9911796707
TMI Blog2001 (7) TMI 1281X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... thoughtless and dejected youths are attracted and the bosses of the gangsters leave no stone unturned to utilize the services of such frustrated and misled youth for the commission of crimes, to further their evil designs. Contract killings by employing mercenary killers, after receipt of consideration known as 'supari' are the orders of the day, particularly in commercial cities of the country where the race for getting enriched overnight is going on at jet speed. Mumbai,(with its erstwhile name Bombay) known as the commercial capital of the country, is at the top where such crimes are committed every now and then. Piling of the cases in the courts of law without their disposal particularly with respect to disputes relating to property is reported to have created settle centres of unusual trade where private courts are held by the gangsters and disputes are solved according to the will of those who can pay as per demand of the criminal dons. It is said that the unaccounted accumulation of black money in the hands of a few have encouraged the gangsters to widen the scope of their activities. Because of the money and muscle power, they are in a position of procuring highl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Section 3 read with Sections 25(1-B)(a), Section 5 read with Section 27 of the Arms Act, Sections 3(2)(I), 3(2)(ii), 3(3), 3(5), 5 and 6 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (hereinafter referred to as the TADA Act ) for having committed the murder of one Pradeep Jain, a young businessman, on 7.3.1995 in the commercial capital of India, i.e., Mumbai at about 7.30-8.00 p.m. and also attempting to murder the other brother, Sunil Jain. The deceased was murdered and his brother injured in furtherance of the conspiracy hatched by the respondents with other absconding accused. The crime was committed in the office of the company of the Jain Brothers, known as Kamla Constructions . The accused persons, namely, Salim Abdul Salim (A8), Abu Salem (A9), Rajesh Igwe (A10), Sunil Nair (A11), Udai Pawar (A12) and Sanjay Kadam (A13) were declared absconders and have not faced the trial yet. Bharat Chaganlal Raghani Respondent No.1 (A1)is a Solicitor, Rajan Robert Fernandes, respondent No.2 (A2) and Shaukatali Jamal Mistry @ Chauhan, respondent No.4 (A4) are the brokers, Subbedarsingh Ramdas Singh Yadav, respondent No.3 (A3), is the alleged purchaser and ultimate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ich ultimated resulted in the commission of the crime of murder. A3 claiming to be the owner of the property, referred to as Property (B) wanted to dispose of it to Labh Constructions of Ahmedabad for which an Agreement Exhibit 93 was executed on 1.11.1994. A3 claimed that he and Matbadal Yadav had purchased the landed property from Dastur Narayan Ramchander and Lawrence Winston Misquetta. He referred to various agreements allegedly executed by Matabadal Yadav and his heirs and represented to the Labh Constructions that in the premises mentioned in the agreement Exhibit 93, he had a right in the property which he wanted to transfer on the terms and conditions specified therein. The property was agreed to be sold for the lumpsum price of ₹ 10.93 crores to be paid to A3 in the manner specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of Condition No.1 of the Agreement. Condition Nos.3 and 4 of the Agreement provided: 3. Upon the said certificate under Chapter XX-C of the Income Tax Act having been obtained, the purchaser shall deposit with the Vendor's Advocates Solicitors Messrs. Haridas Co. the said sum of ₹ 3,80,00,000/- as set out in Clause 1(b) hereinabove, giving an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... meetings, A1 is alleged to have told the Jain Brothers that there was no substance in their documents. In one of the meetings A4, allegedly belonging to the gang of Dawood Ibrahim, threatened Jain Brothers that unless they signed the deeds prepared by A1, they would not be allowed to leave the office alive. Such threats are stated to have been given in the presence of A1, who despite protest from the deceased, did not take any action against anyone nor did he dis- associate himself from the said accused. Anand Bhat (PW14), another solicitor was initially engaged by Labh Constructions for the purposes of getting the deal completed with A3. In October, 1994 Anand Bhat is stated to have received a document Exhibit 78 purporting to be a draft agreement prepared by Haridas Company, the firm of solicitors of A1. By letter (Exhibit 79), Labh Constructions directed the solicitor firm of PW14 to hand over a sum of ₹ 45 lakhs to the solicitor firm of A1. PW14 went to the office of A1 and personally handed over the cheque of ₹ 45 lakhs. It is in the evidence that sometime in August, 1994 A4 visited the office of Jain Brothers situated in Brijkamal Building, where he met Asho ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sted in getting the money, A4 threatened by saying that if he did not accept the money and surrender the rights, the said money would be treated as Supari for the murder of Jain Brothers (Supari is a marathi word which stands for beetleput and in common parlance it has gained the meaning of money for contract killing). In all the six meetings which were held in the office of A1, the Jain Brothers were insisted to take decision quickly for surrendering their rights. As the Jain Brothers did not give up their claims at any cost, the transaction in favour of Labh Construction did not materialise. The immediate loser on account of delay was A3. A2, A3 and A4 are stated to be having maintained a regular liaison with Abu Salem (A9), known to be the right hand man of Dawood Ibrahim. The said A9 was contacted by A2, A3 and A4 on telephone Nos.226670, 242939 at Dubai. One day in the second week of February, 1994 at about 10 p.m. telephone bell rang in the house of Pradeep Jain. When Jyoti Pradeep Jain (PW23), the widow of the deceased picked up the telephone, the caller told her that he was Abu Salem and was speaking from Dubai. As he wanted to speak to Pradeep Jain, Jyoti Pradeep Jain ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vested in him under Section 15 of TADA Act. A4, while in custody of the police, made disclosure statements pointing out a number of communication centres from where he made telephone calls to Abu Salem on various occasions. Consequently, the police collected bills Exhibits 200, 203, 204, 205, 206 and 207 from those communication centres. Exhibit 200 indicated that a call was made on 7.3.1995 on telephone No.226670 of Dubai at about 5.35 p.m. On 12.4.1995 A4 pointed out certain other communication centres, in consequence of which Bills Exhibits 210, 211, 212 were collected. Dr.Ashok Shinde who conducted the post mortem on the body of the deceased noticed in all 29 fire arm wounds of entry and exit altogether. In his post-mortem notes Exhibit 122, the Doctor stated that the cause of death was due to fire arm injuries. The injury certificate in respect of Sunil Jain (PW15) is Exhibit 124 which indicates that there a gun wound on the anterior and posterior aspect of the right arm. After the framing of charges for the offences as noticed earlier, all the six accused persons, facing the trial, denied the charges and claimed to be tried. A1 admitted the geneological tree of the Yad ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t Koldongri property was not the joint family property of the four Yadav Brothers. He claimed that all the documents referable to him Exhibits 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 131 and 138 were the genuine documents. He claimed his interest in the property as of right and not on the basis of fake documents. He admitted the fact of Kamla Constructions having purchased the portion of the property marked A in Exhibit 49 and construction of two buildings thereon. He denied of having knowledge about the documents executed by Yadav Brothers in favour of Kamla Constructions. He admitted the receipt of ₹ 5 lakhs from Haridas Company of A1. He also admitted that the draft of documents Exhibits 76 and 77 were prepared by A1. He denied of having any knowledge about the activities of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. He denied of having ever visited the office of Kamla Constructions. According to him Ashok Jain and Rakesh Jain had come to his shop and from there they took him to the office of A1 where they handed over some documents to the said accused. No threat is stated to have been given to Jain Brothers in the office of A1. A4 denied to have threatened t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Bagul (PW36), PSI Satish M. Gadhve (PW37), DCP Kausha K. Pathak (PW38), Suhel M.S. Buddha (PW39), Jayant K. Kher (PW40), SEM Satyaprakash Sarda (PW41), H.C. Rajaram S. Patil (PW42), API Yeshwant R. Nerkar (PW43), Arundhati A. Walawalkar (PW44), Ashok Jain (PW45), PI Jadhav (PW46), Vishwajit Bhusane (PW47), ACP Anil Talade (PW48), Jt.Commissioner of Police (PW49), besides hundreds of documents which were legally proved and exhibited at the trial. Prosecution also relied upon confessional statements of Subhash Bind A5 and Sekhar Kadam A6. A5 and A6 produced four witnesses in their defence. Namdeo (DW) is the father of A6 who has stated that on 3.7.1995 at about 3.30 a.m. the DCM officers of the CID entered in his house and took away A6 in a white Ambassador Car telling that the said accused will be released in the morning after his elder son returns. Ramjeevan Yadav (DW2) stated that on 3.7.1995 at about 8.00 a.m. A6 along with some officers came to the house of A5 . They had tethered the hands of A5 by rope and took him away in the car. Anil Kumar Singh (DW4) who is a Press Reporter for Times of India stated about a press conference which was addressed by Joint Commissioner of Polic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0 days prior to the date of offence asked PW12 Abdul Kadir Shaikh, that he would advise his friend Pradeep Jain that Pradeep Jain balbacchewala aadmi hai, usne gali Diya hai, usko bolo mafi maang lo, baat khatam ho jayegi. These words he had uttered after telephoning the witness that Pradeep Jain had abused Abu Salem. Accused No.3, a day or two thereafter, again inquired with this witness as to whether he had spoken about the same to Pradeep Jain. The witness avoided to tell the truth telling that he did not meet Pradeep Jain and he should not talk on that matter again to him. Still a day or two thereafter, Shaukatali telephoned him and inquired with him as to whether he had any discussions with Pradeep Jain and then he told him that he should not contact him again on that count and saying so, he disconnected the phone. (11) On 27.2.95, as is seen from the statement of PW30 Kirti Shrivastav, accused No.4 Shaukatali and one other person were seen talking Pradeep Jain and in that Pradeep Jain told accused No.4 Shaukatali Mai who sab nahi Janata, mere to film business hai, aap log mere pichhe kyon pade hai? and later on, Shaukatali said to Pradeep Jain while going that Pradeep ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ese circumstances fall short in concluding that there existed a conspiracy to kill Pradeep Jain and attempt to kill PW15 Sunil Jain . The Court further held: Had the witnesses of all the communication centres also identified the accused telling that they had visited their communication centres and they had contacted on the particular number at Dubai, then in that event, this would have been an additional circumstance against the accused. Then in that event, this would have been an additional circumstance against the accused. the confessional statements had they been believed by the court, would have been sufficient to hold that the particular number was used for contacting Abu Salem at Dubai. It was found that prosecution had created a suspicion in the mind of the court about the probability of A1, A2 and A3 managing through A4 to get in touch with Abu Salem A9 who ordered the killing but observing that suspicion, however strong cannot take the place of proof, the trial court concluded for giving the benefit of doubt to the accused vide the judgment impugned in this appeal filed under Section 19 of the Constitution of India. We have heard the learned counsel appearing ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e below the confessional statement will not make the confessional statement ipso facto a piece of paper worth throwing in the dustbin. The officer can very well appear in the witness box and satisfy the court that the confessional statement was voluntarily made.... . The trial court further held that looking to the statement of DSP it appears that the confessional statements have been made voluntarily by the accused . Rule 15 of the TADA Rules provide: 15. Recording of confession made to police officers. --(1) A confession made by a person before a police officer and recorded by such police officer under Section 15 of the Act shall invariably be recorded in the language in which such confession is made and if that is not practicable, in the language used by such police officer for official purposes or in the language of the Designated Court and it shall form part of the record. (2) The confession so recorded shall be shown, read or played back to the person concerned and if he does not understand the language in which it is recorded, it shall be interpreted to him in a language which he understands and he shall be at liberty to explain or add to his confession. (3) The c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rate, referred to in Sub-rule (5) of Rule 15 has to ascertain the voluntary nature of the confessional statement, the purpose of Section 15 authorising a police officer to record the confessional statement shall stand frustrated. It was, therefore, not correct on the part of the Designated Judge to hold, it was obligatory on the part of the Magistrate to question the accused as to whether they had made the said statements voluntarily or otherwise and that ought to have been formed as a part of the record of the confessional statements which were sent to her . The Designated Judge has also erred in holding that the Magistrate had not discharged the duties which were cast on her properly. The observations, Had she recorded a memorandum below the confessional statements that she had questioned the accused about the averments in the said statements and she would the said confessional statements to be voluntary and correct, then in that event, the confessional statements would have inspired the confidence of the court to believe that they are free from any of the influences. The Magistrate is not expected to take the position of a superior postman in the sense, receive the confessiona ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er Section 17 and the Immoral Traffic Act, 1956 under Section 13, authorise only a police officer of a specified rank to investigate the offences under those specified Acts. (5) The police officer if he is seeking the custody of any person for pre-indictment or pre-trial interrogation from the judicial custody, must file an affidavit sworn by him explaining the reason not only for such custody but also for the delay, if any, in seeking the police custody; (6) In case, the person, taken for interrogation, on receipt of the statutory warning that he is not bound to make a confession and that if he does so, the said statement may be used against him as evidence, asserts his right to silence, the police officer must respect his right of assertion without making any compulsion to give statement of disclousre; Guideline (3) mandated the concerned Magistrate to scrupulously record the statement if any made by the accused so produced and get his signature. In the event of any complaint of torture, the person should be directed to be produced for medical examination before a medical officer not lower in rank than the Assistant Civil Surgeon. (Emphasis supplied). No duty is cast up ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... were recorded on 21st August, 1995 and on 28th August, 1995. On the first date, i.e. 21st August, 1995 PW38 had put certain questions to the accused to ascertain as to whether they were making the voluntary statement or such statement was being made under the influence of the police. Despite the fact that the accused persons told PW38 that they were making statements of their own free will, were not under the influence of the police, had not been threatened or lured to make the confessional statements nor assured to be released after making the confessional statements and not bound to make the statement, the accused had replied that they wanted to admit everything, PW38 informed the accused, I will not record your statement inspite of your willingness to do so. You are being given time till 28th August, 1995 to think over it. Do you understand this??. the DCP then recorded that accused were being given time till 28th August, 1995 to finally make their mind. He recorded: I told to produce the accused again on 28.8.1995 . It is, therefore, clear that PW38 knew that the accused had to make a statement on 28th August, 1995 whether confessing the crime or retracting from making the co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mind of the court that the confessional statements Exhibits 147 and 148 are ante dated statements . To a question: You referred to the writing reading 'Kaushalkumar Pathak' and writing reading 'Bhalwankar A.N.' and the writing reading '21' and the writing '11.45' and the writing '923/Upa' and the writing '8.8.1995' and the writing 'Vilas Madhukar Dabhokar' and the writing 'Bhalwankar A.N.' in Ex.147 on page one and the writing '28.8.95' on page No.2 and the writing '28.8.95' and '28.8.95' on page 3 and the writing on the same line in Ex.148 and the further writing '28.8.95' '21' on page 1 of Ex.149 and similar writing on Ex.150 and tell the court as to whether those appears to be the blanks filled up subsequently? , the witness (PW38) replied that there were no blanks filled in, but the typist might have pressed the fingers hard so that those writings appeared a bit darker. The witness categorically stated that: It is not true to say that the confessional statements were already typed by leaving the above stated places blank and subsequently my office did the job of only filli ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l I give him time to think over the matter. I also warned him that he will be called again on 28th August, 1995 for recording the confessional statement.... From the question I had put and the replies which he had given, I was convinced that the accused is giving the statement voluntarily. The confessional statements of A5 and A6, Exhibits 147 to 150 are, therefore, held to have been voluntarily made and legally recorded which are admissible in evidence and can be used against all or some of the accused in the light of other evidence produced in the case. In his confessional statement Subhash Bind (A5) had stated that at the time of murder of Pradeep Jain, he along with Rajesh Igwe (A10), Sunil Nair (A11), Udai Pawar (A12), Sekhar Kadam (A6) and Sanjay Kadam (A13) were present at the place of occurrence. He was friendly with Udai Pawar (A12), Sekhar Kadam(A13), Rajesh Igwe (A10), Sunil Nair (A11), and Sanjay Kadam (A13). Udai Pawar (A12) was working in Rubi Mills, Dadar but that work did not soothe his criminal nature. He along with Sekhar Kadam (A6) and Sanjay Kadam (A13) were earlier arrested in 1991-92 in connection with threatening and murdering at Dongriwali in which he was r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l Nair (A11), Udai Pawar (A12), Sekhar Kadam (A6) and Sanjay Kadam (A13) assembled on the ground behind the house of Sunial Nair at Motilal Nagar No.1. He took revolver .38. Sekhar Kadam had a small pistol of 7.65 bore whereas Udai Pawar had a small pisto of .32 bore. A5 had brought one 9 mm revolver and .38 bore revolver in a plastic bag. 9 mm pistol was taken by Rajesh Igwe and .38 bore revolver was taken by Sunil Nair. All the weapons were filled with live cartridges. After the distribution of weapons behind the house of Sunil Nair, all the aforesaid accused persons travelled by bus route No.252 to the house of Pradeep Jain at about 1930 hours. They stood at some distance in front of the bunglow and kept a watch. At about 8 or 8.15 p.m., the watchman of Pradeep Jain came out with the kids. While he was going in, the small kids ran inside. When watchman was walking towards the gate, Rajesh Igwe (A10) caught hold of him and took him inside with the assistance of Sunil Nair (A11). Sekhar Kadam and Udai Paward closed the gates. Rajesh Igwe (A10) and Sekhar Kadam (A6) entered through the glass door along with the watchman and A5 stood outside the glass door. He heard the sound of fir ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng held in the office of A1 which was attened by the witnesses Ashok Jain, Pradeep Jain, A1, A2, A3, A4 and four-five other persons, the accused persons had threatened Jain Brothers that without signing the document they will not reach the downstairs alive. In cross-examination he reiterated that, I had stated before the police that when we were sitting in the chair the persons on the side of the accused who were sitting on the other chairs at times got up and took the posture to indicate that they were likely to use force, Pradeep told Raghani then that you are a famous solicitor and such things should not happen in your office I gathered an impression that accd No.1 Raghani had gone through the documents still he did not open his mouth when other threatened us in the meeting, in that meeting they all threatened us that without signing the documents if we dare to go downstairs we will not go to downstairs, we told them that there were lots up of investors, they told us we should sign the documents . When confronted with the statement recorded under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the witness stated I cannot state the reason if it is not so written in my statement bef ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ainst another statement made in evidence. If the statement before the police officer - in the sense we have indicated - and the statement in the evidence before the Court are so inconsistent or irreconcilable with each other that both of them cannot co- exist, it may be said that one contradicts the other. It is broadly contended that a statement includes all omissions which are material and are such as a witness is expected to say in the normal course. This contention ignores the intention of the legislature expressed in S.162 of the Code and the nature of the non-evidentiary value of such a statement, except for the limited purpose of contradiction. Unrecorded statement is completely excluded. But recorded one is used for a specified purpose. The record of a statement, however, perfunctory, is assumed to give a sufficient guarantee to the correctness of the statement made, but if words not recorded are brought in by some fiction, the objection of the section would be defeated. By that process, if a part of a statement is recorded, what was not stated could go in on the sly in the name of contradiction, whereas if the entire statement was not recorded, it would be excluded. By ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n of evidence, the trial court reached a conclusion that A3 was having connection with A4 who visited the office of Kamla Constructions from time to time from September, 1994 onwards and forced the Jain Brothers to attend the meetings at the office of Bharat Raghani (A1), the womenfolk in the house of Jain Brothers were threatened on phone and the caller used to tell sometimes that he was Shaukatali. A4 telephoned in the office of Jain Brothers 15-20 minutes prior to the incident and surrendered himself to the police after registration of the case. It is true that on the basis of such conclusions Subedarsingh (A3) cannot be held to be a party to the conspiracy of killing Pradeep Jain or for the commission of other offences under the TADA Act but it is equally true that his involvement in the transaction having been proved needs the determination of the nature of offence committed by him. Learned counsel appearing for respondent No.3 submitted that as his client has not been charged for any other minor offence, he cannot be convicted for the same. We are not impressed with such an arguments. Section 222 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides: 222. When offence proved include ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... alleged that for completing the transaction of selling the property to Labh Constructions, A3 procured the services of A4 who is shown to have put the Jain Brothers in fear of injury with the object of dishonestly inducing them to deliver their valuable property to Labh Constructions by execution of release deeds, which were for the immediate benefit of A3. In other words A3 was charged for the offence of murder by resorting to extortion. The offence of extortion is a lesser offence which, under the circumstances of the case, was so connected with the main transaction that no failure of justice can be caused if A3 is convicted and sentenced for the said offence. The offence with which A3 was charged consisted of several particulars, the combination of some of those particulars constitute a complete minor offence of extortion. It cannot be disputed that the offence of extortion in the context of the facts of the case has all the ingredients connected with the major offence. Respondent No.3 was charged for an offence consisting of several particulars which the prosecution failed to prove so far as the major offence is concerned but succeeded in showing the commission of the minor of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... se and object of the legislation, the gravity of terrorism unleashed by the terrorists and disruptionists endangering not only the sovereignty and integrity of the country but also the normal life of the citizens, and the reluctance of even the victims as well as the public in coming forward, at the risk of their life, to give evidence. and held that the impugned section cannot be said to be suffering from any vice of constitutionality. Section 15 is thus an important departure from the ordinary law and must receive that interpretation which would achieve the object of that provision and not frustrate or truncate it. Interpreting the said provision this Court in State v. Nalini [1999 (5) SCC 253] (popularly known as the Rajiv Gandhi murder case), has held that a confession recorded under Section 15 of the TADA Act is to be considered as a substantive piece of evidence not only against the maker of it but also against its co-accused. There was a difference of opinion amongst the three learned judges who decided that case regarding the evidentiary value of such a confession against the co-accused if tried in the same case. Wadhwa, J. observed that what weight should be attached t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d get adversely affected merely because the certificate and the memorandum are not separately written but are mixed up or because different words conveying the same thing as is required are used by the recording officer. We hold that the trial court committed an error of law in holding that because the certificates and memorandums are not in the same form and words they must be regarded as inadmissible. Looking at the record of the case including the testimony of witnesses and the documents produced, we find sufficient general corroboration of the confessional statements made by A5 and A6. It is proved that they were associates of Dawood Ibrahim and Abu Salem (A9) and were continuously in touch with them on telephone for the purposes of getting directions and receiving remuneration. They were seen at and near the place of occurrence on 7.3.1995. They had brought weapons of offence and distributed to other accused. Recoveries of the weapons were made from them which were seized in the presence of witnesses as is evident from the Panchanamas. They were identified by the witnesses at the test identification parade. Their other associates in crime have either been killed or abscond ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ment regarding the recovery of the weapon of offence, no credit of it should have been given to him. If the prosecution had successfully proved the panchanamas, it was not proper for the court to fish out a contradiction regarding the recovery and seizure of the weapons on the ground of subsequent confessional statement of the accused recorded on 28th August, 1995. The Court was only concerned with the corroboration of the factum of recovery mentioned in the confessional statements. If the weapons had actually been recovered, no fault can be found with the confessional statements on account of alleged contradiction. We are further of the view that a perusal of the confessional statement of A5 did not disclose that he had stated anywhere that the weapons were actually recovered from his house. What he had stated in his confessional statement was that the weapons which he had kept in his house were produced and handed over to the police which the prosecution fully proved by Panchanama Exhibit 119. The statement of A6 relating to the recovery of weapons from the house of A5 could not have been made a basis for holding that there existed contradiction which persuaded the court not t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt in the commission of crime with which they were charged. Confessional statements having been proved to be voluntarily made and legally recorded, which generally stood corroborated, were sufficient to hold that the aforesaid persons were guilty of hatching the conspiracy with A7 to A13 for commission of offence with which they were charged. Setting aside the judgment of the trial court to that extent we convict A5 and A6 for the offences under Sections 302, 307 read with Sections 120B, 23, 114 of the Indian Penal Code, Section 3 read with Sections 25(1-B)(a), Section 5 read with Section 27 of the Arms Act, Sections 3(2)(I), 3(2)(ii), 3(3), 3(5), 5 and 6 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987. We are, however, of the opinion that being mislead youth they do not deserve the maximum penalty imposable under law and the case is not the rarest of the rare cases warranting death sentence. Subhash Bind (A5) and Shekhar Kadam (A6) are, therefore, sentenced to life imprisonment for the major offence of murder, punishable under Section 302 read with Section 120B of the IPC. We do not award separate sentences to the aforesaid accused persons for the other offences ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
