Criminal Appeal No 7 of 1979
From the Judgment and Order dated 1321978 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Criminal Appeal No 812 of 1976 and 807 of 1977
K MadhaVa Reddy TVSNChari Narashima PVPL and Ms M Gupta for the Appellant
RK Garg T Rama Mohan Raj NM popli and VJ Fran cis for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by AHMADI J
Ram Subba Reddy an advocate politician  an ex MLA cum trade unionist was done to death when he was sleeping on the terrace of his house in Proddatur District Cuddapah on the night between 14th and 15th April 1975
The incident in question occurred at about 330 am in which apart from the deceased Ram Subba Reddy having re ceived fatal blows by lethal weapons his daughter PW 1 Krishnaveni aged about 24 years received injuries when she attempted to go to help her father
As many as 19 persons were put up for trial before the learned Additional Sessions Judge Cuddapah on different charges
Original accused Nos 1 and 7 to 19 were charged for criminal conspiracy under section 120B original accused Nos 1 to 6 12 and 13 were charged for rioting with deadly weapons under section 148 original accused No 16 was charged under section 147 along with original accused Nos
1 to 6 12 and 13 original accused Nos 1 to 6 12 and 13 were also charged for murder under section 302 the said accused alongwith original accused No 16 were also charged under section 302149 original accused No 5 was charged under section 324 and he as well as original accused Nos 1 to 604 4 6 12 13 and 16 were charged under Section 324149 IPC To bring home the charges against them the prosecu tion mainly relied on the testimony of PW 1 Krishnaveni PW 2 Venkata Subbamma widow of the deceased PW 3 Venkat Rami Reddy and PW 4 Kasireddy sambasiva Reddy both of whom it is claimed were sleeping on the ground floor of the house of the deceased and PW 5 Annapu Reddy Venkata Subba Reddy a neighbour who arrived at the scene of incident on hearing the commotion and who at the instance of PW 1 lodged the FIR Exh
P 56 at about 430 am
The learned Additional Sessions Judge accepted the evidence of PWs 1 2 3 and 5 PW 4 having turned hostile and convicted original accused Nos 1 and 3 under section 148 and section 302 and 324 with the aid of section 149 IPC and original accused  No 5 under sections 148 302 and 324 IPC substantively
All the three of them were sentenced to life imprisonment for mur dering Ram Subba Reddy and to rigorous imprisionment for 3 years under section 148 IPC No separate sentence was imposed for causing injuries to PW 1
The rest were acquit ted of all the charges levelled against them
No appeal was preferred to the High Court against their acquittal but the three convicted accused preferred an appeal to the High Court challenging their conviction while the State appealed for enhancement of the sentence of accused No 1 from life imprisonment to capital punishment
The High Court doubted the testimony of PWs 1 2 3 and 5 and their capacity to identify the assailants and therefore acquitted them of all the charges levelled against them
Consequently the State s appeal for enhancement of accused No 1 s sentence also failed
While the State has preferred this appeal against the order of acquittal or  original accused Nos 1 3 and 5 no appeal has been preferred against the dismissal of he State s appeal for enhancement of the accused No 1 s sentence
A few facts leading to this appeal may be noticed
The deceased was a practising lawyer and a congressman
He was member of the Legislative Assembly during the 1967 1972 term
He had his own house in which he resided
AcCused No 1 a medical practitioner was a trade union activist be longing to the Communist party of India Marxist Leninist group and weilded considerable influence among the working classes
Accused No 2 was a lower division clerk in the judicial department District Cuddapah but was on cave at the material time
He was a close associate of accused No 1
Accused Nos 3 and 5 were employees of Andhra Cotton Mills Proddatur while accused Nos 4 and 6 were employees of International Packaging Company Proddatur and took part in trade union activities
In the first quarter of 1974 the workers of the International Packaging Com 
605 pany had served the management with a charter of demands and accused No 1 who was the President of the Union had served the management with a strike notice on the  failure of the negotiations which the management countered by declaring a lock out
Thereafter PW 21 Jutura Ramaniah partner of the company was assaulted on the night of March 30 1974 for which a case was registered against accused No 1 and his companions
The deceased who was a lawyer for the company is stated to have advised accused No 1 not to resort to vio lence for settlement of such industrial disputes
As the deceased was representing the company the relations between the deceased and accused No 1 which were cordial were soured and the latter stopped visiting the former
In the month of November 1974 on the advise of the deceased the management brought workers from Bangalore and started the factory
However the workers  union could prevail upon those workers not to report for
work and the unit again same to a standstill within about ten days of commencement
The dis pute was referred to the arbitration Of three persons but they could not resolve it on account of the uncompromising attitude of the workers led by accused No 1
While this unrest continued trouble started brewing with the transport workers union of which accused No 1 was the President striking work
Here too the management was repre sented by the deceased
The atmosphere in the township was surcharged and tense
With the intervention of the State Minister the dispute between the transport workers and the owners was settled but so far as the International PaCkaging Company is concerned its employees did not participate in the meeting called by the Minister
A warrant for the deten tion of accused NO 1 under MISA was issued on February 14 1975 but the same could not be executed as he went under ground
On the advice of the Minister the management unilat erally opened the factory wef March 19 1975
The de ceased had throughout taken a very active interest in ensur ing the starting of the factory notwithstanding the stand taken by the union
The union had also complained about the unilateral imposition of certain conditions on the  workmen but to no avail
The workers began to report for work though the union was not reconciled
On the other hand since the warrant for accused No 1 s arrest could not be executed a warrant for the attachment of his properties was issued on April 9 1975
PW 11 M Sajjana Assistant Station Master Cuddapah had started an INTUC branch at Cuddapah sometime  in Decem ber 1973
Under its banner a youth conference was organised on January 26 606 1975
PW H presided
over that conference and a decision was taken explore the possibility of starting an INTUC branch at Proddatur with the help of the deceased
Pursuant thereto PW 11 and others visited Proddatur on March 27 1975 to discuss the matter with the deceased
The deceased promised all possible help and agreed to provide space for the office of INTUC in his own office
Ultimately to counter the militant activities of accused No 1 who was in control of most of the labour unions in the town a decision was taken to start an INTUC branch in Proddatur wef April 191975
Pamphlets were issued in this behalf soliciting the co operation of workers and others
This was the last straw on the camel s back
The physical condition of the place
of occurrence may be noticed to
appreciate the ocular evidence
The house faced southward and lay along a public road with open space in the front covered by acompoundwall in the front with no such wall on the remaining three sides
In the front was a verandah and thereafter came the drawing room in which was installed a telephone
Further to the north was
a room and beyond that was a hall
Then came another covered verandah with a tin sheet sloping roof at a height of about 7 feet from the ground level
This was the ground floor accommoda tion
The staircaseleading  to the terrace was situate in the hall
This staircase opened in a room leading to the open terrace
This terrace room had an asbestos sheet projection whereunder there was an electric bulb
The ter race had a parapet wall all round of the height of about 3 feet
On the south west side of the terrace room along
the parapet wall there existed a 24 feet long pial of the
height of 20 inches and width of 18 inches
A window in the western wall had a cement shade 4 feet x 2 feet in size Adjacent to
that window was a telephone pole hardly five feet away from the wall with the upper end hardly 6 12 inches from the cement shade
The prosecution case is that this telephone pole was used by the assailants to launch the attack on the deceased
The family of the deceased comprised of his wife PW 2 two daughters one of whom was married and lived with her husband and the other PW 1 was a medical student and three sons none of whom was in town on that day
Pw 1 was study ing in the third year at Kakinada and had come home as the college was closed from April 12 to April 20 1975
PW 1 deposed that on the date of the incident after dinner she and her parents chit chatted for sometime and thereafter her father went to the terrace as it Was summer and retired for the night
She continued to talk with her mother and in the meantime PWs 3 and 4 arrived
They carried their beddings to the verandah and slept 607 there
PW 3 used to sleep at their house since the last couples of years whereas PW 4 came there occasionally
After they left for the verandah the witness closed the ground floor door to the house carried an anatomy book and went to the terrace to sleep
She read in the terrace light which was under the asbestos projection and then went to bed on the cot laid for her keeping the light on as was the usual practice
Her mother did not sleep on the terrace as she was not allowed to climb the stairs since she had recently undergone an operation
Her father was sleeping on the bed laid on the floor wearing a banian
A hurricane lantern was also kept lighted on account of frequent power failures
At about 330 am she woke up hearing the cries of her father and saw accused No 1 and 6 or 7 others stabbing her father with daggers
She raised an alarm and tried to go to the rescue of her father but she was prevented by three of them from getting up
According to her accused No 3 had gagged her mouth with his hand and had pinned her down to the cot
Thereafter accused No 5 tried to stab her with a dagger twice but on both the occasions she warded off the blows and in the process sustained injuries on her left index finger thumb and palm region extending to another finger
Till the assailants had finished with her father she was pinned down to her bed and thereafter the assailants went to the west climbed the parapet wall and went down the terrace
She then ran down crying that accused No 1 whom she knew since quite sometime and his companions had killed her father
She woke up her mother and informed her of what had hap pened
On hearing a knock on the main entrance to the house she opened the door and found PWs 3 and 4 holding a torch
On inquiry she told them that accused No 1 and his compan ions had killed her father and she too was injured
She learnt from them that they had seen accused No 1 and 4 or 5 others slide down the telephone pole situated to the west of the house
She then tried to contact the police on phone but found that the same was disconnected
Since PW 5 a neighbour was there she requested him to go tO the police station and fetch the police
On receipt of information a Sub Inspector of police and a few constables arrived by about 500 or 530 am to whom she narrated the incident whereupon her state ment was recorded which has been introduced on record as Exh
The Sub Inspector held the inquest on the dead body between 700 and 1030 am drew up a panchnama of the scene of occurrence attached the anatomy text book and other blood stained articles from the terrace including the electric bulb from the socket of the electric holder on the terrace At the identification parade held later she identi fied accused Nos 3 and 5 as the companions of accused No 1
In cross examination she  denied the suggestion that accused Nos 3 and 5 were shown to her while they were in the sub jail before 608 she was asked to identify them
It transpires from her cross examination that the defence case was that she had not slept on the terrace that the cut injuries on her left hand were self inflicted and that she was falsely implicating accused Nos 3 and 5 as they had supported her rival Padma in a college election when she was in the BSc
class
It was also suggested that photographs of accused
Nos 3 and 5 were shown to her from a group photo obtained from AC Mills Union Office
It may be mentioned that the suggestions made to this witness in regard to the identity of accused Nos 3 and 5 are self contradictory in the sense that if the suggestion that she was falsely involving these two accused because they had helped Padma who contested the election against her is correct it would follow that they were known to her since long in which case there would be no need to point them out to her while they were in the sub jail or to show their photographs to her
Suffice it to say that
nothing very striking except minor contradictions has been elicited in her cross examination which would shake her credibility
PW 2 her mother corroborates her say in regard to the incident and the involvement of accused No 1
PW 3 has deposed that since he and PW 4 anticipated danger to the life of the deceased on account of the dis turbed management labour relationship they slept at the house of the deceased
PW 3 states that he saw eight persons sliding down the telephone pole
Amongst them were accused Nos 1 to 5 and SV Subbarayadu whom he identified as accused No 6
PW 4 has stated that on the date of the incident he had heard about the murder when he was at his residence at about 430 am
He was treated as hostile and was allowed to be cross examined by
the prosecution
PW 5 whose house was only about 100 yards away deposed that when he was sleeping on his terrace he heard cries at about 330 am and went to the house of the deceased
PWs 1 to 4 were present there alongwith other
neighbours
PWs 1 and 2 wereweeping while PWs 3 and 4 were trying to console them
PW 1 asked him to inform the police that her father was murdered
He then went and informed the police about the incident and returned with the police to the scene of of fence
Thus the evidence of this witness also corroborates PW 1
The inquest washeld between 700 and 1030  am
The statements of PWs 1 to 5 were also recorded and certain articles were attached from the terrace
These included blood stained bed sheets pillows towel shawl shrit etc and Cunningham s text book on
human anatomy which PW 1 was reading before going to bed
The telephone connection was found snapped and there were drops of blood from
the place where the dead body was found till the drawing room down stairs where the telephone was installed which
corrobo 609 rated the story of PW 1
The banian worn by the deceased was blood stained and had cuts corresponding to injuries found on
the chest of the deceased
Several other articles found on the person
of the deceased were blood stained
There were as many as 33 injuries on the person of the deceased which is clearly indicative of the involvement of a group of persons in the killing
This stands corroborated by the post mortem report
On the cot which was occupied by PW 1 there were blood drops on the bed bed cover and bed sheet
The reports of the Chemical Analyser and Serologist Exhs
P 18 and P 19 show that all the articles were stained with human blood
A lantern was burning nearby and the electric light on the terrace was also on
This inquest panchnama Exh
P 6 leaves no room for doubt that the inci dent occurred on the terrace portion of the residence of the deceased
PW 1 was medically examined by the medical officer PW 13 on the same day at about 1145 am She had incised wounds on the left index finger 12 x 14 on the left hand below tile wrist 1 x 118 x 18 on the middle of the left palm 1 x 18 x 18 and on the little finger of left hand 12 x 18 x 18
This would indicate that she received these injuries while trying to ward off the blows
Identification parades were held on May 23 1975
In the first one accused Nos 7 10 and 11 were made to stand with non suspects in the second parade accused Nos 12 13 and 16 were made to take their positions along with several others and in the last parade accused Nos17 18 and 19 were concerned
PW 1 could not identify any one from amongst the said accused persons in all the three parades
Out of the three parades PW 3 identified all the three accused of the second parade
In the evening an identification  parade was held concerning accused Nos
2 to 6 and 9
PW 1 could iden tify accUsed Nos 3 and 5 while PW 3 could not identify any of them
The defence of all the accused was of total denial and false involvement
In fact accused No 1 contended thathe was out of station from May 13 1975 and learnt of the murder on his return to Proddatur
When he learnt of his false involvement he surrendered before the Court
Accused Nos 12 13 and 16contended that they were shown to PW 3 before the identification parade while accused Nos 3 and 5 pleaded that the police had taken a group photograph in which they figured from the union office and had shown it to PW Accused Nos 7 11 14 15 17 and 19 were not examined under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code as no evidence incriminating them was tendered on record
No defence witness came to be examined
610 The learned Additional Sessions Judge Cuddapah came to the conclusion that the prosecution had failed to establish the charge of criminal conspiracy under section 120B IPC He came to the conclusion that the evidence on record however indicated that accused Nos 1 to 6 had a direct and strong motive to kill the deceased and the likelihood of the others having shared their feelings could not be ruled out altogether
The direct testimony of PWs 1 to 5 and the other circumstantial evidence adverted to earlier established beyond any manner of doubt that the incident occurred at 330 am on the terrace of the residence of the deceased
The learned Judge held that intimation of the incident was given to the police without loss of time and PW 1 had lodged her complaint by about 600 am when the police came to the scene of occurrence alongwith PW 5 who had gone to call them
The suggestion that injuries found on the person of PW 1 were selfinflicted or that PW 2 was giving false evidence as she was promised financial help to the tune of Rs 150000 were brushed aside by the learned Judge as totally imaginary and unfounded
The learned Judge however did not treat PW 1 s complaint EXh
P 1 as admissible in evi dence as he came to the conclusion that it was hit by sec tion 162 of the Code since information regarding the inci dent had reached the police station through PW 5
The learned trial Judge therefore accepted the evidence of PWs 1 2 3 and 5 as reliable and convicted them as stated earlier while acquitting their companions
The said three convicted accused preferred an appeal being Criminal Appeal No 812 of 1976 in the High Court
State also preferred an appeal for awarding capital punish ment to accused No 1 being Criminal Appeal No 807 of 1976
The State s appeal came to be dismissed and that is where the matter rests
However the appeal by the convicted accused came to be allowed and the appellants were acquit ted
It is against the said order of acquittal that the State has approached this Court by way of special leave
It would therefore be proper to ascertain the grounds on which the impugned order of the High Court is founded
The High Court came to the conclusion that the complaint of PW 1 was not recorded at the time it purports to have been for if it were so it would not have reached the con cerned Magistrate as late as 140 pm
In that case even the inquest report Exh
P 6 would not have been delayed till 1055 pm
The explanation for the delay found in Exh
P 25 cannot be accepted at its face value
The evidence of PW 1 is tainted in that although she knew accused No 1 as he visited her father quite often the rest of the assailants were total strangers and yet 611 the names of accused Nos 2 and 4 appear in her statement Exh
P 1 which goes to show that she was tutored into giving their names
That according to the High Court raises a serious doubt regarding her trustworthiness
On the question of identity of accused Nos 3 and 5 the High Court points out that even before the identification parade she had told the Magistrate that she would be able to identify only two persons and later pointed an accusing finger at accused Nos 3 and 5 at the identification parade
This says the High Court reinforces the defence version that she was shown the group photo before she was called to identify the accused persons
The identification parade was delayed upto May 23 1975 as till then the photograph was not secured by the police
In the circumstances the High Court did not find the evidence of PW 1 regarding the identity of accused Nos 3 and 5 acceptable
The High Court also held that the injuries on the left hand of PW 1 were in all probability self in flicted more so because she is not a left hander
So also the absence of blood stains on the bed lying on the floor of the terrace casts a serious doubt regarding her version of the incident
The High Court found the prosecution story that the electric light as well as the kerosene lamp were kept on throughout the night rather unusual
In this view of the evidence the High Court did not consider PW 1 a truth ful witness
As regards PW 3 the High Court found his ver sion that he slept at the residence of the deceased since sometime unacceptable
It also noticed that PW 3 claimed to know accused Nos 1 to 6 by their names and he gave out those names to the police and yet he could not identify any of them at the test identification parade
For this reason the High Court did not place reliance on his evidence
The High Court therefore found the evidence led by the prose cution untrustworthy and acquitted the accusedappellants
Hence the present appeal
Mr Madhav Reddy the learned counsel for the appellant State contended that the presence of PW 1 at the time of the incident was not only deposed to by PWs 2 and 3 but also by PW 5
The presence of PW 3 at the house at about 430 am is deposed to even by the hostile witness PW 4
He therefore submitted that the presence of PWs 1 to 5 is clearly established and is reinforced by the evidence of PW 13 the medicalman who examined PW 1 at the Government Hospital at about 1145 am on the same day
The Sub In spector PW 24 also deposes that PW 5 had told him that PW 1 had sent him to report the murderous assault on her father
He submitted that once the presence of PWs 1 and 3 was established there was no reason to doubt their testimony merely because PW 3 was honest enough not to falsely involve any one by pointing an accusing finger at the identification 612 parade
He submitted that even PW 1 was honest enough to identify only two persons namely accused Nos 3 and 5 Whom she had an occasion to see near her cot on the ter race
To reject her evidence as regards the identity of these two accused on the specious plea that their photo graphs were shown to her 
before the identification parade would be to say the least unjust
If she could be shown the photograph why not PW 3 also He also submitted that it was preposterous to hold that the injuries found on the left hand of PW 1 were self inflicted
The absence of blood on the bed sheet of the bed on the floor of the terrace clearly explained that the deceased must have rolled onto the ter race floor where the presence of blood was noticed
He therefore submitted that the High Court had reversed the well reasoned judgment of the trial court on totally imagi nary grounds which had resulted in grave miscarriage of justice
Mr RKGarg learned counsel for the respondentsac cused submitted that this Court should not interfere with the decision of the High Court  unless it  finds the view taken by the High Court as perverse and wholly improper resulting in miscarriage of justice
In support he cited State of Jammu  Kashmir vs Hazara Singh  Anr 1980 Supp SCC 641
He also submitted that the investigating agency had shown extra zealousness as the deceased was a prominent lawyer and an ex MLA
Supporting the view of the  High Court he urged that the presence of PW 1 was highly doubtful and in any case it would be risky to rely on her interested testimony regarding the identity of accused Nos 3 and 5
The absence of blood on the bed shows that the same was planted after the event to concoct the story that PW 1  was sleeping on the cot and not downstairs with her mother PW 2 who  had recently undergone an operation  Once the evidence of PW 1 is excluded there is no direct testimony since PW 3 had not identified any of the accused at the identification parades
In short he supported the judgment of the High Court and prayed that we should not interfere in exercise of our extra ordinary powers under Article 136 of the Constitution
The motive for the commission of the crime was the indus trial unrest occasioned on account of the strike by the workers of the International Packaging Company and later by the transport workers
Indisputably accused No1 commanded considerable clout over the employees of various industrial units such as the International Packaging Company Andhra Cotton Mills and the transport industry in Proddatur
Accused No 1 was championing the cause of the workmen during the
prolonged agitation and strike by the workers of the Inter 613 national Packaging Company and also spearheaded the agita tion by the transport workers
The deceased was the lawyer for the managements and was considered the main obstacle in the realisation of the workers demands
There was there fore animosity between the deceased and accused No 1
This is more than clear from the oral evidence of PWs 234 10
1121 to 23 and from the documentary evidence tendered as Exhs
P 2 to P 5
P 30 to P 37 and P 40 to P 55
In view of this overwhelming documentary evidence which corroborates the ocular evidence of the aforesaid prosecution witnesses it is established beyond any manner of doubt that the rival ry between the trade unions headed by accused No 1 and the managements
advised by the deceased had assumed ugly
proportions
The starting of the INTUC branch at Proddatur with the active participation of the deceased was perhaps the last straw on the camel s back which worsened the rela tions between accused No 1 and the deceased
This is the motive according tO the prosecution for the crime in ques tion
But as has often been commented bitter animosity can be a double edged Weapon which may be instrumental for deliberate false involvement or for the witnesses wrongly inferring and strongly believing without having actually witnessed it that the crime must have been committed by the rival group
This possibility has to be kept in mind while evaluating the prosection evidence regarding the involvement of accused No 1 and his companions in the commission of the crime
There is no dispute regarding the description of the residential house of the deceased and the location of the telephone pole to the west thereof
It is not disputed that the said pole could be conveniently used for slidding down from the terrace
So also the fact that the telephone con nection was snapped is not put in issue
The fact that the incident occurred on the terrace is not disputed but the fact that the deceased was sleeping on the floor and PW 1 was sleeping on the cot is disputed
It was suggested in the course of cross examination of the prosecution witnesses that the deceased alone was sleeping on the cot on the terrace and PW 1 was in fact not in town and even if she was in town she must have been sleeping with PW 2
Lastly the fact that the deceased died a homicidal death on receipt of as many as 33 injuries is not disputed The find of human blood on the various articles attached by the police ie those worn by the deceased as well as PW 1 and those found lying on the terrace is clearly established by the reports Exhs
P 18 and P 19 which have not been questioned
It is in this background that we must consider if the High Court has commit
ted any grave error requiring interference under Article 136 of the Constitution
614 On the question of presence of PW 1 in Proddatur on the date of the incident apart from the oral evidence of PWs 1 to 3 and 5 there is the documentary evidence in the form of the entry Exh
56 recorded by PW 24 in the general diary on April 15 1975 at about 430 am
That entry was made on the information supplied by PW 5
It is clearly stated therein by PW 5 that he had been told by PW 1 that her father was murdered at his residence
It was on receipt of this infor mation that the police went to the house of the deceased drew up the inquest report and recorded the statements of those present there including PW I The presence of PW 1 is therefore clearly established by this document prepared within an hour from the time of the incident
This contempo raneous document corroborates the oral evidence of the aforesaid witnesses
She was examined by the medical officer PW 13 on the same day at about 1145 am
In addition there to the find of the Anatomy book and slippers on the ter race also lends assurance to the prosecution evidence in this behalf
Therefore even if it is assumed that the time of recording her statement  Exh
P 1 is not correctly re corded her presence at the scene of offence at the material time is established beyond a shadow of doubt
Accused No 1 was a friend Of the deceased till they fell out
He was a regular visitor to the house of the deceased and therefore PW 1 knew him quite intimately
She has frankly admitted that others were strangers but she was able to identify accused Nos 3 and 5 because she had an opportunity to see them from close quarters when they were near her cot
The existence of a cot and a bed on the ter race is indicative of the fact that two persons were sleep ing on the terrace
There were only three family members present on the date of the occurrence one of whom was PW 2 who had undergone surgery only recently and was advised not to climb the stairs
It is therefore obvious that the deceased and PW 1 slept on the terrace
The submission that the bed on the floor was planted is based on the fact that there was no blood on the bed sheet of that bed
But this submission overlooks the existence of blood drops nearabout the bed
The dead body of the victim was also found lying on the terrace floor nearby
The High Court relied on the photograph Exh
D 4 for holding that the bed was fresh and unused
But as is apparent from the crossexamination of PW 24 that the said photograph shows the bed sheet spread over the bed on the cot is tucked beneath the bed
Thus the said photograph is not of the bed on the floor
The High Court seems to have misread the evidence
Secondly it is clear that the dead body was lying at some distance from the bed suggesting that the deceased had rolled over during the night or in the course of the attack
The 615 other articles lying nearby eg towel shawl etc
were blood stained and there Were fresh drops of blood between the dead body and the western waif leading to the telephone pole
Since there were Only three family members one of whom PW 2 had undergone an operation in the recent past it is difficult to understand how PW 1 alone could shift the dead body of her father from the cot to the place where it was found to concoct evidence against the accused
It is too much to attribute such intelligence to PW 1 or for that matter PW 3 also
If the dead body which was bleeding had in fact been shifted there would have been blood drops from the cot to the place where it was found
Besides where was the time for the entire exercise PW 5 was sent to call the police and he had returned with the police after his report was entered in the general diary at 4 30 am It
there fore seems difficult to believe that the bed on the floor was planted to support the prosecution version that PW 1 slept on the terrace that night
The medical officer PW 13 found four incised wounds on the left hand of PW 1 possible by a sharp cutting weapon like a dagger or knife
These injuries were indeed minor in nature
The High Court has concluded that the possibility of these injuries being self inflicted cannot be ruled out PW 1 says she received these injuries in the process of warding off the blows aimed at her
PW 13 also deposes that these injuries could have been received while trying to ward off the blows on her
Thus the medical evidence supports her say
However in crossexamination he stated that all the four injuries were cut injuries and not stab wounds
In response to a suggestion made in cross examination he stated that the possibility of the injuries being self inflicted was not an impossibility
Merely from this suggestion and PW 1 not being a left hander the High Court concluded that the possibility of the injuries being self inflicted could not be ruled out
With respect the High Court failed to realise that when an injury is on an accessible part of the body which the individual can himself reach such any injury could also be self inflicted and when a medical witness is asked if it was possible to self inflict it he would have to answer in the affirmative unless the direction of the injury or such other factors show otherwise
But merely because the medical officer says that they could be selfin flicted there is no reason
to jump to such a conclusion unless  circumstances establish such a possibility
In the present case there was hardly any opportunity to self in flict them
Her not being a left hander should make no difference because she is bound to
use that hand to ward off the blows if her assailant is on that side of her bed
We therefore feel that the High Court was not justified in concluding that PW 1 had self inflicted the wounds found on her left hand
With 616 respect this conclusion of the High Court is to say the least wholly conjectural and totally against the weight Of evidence on record
The delay in Sending the FIR Exh
P 1 to the Magistrate has been seriously commented upon by the High Court while rejecting the explanation given in Exh
This comment has lost its significance as the said document has notbeen admitted in evidence by both the courts below on the ground that it is hit by section 162 of the Code
We would have examined the explanation if that document
had formed part of the record  Any way that cannot impinge On the credibil ity of PW 1 if her evidence is otherwise acceptable which we find it is 
On the question of identity it is clear from the evi dence of PW 1 that accused No 1 was known to her quite well Since before the incident
She could therefore have no difficulty in identifying him even in poor light
Immediate ly after the accused fled she ran down and informed her mother that accused
No 1 and his companions had killed her father
Since PW 1 had not disclosed the name of accused No 1 as one of the assailants to PW 5 the latter did not speak about him to the police and hence his name does not appear in the FIR recorded at 430 am
Accused No 1 pleaded an alibi which he miserably failed to probabilise
The absence of names of assailants in the general diary entry made on the basis Of information supplied by PW 5 at the behest of PW 1 has weighed considerably in the High Court doubting the version regarding the involvement of accused No 1 in the commission of the crime
It must however be realised that PW 1 had disclosed the name of accused No 1 at the earliest point of time when the complaint Exh
P I and the inquest report Exh
P 6 were recorded
It must also be realised thatPW 1 was under terrible strain at that time
Not only had this young girl lost her father in a ghastly assault she had also to look after her ailing mother and console her
She frantically tried to inform the police on telephone but found the instrument dead with the wires snapped
therefore asked this young boy aged about 16 years PW 5 to go to the police station and fetch the police
There was hardly any time to give details of the incident
Under the circUmstances the absence of the name of accused No 1 as One of the assailants in the entry made in the general diary at the instance of PW 5 is quite understandable
Once it is accepted that PW 1 had slept on the terrace and had sus tained the injuries in the incident her evidence regarding the identity of accused No 1 who was quite well known to her cannot be doubted We are therefore of the view that the High Court was not justified in disturbing the view taken by the trial court in this behalf
617 That takes us to the question of the involvement of accused Nos 3 and 5
The evidence of PW 1 is that when she heard the cries of her father she woke up and saw accused No 1 and six or seven others belabouring him
This means that she did not know and could not identify the companions of accused No 1
However when she tried to raise an alarm three of the assailants approched her and pinned her down to the bed and one of them threatended to stab her
He did carry out his threat as is evident from the injuries sus tained by her
She Was able to identify two of them at the identification parade held on May 23 1975
This is proved through the evidence of PW 14 who conducted the test iden tification parades Now accused Nos 3 and 5 had surrendered before the court on May 13 1975
PW 14 received the requi sition for arranging a test identification parade on May 17 1975
The identification parade was actually held on May 23 1975
There  is no valid explanation tendered by the prose cution for the delay in holding the
identification parades
The defence has suggested in the cross examination of PW 1 and PW 25 that in the meantime the accused who were in custody were shown to the witnesses and the police had secured a group photograph in which accused Nos 3 and 5 figured to facilitate their identification
The High Court was however reluctant to place absolute reliance On the evidence of PW 1 regarding the identity of accused Nos 3 and 5
In the absence of a valid explanation for the delay we do not think that this approach of the High Court can be said to be manifestly wrong to call for our intervention  In the result this appeal is partly allowed insofar as it relates to original accused No 1 ie respondent No 1 before us
The High Court s order acquitting him is set aside
The appeal is  however dismissed so far as original accused Nos 3 and 5 ie respondent Nos 2 and 3 before us are concerned We restore the order of conviction and sen tence of original accused NO
1 respondent No 1 recorded by the learned Additional Sessions Judge Cuddapah for his involvement in the crime with several other unknown persons
We however give the benefit of doubt to original accused Nos 3 and 5 ie respondent Nos 2 and 3 and confirm the order of their acquittal recorded by tire High Court
The original accused No 1 respondent No 1 will submit to his bail forthwith The bail bonds in respect of other two respondents will stand cancelled


Summary:
An industrial Company  as defined in Section 27c of Finance Act 1973 was entitled to certain concessions in the matter of taxation
The appellant a private limited company running a cold storage laid claim to such benefits contending that it came within the meaning of industrial company  since the activity carried on by it came within the words processing of goods 
The income Tax Officer rejected the assessee s claim but the Appellate Assistant Commissioner conceded the claim and directed remission of the proceedings to the income Tax Officer for re computation of the tax by treating the appel lant as an industrial company 
The Tribunal accepted the appeal of the Revenue and held that the appellant was not an industrial company 
This was upheld by the High Court
Dismissing the appeal preferred by the assessee this Court HELD 11 The term processing  is of a wider amplitude and has various aspects and meanings
in common parlance processing is understood as an action which brings forth some change or alteration of the goods or material which is subjected to the act of processing
The dictionary meaning of the term is not very different from this meaning in one sense while various other meanings of Wider amplitude are also available
593G H 594A 12 In a cold storage vegetables fruits and several other articles which require preservation by re frigeration are stored
While as a result of long storage scientific examination might indicate loss of moisture content that is not sufficient for holding that the stored articles have 590 undergone a process within the meaning of Sec27c of the Finance Act 1973
594C Chowgule  Co Pvt Ltd and Anr
vs Union of India  Ors
   relied on
Commissioner of Income tax vs Radha
Nagar Chid Storage P Ltd and Addl
Commissioner of Income tax Kanpur vs Farrukhabad Cold Storage P Ltd 107 ITR 816 referred to
Kilmarnock Equitable Co operative Society Ltd vs IRC 1966 42TC 675 at Page 681 referred to