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State Of U.P v. Ashok Dixit And Another
Factual and Procedural Background
On 8 August 1982 at approximately 9:00 p.m., multiple gunshots were heard in the house of Dr. Dubey in Agra. When family members and two patrolling police officers entered the premises, they discovered Dr. Dubey and his wife Manorama dead, and two others—Umesh Mishra (PW 2) and compounder Munnu Singh—injured. Three individuals, Brijendra Kumar, Ashok Dixit and Chaman Lal, were apprehended on the ground floor; firearms and live cartridges were allegedly recovered from each.
The police filed a charge-sheet and the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Agra, convicted Ashok Dixit and Chaman Lal under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 25 of the Arms Act. Brijendra Kumar died during the proceedings. The convicts appealed, while the State filed a separate appeal seeking enhancement of sentence. On 16 August 1988, the Allahabad High Court allowed the convicts’ appeals, setting aside their convictions, and dismissed the State’s appeal. The State of Uttar Pradesh then appealed to the Supreme Court, culminating in the present judgment.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether the identification evidence of prosecution witnesses—particularly PW 2 (Umesh Mishra) and PW 3 (nine-year-old Ritu)—was reliable and sufficient to sustain the convictions.
- Whether material omissions, lack of corroboration, absence of a test-identification parade, and other evidentiary discrepancies fatally undermined the prosecution case.
- Whether the High Court erred in acquitting the accused-respondents and setting aside the trial court’s judgment.
Arguments of the Parties
The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| Panchhi v. State of U.P. (1998) 7 SCC 177 | Evidence of a child witness must be evaluated with caution and ordinarily requires corroboration. | The Court applied this principle to scrutinise PW 3’s testimony, ultimately finding her uncorroborated identification unsafe to rely upon. |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Supreme Court undertook a meticulous review of the prosecution evidence and highlighted several critical deficiencies:
- Omissions in PW 2’s statement: PW 2 failed to mention in his Section 161 CrPC statement that Ashok Dixit accompanied the assailants and fired at him and Manorama, or that the accused were present on the ground floor. The Court deemed these omissions “material” and therefore fatal.
- Absence of a test-identification parade for Chaman Lal: PW 2 identified Chaman Lal for the first time in court, which the Court found unreliable.
- Child witness (PW 3) concerns: Relying on Panchhi, the Court held that her identification of Chaman Lal in the dark and her late Section 161 statement rendered her testimony unsafe without corroboration.
- Non-examination of an essential witness: The compounder Munnu Singh, who allegedly summoned Dr. Dubey moments before the shooting and was injured, was not examined, with no explanation offered.
- Implausible conduct of police officers: The patrolling officers who claimed to arrest the accused did not enter the crime scene or assist the injured, behaviour the Court considered contrary to normal human conduct and therefore doubtful.
- Medical and ballistic inconsistencies: Medical evidence showed gunshot injuries on Brijendra Kumar yet no blood was found on the staircase or ground floor; the ballistic expert stated that bullets recovered from the deceased were not fired from the weapons seized. These discrepancies, unexplained by the prosecution, eroded the evidentiary chain.
Collectively, these shortcomings led the Court to conclude that the prosecution version was unreliable and that the High Court rightly acquitted the respondents.
Holding and Implications
APPEAL DISMISSED. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s acquittal of Ashok Dixit and Chaman Lal, confirming that the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Implications: The decision affirms stringent standards for eyewitness identification, especially where child witnesses and in-court identifications are involved, and underscores the necessity for corroborative evidence and logical investigative conduct. No new legal precedent was created, but the ruling reinforces existing jurisprudence on evidentiary reliability in criminal trials.
S.N Phukan, J.— This appeal by the State is directed against the judgment and order dated 16-8-1988 passed by the High Court of Allahabad in Criminal Appeals Nos. 2742, 2743 and 2338 of 1984 arising out of Sessions Trial No. 202 of 1982. The learned Additional Sessions Judge, Agra in the above sessions case convicted accused-respondent Ashok Dixit and Chaman Lal under Sections 302 and 307 IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act and sentenced them accordingly. Two separate appeals were filed before the High Court by the accused-respondents and one appeal by the State for enhancement of the sentence. The High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the State and allowed the appeals filed by the respondent-accused and acquitted them of the charges against them.
2. On 8-8-1982, at about 9.00 p.m, on hearing the sound of gunshot coming from the house of deceased Dr Dubey, his brother Bhagat Dayal Dubey, PW 1, proceeded to the house of deceased Dr Dubey, along with his two sons. In the house of the deceased, he met two police officers Vijai Bahadur Singh, PW 7, Station House Officer of Police Station Civil Lines, District Etawah, Sub-Inspector of Police Uma Shanker Yadav, Raj Narain Singh, PW 15, compounder of deceased Dr Dubey, Shri S.K Gupta, Advocate and one or two other persons of the locality. The house was dark as there was no electricity and two police officers took position behind the verandah of the house and PW 1 along with his two sons stood near the grill of the western verandah. They heard shots from the first floor of the house where deceased Dr Dubey, his wife deceased Manorama Dubey, her daughter Kumari Ritu, PW 3 and Umesh Chand Mishra, PW 2 — maternal uncle of deceased Manorama Dubey were residing. At the time, they saw accused Brijendra Kumar tumbling down the staircase to the ground floor followed by the present two accused-respondents Ashok and Chaman Lal, and the three accused were apprehended by the two police officers, PW 7 and Sub-Inspector Uma Shanker Dubey. Electricity was restored when the accused were apprehended. PW 1 with his two sons went upstairs and found deceased Dr Dubey lying in a pool of blood near the dining table. Deceased Manorama Dubey was lying in a pool of blood on the dewan by the side of the wall of the drawing room and Munnu Singh was lying in an injured condition. PW 2 was also found in an injured condition. They were taken to the hospital by PW 1 and one Pandey, a tenant on the first floor where Dr Dubey was residing. Dr Dubey and his wife were found dead. PW 2 and Munnu Singh were medically examined and given treatment.
3. A pistol and four live cartridges were recovered from the possession of the accused Ashok and a country-made pistol and five live cartridges from the possession of accused Chaman Lal and a country-made pistol and two cartridges were recovered from accused Brijendra Kumar. The two police officers did not go upstairs where the occurrence took place. They took the accused persons to the police station. The police after investigation submitted charge-sheet. The FIR, Exh. 1 was lodged by PW 1 on the basis of the statement of injured Munnu Singh but he was not examined, therefore, the High Court was of the opinion that the FIR cannot be accepted as a corroborating piece of evidence of the statement of PW 1. Accused Brijendra Kumar died.
4. We have heard Shri K.N Nagpal, learned counsel for the appellant and Shri K.T.S Tulsi, learned Senior Counsel for the accused-respondents.
5. Umesh Mishra, PW 2, uncle of the deceased Manorama and Ritu, PW 3, daughter of deceased Dr Dubey were the eyewitnesses. PW 2 used to live in the house of deceased Dr Dubey. According to PW 2, while he along with deceased Dr Dubey, his wife deceased Manorama and their daughter Ritu, PW 3 were sitting, Munnu Singh, Compounder of Dr Dubey called Dr Dubey and he went out. They heard gunshots and stood up and after some time Dr Dubey came and fell down near the dining table. Dr Dubey was followed by three assailants. One assailant fired at deceased Manorama. Accused-respondent Ashok fired at him and also at deceased Manorama. He got panicky, went to the verandah and fell down and from there he heard the sound of firing. At that point of time PW 1 and his two sons came upstairs and by that time electricity was restored. Both PW 1 and PW 2 went to the drawing room and they found Dr Dubey lying on the floor of the dining room and Manorama on the dewan of the drawing room. Munnu Singh who was also injured came inside and fell down. PW 3 came out from beneath a cot from the bedroom.
6. PW 2 has stated that accused-respondent Ashok was known to him and Dr Dubey and used to visit frequently the house of Dr Dubey. Accused Chaman Lal was not known to him earlier. PW 2, Dr Dubey, Manorama and Munnu Singh were taken to the hospital by PW 1 with the help of one Pandey through the ground floor. The accused persons after being arrested were kept on the ground floor. PW 2 did not mention in his statement under Section 161 CrPC that accused Ashok came along with the other two accused to the first floor and fired at him and Manorama and also the fact that accused Ashok and the other two accused were on the ground floor.
7. These are material omissions. Therefore, we are of the opinion that these omissions are fatal for the prosecution. More, particularly, when accused Ashok was related and a regular visitor to the house of Dr Dubey. We, therefore, hold that there was no identification by PW 2 of accused Ashok. Regarding accused Chaman Lal after the occurrence there was no test identification parade and for the first time PW 2 identified the accused Chaman Lal in the Court. This identification cannot be accepted.
8. PW 3 was a child witness and at the time of occurrence she was 9½ years old. The occurrence took place on 8-8-1982 but her statement under Section 161 CrPC was recorded on 10-8-1982 though after the occurrence she was residing with her uncle which was at a stone's throw from the house of Dr Dubey.
9. The law is well settled that evidence of a child witness must be evaluated carefully as a child may be swayed by what others tell him and is an easy prey to tutoring. Wisdom requires that evidence of a child witness must find adequate corroboration before it is relied on. (See Panchhi v. State of U.P (1998) 7 SCC 177)
10. The High Court was of the view that considering her age at the time of occurrence PW 3 might have been sleeping. This cannot be said to be impossible.
11. PW 3 also has deposed that accused Ashok was known to her family and used to visit their house but accused Chaman Lal was not known to this witness. She identified both the accused in the Court. At the time of the occurrence there was no electricity, therefore, it is difficult to accept that she being 9½ years old could have identified accused Chaman Lal during the occurrence. From the evidence of PW 1 and PW 2 we find that when they went to the bedroom, PW 3 came out from beneath a cot. This fact would support the contention that she might not have seen the occurrence.
12. We have already discarded the evidence of PW 2 on the point of identification of the accused, therefore, it will be risky to accept the evidence of PW 3 for the purpose of identification as her evidence is uncorroborated.
13. Dr Dubey was called by Munnu Singh. He was found in an injured condition upstairs by PW 1 and PW 2 and was also taken to the hospital along with the others. This material witness was not examined and no explanation has been given for his non-examination. This in our opinion is fatal for the prosecution.
14. According to Mr Vijai Bahadur Singh, PW 7, Station House Officer of Civil Lines Police Station, he along with Sub-Inspector Uma Shanker Yadav was on patrolling duty and when they were checking the outposts of Civil Lines Police Station, they heard the sound of gunfire coming from the house of Dr Dubey at about 9.00 p.m and he along with Sub-Inspector Yadav proceeded on motorcycle to the house of Dr Dubey where they met Satyendra Gupta, Advocate and Raj Narain Singh, PW 15. They also saw PW 1 and his two sons. There was no electricity at that time and these two police officers did not go inside the house but took position outside the house. They heard the sound of gunfire coming from the first floor of the house where deceased Dr Dubey was residing. Thereafter, they saw accused Brijendra Kumar tumbling down the staircase to the ground floor followed by the other two accused who were apprehended and arrested by them. They recovered pistols and cartridges as stated above from them.
15. No record has been produced to show that these two police officers were near the place of occurrence at the outpost of Civil Lines Police Station on patrol and checking duty. This outpost is at a distance of 100-125 yards from the place of occurrence. After arrest the police officers did not go upstairs where four persons were lying injured and according to PW 15 he wanted to go upstairs but he was summoned by these police officers. These police officers saw PW 1 and his two sons going upstairs. PW 1 with the help of Pandey took deceased Dr Dubey, his wife deceased Manorama and injured Munnu Singh and PW 2 through the ground floor to the hospital. If the police officers were present at that time on the ground floor their immediate reaction would have been to make proper inquiries, go upstairs and see the place of occurrence but they did not do so. This behaviour of these two police officers is contrary to natural human conduct and it is difficult to believe their presence at the place of occurrence as deposed by PW 7.
16. Exhibit Ka-6 is the medical report of accused Brijendra Kumar. Injuries 2 and 3 were caused as a result of gunshots. All these injuries were bleeding but the police did not find blood on the ground floor or on the staircase. According to Dr R.K Choudhary, PW 5, due to the injuries caused to accused Brijendra, he might have suffered paralysis and he could not have moved 5-6 steps after falling down. According to the prosecution witnesses accused Brijendra came down the staircase to the ground floor, fell down, got up and after going 5-6 steps, fell down. Therefore, the medical evidence does not support the evidence of the witnesses.
17. Ramashram Pandey, PW 17 was examined as a ballistic expert. According to him metallic bullets, Exhibit EB-1 recovered from the body of Dr Dubey and Exhibit EB-2 recovered from the body of deceased Manorama were not fired from the pistols recovered from the possession of the accused-respondents and Brijendra Kumar. Moreover, there were gunshot injuries on accused Brijendra Kumar. PW 2 and Munnu Singh were also injured.
18. No explanation is forthcoming from the side of the prosecution for the above discrepancies, therefore, we hold that the occurrence did not take place as alleged by the prosecution. We further hold that the High Court has rightly acquitted the accused-respondents.
19. In result, the present appeal has no merits and accordingly it is dismissed.
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