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TMI Blog1952 (11) TMI 17X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... shad, Mulchand's brother, also to the place; as soon as Mulchand arrived, he went to fetch medical aid. The first person to arrive at the scene was a homeopath, Dr. Gian Chand. He diagnosed that the boy was suffering from epileptic fits and went to his shop to fetch medicines. On his return he found one Sohanlal, Vaid, at the house. Both of them gave some medicines to the boy. The younger boy Rup Chand, also began to show signs of having convulsions. Gian Chand then asked Mulchand to send for other doctors, and Dr. Ram Parshad and a vaid, Uma Datt, came. Tek Chand was dead by then. The doctor treated Rup Chand with salt water and gave him enema but the treatment had no effect. Then he asked Chamanlal, compounder, who was standing there, to bring a tube for washing the stomach as he suspected the case to be one of poisoning. Chamanlal left the place but did not return soon. The doctor himself went to get the tube and on reaching the Civil Hospital, he wrote out a report to the police and returned with the tube but by then Rupchand had expired. 3. The report from the doctor was received by the head constable Rameshwar Das and he registered a case at 5.45 P. M. and proceeded to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on the scene when something is happening and then of disappearing after noticing the occurrence about which they are called later on to give evidence. The witness did not see that 'churan' was eaten by the boys in his presence, he admitted the presence of a number of women and children at the time when the accused gave 'churan' to the two boys. 5. The next witness Kishan Chand is a boy of immature years. He deposed as follows: "About six months ago one afternoon a snake charmer was showing his trick in front of Shambu Dayal's house... When the show was over and the snake charmer had left, Puran accused gave some 'churan' to Teka which he ate and then he offered some 'churan' to Rupi to eat. I then went to my house and so did Teka and Rupi go to their homes. Rameshwar P. W. also saw this 'churan' being taken." In cross-examination he gave a version different to that given by Rameshwar about the administration of 'churan' by. Puran to the two boys. He stated that Rupi spit some of the 'churan' but Teka did not and that Rupi took only half, that there was no woman in the 'tamasha'. The spot where 'ch ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... quantity while he had taken some and had spitted the rest but Puran had made him eat more after threatening him. They also told me that they were in front of Shambu's house when Puran gave them 'churan' and that Rameshwar and Krishna were also present there." In cross-examination she failed to give any satisfactory explanation for the discrepancies between her statement made in court and that made before the police. She was not able to explain why she did not mention this fact to Dr. Ram Parkash. If the boys had made statements as alleged by her and also had mentioned the names of the two eye-witnesses (which is highly improbable), it is most unlikely that their names would not have found place in the inquest report. Tribeni Pershad admitted that he and his brother Mulchand were inimical to the accused's family because thirty years ago their father was poisoned by accused's father. It is thus plain that the accused could have no motive in poisoning the two unfortunate boys; on the other hand, Tribenipershad, Mulchand and their family people have certainly a motive for implicating Puran in a false case in order to take revenge for the alleged crime of his ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e interpolation of the name of Puran in the inquest report after it had been completed. 8. The homeopath, Dr. Gian Chand, deposed that he saw Puran at the house of Mulchand at 7 or 8 p.m. and that when Dr. Ram Parkash arrived he did inquire the history of the boys and that at that time he did not tell him that Rup Chand or Tek Chand had told him that Puran had given churan to them nor anybody else talked about churan to Dr. Ram Parkash, and that he (the witness) did not tell anybody about what the boys had told him regarding churan. It is highly unlikely that if churan had been given by Puran and the boys had said so to all present there, then the doctor who was specially called for treatment would not have been told about it either by Rup Chand or by the persons present there or that the accused would have come to Mulchand's house after having committed the crime. The two vaids who were admittedly there were not called to give evidence and no satisfactory explanation has been given why they were kept out of the witness box. Bhoji Ram, P. W. 10, a neighbour, deposed that he went to see Rup Chand, the ailing boy and sat by his side and inquired if he had taken anything and the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t unless a retracted confession is corroborated in material particulars, it is not prudent to base a conviction in a criminal case on its strength alone. Our attention has not been drawn to any evidence which corroborates in material particulars the statements contained in the confession. The learned Sessions Judge observed that whatever evidence had been placed on the record contradicted the confession instead of corroborating it. The High Court was of the opinion that the oral evidence above discussed sufficiently corroborated the confessional statement. That evidence, however, is not worthy of belief and cannot be used for this purpose. The prosecution was in a position to lead evidence in corroboration of the confession but it did not do so. Puran in the confessional statement had said that he went to Delhi on the 10th February to attend a case on the 11th. This fact, if true, could easily have been proved. It could have been ascertained from him in what court he had to appear on 11-2-1950. It appears that the statement made by him that he went to Delhi on the 10th is not true. It was then stated by Puran that he purchased two tablets of kuchia from a shop in Phatak Hashab Kha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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