was attended upon by PW49 Dr. Dr. Rashmi Ahuja. Ahuja. It was required required by the the doctor to clinically clinically examine her and prepare notes prior to preparing her for operation. In fact there there has been absolutely no delay on the part of the doctors as the first operation, admittedly, was performed by PW50 Dr. Raj Kumar Chijjara, the same night.

(b)

Regarding

I

may

refer

to

the

cross

examination of PW50 Dr. Raj Kumar Chijjara wherein he has stated that the condition of the prosecutrix was bad when she was firstly operated operated upon. She was likely likely having sepsis

as

her

blood

medica medicatio tion. n. prac ractic tice

pressure

was

being

maintai tained

by

He further further added that that in our our su surg rgic ical al

the

comm ommon cau causes of septi eptic cemi emia

are

perforation peritonitis, necrotising soft tissue infection, acut acute e

necr necrot otis isin ing g

suggestion septicemia

that due

panc pancrreati eatiti tis. s. the to

prosecutrix

presence

envir environm onment ent of hosp hospita itall or

of

He

denied

suffered bacteria

the from

in

the

due due to any mishan mishandl dlin ing. g.

Rather Rather he voluntarily voluntarily stated that the likely cause could State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 226 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 227 ::-

be

inju injury ry to the rectum rectum wher where e faeces faeces is there there which which

contai contain n billion billion of pathogen pathogenic ic organi organisms sms,,

injury injury to the

colon which which also contain contain similar similar kind of of organisms organisms plus plus the weapon which was used to cause injury might have had had lot of di dis sease ease produc oducin ing g org organis anism ms then then why why envir environm onment ent

/ neglige negligence nce is bein being g blamed blamed when when the

cause of disease was nearby. The bare perusal of the statement of PW50 defi defies es the the clai claim m of the the ld defe defenc nce e coun counse sell that that the the decea ecease sed d died ied due to medic edica al neg neglige ligenc nce e and and not not otherwise. Hence, the facts do make all the accused liable for

the

cold

blooded

murder

of

the

defenceless

prosecutrix and thus the offence under section 302 IPC read read with with sectio section n 120-B IPC IPC st stan ands ds prov proved ed and and the the accused person are thus convicted. It was was thou though gh argu argued ed that that the the case case is also also covered under section 396 IPC but the said section has been defined as under : State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 227 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 228 ::-

“396. Dacoity with murder.-- If any one of five or more persons, who are conjointl conjointly y committin committing g dacoity dacoity,, commits murder in so committin committing g dacoity dacoity,, every one of those persons shall be punished with death, or 1[ impr impris ison onme ment nt for for life life], ], or rigo rigoro rous us impr impris ison onme ment nt for for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.“ A bare reading of this section would show us that the following is required required to be proved to bring an offence under the ambit of section 396 IPC ;-

a) five or more person ; b) conjointly committing the dacoity dacoity ; c) any one of those commits murder in so committing

dacoity ;

d) everyone of such person shall be punished.

The requirement requirement under section 396 IPC is that in addition to committing dacoity, if anyone of five or more persons conjointly committing dacoity, commits murder in

so committing dacoity, then each one of the said person who are conjointly committing dacoity, shall be liable under section 396 IPC. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 228 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 229 ::-

To To bring the case against the accused within the ambit of section 396 IPC, the prosecution was required to prove the murder being committed in so committing dacoity but whereas in the present case the facts suggest that it was after the accused person had robbed of the belongings of the victims, they had then taken the prosecutrix to the rear side of the bus and while committing gang rape / unnatural sex sex with with her her had had comm commit itte ted d her her murd murder er in the the mann manner er stated above. The murder murder of the prosecutrix prosecutrix was thus in so committing the offence of of gang rape / unnatural sex. Hence, the case would be rather covered under section 302 IPC read with section 120-B IPC.

Section 307 IPC Qua Qua char charge ge unde underr sect sectio ion n 30 307 7 IPC IPC read ead with with section 120-B IPC, it is to be noted that in pursuance to the said said conspi conspirac racy y accuse accused d person person also also brutal brutally ly beaten beaten the complainant, PW1 with the iron rods Ex.P-49/1 Ex.P-49/1 and Ex.P-49/2 on his head and other parts parts of his body. body. Further, in order order to kill the complainant and prosecutrix, they firstly attempted State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 229 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 230 ::-

to throw them out of the moving bus from its back door but when they found it to be jammed, they dragged both the victims in an injured, unconscious and naked condition by pulling their hairs to the front door of the bus presuming them to be dead and threw them out of the moving bus in a sever severe/c e/chil hilled led winter winter night night that that too at a very very danger dangerous ous place on the main Jaipur Highway. An attempt in order to be criminal need not to be penultimate act. It is sufficient if there is an intent coupled with an overt act in execution execution of such intent. It has to be seen whether the act irrespective of its its resu result lt was was done done with with the the inte intent ntio ion n or know knowle ledg dge e and and under the circumstances mentioned under section 307 IPC. An atte attemp mptt to

comm commit it mur murder der is comp comple lete te

though though desired desired and intended intended consequenc consequence e of of death death does not ensue. Offence under section 307 IPC can be committed even without intention, if there is a knowledge that the act is so imminently dangerous that it must in all probabilities caus cause e deat death. h. Such Such know knowle ledg dge e can can be gath gather ered ed from from the the circumstances, conduct and overacts of the accused person. State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 230 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 231 ::-

Determinative question is intention or knowledge and not the natur nature e of injury injury.

Relianc eliance e is plac placed ed on on State of M.P. Vs

Kashi Ram & Ors. 2009 Cr.L. J. (SC) 1530 . Cir Circums cumsttance ances, s, cond conduc uctt and and over overac acts ts of the the accused accused person person narrated narrated / described described

hereinab hereinabove ove clearly clearly

and and uneq unequi uivo voca call lly y esta establ blis ish h that that accu accuse sed d pers person ons s also also atte attemp mpte ted d to kill kill comp compla lain inan antt PW1 PW1 purs pursua uant nt to the the said said conspiracy and hence they are also liable to be held guilty under section 307 IPC read with section 120-B IPC.


-:: 232 ::-

Section 412 IPC Let me move further further to the charge under section section

412 IPC. Section 412 IPC has been defined as under : “412.. “412 Dish Disho onest nestly ly recei eceiv ving ing property stolen in the com commiss missiion of a dacoi acoity ty. -Whoever dishonestly receives or retains any stolen property, the possession whereof he knows or has has reaso eason n to beli believ eve e to have have been transferred by the commission of dacoity, or dis dishone honest stlly recei eceive ves s fro from a person, whom he knows or has reason to believe to belongs or to have have belonged belonged to a gang gang of of dac dacoits, property which he knows or has reason to believe to have have been been stol stolen en,, sh shal alll be punished punished with 1[imprison 1[imprisonment ment for life], or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years , and shall also be liable to fine.” It has has alr already eady come come on recor ecord d that that accu accuse sed d persons had robbed victims of their valuables by committing dacoity and had retained such robbed articles, proved by recov ecover erie ies s affe affect cted ed at thei theirr inst instan ance ces s in the the cour course se of investigation, do make out a case u/s. 412 IPC against each State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 232 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 233 ::-

of them.

The contention that section 395 IPC and section 412 IPC cannot go together is replied replied by “Lachman Ram v.

State Of Orissa” (1985) 2 Supreme Court Cases 533, wherein the conviction was recorded under both the sections viz., 395 IPC as also u/s. 412 IPC. I may refer to paragraph 11 of the judgment :-“factum of reco ecovery of articl articles es at the the instan instance ce of the the accused persons in the presence of police officers and panch witnesses who have depose deposed d to the the same, same, is is itself itself sufficient to bring the case not under the provisions of Section 412 IPC but also under Section 395 IPC IPC with with the aid of Sectio Section n 114 of the Evidence Act beca becaus use e the the reco recove veri ries es were were made very soon after the occurrence.” Thus accused Pawan Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu is convicted under section 412 IPC for being found in possession of the complainant's robbed wrist watch Ex.P-3 and two currency notes of denomination of Rs.500/- each Ex.P-7. Accused Vinay Sharma is convicted under section State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 233 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 234 ::-

412 IPC for being found in possession of the complainant's robbed shoes Ex.P-2 and robbed mobile phone make Nokia

Ex.P-68/5 of the prosecutrix. prosecutrix. Accused Mukesh is also convicted under section 412 41 2 IPC for for bein being g foun found d in posse possess ssio ion n of comp compla lain inan ant' t's s robbed Samsung mobile phone Ex.P-6. Accus Ac cused ed Akshay Akshay Kumar umar Singh Singh @ Thak Thakur is also also convicted under section 412 IPC for being in possession of the

complainant' nt's

robbed

metro

card

Ex.P-5

and

complainant's silver ring Ex.P-4.

Section 201 IPC Lastly, the prosecution has aptly proved through the deposition of PW-13 Shri Brijesh Gupta and PW-14 Shri Jiwat Shah that in the intervening night of 16th and 17th of Decemb December er 2012, 2012, accused accused Mukesh Mukesh was seen seen washing the bus Ex. P-1 and that there were some other person inside the bus bus washing washing it. it.

Further urther,, the accuse accused d had burnt the

clothes of the victims in pursuance of their conspiracy. The ashes and pieces of unburnt clothes of the complainant PW1 State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 234 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 235 ::-

were recovered recovered and sent for DNA analysis. analysis. Per DNA DNA reports, the said aid unbu unburrnt clo clothes hes had had the DNA of PW1, the complainant. Thus a case under section 201 IPC read with sectio section n 120120-B IPC stands stands prove proved d agains againstt all the accuse accused d persons as they tried to do away with the evidence to screen themselve themselves s of the offences, hence, convicted convicted under section section

201 IPC read with section 120-B IPC.

FINDINGS Thus, in the result I convict all the accused person persons s namely namely,, Akshay Akshay Kumar umar Singh Singh @ Thaku Thakur, r, accuse accused d Vinay Sharma, accused Mukesh and accused Pawan Gupta @ Kaalu under section 120-B IPC for the offence of criminal conspiracy ; under section 365 / 366 IPC read with section

120-B IPC for abducting the victims, with an intention to force the prosecutrix to illicit intercourse ; under section 307 IPC read with section 120-B IPC for attempting to kill PW1, the

compl omplai aina nant nt

;

und under

sec section ion

376( 376(2) 2)(g (g))

IPC IPC

for

committing gang rape with the prosecutrix in pursuance of their conspiracy ; under section 377 IPC read with section State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 235 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 236 ::-

120-B IPC IPC for for comm commit itti ting ng unna unnatu tura rall offe offenc nce e with with the the prosecutrix prosecutrix ; under section 302 IPC read with section 120-B

IPC for commi committ tting ing murder murder of the helple helpless ss prose prosecut cutrix rix ; under section 395 IPC for conjointly committing dacoity in pursuance of the aforesaid conspiracy ; under section 397

IPC read with section 120-B IPC for the use of iron rods and for for att attempt emptiing to kil kill PW1 at the time of com committi itting ng robbery ; under section 201 IPC read with section 120-B

IPC for destroying of evidence and under section 412 IPC for the offenc offence e of being being indivi individua dually lly found found in posse possessi ssion on ( retention ) of the stolen property which they all knew was a stolen booty of dacoity committed by them. The proceedings proceedings agains againstt accuse accused d Ram Ram Singh, Singh, since since deceas deceased, ed, has alread already y been abated and the JCL has not been tried by this court. Before parting I must express my appreciation for the the dedi dedica cati tion on and and the the mann manner er,, the the team team of Ld Ld.. Pu Publ blic ic Prosecutors, namely, Shri Dayan Krishnan, Ld. Special Public Pros Prosec ecut utor or assi assist sted ed by Shri Shri Madh Madhav av Khur Khuran ana, a, Ad Advo voca cate te and Shri A.T Ansari Ansari and Shri Shri Rajeev Rajeev Mohan, Mohan, Ld. Additiona Additionall Public Prosecutors who have displayed the highest degree of State vs. Ram Singh and another SC No. 114/2013 FIR No. 413/2012 Page No. 236 of 237 P.S. : Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. /home/reader/Praveen Singhania/304-Spl. FTC/2013/September, 2013/Judgment (Sep., 12)/Ram Singh and another 114-13 Vasant Vihar.odt

-:: 237 ::-

professional standards and competence and efficaciously assi assist sted ed the the cour ourt in the the tri trial. al.

I am also also grat gratef eful ul to

Shri Rajeev Jain, Amicus Curie who was present throughout the trial. Similarly I also appreciate appreciate the assistance assistance rendered by the Ld. Defence Counsels viz., Shri A.P A.P.. Singh, Shri Vivek Sharma and Shri V.K Anand. Last Lastly ly I also also feel feel it nece necess ssar ary y to ment mentio ion n the the professional

acumen

with

which

the

Delhi

Police

investiga investigated ted the case especia especially lly the way they they made use of the scient scientifi ific c tools. tools.

I hope hope this would would be replic replicate ated d in all

other cases.

Announced in the open court today i.e. 10-09-2013. 10-09-201 3. ( Yogesh Khanna ) Additional Sessions Judge Special – Fast Track Court Saket District Courts Complex New Delhi.


Judgement of Nirbhaya Case

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