TMI Blog1962 (8) TMI 77X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Doulu Patil accused No. 2 (now appellant before us), Lahu Santu Patil accused No. 3 and Deoba approver P.W.5 are alleged to have taken part in murder of Lahu Vithu Patil. Rama Krishna Patil accused No.1 was convicted of murder and sentenced to death but on appeal his sentence was reduced to one of imprisonment for life. The appellant was convicted as above stated and sentenced to imprisonment for life. The third accused Lahu Santu Patil was acquitted and the 4th participant Deoba turned approver and is P.W.5. The case for the prosecution was that the appellant had a suspicion that the deceased bad a liaison with his wife. He, the appellant, approached the approver and suggested that the deceased should be killed. This was on March 16, 1960 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as of rather unusually large dimensions The two injuries on the deceased were very extensive and according to the medical evidence they could have been caused with the knife which was recovered. The question that arises in the present case is whether the statement of the approver has been corroborated in material particulars and qua the appellant. The trial court convicted the appellant on the testimony of the approver and found corroboration for the approver's testimony in the statement of Nanu Sintu Sutar, P.W. 7 who had prepared the knife alleged to have be, been used for the offence on March 17, 1960, and hi,; motive to commit the murder because of the suspicion he had about his wife having a liaison with the deceased. These facts a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... en the preparation of the knife and murder is great and it is possible in such circumstances that the appellant might have cemented and not proceeded with the commission of the offence. The finding of the knife at the instance of the first accused also is no corroboration of the approver's story which would be sufficient to connect the appellant with the murder, under s. 34 of the Indian Penal Code. It may be that in this case the approver's evidence was sufficiently corroborated for the conviction of the first accused upon which we express no opinion but so far as the appellant is concerned we find that there is no corroboration of the approver's story and it is not-sufficient that there is evidence to corroborate the participa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . 308.) where conviction was based upon the evidence of an accomplice supported by the statement of a co-accused, said as follows :- Their Lordships................... would nevertheless observe that Courts should be slow to depart from the rule of prudence, based on long experience, which requires some independent evidence, implicating the particular accused. The danger of acting upon accomplice evidence is not merely that the accomplice is on his own admission a man of bad character who took part in the offence and afterwards to save himself betrayed his former associates, and who has placed himself in a position in which he can hardly fail to have a strong bias in favour of the prosecution ; the real danger is that he is telling a st ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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