minal Appeal No 244 cf 1969
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated July 23 1969 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Criminal Appeal No 302 of 1969 and Murder Reference No 25 of 1969
Nur ud din Ahmad and R L Kohli for the appellant
R N Sachthev for respondent No 1
Frank Anthony section R Agarwal and E C Agarwala for respondent No 2
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Dua J
In this appeal by special leave the appellant challenges his conviction and sentence under section 302 IPC for the murder of his brother in law husband of his wife s sister
The occurrence is stated to have taken place on Sunday October 8 1968 at about 445 pm near the clock tower in Ludhiana  City
601 It is not disputed that on August 13 1968 the appellant Tapinder Singh a business man and a Municipal Commissioner had lodged a first information report exhibit PR with the police station Sadar Ludhiana against Kulwant Singh deceased whom he described as
his Sandhu his wife s sister s husband and one Ajit Singh alleging that on the pretext of consulting him they had taken him in their car to the canal near the Agricultural College an after getting down from the car when they had walked about 150 paces on the banks of the canal the deceased Kulwant Singh saying that he would teach the appellant a lesson whipped out a clasp knife and attacked him
Ajit Singh also shouted that the appellant should not be allowed to escape
The appellant raised alarm and tried to run away
 While endeavoring to ward off with his right hand the knife blow by Kulwant Singh the appellant s right hand palm got wounded and started bleeding Just at that moment Gurmel Singh Sarpanch and Shamsher Singh Lambardar happened to pass that way in a car
They stopped the car
In the meantime Kulwant Singh and Ajit Singh got into their car and went away
Pursuant to this report admittedly a criminal case was pending against the deceased when the occurrence in question took place
Kulwant Singh deceased who had been arrested pursuant to that report in a case under section 307 324 IPC was actually on bail on the date of the occurrence
According to the prosecution Gurdial Singh PW 7 father of the deceased Kulwant Singh is employed as Works Manager in the Ludhiana Transport Company which is a private concern and which plies buses on different routes in Ludhiana District
Gurdial Singh is also a share holder of this Company
The workshop the office and the taxi stand of this Company are located in Sarai Bansidhar which faces the clock tower
Gurdial Singh in addition owns two taxis which he runs on hire
He also owns two private cars which are used both for personal requirements and as taxis
The deceased used to look after these four vehicles
The father and the son used to live together in Model Town
The two taxis used to remain at the Taxi Stand about 100 yards away from the clock tower whereas the other two cars used to be parked at Gurdial Singh s business premises
On August 8 1968 at about 445 pm the deceased was sitting on a Takhat posh at the Taxi Stand
It being a Sunday the shops in the neighborhood were closed
Sher Singh PW 9 was standing close to the Takhat posh
Harnek Singh the driver of one of the taxis and Gurdial Singh were also present
At the taxi stand there was at that time only one taxi belonging to Gurdial Singh
The appellant came from the side of the railway station and fired at the deceased five shots from his pistol
After receiving three shots the deceased dropped down and the remaining two shots hit him when he was lying
The persons present there raised art 602 alarm shouting Don t kill dont kill 
The appellant after firing the shots briskly walked back towards the railway station
The deceased who was bleeding profusely was taken in the taxi by Gurdial Singh his father and Hamek Singh the driver to Dayanand Hospital where they were advised to take the injured to Brown s Hospital because his condition was serious
It is in evidence that some person had telephoned to the City Kotwali Ludhiana on the day of the occurrence at about 5 30 pm informing the police authorities that firing had taken place at ax Stand Ludhiana
The person giving the information on telephone did not disclose his identity nor did he give any further particulars
When the police officer receiving the telephone message made further enquiries from him he disconnected the telephone
This report was entered in the daily diary at 535 pm
The Assistant Sub Inspector Hari Singh along with_ Assistant Sub Inspectors Amrik Singh Jagat Singh and Brahm Dev and constables Prakash Singh Harbhajan Singh and Harbans Lal left the police station in a government jeep for the Taxi Stand Ludhiana near Jagraon Bus Stand on the Grand Trunk Road about a furlong and a half away from the City Kotwali Police Station
From there Hari Singh learnt that the injured man had been removed by some persons to Dayanand Hospital
As it was rumored at the place of the occurrence that the appellant Tapinder Singh had shot at the deceased Hari Singh deputed Amrik Singh and Brahm Dev to search for him
Hari Singh himself along withsub Inspector Jagat Singh and the police constables left for Dayanand Hospital
From there they went to the Civil Hospital and then they proceeded to CMC Hospital at about 6 30 pm
On enquiry they were informed that Kulwant Singh had been admitted there as an indoor patient
Hari Singh went upstairs in the Surgical Ward and obtained the report exhibit PH 13 prepared by Dr E Pothan who was in the Surgical Ward where Kulwant Singh was lying
The statement of Kulwant Singh exhibit PM was also recorded by him at about 650 pm in that ward and the same after being read out by him was thumb marked by Kulwant Singh as token of its correctness
That statement was forwarded to the police station City Kotwali for registration of the case under section 307 IPC Exhibit PM was also attested by Dr Sandhu House Surgeon
Hari Singh deputed Assistant Sub Inspector Jagat Singh to arrange for a Magistrate for recording Kulwant Singh s dying declaration in the hospital
The statement of Gurdial Singh father of the deceased was also recorded there at about 720 pm Jagat Singh ASI brought Shri Sukhdev Singh PCS Judicial Magistrate First Class to the Hospital at about 730 pm The dying declaration was however recorded at about 830 Pm because Kulwant Singh was not found to be in a fit state of health to make the statement earlier
Kulwant Singh died 603 at the operation theatre the same midnight
Pursuant to exhibit PH 13 first information report was registered and the appellant committed to stand his trial for an offence under section 302 IPC The learned Additional Sessions Judge believing Gurdial Singh PW 7 Sukhdev Singh Judicial Magistrate p
W 10 and Mukhtiar Singh H C PW 6 held proved the motive for the crime viz that the appellant suspected illicit intimacy between his wife and the deceased who was married to her elder sister
According to the trial Judge the appellant for this reason bore a grudge against the deceased
The three eye witnesses Gurdial Singh PW 7 Hamek Singh PW 8 and Sher Singh PW 9 were held to have given a true and correct account of the occurrence and being witnesses whose presence at the place of occurrence was natural their evidence was considered trustworthy which fully proved the case against the accused
The dying declaration was also found to be free from infirmity and being categorical and natural the court considered it sufficient by itself to sustain the conviction
The circumstantial evidence including that of the recovery of blood stained earth from the place of occurrence the recovery of blood stained clothes of the deceased the fact of the accused having absconded and the recovery of the pistol and cartridges were also held to corroborate the prosecution story
Omission on the part of the prosecution to produce a ballistic export was considered to be immaterial and it was held not to weaken or cast a doubt on the prosecution case because the oral evidence of eye witnesses to the commission of the offence impressed the court to be trustworthy and acceptable
The trial court also took into consideration the allegations con the course of the committal proceedings in the court of Shri Mewa Singh Magistrate on November 20 1968 to the effect inter alia tained in an application presented by Gurdial Singh PW 7 in that an attempt was being made on behalf of the accused to tamper with the prosecution witnesses
The trial court convicted the accused under section 302 IPC and imposed capital sentence
On appeal the High Court rejected the criticism on behalf of the accused that the occurrence had nottaken place at the spot and in the manner deposed to by the eye witnesses
On a detailed and exhaustive discussion of the arguments urged before the High Court it came to this conclusion    that there was motive on the part of the appellant to commit this crime that the three eyewitneses produced by the prosecution are reliable they were present at the time of the occurrence and have given a correct version of the incident and that the medical 604 evidence fully supports the prosecution and no suspicion is attached to it
The deceased made more than one dying declaration and we are satisfied that they were not induced and that the deceased gave a correct version of the incident
The suggestion made that Tapinder Singh has been roped in on suspicion in not correct because implicit in such an argument is the suggestion that the crime was committed by somebody else
It was broad day light the assailant must have been identified and consequently we are satisfied that the offence has been fully brought home to the appellant
The place of the occurrence does not admit of any doubt because there is good deal of evidence on the record that blood was recovered from where the Takhat posh was kept by GurJial Singh and there is no suggestion that the blood was found from anywhere else
The learned counsel has then urged that the offence does not fall under section 302 Indian Penal Code but no reasons have been given as to why this is not an offence punishable under section 302 Indian Penal Code
Learned counsel urged that something must have happened which induced Tapinder Singh to commit this crime
There is nothing on the record not even a suggestion that anything happened
Tapinder Singh came armed with a pistol and fired as many as five shots at Kulwant Singh two of which he fired on his back when Kulwant Singh had falled on the ground
The appellant therefore does not deserve the lesser penalty contemplated by law
Consequently we uphold the conviction and sentence imposed upon Tapinder Singh
The appeal is dismissed and the sentence of death is confirmed
 On appeal in this Court under article 136 of the Constitution Mr Nuruddin Ahmed learned advocate for the appellant
ad dressed elaborate arguments challenging the conclusions of the courts below on which they have sustained the appellant s conviction
He started with an attack on the FIR based on the dying declaration
According to the counsel the information in regard to the offence had already been conveyed to the police by means of a telephone message and the police had actually statrted investigation on the basis of that information
This argument was however not seriously persisted in and was countered by the respondents on the authority of the decision in Sarup Singh vs 605 State of Punjab
The telephone message was received by Hari Singh ASI Police Station City Kotwali at 5 35 pm on September 8 1969
The person conveying the  information did not disclose his identity nor did he give any other particulars and all that is said to have been conveyed was that firing had taken place at the taxi stand Ludhiana
This was of course recorded in the daily diary of the police station by the police officer responding to the telephone call
But prima facie this cryptic and annoymous oral message which did not in terms clearly specify a cognizable offence cannot be treated as first information report
The mere fact that this information was the first in point of time does not by itself clothe it with the character of first information report
The question whether or not a particular document constitutes a first information report has broadly speaking to be determined on the relevant facts and circumstances of each case
The appellant s submission is that since the police authorities had actually proceeded to the spot pursuant to this information however exiguous it may appear to the court  the dying declaration is hit by section 162 Cr
This submission is unacceptable on the short ground that section 1622 Cr
PC in express terms excludes from its purview statements falling within the provisions of s32 1 Indian Evidence Act
Indisputably the dying declaration before us falls within section 321 Indian Evidence Act and as such it is both relevant and outside the prohibition contained in section 162 1 Cr
The counsel next contended that the dying declaration does not contain a truthful version of the circumstances in which Kulwant Singh bad met with his death and therefore it should not be acted upon
This argument is founded on the submission that the deceased did not meet with his death at the spot sworn by the prosecution witnesses and that none of these witnesses actually saw the occurrence because they were not present at the place and time where and when the deceased was shot at
We are far from impressed by this contention
The trial court and the High Court have both believed the three eye witnesses and have also relied on the dying declaration
Normally when the High Court believes the evidence given by the eye witnesses this Court accepts the appraisal of the evidence by that Court and does not examine the evidence afresh for itself unless as observed by this Court in Brahmin Isharlal Manilal vs The State of Gujarat
1 It is made to appear that justice has failed for reason of some misapprehension or mistake in the reading of the evidence by the High Court
 1 AIR 1964 Punjab 508
1 Crl
A No 120 of 1963 decided on August 10 1965
606 It was added in that judgment  There must ordinarily be a substantial error of law or procedure or a gross failure of justice by reason of misapprehension or mistake in reading the evidence or the appeal must involve a question of principle of general importance before this Court will allow the oral evidence to be discussed
 In the present case it was contended that the original document embodying the dying declaration is missing from the judicial record and it is suggested that the mysterious disappearance of this important document during the committal proceedings was intended to remove from the record the evidence which would have shown that this dying declaration could not legally constitute the basis of the FIR and thereby frustrate the plea of the accused that section 162 Cr
PC operated as a bar to its admissibility
The bar created by section 1621 Cr
PC as already noticed isinapplicable to dying declarations
But as the original dying declaration has somehow disappeared from the Judicial record and the case is of a serious nature we undertook to examine the evidence in respect of the dying declaration
The evidence of Shri Sukhdev Singh Judicial Magistrate as PW 10 is clear on the point
The witness has repeated in court the statement made to him by Kulwant Singh which was recorded by the witness in Punjabi in his own hand
An attempt was made by Mr Nuruddin to persuade us to hold that Shri Sukhdev Singh s statement is not trustworthy
It was argued that there was no cogent reason for the Magistrate to permit the police officers to make a copy of the dying declaration
This according to the counsel shows that the Magistrate acted in a manner subservient to the demands of the police officers and therefore his statement should not be taken on its face value
We do not agree
The Magistrate as observed by the High Court is quite clear as to what the deceased had told him
He has repeated the same in his statement in court
Exhibit PJ has been proved by him as a correct account of the dying declaration recorded by
It is not understood how the fact that the Investigating Officer was allowed to make a copy of the dying declaration could go against the Magistrate
The dying declaration could legitimately serve as a guide in further investigation
It was not argued that the dying declaration being a confidential document had to be kept secret from the Investigating Officer
Our attention was drawn by the respondents to the application dated November 20 1968Ex
PZ filed by Gurdial Singh in the court Of Shri Mewa Singh Magistrate for expeditious disposal of the commitment proceedings
In that application it was suggested that the defence had got removed  the dying declaration and statements under section 164 Cr
PC which 607 had presumably been destroyed
According to the respondent s suggestion it was the accused who was interested in the disappearance of the original dying declaration from the record
In this connection we may point out that on October  27 1968 Shri Mewa Singh Magistrate had lodged a report with the police under sections 379400201 IPC alleging theft of the FIR the dying declaration and statements Of witnesses recorded under s164 Cr
PC in the case State vs Tapinder Singh
For the disposal of this appeal it is unnecessary for us to express any opinion as to who is responsible for the disappearance of the dying declaration
That question was the subject matter of a criminal proceeding and we have not been informed about its fate
The dying declaration is a statement by a person as to the cause of his death or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his death and it becomes relevant under section 321 of the Indian Evidence Act in a case in which the cause of that person s death comes into question
It is true that a dying declaration is not a deposition in court and it is neither made on oath nor in the presence of the accused
It is therefore not tested by cross examination on behalf of the accused
But a dying declaration is admitted in evidence by way of an exception to the general rule against the admissibility of hearsay evidence on the principle of necessity
The weak points of a dying declaration just mentioned merely serve to put the court on its guard while testing its reliability by imposing on it an obligation to closely scrutinise all the relevant attendant circumstances
This Court in Kushal Rao vs The State of Bombay  laid down the test of reliability of a dying declaration as follows  On a review of the relevant provisions of the Evidence Act and of the decided cases in the different High Courts in India and in this Court we have come to the conclusion in agreement with the opinion of the Full Bench of the Madras High Court aforesaid 1 that it cannot be laid down as an absolute rule of law that a dying declaration cannot form the sole basis of conviction unless it is corroborated 2 that each case must be determined on its own facts keeping in view the circumstances in which the dying declaration was made 3 that it cannot be laid down as a general proposition that a dying declaration is a weaker kind of evidence than other pieces of evidence 4 that a dying declaration stands on the same footing as another piece of evidence and has to be judged in the light of surrounding circumstances and with reference to the principles governing the weighing of evidence 
5 that a dying 1 at pp
568 569 608 declaration which has been recorded by a competent magistrate in the proper manner that is to say in the form of questions and answers and as far as practicable in the words of the maker of the declaration stands on a much higher footing than a dying declara tion which depends upon oral testimony which may suffer from all the infirmities of human memory and human character and 6 that in order to test the reliability of a dying declaration the Court has to keep in view the circumstances like the opportunity of the dying man for observation for example whether there was sufficient light if the crime was committed at night whether the capacity of the man to remember the facts stated had not been impaired at the time he was making the statement by Circumstances beyond his control that the statement has been consistent throughout if he had several opportunities of making a dying declaration apart from the official record of it and that the statement had been made at the earliest opportunity and was not the result of tutoring by interested parties
Hence in order to pass the test of reliability a dying declaration has to be subjected to a very close scrutiny keeping in view the fact that the statement has been made in the absence of the accused who had no opportunity of testing the veracity of the statement by cross examination
But once the court has come to the conclusion that the dying declaration was the truthful version as to the circumstances of the death and the assailants of the victim there is no question of further corroboration
If on the other hand the court after examining the dying declaration in all its aspects and testing its veracity has come to the conclusion that it is not reliable by itself and that it suffers from an infirmity then without corroboration it cannot form the basis of a conviction
Thus the necessity for corrobo ration arises not from any inherent weakness of a dying declaration as a piece of evidence as held in some of the
reported cases but from the fact that the court in a given case has come to the conclusion that that parti cular dying declaration was not free from the infirmities referred to above or from such other infirmities as may be disclosed in evidence in that case
 This view was approved by a Bench of five Judges in Harbans Singh vs State of Punjab
  Examining the evidence in this 1 1962 Supp 1 SCR 104
609 case in the light of the legal position as settled by this Court we find that the dying declaration was recorded by the Magistrate within four hours of the occurrence
It is clear and concise and sounds convincing
It records  Today at 445 pm my Sandhu wife s sister s husband Tapinder Singh fired shots with his pistol at me in the presence of Harnek Singh Sher Singh and Gurdial Singh at the taxi stand
He suspected that I had illicit relations with his wife
Tapinder Singh injured me with these fire shots
 Considering the nature and the number of injuries suffered by the deceased and the natural anxiety of his father and others present at the spot to focus
their attention on efforts to save his life we are unable to hold that he had within the short span of time between the occurrence and the making of the dying declaration been tutored to falsely name the appellant as his assailant in place of the real culprit and also to concoct a non existent motive for the crime
It is unnecessary for us to refer to the earlier declarations contained in exhibit PM exhibit DC and exhibit PH 13 because the one recorded and proved by the Magistrate seems to us to be acceptable and free from infirmity
If the dying decla ration is acceptable as truthful then even in the absence of other corroborative evidence it would be open to the court to act upon the dying declaration and convict the appellant stated therein to be the offender
An accusation in a dying declaration comes from the victim himself and if it is worthy of acceptance then in view of its source the court can safely act upon it
In this case however we have also the evidence of eye witnesses Gurdial Singh PW 7 Hamek Singh PW 8 and Sher Singh P W 9 whose testimony appears to us to be trustworthy and unshaken
No convincing reason has been urged on behalf of the appellant why these three witnesses and particularly the father of the deceased should falsely implicate the appellant substituting him for the real assailant
It is not a case in which along with the real culprit someone else with whom the complainant has some scores to settle has been added as a co accused
The only argument advanced on behalf of the appellant was that the deceased was shot at somewhere else and not at the place where the prosecution witnesses allege he was shot at
It was emphasised that these three witnesses were not present at the _place and time where the occurrence actually took place
This submission is in our view wholly unfoundedand there is absolutely no material in support of it on the existing record
The probabilites are clearly against it
The fact that Hari Singh ASI PW 2 went to the place of occurrence and from there he learnt from someone 13Sup
Cl70 10 610 that the injured person bad been taken to Dayanand Hospital clearly negatives the appellant s suggestion
The fact that the ASI did not remember the name of the person who gave this information would not detract from its truth
On the contrary it appears to us to be perfectly natural for the ASI in those circumstances not to attach much importance to the person who gave him this information
And then the short duration within which the injured person reached the hospital also shows that those who carried him to the hospital were closeby at the time of the occurrence and the suggestion that Gurdial Singh PW 7 Hamek Singh PW 8 and Sher Singh PW 9 must have been informed by someone after the occurrence does not seem to us to fit in with the rest of the picture
We are therefore unable to accept the appellant s suggestion that the deceased was shot at somewhere else away from the place of the occurrence as deposed by the eye witnesses
Some minor points were also sought to be raised by Mr Nuruddin
He said that the pair of shoes belonging to the deceased were left at the spot but they have not been traced
The takhat posh on which the deceased was sitting has also not been proved to bear the marks of blood nor a the blood marks proved on the seats of the car in which the deceased was taken to the hospital
The counsel also tried to make a point out of the omission by the prosecution to  prove blood stains on the clothes of Gurdial Singh PW 7 and Harmek Singh PW 8 who had carried Kulwant Singh from the place of the occurrence to the hospital
Omission to produce a ballistic expert was also adversely criticised
These according to the counsel are serious infirmities and these omissions militate against the prosecution story
In our opinion the criticism of the counsel assuming it to be legitimate which we do not hold relates to matters which are both insignificant and immaterial on the facts and circumstances of this case
They do not in any way affect the truth of the main elements of the prosecution story
On appeal under article 136 of the Constitution we do not think it is open to this Court to allow such minor points to be raised for the purpose of showing defects in appraisal of the evidence by the High Court and for evaluating the evidence for ourselves so as to arrive at conclusions different from those of the High Court
The eye witnesses having been believed these points lose all importance and cannot be pressed in this Court
Considerable stress was laid on behalf of the appellant on the submission that according to the folder exhibit DC one Trilochan Singh was present in the hospital as a friend or relation of the injured person
From this it was sought to be inferred that Gurdial Singh father of Kulwant Singh had not accompanied his 611 son to the hospital and that this would show that the eye witnesses are not telling the truth
The argument seems to us to be without any basis and is misconceived
In the first instance the name of Trilochan Singh on the folder has not been proved
It is the contents of exhibit DC which have been proved by Dr E Pothan PW I at the trial who had appeared as PW 10 in the court of the Committing Magistrate
Secondly in this document as we have verified from the original record Gurdial Singh is actually mentioned as the father of the injured person
We are therefore not impressed by the submission that Ex  DC goes against the testimony of the eye witnesses
Incidentally exhibit DC also contains the precise information which was the subject matter of the dying declaration
It appears that in order to discredit exhibit DC with respect to the information about the appellant being the assailant the name of one Trilochan Singh whose identity still remains unknown was somehow made to appear on the folder but as it has not been legally proved and not referred to by any witness we need say nothing more about it
This argument thus also fails
The submission that the medical evidence contradicts the version given by eye witnesess also remains unsubstantiated on the record
As a last resort it was contended that if the motive alleged by the prosecution is accepted then the sentence imposed would appear to be excessive
In our view the manner in which the five shots were fired at the deceased clearly shows that the offence committed was deliberate and pre planned
We are unable to find any cogent ground for interference with the sentence
The appeal accordingly fails and is dismissed
GC Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The appellant was tried for murder on the allegation that he caused the death of B by firing five shots at him from his pistol
The testimony against him consisted of a dying declaration made by B the statements of three eyewitnesses and some circumstantial evidence
The trial court convicted the appellant and sentenced him to death
The conviction and sentence were affirmed by the High Court
In appeal by special leave before this Court the appellant contended  i that the information relating to the occurrence given to the police by telephone regarding which an entry was made in the daily dairy must be treated as the first information report ii that the dying declaration of deceased was inadmissible because it was hit by section 162 of the code of Criminal Procedure iii that the dying declaration was unreliable iv that the evidence in the case was not sufficient to justify the conviction of the appellant v that among other omissions the non examination of the ballistic expert created a lacuna in the prosecution case and vi that in view of the alleged motive the appellant s suspicion that the deceased had illicit relations with his wife the sentence should be reduced
HELD  i The telephonic message recorded in the daily diary of the police station was a cryptic and anonymous oral message which did not in terms clearly specify a cognizable offence and could not therefore be treated as first information report
The mere fact that this information was the first in point of time could not by itself clothe it with the character of first information report
The question whether or not a particular document constitutes a first information report has to be determined on the relevant facts and circumstances of each case
605 B C iiSection 162 Criminal Procedure Code in express terms excludes from its purview statements falling within the provisions of section 321 of the Indian Evidence Act
indisputably the dying declaration in the present case fell within section 31 of the Indian Evidence Act and as such it was both relevant and outside the prohibition contained in s1621 Cr P C 605 D E iiia In view of the evidence of the Judicial Magistrate who recorded the dying declaration the mere fact that the original dying declaration had been stolen from the file could not destroy its value
Nor could the fact that the investigating officer was allowed to make a copy 6 00 of the dying declaration be interpreted to mean that the Magistrate was subservient to the police
A dying declaration is not a confidential document and can legitimately serve as a guide in further investigation
606 D G b A dying declaration is not a deposition in Courtand it is neither made on oath nor in the presence of the accused
Itis therefore not tested in cross examination on behalf of the accused
But a dying declaration is admitted in evidence by way of an exceptionto the general rule against the admissibility of hearsay evidence on the principle of necessity
The weak points of the dying declaration merely serve to put the court on its guard while testing its reliability by imposing on it an obligation to closely scrutinise all attendant circumstances
So scrutinised
the dying declaration in the present case must be accepted as true
607 D E ivIf the dying declaration is acceptable as true then even in the absence of other corroborative evidence it would be open to the court to act upon the dying declaration and convict the appellant stated therein to be the offender
An accusation in a dying declaration comes from the victim and if it is accepted then in view of its sources the court can safely act on it
In the present case not only the dying declaration but the other evidence including that of three eye witnesses justified the conviction of the appellant
609 E F vWhen the eye witnesses have been believed minor points such as non production of the ballistic expert lose all importance
610 E F viIn view of the manner in which five shots were fired at the deceasedthe murder was deliberate and pre planned and the plea for reductionof the sentence could not be accepted
611 E Sarup Singh vs State of Punjab AIR 1964 Punjab 508 Brahmin Ishwarlal Manilal vs State of Gujarat Cr
A No 12063 dt
10 8 1965
Kushal Rao vs State of Bombay at pp
568 569 and Harbans Singh vs State of Punjab 1962 Sup 1 SCR 104 referred to