Criminal Appeal No 206 of 1979
From the Judgment and Order dated 279
1978 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Criminal Appeal No 17 13 of 1975
494 AS Sohal and SK Jain for the Appellant
Mahabir Singh and AG Prasad for the Respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by FATHIMA BEEVI J
Raj Kumari 20 the daughter of Ishar Dass
was married to the appellant Baldev Raj a year before her tragic death in February 1975
It appears that all was not well with the couple
Raj Kumari left for her parents house in village Raison 75 Kms
away from her matrimonial home in village Urlana Khurd
She stayed with her parents for some days complaining ill teatment by the husband
On the assurance of the father in law she was sent back with her husband hardly a couple of months before the incident on 142
On that fateful day it is said that Raj Kumari took meals to the appellant who was working in the wheat field near his tubewell  Raj Kumari did not return home
Her dead body was discovered in the drain on 162
Multiple injuries were seen on her person
Complaint was lodged at the police station on February 16 1975 at about 530 PM against the appellant who was finally chargesheet ed for the offence under section 302 and 201 IPC The learned Sessions Judge convicted the appellant under section 302 IPC and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life
The High Court dismissed the appeal against the con viction and sentence
This appeal by special leave is di rected against the judgment of the High Court
The conviction of the appellant is based on circumstan tial evidence only
The main item of the evidence consists of the extrajudicial confession stated to have been made by the appellant in the presence of Ishar Dass PW 3
Ramji Dass PW 4 and Satnam Dass PW 5 at the panchayat on 162
besides the recovery of incriminating articles at the instance of the appellant and the motive as spoken to by Ishar Dass
According to the prosecution on 1521975 the appellant s father Hakam Chand contracted Ishar Dass when Raj Kumari was found missing from 142
Ishar Dass arrived at village Urlana Khurd accompanied by Satnam Dass Sarpanch of his village and others
At the panchayat held in the presence of Ramji Dass Nand Lal Satnam Dass and others the appellant stated that he killed his wife in the wheat field and threw the dead body in the drain at night after removing her ornaments
PWs 3 4 and 5 testified the fact but Nand Lal DW I did not support the prosecution version
It is also the prosecution case that the appellant was handed over to and arrested by the police at the time the complaint was lodged after the 495 discovery of the dead body and that the appellant had pro duced the kassi and the gold ornaments concealed in the hut near the tubewell
PW 10
the Sub Inspector of Police deposed to having interrogated the appellant and effected the recovery on the basis of the statements made by the appellant
Ishar Dass PW 3 narrated the events that pre ceded the occurrence and also proved the letter he had received from the appellant s father when Raj Kumari was staying with him
He also stated the circumstances under which he happened to be at the panchayat on 162
1975 along with the others after being informed by Hakam Chand
PWs 4 and 5 fully corroborated the evidence of PW 3 in that the appellant had confessed his guilt in their presence
The evidence was accepted by the trial court and the High Court to sustain the conviction against the appellant
The argument on behalf of the appellant that the medical evidence is conflicting with the prosecution case was re jected by the High Court finding that the ante mortem in juries found on the body of Kumari could have been caused with the weapon recovered even on the statement made by the Doctor PW 1
The recovery of the bloodstained earth from the wheat field near the tubewell recovery blood stained kassi and the ornaments worn by Raj Kumari by PW 10 in the opinion of the High Court lent assurance to the statement mad by the appellant before the panchayat
The High Court was of the view that the various circumstances conclusively proved the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt
The main contention advanced on behalf of the appellant before us is that the High Court failed to appreciate the inherent infirmities in the prosecution evidence and that there is no legal evidence to support the findings
It was maintained that the testimony of PWs 3 4 and 5 relating to the extra judicial confession is discrepant and incredible that the confession even if true was not voluntary but induced and the same having been retraced cannot form the basis for a conviction in the absence of any material cor roboration
The learned counsel for the appellant contended that the High Court had refused to give benefit of doubt to the accused despite facts apparent on the face of the record any interference is called for
The extra judicial confession according to the learned counsel being a very weak piece of evidence could not have been accepted as true or voluntary in view of the admission made by the prosecution witnesses and improvement in the story given by Ishar Dass
He pointed out that at the panchayat the appellant was induced to make a statement on the 496 promise that he would be pardoned and therefore the confes sion is unacceptable
Normally this Court does not interfere with the concur rent findings of the facts of the courts below in the ab sence of very special circumstances or gross errors of law committed by the High Court and violation of the well estab lished principles of the appreciation of circumstantial evidence which results in serious and substantial miscar riage of justice to the accused
We heard the learned coun sel at length
We find that the High Court was right in its conclusion and there is no good ground for interference
The first information was lodged by Ishar Dass at the police station where the appellant was also present
In the first information report itself Ishar Dass has narrated the story of the panchayat having been held in the presence of PWs 4 and 5 and the appellant having made the confession
PW 5 accompanied Ishar Dass from village Raison
It is difficult to hold that these persons hailing from another village would have been in a position to influence the local people against the appellant and foist a case against him
PW 4 Lambardar Ramji Dass substantially supported the prosecution case
The courts below have carefully analysed the evidence and accepted the same
As rightly pointed out by the High Court we find no merit in the submission that the medical evidence is not in consonance with the prosecu tion case
The facts that the autopsy was held nearly 72 hours after the injuries were caused and the witnesses were examined long after the weapon was recovered are relevant in appreciating the evidence of the medical witness
The evi dence of this witness read as a whole is only consistent with the case that the injuries could have been caused with the weapon
The fact that the appellant made the confession is proved by cogent evidence
The circumstances that his father was present throughout and the appellant himself did not protest when he was present at the police station nega tives the suggestion of inducement or threat
The discovery of the dead body from the drain through the wheat field presence of blood in the field recovery of gold ornaments from the roof of the hut and blood stained kassi from its premises near the tubewell are material circumstances pro viding connecting links in the chain of circumstantial evidence
The appellant when examined did not offer any explanation except to deny his involvement
Ishar Dass testified to the fact that Raj Kumari had complained about the ill treatment by her husband
In the light of such evidence it is preposterous to maintain that the deceased may have been assaulted by some unidentified assailant somewhere in the fields and the appellant 497 had been falsely implicated in the offence
The confessional statement is not a long narration
The substance of the statement is that the appellant killed his wife and threw the dead body in the drain
PW 4 is the Lambardar of village Urlana Khurd and PW 5 the Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat of village Raison
The fact that a panchayat was held at village Urlana Khurd is admitted even by the hostile witness Nand Lal DW I
Ishar Dass when informed by Hakam Chand at his village that Raj Kumari was found missing entertained suspicion
He met his villagers and proceeded to the appellant s village the next day along with the Sar panch and other persons
The panchayat was held there on 162
The appellant and his father were brought before the panchayat
The appellant was questioned and was asked to speak the truth and then the appellant with folded hands said that he murdered his wife in the wheat field when she came there with meals and later threw the dead body in the drain
The prompting by the panchayat does not amount to inducement or threat and the circumstances under which the statement was made leave no room for doubt that the confes sion was voluntary
An extra judicial confession if voluntary can be relied upon by the court along with other evidence in con victing the accused
The value of the evidence as to the confession depends upon the veracity of the witnesses to whom it is made
It is true that the court requires the witness to give the actual words used by the accused as nearly as possible but it is not an invariable rule that the court should not accept the evidence if not the actual words but the substance were given
It is for the court having regard to the credibility of the witness to accept the evidence or not
When the court believes the witness before whom the confession is made and it is satisfied that the confession was voluntary conviction can be rounded on such evidence
Keeping these principles in mind we find that the confession has been properly accepted and acted upon by the courts below and there is no scope for any doubt regarding the complicity of the appellant in the crime
The confession of the appellant was voluntary
The testimony of PW 4 and PW 5 being responsible persons could not be doubted in the absence of any material to show that they had been motivated to falsely implicate the appellant
The very presence of the appellant and his father with the party of Ishar Dass throughout the operation upto lodging of com plaint at the police station dispel any suspicion against the prosecution case and clearly point to the truthfulness of the same
We are therefore unable to find any infirmity in the confession which has been accepted and relied upon by the courts below
498 The circumstances proved are conclusive of the guilt of the appellant and incapable of being explained on any other reasonable hypothesis
Conviction has therefore to be maintained
The appeal is accordingly dismissed
The appel lant who is on bail shall surrender to custody to undergo the sentence of imprisonment
PSS Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The respondents in the Civil Appeal were working as Lower Division Clerks in the district police officesunits
Some posts of Lower Division Clerks fell vacant in the Chief Office and it was decided to fill up the same by appointing Lower Division Clerks with good service record from the district police offices
Accordingly a Memorandum was issued on 2111
1968 which expressly stated that the appointees would be put at the bottom of the list of Lower Division Clerks already working in the Chief Office
The respondents and two others expressed their willingness to join and also to forego their seniority
Accordingly an order was passed and the respondents joined duty in the Chief Office in 1970 and were placed on probation
They completed the probation satisfactorily and were confirmed with their seniority counted from the dates they joined Chief Office
Later in 1983 they filed a Representation Petition before the State Administrative Tribunal that in view of Memorandum dated 1811969 which stated that the condition regarding taking last rank would not be insisted upon the respondents were entitled to count their service rendered in the district police officesunits for the purpose of senior ity in the Chief Office
The Tribunal allowed the petition
The State has preferred the appeal against the said order
The petitioners in the Writ Petitions were appointed in the years 1965 to 1967
Since they did not pass the general examination a special qualifying examination was held in 1968
They did not appear at the examination
Another chance was given in 1974 and the petitioners successfully cleared the same
By an order dated 1761976 their services were regularised with effect from 181972
The petitioners challenged the validity of the order claiming that their seniority 483 should be counted from the dates they were appointed
Allowing the appeal and dismissing the Writ Petitions HELD 1
It has to be appreciated that the cadre of the Chief Office is altogether different from the cadre of the district police offices units where the respondents were earlier appointed and they were not liable to be transferred to the Chief Office
The service conditions at the Chief Office were better which was presumably the reason for the respondents to give up their claim based upon their past services
It is true that the differential advantage was not so substantial as to attract every Lower Division Clerk working in the district officesunits and in that situation the letter dated 21111968 had to be circulated
However so far the respondents and the two others were concerned they found it in their own interest to forego their claim of seniority on the basis of their past services and they did so
It is significant to note that their letters expressing their willingness to join Chief Office by foregoing their seniority were sent to the Inspector General of Police many months after the issuance of circular dated 1811969 stat ing that the condition of foregoing seniority would not be insisted upon and they were allowed to join the Chief Office on clear understanding that they would not be entitled to count their past services
It is therefore idle to suggest that the respondents can now turn back and repudiate their commitment expressly made many months after the said circu lar
297G H 298A B 2
So far the allegation regarding payment of travelling allowance is concerned if some officers permitted the respondents to draw travelling allowance this cannot be a ground to hold that it was a case of regular departmental transfer
Rule 16 of the Andhra Pradesh Ministerial Service Rules cannot therefore be held to be applicable in the present case
298C E 3
The petition before the Tribunal was filed by the respondents after a period of 13 years of their initial appointment in the Chief Office during which period many orders consistent with the terms of service as indicated in the Memorandum dated 21111968 must have been passed in favour of the other incumbents of the service
The courts and tribunals should be slow in disturbing the settled affairs in a service for such a long period
Besides the respondents in the application before the Tribunal did not implead their colleagues who have been prejudicially affect ed by the impugned judgment
It cannot be assumed that the respondents had no knowledge about them
Apart from the merits of the case the petition of the respondents before the Tribunal 484 was fit to be rejected on these grounds
298B D 4
There is also no merit in the contention that the respondents should not be put below those persons who had not successfully completed their probation in the Chief Office on the date the respondents joined there
299E 51 As regards the Writ Petitions it is significant to note that although the impugned order was passed in 1976 the petitioners did not commence any legal remedy before the year 1984 when they filed the present application directly before this Court after a period of 8 years
300C 52 Though a Writ Petition was filed by some of the employees of the Central Office making similar claim of seniority the same was ultimately dismissed by this Court on August 8 1986
300E M Nirmala and others vs State of Andhra Pradesh and Others  referred to
53 The respondent officers had joined the Central Office after qualifying at the general examination held for the purpose and since the petitioners did not appear at the examination they cannot be equated with the respondent officers
The general examinations for recruitment to the Central Office were held in 1964 1965 1966 1967 and 1968 but the petitioners did not choose to avail of the ordinary method for joining the service
Instead they entered the service by the side door and their department taking an attitude liberal to them and other similar officers decided to hold special qualifying examinations
However for the purpose of seniority the petitioners were given the advan tage of two years of service rendered by them prior to their successfully completing the special qualifying examination
Even the standard of the special qualifying examination was not the same as that of the general examination held for recruitment
300G H 301A B