Murder and Abduction – Sections 302, 364, 149 IPC – Conviction set aside – Prosecution alleged that appellants along with others abducted Sukhchain Singh and murdered him – Evidence of PW-7 regarding disposal of body found unreliable as identification from long distance at early hours improbable and testimony full of contradictions – High Court itself disbelieved evidence for other co-accused – Held: Unsafe to convict appellants for abduction or murder based on same doubtful evidence – Conviction under Sections 302/364/149 IPC unsustainable [Paras 8-9].

Injuries to Witness – Sections 324/34 IPC – Conviction upheld – Injured witness PW-4 gave clear and consistent evidence that first appellant inflicted gandasa blow on head while second appellant caused injury with dang – Injuries corroborated by medical evidence – Argument of self-inflicted injuries rejected – Held: Prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt overt acts of appellants causing hurt – Conviction altered to Section 324/34 IPC [Paras 10-11].

Sentence – Reduction of sentence – Appellants convicted under Section 324/34 IPC and sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment – If appellants already served sentence, to be released forthwith unless required in any other case – Appeal partly allowed [Paras 12-14].

Criminal Law - Revision Against Acquittal – Section 401(3) CrPC – High Court Exceeded Jurisdiction – Trial Court acquitted appellants of charges under Sections 302 and 302/114 IPC – State appeal dismissed as barred by limitation – Informant’s revision allowed by High Court which set aside acquittal and ordered retrial – Held: Impermissible – Sub-section (3) of Section 401 expressly prohibits conversion of acquittal into conviction; retrial direction amounts to doing indirectly what cannot be done directly – Order unsustainable [Paras 11–14].

Revisional Powers – Limited Scope – Interference with acquittal only in exceptional cases of manifest illegality or gross miscarriage of justice – Wrong appreciation of evidence or different view on credibility of witnesses not grounds for interference – In absence of any procedural defect or perversity in trial court’s judgment, High Court erred in substituting its own view [Paras 12–14].

Finality of Acquittal – Effect of Dismissal of State Appeal – Once State’s appeal against acquittal is dismissed, even on ground of limitation, acquittal attains finality – Exercise of revisional jurisdiction at the instance of a private complainant cannot reopen such finality – Otherwise accused would face retrial despite acquittal having merged in appellate order – Such incongruity not permissible [Para 15].

Principle – Revisional vs. Appellate Jurisdiction – Powers in revision are narrower than in appeal – All grounds available in revision can be urged in appeal but not vice versa – Private party revision against acquittal to be exercised sparingly; High Court acted as appellate forum which is impermissible [Paras 12, 14–15].

Decision – Appeal Allowed – Impugned order of High Court directing retrial set aside – Acquittal of appellants restored – No order as to costs [Para 16].

Quadruple Homicide – Sections 302, 302/34, 302/109 IPC & Section 27 Arms Act – Convictions Affirmed; Death Sentences Commuted – In a family land-dispute shooting, four persons (brother, sister-in-law, daughter, son-in-law) were killed – Trial Court awarded death to all three accused; High Court maintained convictions, commuted father’s sentence to life and affirmed death for the two sons – Held: Supreme Court upheld all convictions under IPC and Arms Act; set aside the two death sentences (Babban & Lallan) and substituted life imprisonment with a stipulation of not less than 20 years’ actual incarceration; life sentence of Ram Anup maintained – Appeal dismissed subject to sentence modification [Paras 4, 22, 25–27, 29].

Eyewitness Testimony – Consistency & Relationship – Credible – Six eyewitnesses from neighbouring village (present for scheduled Panchayati) gave a natural, consistent account; mere inter-se relationship and being from a nearby village (½ km) not a ground to discard otherwise reliable testimony – Presence proved; testimony trustworthy [Paras 13–20].

FIR & Investigation – Promptitude Excludes Concoction – SI reached by ~8–8:15 a.m., FIR recorded immediately; SP/Dy.SP arrived by noon; post-mortems same day – Timeline supports genuineness of prosecution version [Paras 21–22].

Medical Corroboration – Close-Range Firearm Injuries – Charring and wound patterns matched ocular narrative of sequential shootings – Medical evidence fully supports prosecution case [Para 22].

Defence Plea of Dacoity – Afterthought – No contemporaneous report, no property loss, no villager informed police, IO heard no such claim – Defence witnesses unreliable – Plea rejected [Paras 23–24].

Common Intention & Abetment – Sections 34 & 109 IPC – Father armed with licensed gun fired in air and exhorted sons to “finish the entire family”; sons fired fatal shots – Convictions under Sections 302/34 & 302/109 (against father) and 302 (against sons) sustained; Section 27 Arms Act attracted [Paras 4, 6–12, 25].

Sentencing – “Rarest of Rare” Threshold Not Met – Though heinous (four deaths), long-standing land dispute, prior non-violent recourse (litigation/panchayats), no criminal antecedents, no material of continuing menace or irremediable personality – Death penalty unwarranted; life with minimum actual 20 years appropriate (reliance: Shri Bhagwan; Dalbir Singh; Prakash Dhawal Khairnar) [Paras 26–27].

Decision – Convictions affirmed; death sentences of Babban Singh and Lallan Singh commuted to life with a minimum actual 20 years (including time undergone); life sentence of Ram Anup Singh upheld – Appeal dismissed subject to modification in sentence [Paras 27–29].

Criminal Law - Sentencing – Death Penalty vs. Life Imprisonment – “Rarest of Rare” Doctrine – Death Reference Declined – Triple murder of brother, sister-in-law, and nephew with injuries to three others – Motive rooted in intra-family monetary dispute; no features placing case among gravest of extreme culpability – Applying Bachan Singh and Machhi Singh tests, life imprisonment is the norm; death reserved for exceptional cases – High Court rightly refused confirmation of death sentence; Supreme Court declined interference [Paras 6–7].

Sentencing Factors – Mitigating and Aggravating Circumstances – Guidance Reiterated – Motive, manner of assault, societal impact, personality of accused, organized criminality, future dangerousness, and shock to collective conscience are relevant – Present facts do not satisfy these thresholds; though ghastly, not “rarest of rare” [Para 7].

Premature Release – Irrelevance at Sentencing Stage – Argument that possible future remission would endanger a surviving victim rejected – Premature release is an executive consideration based on materials at the relevant time and cannot justify imposing death penalty [Para 8].

Compensation – Section 357(3) CrPC – Inapplicability When Fine Imposed – Court may award compensation under Section 357(3) only where sentence does not include fine – As fine was imposed by trial court, additional compensation under Section 357(3) not maintainable; Rachhpal Singh considered and distinguished – However, fine can be enhanced and directed to victim [Paras 9–11].

Fine and Default Sentence – Enhanced – While maintaining life imprisonment on all three counts under Section 302 IPC, fine enhanced from ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 on each count; additional enhanced fine directed to be paid to Gurmeet Kaur (surviving victim) – Default imprisonment for non-payment enhanced to two years’ RI on each count [Para 12].

Decision – State’s appeal dismissed – Life imprisonment maintained on three counts under Section 302 IPC; fine and default sentence enhanced; directions for payment of enhanced fine to Gurmeet Kaur issued – No interference with commutation by High Court [Paras 12–13].

Employment Law - Public Employment – Bonus Marks for District and Rural Residents – Articles 14 and 16 – Circular dated 10.06.1998 granting 10 marks to residents of the district and 5 marks to residents of rural areas within the district – Held unconstitutional – Classification based primarily on residence dilutes merit and lacks rational nexus with the object of improving primary education – Violative of Article 16(2); State lacked authority under Article 16(3) to prescribe residential preference – Circular struck down to that extent [Paras 12–19, 29–32, 36–42].

Residence-Based Preference – Scope of Article 16(3) – Parliament alone may prescribe residential requirement within a State; State Government cannot create district/rural residential preference – Localism and “sons of the soil” approach impermissible in public employment – Residence may not be the sole ground (“only”) for differential treatment; here it was the determinative criterion – Preference invalid [Paras 14–19].

Affirmative Action Plea for Rural Candidates – Article 16(4) – Rejected – No empirical data showing rural candidates for primary teacher posts are a distinct, disadvantaged class vis-à-vis urban candidates; poverty/place of residence cannot by themselves define a homogeneous backward class – Reliance on Pradip Tandon; Nidamarti – Rural/urban divide does not justify reservation/weightage in employment [Paras 31–38].

Dialect/Retention Justifications – Weightage for “locals” to address vernacular affinity and prevent absenteeism/transfers – Not borne out by study or particulars; dialect variations not zone/district mapped; managerial tools exist to regulate postings/transfers; assumptions speculative – Cannot sustain discriminatory weightage [Paras 39–41].

Vagueness in Identifying “Rural Resident” – Circular provides no criteria (duration of residence, schooling, etc.); invites inconsistent certification and arbitrariness – Falls foul of Article 14; analogy drawn from State of Maharashtra v. Raj Kumar [Paras 30, 43].

Prospective Application and Relief – Doctrine invoked to avoid unsettling settled positions and administrative chaos – Appointments up to 17.11.1999 protected; appointments on or after 18.11.1999 (date of Full Bench in Kailash Chand) subject to writ petitioners’ superior merit on re-computation excluding bonus marks – Relief moulded under Article 142; writ under Article 32 filed belatedly dismissed [Paras 48–56].

Decision – Circular dated 10.06.1998, to the extent it awards bonus marks to residents of the district (10) and rural areas within the district (5), declared illegal and unconstitutional – Appointments made up to 17.11.1999 not reopened – Claims of High Court writ petitioners to be freshly considered against candidates appointed on or after 18.11.1999 or yet to be appointed, by excluding such bonus marks; if superior in merit, petitioners to be appointed, even by displacing post-18.11.1999 appointees – Article 32 writ dismissed; no costs [Paras 55–58].

Appeal Against Conviction – Double Murder – Sections 302 & 506 IPC – Conviction set aside – Trial court and High Court convicted the appellant for killing D-1 and D-2 with a sickle and for threatening interveners – Held: Prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt owing to material inconsistencies between ocular and medical evidence, non-examination of independent and available eye-witnesses, and infirm extra-judicial confession – Benefit of doubt extended and appeal allowed [Paras 1–3, 6, 8–10].

Medical Evidence vs. Ocular Testimony – Time of Death and Injury Pattern – Defence Probabilised – Doctor’s cross-examination indicated death about 39 hours prior to post-mortem inconsistent with the prosecution timeline of 16.12.1990 at 1.30 p.m. – Rigor mortis analysis accepted and unchallenged in re-examination – Ocular version omitted key injuries noted by the doctor and sequencing of blows inconsistent with near-decapitation injuries – Creates reasonable doubt warranting acquittal [Paras 6–7].

Eye-Witness Credibility – Non-Examination of Natural Witnesses – Adverse Inference – Prosecution failed to examine two cited eye-witnesses (Rengasamy and Thulasi Ammal) and independent witness did not support the case – Both examined eye-witnesses were related and their conduct improbable; presence doubtful given residence details – Background land/property disputes suggested alternative motive against deceased – Reliance on such testimony unsafe [Paras 6–7].

Extra-Judicial Confession – Reliability – Not Safe to Rely – Alleged confession (Ex. P-14) to VAO was an elaborate, four-page narrative mirroring FIR and witness depositions, spanning events over decades and naming future prosecution witnesses – Considered unnatural and indicative of an attempt to build the prosecution case – Courts below rightly treated it as unreliable; it cannot sustain conviction [Para 8].

Motive – Weak and Stale – Insufficient to Found Conviction – Prosecution motive traced to incidents 15 to 2 years prior; no recent trigger – Appellant’s imminent marriage and stable employment made commission of “dastardly crime” unlikely on such stale motive – Motive by itself cannot replace proof [Para 9].

Decision – Appeal Allowed – Convictions under Sections 302 (two counts) and 506 IPC set aside – Appellant to be released forthwith if not required in any other case – No costs [Para 10].

Criminal Law - Appeal Against Conviction For Murder And Robbery - Dying Declaration – Admissibility and Credibility – Conviction Upheld – The appellant was convicted for offences under Sections 302 and 397 IPC based primarily on oral dying declarations made by the deceased to three natural witnesses (PWs 1, 2, and 3) immediately after the incident – Held: The dying declarations were consistent, natural, and made to close persons without motive for false implication – There was no suggestion of unconsciousness or inability to speak, and medical evidence did not contradict the possibility of speech – The dying declaration alone was sufficient to sustain the conviction [Paras 2, 6-8, 11].

Recovery of Stolen Property – Weak Evidence – Not Sole Basis for Conviction – The prosecution claimed recovery of the deceased’s ear studs, sickle, and blood-stained shirt from the accused – Held: Though recovery witnesses (PWs 7 and 8) turned hostile, the fact that ear lobes were cut and the ear studs were removed was undisputed – The motive for theft and connection with the injuries leading to death established nexus with the accused – Recovery was not essential to affirm conviction given the strength of other evidence [Paras 5, 12].

Appellate Interference – No Material Infirmity in Concurrent Findings – Dismissal of Appeal – The Supreme Court found no ground to disbelieve the prosecution’s case – Witnesses were natural and reliable, no contradiction or suggestion of false implication existed, and both the Trial Court and High Court had properly appreciated the evidence – Held: Conviction and sentence of life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC and 7 years’ RI under Section 397 IPC with fine confirmed – Appeal dismissed [Paras 6, 7, 13].

Decision: Appeal Dismissed – Conviction under Sections 302 and 397 IPC affirmed – Sentence of life imprisonment and fine upheld – No interference warranted in findings of Trial Court and High Court – Dying declaration found trustworthy and corroborated – Recovery not essential to sustain conviction [Para 13].

Criminal Law - Dying Declaration – Certification by Doctor – Not Mandatory if Judicial Officer Records Declaration – Conflict in Precedents – The appellant contended that the dying declaration recorded by the Magistrate was invalid in the absence of a doctor's certificate attesting the mental fitness of the declarant – Reliance was placed on Paparambaka Rosamma v. State of A.P. which required such a certificate – In contrast, the respondent cited Koli Chunilal Savji v. State of Gujarat, where the Court held that the dying declaration was admissible despite lack of such explicit certification if corroborated by other evidence and recorded by a Magistrate – Held: The absence of a doctor’s certificate does not ipso facto invalidate the dying declaration, particularly if recorded by an independent judicial officer and not shown to be fabricated – Given the conflicting views in prior judgments by Benches of equal strength, the issue merits reconsideration by a larger Bench [Paras 2-4].

Decision: Reference Made – Owing to conflicting decisions in Paparambaka Rosamma and Koli Chunilal Savji, the Court referred the issue of necessity of a medical certification regarding the mental fitness of the declarant at the time of recording the dying declaration to a larger Bench for authoritative determination – Matter to be placed before the Hon'ble Chief Justice for appropriate directions [Para 4].

Criminal Law - Murder  – Eyewitness Testimony – Conviction Based on Credible Evidence – Firearms Used – The appellants were convicted under Section 302 IPC based on the consistent and reliable testimony of eyewitnesses (PWs 3 and 4), who witnessed the double murder from the rooftop of the deceased's house – Held: The courts below correctly relied on the credible evidence, supported by forensic and ballistic evidence connecting bullet casings to weapons recovered from the accused – Presence of eyewitnesses was satisfactorily explained, and minor inconsistencies or technical omissions in recovery documentation did not vitiate prosecution’s case [Paras 3-10].

Firearm Ballistics – Matching of Cartridges – Investigating Officer’s Testimony – Despite the absence of entries regarding bullet casings in the inquest report column, the ballistic expert confirmed that recovered casings matched weapons seized from the appellants – Held: The oral testimony of the IO on recovery of casings was unchallenged in cross-examination and sufficient to establish seizure – No contradiction affecting the probative value [Para 9].

Compensation to Victim’s Family – Section 357(3) CrPC – Judicial Discretion – Reduced on Appeal – The High Court exercised power under Section 357(3) CrPC to award Rs. 2 lakhs compensation from each appellant (total Rs. 4 lakhs) and imposed a default sentence of 5 years' RI – Held: Though jurisdiction under Section 357(3) was rightly invoked, the amount was reduced to Rs. 1 lakh per appellant due to insufficient evidence of financial capacity – The High Court had not imposed fine under Section 302 IPC, and thus compensation could be imposed separately under Section 357(3) [Paras 13-15].

Decision: Appeal Partly Allowed – Conviction under Sections 302 and 449 IPC and Arms Act upheld – Sentence of life imprisonment confirmed in place of death penalty – Compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs per appellant reduced to Rs. 1 lakh each (total Rs. 2 lakhs) under Section 357(3) CrPC – Default sentence in case of non-payment of compensation remains [Paras 15-16].