Prem Chand S/O Laxman Dass v. State (Gnct) of Delhi

PRADEEP NANDRAJOG, J.

ARUNA SURESH, J. FEBRUARY 09, 2009 mm

i.5 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + CRL.A. 674/2007 % Date of Order : February 09, 2009 PREM CHAND ..... Appellant Through: Mr. Anil Soni, Advocate versus STATE ..... Respondent Through: Ms. Richa Kapoor, Advocate CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRADEEP NANDRAJOG HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE ARUNA SURESH 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? 3. Whether judgment should be reported in Digest? : PRADEEP NANDRAJOG, J. (Oral) 1. Indeed, learned counsel for the appellant has, after making very feverish submissions on merits, restricted arguments on whether the appellant could be convicted for the offence of murder and hence punishment awarded under Section 302 IPC or whether the conviction has to be for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and hence punishment awarded under Section 304 IPC. 2. The reason why learned counsel for the appellant has made restricted submissions is the fact that the dead body of Smt. Sudershan Pahuja was recovered from the house of the appellant. The body had been concealed in a trunk which was placed in the kitchen of the house. 3. The recovery of the body has been proved by PW-7, PW-11, PW-12, PW-13, PW-17, PW-19 and PW-21. Indeed, the photographs taken by PW-7 being Ex.PW-7/A to Ex.PW-7/K negatives whereof are PW-7/1 to Ex.PW-7/10 are indisputably the kitchen of the house of the appellant. 4. That the deceased had gone to the house of the appellant stands proved by the testimony of her son Harish Pahuja PW-1, his wife Rubi Pahuja PW-5 as also Parminder Singh PW-3 who have deposed that the deceased Smt. Sudershan Pal had gone to the house of the appellant to collect Rs.20,000/- which she had loaned to the mother of the appellant. 5. Case of the prosecution is that the deceased had loaned Rs.20,000/- to Sumitra, the mother of the appellant, and on 17.2.2001 had gone to the house of the appellant to receive back the said money. Needless to state, the mother of the appellant was residing with him. Since the deceased did not return home till late afternoon, hence her son and her daughter- in-law were naturally alarmed. Harish Pahuja the son of the deceased and his friend Parminder Singh went to the house of the appellant but found the same locked. Since the deceased did not return home and could not be located even by late evening, the son i.e. Harish Pahuja lodged a missing person's complaint, Ex.PW-10/A, informing that his mother had gone to the house of the appellant. This led the police to track down the appellant and his mother. Since their house was locked, from the neighbours they learnt that a daughter of the appellant was married and was residing some where at Tughlak Road, New Delhi. The police located the house of the daughter of the appellant, where they met Deepa, the youngest daughter of the appellant, then aged about 8-9 years, who informed the police that the deceased had come to their house at 5628/78, Regar Pura, Karol Bagh and had demanded Rs.20,000/- from her grandmother. Her grandmother did not pay the money. The deceased bit her grand-mother and on seeing this her father got enraged and picked up an iron rod and repeatedly hit the deceased on the face and the skull. That the deceased died. That her father and her grand-mother cleaned the blood stains from the floor and put the body inside a trunk and put the trunk in the kitchen. She was sent to the house of her sister. Her father and her grandmother went away. 6. On the basis of the said statement, Ex.PW-2/A, made by Deepa, the police went to the house of the appellant. Indeed, from the kitchen, a trunk was found and on it being opened, the dead body of the deceased was recovered. 7. After the appellant was apprehended he made a disclosure statement and got recovered the weapon of offence which he had used to inflict injuries on the deceased. 8. We note that Deepa who was examined as PW-2 turned hostile and refused having made any statement