[Cites 3, Cited by 0]
Madhya Pradesh High Court
Smt. Laxmi Bai Choubey vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 14 January, 2026
Author: Vivek Agarwal
Bench: Vivek Agarwal
NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-JBP:3486
1 CRA-4305-2019
IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VIVEK AGARWAL
&
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE B. P. SHARMA
ON THE 14th OF JANUARY, 2026
CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 4305 of 2019
SMT. LAXMI BAI CHOUBEY
Versus
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS
Appearance:
Shri Satya Narayan Mishra, learned counsel for the appellant.
Ms. Shweta Yadav, learned Deputy Advocate General for the State.
Shri Reji Mathai, learned counsel for respondents No.2 to 4.
ORDER
Per: Justice Vivek Agarwal
Heard on I.A. No.9143/2019, which is an application for condonation
of delay.
There is delay of 1283 days in filing the appeal.
For the reasons stated in the application, I.A. No.9143/2019 is allowed
and delay of 1283 days in filing the appeal is hereby condoned.
Also heard on admission.
This appeal is filed being aggrieved of the judgment dated 10.08.2015
passed by learned XIIth Additional Sessions Judge, Jabalpur in ST
No.743/2013 whereby learned trial Court has acquitted all the three accused
persons from the charges under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC and
also under Section 25)1-B)(B) of Arms Act against one of the accused
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namely Ankit @ Bablu.
Learned counsel for the appellant submits that in fact its a case of eye
witness account where as per the prosecution story on 17.09.2013 Pimmu @
Pravesh and Shailu were present at old Charhai on their motorcycle when
accused Santosh, Ankit @ Bablu and Pankaj @ Kallu reached the spot and
kicked the motorcycle. Thereafter, Santosh asked Shailu that why he had
entered into an altercation with Bablu when Santosh had hit Shailu on his
cheek with a knife then Bablu had attacked Shailu on his left thigh with a
knife and, then they all three ran away. Pimmu @ Pravesh had lifted injured
Shailu and taken him to Victoria Hospital, as a result of which he had
contacted some blood spots of Shailu on his shirt. From Victoria Hospital
Shailu was referred to National Hospital and from National Hospital to
Medical College where he died on 18.09.2023 on account of such injuries.
Case Crime No.388/2013 was registered at Lordganj Police Station,
investigation was completed, charge-sheet was filed, accused abjured their
guilt and trial was conducted.
Star witness of the prosecution is Pimmu @ Pravesh (PW-1), he has
not supported prosecution case. He has stated that on the next day of the
incident he came to know that there was an altercation with Shailu, then
Shailu died. He had participated in the last rites of Shailu. He stated that he
had absolutely no idea as to who all had participated in the altercation. He
was declared hostile, several leading questions were put to him but he denied
all the suggestions of the prosecution. In cross-examination, this witness
states that he was coerced and threatened by the police personnel to give his
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statements before the Magistrate as were dictated by the police
personnel. Other prosecution witnesses too have not supported the
prosecution case, even the seizure witnesses are hostile.
Shri Satya Narayan Mishra, learned counsel for the appellant, submits
that there are two circumstances which should have been taken into
consideration by the learned trial Court, namely, presence of human blood on
the knife as per FSL report (Ex.P-31) and second circumstance is that the
shirt of the deceased Shailu contain similar cut marks as could have been
obtained from the seized knife, Article - I.
Thus, it is submitted that overlooking these two vital pieces of
evidence, acquittal has been recorded, which is not in conformity with law
and thus indulgence is called for.
Shri Reji Mathai, learned counsel for the objector accused persons
along with Ms. Shweta Yadav, learned Deputy Advocate General for the
State.
Shri Reji Mathai submits that in the present case, firstly, there is no
eye witness account and, secondly, two circumstances as pointed out by Shri
Satya Narayan Mishra, learned counsel for the appellant, namely, presence of
human blood on the knife and cut found on the shirt being correlatable to the
use of the knife, Article-I, which was subjected to FSL report are not in
themselves sufficient to complete the chain of circumstances.
It is submitted that in a case of circumstantial evidence specially when
there is no eye witness account as per the prosecution witnesses and nobody
had seen the incident of stabbing, five circumstances as narrated in the case
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of Sharad Birdhi Chand Sarda vs State Of Maharashtra, (1984) 4 SCC 116) ,
should have been completed.
After hearing learned counsel for the parties and going through the
record. Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Sharad Birdhi Chand Sarda
(supra), in para 153, has noted that "the circumstances from which the
conclusion of guilt is to be drawn should be fully established; the facts so
established should be consistent with the hypothesis of guilt of the accused,
that is to say, they should not be explainable on any other hypothesis except
that the accused is guilty; the circumstances should be of a conclusive nature
and tendency; they should exclude every possible hypothesis except the one
to be proved; and there must be a chain of evidence so complete as not to
leave any reasonable ground for the conclusion consistent with the innocence
of the accused and must show that in all human probability the act must have
been done by the accused."
When these five golden principles laid down by Hon'ble Apex Court
in Sharad Birdhi Chand Sarda (supra) are taken into consideration, then it is
evident that this principle as was initially laid down in the case of Shivaji
Sahebrao Bobade & Anr vs State Of Maharashtra, (1973) 2 SCC 793 has not
been fulfilled in the present case. Firstly, the circumstances from which the
conclusion of guilt is to be drawn have not been fully established. It is not
the case of the prosecution that the knife recovered was so unique that no
other knife of similar description was available in the market. Memorandum
witnesses so also the seizure witnesses have turned hostile even seizure of
knife is not proved.
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When these facts are taken into consideration and weighed on the
golden scale of balance of the five golden rules laid down by Hon'ble Apex
Court, then we find that there is no error in the impugned judgment calling
for interference specially when the blood group matching could also not be
made with the blood group of the deceased as found on the shirt of the
deceased with the one found on the knife and, therefore, when eye witness
has turned hostile, he has not supported the prosecution case, then under such
facts and circumstances, impugned judgment cannot be faulted with.
Appeal fails and is hereby dismissed.
(VIVEK AGARWAL) (B. P. SHARMA)
JUDGE JUDGE
MTK
