TMI Blog1991 (5) TMI 253X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sion and Criminal Appeal No. 593 and R.T. No. 5 of 1989 dated June 14, 1990 of the Madras High Court respectively, A-1 is the appellant. In each case the Sessions Court convicted them under ss. 120B, 364, 392 read with s. 397; s. 302 read with s. 34 I.P.C. and sentenced to death. In Crl. Appeal No. 594 of 1989 and R.T. No. 4 of 1989, the High Court confirmed the conviction and sentence of death of both the appellants. In Crl. Appeal No. 593 of 1989 and R.T. No. 5 of 1989, the High Court confirmed the conviction and sentenced of death of the A-1 and acquitted A-2 of all the charges. The case of the prosecution in brief is that the appellants and PW-1, the approver belonged to kidarakulam village and became friends. A-1 used to bring money form the timber shop of his brother-in-law (PW-4) in Sessions Case No. 284/86 in whose shop A-1 had worked. They used to go to various places. A-1 used to purchase ganja from chenglapatai and other places and A-1 and A-2 used to sell them. Yet they did not have enough money to spend lavishly. They attempted to commit theft in the localities but became impracticable. Therefore, they conspired to entice boys from affluent families to bring cash an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the stone. A-1 threw away the knife in the river. He threw the deceased in the nearby well and washed his hands and legs in the stream. They returned to Usilampatti Bus Stand. From there they came to Madurai. A-1 sold M.O. 1 chain to PW-24 and gave one hundred rupees each to PW-1 and A-2. This evidence of PW-1 received sufficient corroboration from the evidence of prosecution witnesses. Sri Raju Ramachandran contended that the dead body was admittedly found in a highly decomposed condition. There is no proper identification of the dead body to be of the deceased. The mother PW-2 identified only with reference to the photograph taken of the dead body. There is evidence that the deceased wrote a letter of leaving to unknown destination. Unless there is proof that the dead body belongs to Hariramachandran, it is not safe to convict to A-1 to a capital punishment of death sentence. We find no force in the contention. In a trial for murder it is not an absolute necessity or an essential ingredient to establish corpus delicti. The fact of death of the deceased must be established like any other fact. Corpus delicti in some cases may not be possible to be traced or recovered. Take for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dence that the accused committed the crime. It is merely circumstantial evidence of his connection with the crime. The nature of the corroboration will depend and vary according to the particular circumstances of each case. What is required is some additional evidence rendering it probable that the story of the accomplice is true and that it is reasonably safe to act upon. In Mahadeo v. The King AIR 1936 P. C. 242 the judicial committee held that the evidence of an accesory must be corroborated in some material particulars not only bearing upon the facts of the crime but upon the accused's implication in it. This Court in Rameshwar v. The State of Rajasthan, [1952] S.C.R. 377 held that it is not necessary that there should be independent confirmation of every material circumstance in the sense that the independent evidence of the case, apart from the testimony of the complainant or its accomplice should in itself be sufficient to sustain conviction. All that is necessary is that there should be independent evidence which will make it reasonably safe to believe that the witness's story that the accused was the one that committed the offence could be acceptable. The corrobora ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... erritory, Chandigarh, [1985] (Suppl.) S.C.C. 599 this Court further held that it is not safe to convict an accused on the charges like murder upon the evidence of uncorroborated testimony of the approver. Thus the settled law is that an approver is a competent witness against the accused person. But the court, to satisfy its conscience, insists as caution and prudence to seek, as a rule, corroboration to the evidence of the approver, a particips criminis from independent evidence occular or circumstantial, of general particulars regarding the story spoken off by the approver of the commission of the crime and the part played by the accused therein to find whether it is true and worthy of acceptance. The reliability of the evidence of an approver should be considered from totality of the facts and circumstances. In the trial of Athiappan murder there is no dispute that such a corroborative evidence connecting both the appellants is available which was minutely considered by the trial court and the High Court and was accepted. We find no infirmity in that regard. In the trial of the death of Hariramachandran, A. 2 was acquitted on the ground that his extra-judicial confession made ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as a corner-stone of the edifice of order should meet the challenges confronting the society. Friedman in his Law in Changing Society stated that, State of criminal law continues to be-as it should be-a decisive reflection of social consciousness of society . Therefore, in operating the sentencing system, law should adopt the corrective machinery or the deterrence based on factual matrix. By deft modulation of sentencing process be stern where it should be, and tempered with mercy where it warrants to be. The facts and given circumstances in each case, the nature of the crime, the manner in which it was planned and committed, the motive for commission of the crime, the conduct of the accused and all other attending circumstances are relevant facts which would enter into the area of consideration. For instance a murder committed due to deep seated personal rivalry may not call for penalty of death. But an organised crime or mass murders of innocent people would call for imposition of death sentence as deterrence. In Mahesh v. State of M.P., [1987] 2 S.C.R. 710 this Court while refusing to reduce that death sentence observed thus: It will be a mockery of justice to permit the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... case is to be adjourned to another date. It is illegal to convict, an accused and to impose sentence on the same day. It is true as contended for the State that under s. 309, third proviso brought by Amendment Act, 1978 that no adjournment should be granted for the purpose only of enabling the accused person to show cause against sentence to be imposed upon him. Under s. 235(2) when the accused has been given right to be heard on the question of sentence it is a valuable right. To make that right meaningful the procedure adopted should be suitably moulded and the accused given an opportunity to adduce evidence on the nature of the sentence. The hearing may be on the same day if the parties are ready or be adjourned to a next date but once the court after giving opportunity propose to impose appropriate sentence again there is no need to adjourn the case any further thereon. No doubt the Sessions Judge needed to adjourn the case under s. 235(2) to next date but in the High Court the counsel was directed to show any additional grounds on the question of sentence . The High Court observed that the counsel was unable to give any additional ground. It is Further contended that the appel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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