iminal Appeals Nos
60 and 61 of 1956
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated August 4 1955 of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal Appeal No 298 of 1955 and Referred No 31 of 1955 with connected Criminal Appeals Nos 299 and 307 of 1955 arising out of the judgment and order dated February 28 1955 of the Court of Sessions Judge Meerut in Criminal Sessions rial o 142 of 1954
Jai Gopal Sethi section C Saran and G C Mathur for appellants in Criminal Appeal No 60 of 1956
JN Bannerji and P C Agarwala for the appellant in Criminal Appeal No 61 of 1956
HJ Umrigar and C P Lat for the respondents in both Appeals
October 3
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by GOVINDA MENON J
On September 6 1955 this court granted the appellants herein special leave to appeal under article 1361 of the Constitution from the judgment and order dated August 4 1955 of the 736 Allahabad High Court in Criminal Appeal No 298 of 1955 Reference No 31 of 1955 connected with Criminal Appeals Nos 299 and 307 of 1955 limited to the question whether the failure to comply with the rules relating to the submission of the police case diary vitiates the entire trial and what the consequences of such failure are
It is in pursuance to the leave so granted that Criminal Appeal No 60 of 1956 has been preferred by accused Nos 4 7 I 3 5  2 Niranjan Singh Tikam Singh Kharak Singh Harpal Singh Sardar Singh and Satpal Singh respectively in Sessions 3 Trial No 142 of 1954 in the court of Session at Meerut and Criminal Appeal No 61 of 1956 is preferred by accused No 6 Udaibir Singh in the same Sessions trial
Appellants 1 to 3 in Criminal Appeal No 60 of 1956 accused Nos 4 7  1 Niranjan Singh Tikam Singh and Kbarak Singh have been sentenced to the extreme penalty of the law and the remaining appellants in that appeal sentenced to im prisonment for life
The appellant accused No 6 in Appeal No 61 of 1956 has also been sentenced to death
On the night between February 28 and March 1 1954 a dacoity took place in the house of Atal Singh in the village of Akheypur in which about twenty dacoits took part and considerable property was looted and taken away by the dacoits
During the course of this incident four members of the family of Atal Singh including himself were shot dead and another received gun shot wounds as a result of which be died subsequently in the hospital
Four other members of the family received gun shot wounds and incised wounds at the hands of the dacoits but they survived as a result of treatment in the hospital
The prosecution case was that among the dacoits who took part were the seven appellants in these two appeals as well as two others and of them accused No I Kharak Singh accused No 4 Niranjan Singh accused No 6 Udaibir Singh and accused No 7 Tikam Singh were armed with guns and as such were responsible for the shooting and murders
The two others namely Achhpal Singh and Deoki Saran alias 737 Beg Saran who figured as accused Nos 8  9 respectively in the court of Sessions were acquitted by the learned Sessions Judge who after an analysis of the large volume of evidence found that all the appellants herein were guilty of an offence under section 396 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced accused Nos 1 4 6 and 7 Kharak Singh Niranjan Singh Udaibir Singh and Tikam Singh to death and accused Nos 2 3  5 Satpal Singh Harpal Singh and Sardar Singhto imprisonment for life as hereinbefore mentioned
On appeal to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad the learned Judges Asthana and Roy JJ confirmed the convictions and sentences and dismissed the appeals
As stated already leave to appeal to this court under article 136 was granted restricted to the question outlined by us at the beginning
The prosecution case is that the village of Akheypur is a factious one in which one Narain Singh the brother of the 4th accused was the leader of one party and Atal Singh one of the deceased was the leader of the other
Consequently the dacoity and murders in the house of Atal Singh took place as a matter of revenge
Shortly stated the case put forward on behalf of the prosecution is that the appellants and others some of whom were armed with guns raided the house of Atal Singh on the night in question
The inmates of the house and others were inflicted injuries and the dacoits after looting he house carried away valuable property
It is not suggested that if the facts spoken to by the prosecution witnesses who are eye witnesses are true then an offence under section 396 of the Indian Penal Code has not been amply proved but the only question is whether the appellants took part in the crime
That a dacoity took place in the house of Atal Singh admits of no doubt and the appellants do not deny the occurrence but it is the case of accused Nos 4 and 7 Niranjan Singh and Tikam Singh that while the dacoity was in progress they along with the other residents of the village had gone to the enclosure of Sardara Singh and Daryao Singh close to the house of Atal Singh armed with guns with the object 738 of giving assistance and succour to the inmates of the house and it was they who opened fire from that place on the dacoits compelling them to take to their heels as a result of the firing and that after the dacoits had left the scene of occurrence they as
well as others proceeded to Atal Singh s house where Dharam Singh and other persons requested them to go to the Police Station at Kithore on their motor cycle in order to make a report to the police
It is further alleged that both of them went to Kithore police station and reported the occurrence to the Sub Inspector Dalbir Singh PW 28 who was in charge of the police station and on the direction given by him they went to the police station Garhmukteshwar to give information
 In short the defence is that these two accused were good Samaritans who tried to help the family of Atal Singh in their hour of dire need and not the assailants
The other appellants denied the charge
It is not necessary in view of the concurrent conclusions arrived at by the trial court and by the learned Judges of the High Court to restate with any elaboration the details of the incident which culminated in the dacoity and murders
In addition to the corroborating pieces of evidence there are eye witnesses who have identified some or all the accused at the scene of crime and it may also be stated that some of them had received injuries at the hands of the miscreants
We have also a dying declaration Exhibit P 50 recorded by PW 20 a Magistrate who also had recorded the statements of Ganga Saran PW 2 and Ranbir PW 18 when they were in a serious condition anticipating that they might not survive the injuries but which they fortunately did
The earliest information of the crime exhibit P 1 was given by Samey Singh PW 1 at the Police Station Kithore at about 2 am on March 1 1954
It does not contain any details of the incident and is confined to the statement that a dacoity was being committed at the house of Atal Singh in the village and that the informant had rushed from the village 730 for making a report
That guns were being fired has also been recorded in it
PW 28 Dalbir Singh who was Sub Inspector of Police and the Station House Officer of Police Station Kithore at that time received the information and reached the scene of dacoity at about 2 30 am whereupon Jhamel Kaur PW 4 handed over to him the list of the looted property exhibit P 2
According to this witness he immediately examined P W 2 and other witnesses on the spot and recorded their statements
The injured persons were sent to the hospital and inquests were held over the dead bodies of Rohtas Singh Tejpal Singh Atal Singh and Charan Singh in the presence of witnesses
Between 2 30 am and 7 or 7 30 am PW 28 according to him did a considerable amount of work such as recording the statements of all the available witnesses sending the injured persons to the hospital after taking their statements holding inquests over the dead bodies inspecting the scene of dacoity finding lead shots and wads there and taking such things into custody etc
By about 7 or 7 30 am the Senior Superintendent of Police the Deputy Superintendent of Police and other police officials reached the place of incident on bearing of the dacoity and by the time of their arrival according to PW 28 he had finished the preliminary work
He also deposes that the parchas of the case diary for the period between March I and March 7 1954 were sent all together to the Superintendent of Police only on March 7 and not as is enjoined by the rules every day as and when the day s recording is complete
We shall advert to the arguments of the learned counsel about this circumstance at a later stage
The prosecution case depends mainly if not solely on the identification of the various accused persons by some or all of the prosecution witnesses in addition to the dying declaration Exhibit P 50 and the corroborating statements of PW 2 vide Exhibit P 49 and PW 18 vide Exhibit P 48
We may here summarise in very sbort outline the details of identification by the witnesses
P W 2 Ganga Saran identified accused Nos 1 3 4 5 and 7 96 740 Kharak Singh Harpal Singh Niranjan Singh Sardar Singh and Tikam Singh
Dharam Singh P W 3 identified accused No 6Udaibir Singh among the dacoits and also deposes that Atal Singh told him that accused No 7 Tikam Singh had shot him with a gun
P W 4 Mst
Jhamel Kaur in addition to giving a list of the looted property Exhibit P 2 identified accused Nos 2  6 Satpal Singh and Udaibir Singh
P W 5 Richpal Singh states that among the dacoits there were accused Nos 2 4 5 6 and 7 Satpal Singh Niranjan Singh Sardar Singh Udaibir Singh and Tikam Singh
P W 7
Om Pal found among the dacoits accused Nos
26 and 7
The deposition of P W 9 is to the effect that he identified accused No 6 Udaibir Singh and also that Atal Singh told him that accused No 7 Tikam Singh had shot him
P W 10 Jagbir Singh identified accused No 1 Kharak Singh
All the appellants before us were identified by W 11 Ganga Bal and P W 18 Rdnbir was able to identify accused No 6 Udaibir Singh
The result of the above analysis is that each one of the accused has been identified by one or more of the prosecution witnesses
Accused No I Kharak Singh is identified by PW 2 PW 10 and PW 1 1 accused No 2 Satpal Singh is identified by PW 4 PW 5 PW 7 and PW 11 accused No 3 Harpal Singh is identified by PW 2 and PW 11 accused No 4 Niranjan Singh is identified by PW 2 PW 5 and P W 1 1 accused No 5 Sardar Singh by PW 2 PW 5 and PW 11 accused No 6 Udaibir Singh by PW 4 PW 5 PW 7 PW 9 PW 11 and PW 18 and accused No 7 Tikam Singh is identified by PW 2 PW 5 PW 7 PW 9 and PW 11
The learned Sessions Judge accepted the testimony of these witnesses and disbelieved the story put forward by the accused and in this he had the concurrence of the High Court
Such being the case this court would not be justified in re opening the finding about the guilt of the appellants if no question of law is involved or if the conclusion is not preverse or opposed to principles of natural justice or revolt 741 ing to judicial conscience
But Mr Jai Gopal Sethi counsel for the appellants strenuously contended that in view of the failure of the Sub Inspector PW 28 to comply with para
109 of Ch
XI of the Uttar Pradesh Police Regulations which lays down that when the investigation is closed for the day a copy of the case diary for the day should be sent to the superior police officers there has been an infraction of a mandatory rule of law which has resulted in prejudice and if that is so the findings regarding the guilt of the accused should be re opened and this court should reassess and assay the evidence to find out how far the guilt of the appellants has been proved beyond reasonable doubt
The question therefore is whether the action of the Sub Inspector amounts to a violation of a statutory duty enjoined on him
If the Uttar Pradesh Police Regulations were a set of rules framed under any statute and as such have the force of law then a violation of any rule thereunder may either amount to an illegality or an irregularity which may or may not vitiate the proceedings
The Police Act 1861 was enacted to reorganize the police and to make it a more efficient instrument for the prevention and detection of crimes whereby the State Government is given authority to appoint police officers such as the Inspector General ete
Under section 12 of that Act the Inspector General of Police may from time to time subject to the approval of the State Government frame such rules and orders as he shall deem expedient relative to the organization classification and distribution of the police force the places at which the members of the force shall reside and the particular services to be performed by them their inspection the description of arms accoutrements and other necessaries to be furnished to them the collecting and communicating by them of intelligence and information and all such other orders and rules relative to the police force as the Inspector General shall from time to time deem expedient for preventing abuse or neglect of duty and for rendering such force efficient in the discharge of its duties
It is not as if 742 these police regulations are rules framed by the Inspector General in accordance with section 12 but they are the result of the State Government laying down the mode of conduct and how the officers have to perform their duties
Rule 109 in Chapter XI dealing with the investigation of crimes enjoins upon the police officers when an investigation is closed for the day to note the time and place at which it closed and also lays down that throughout the investigation the diary must be sent daily to the Police Superintendent on all days on which any proceedings are taken
If the investigating officer is not himself in charge of the station the diary must be sent through the officer in charge except when this will cause delay
It also directs the police officer to study carefully sections 162 and 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
Nowhere in the rules is it stated that there is any statutory authority for the framing of rule 109 nor is it said to form any addition to a statute even though some other rules are expressly stated to be statutory ones
Such being the case it is clear that rule 109 has no statutory  foundation but is only an injunction by the executive Government to the police officers as to how they must regulate their work and conduct themselves during the course of investigation
Mr Jai Gopal Sethi who appeared for the appellants in Criminal Appeal No 60 of 1956 and Dr Banerjee who appeared for the appellant accused No 6 in Appeal No 61 of 1956 put their case in this way According to the police officer PW 28 he recorded the statements of all the eye witnesses before day break and in case the diary under section 172 containing the statements recorded under section 162 had been sent to the superior police officers every day then that fact would vouchsafe for the correctness of that document and it would not be possible for the officer to change or alter the statements of witnesses as it suited his desire if he wanted to do so at a later stage
In the present case since admittedly the case diary and the details of work during the course of seven days had not been sent to the superior police officers for a period of one week it is suggested that it is possible that it might be considered a false document because it was not prepared then and there containing statements recorded as and when they were made
In that case both the learned counsel contend that the opportunity of cross examinidg the witnesses and finding out whether the names of the accused were given at the earliest point of time has been lost to the defence
The result of this according to the learned counsel has caused irreparable prejudice which cannot be condoned or regularised
But the learned counsel have not been able to show to us that para
109 of Ch
XI of the Police Regulations has the force of law
In this connection reference may be made to Ch
XLV of the Code of Criminal Procedure dealing with illegal and irregular proceedings and to section 529 laying down irregularities which do not vitiate proceedings while section 530 concerns irregularities which vitiate proceedings
Section 537 is to the effect that subject to the provisions contained in the previous sections of that Chapter no finding sentence or order passed by a Court of competent jurisdiction shall be reversed or altered under Ch
XXVII or on appeal or revision on account of among other things any error omission or irregularity in the complaint summons warrant proclamation order judgment or other proceedings before or during trial or in any inquiry or other proceedings under the Code
There is an Explanation added that in determining whether any error omission or irregularity in any proceeding under this Code has occasioned a failure of justice the Court shall have regard to the fact whether the objection could and should have been raised at an earlier stage in the proceedings
It is true that the objection was taken before the learned Sessions Judge and therefore the Explanation cannot be applied
In these circumstances and on the footing that the Uttar Pradesh Police Regulations are merely directions regarding the course of conduct can it be stated that a breach of it would vitiate the trial The Code of Criminal Procedure in laying down the omissions or irregularities which either vitiate the proceedings or not does not anywhere 744 specifically say that a mistake committed by a police officer during the course of the investigation can be said to be an illegality or irregularity
Investigation is certainly not an inquiry or trial before the court and the fact that there is no specific provision either way in ch
XLV with respect to omissions or mistakes committed during the course of investigation except with regard to the holding of an inquest is in our opinion a sufficient indication that the legislature did not contemplate any irregularity in investigation as of sufficient importance to vitiate or otherwise form any infirmity in the inquiry or trial
The learned counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh invited our attention to a few cases which show that even violation of the provisions of the Code would not amount to an illegality
The decisions of their Lordships of the Judicial Committee reported in Pulukuri Kotayya and otheers vs King Emperor 1 and Zahiruddin vs King Emperor 2 lay down that a breach of sections 162 and 172 of the Code does not amount to an illegality
If therefore such an omission could not vitiate a trial it is all the more reasonable that a failure to conform to a rule of conduct prescribed by the State Government on police officers cannot in any way interfere with the legality of a trial
That failure to investigate an offence does not necessarily prejudice an accused and therefore any mistake or omission in conducting investigation cannot vitiate a trial has been laid down in Hafiz Mohammad Sani and Others vs Emperor3
At p 152 Adami J observes as follows There can be no doubt that the Sub Inspector in his procedure disobeyed certain provisions of the law and for that he could be punished if the authorities deemed it fit but I cannot find that his failure was to the prejudice of the petitioners
Nor can I see how failure properly to conduct an investigation into an offence can vitiate a trial which was started on the final report after the investigation
1 1948 LR 74 IA 65
2 1947 LR 74 IA 80 3 AIR 1931 Pat
150 745 We are in agreement with these observations
In a recent case reported in Tilkeshwar Singh and Others vs The State of Bihar1 Venkatarama Ayyar J expressed the opinion that while the failure to comply with the requirements of section 1613 might affect the weight to be attached to the evidence of the witnesses it does not render it inadmissible
He referred to the case of Bejoy Chand vs The State2 and agreed with the observations of the Calcutta High Court therein
We have no hesitation in following those observations
Our attention was also drawn to the case of Gajanand and Others vs State of Uttar Pra desh3 which contains statements of law helpful for the decision of this case
We are not prepared to say that because PW 28 did not send copies of his diary to the superior officers every day the same should be considered as a suspicious document unworthy of credit
The learned Judges of the High Court and the court of first instance have cast no doubt upon the genuineness of the case diary and that being the case it is not open to us without any compelling reasons to say that it is spurious or suspicious
In the circumstances we do not feel justified in holding that the omission of PW 28 is a violation of the provisions of a statute or a rule having the force of law which renders the trial invalid
Holding therefore the point on which the special leave had been granted against the appellants we order that the appeals be dismissed
Appeals dismissed
1   1047 1048
2 AIR 1950 Cal 363
3 AI R  699


Summary:
In 1967 the second respondent landlord applied to the Prescribed Authority under section 3 of the UP Temporary Control of Rent and Eviction Act 1947 for permission to file a suit for eviction against the appellant tenant on the ground of his own requirement because his brother with whom he was living had asked him to find accommodation elsewhere
This application was rejected
After the 1947 Rent Act was replaced by the UP Urban Buildings Regulation of Letting Rent and Eviction Act 1972 the second respondent again sought the permission of the Prescribed Authority for recovery of possession of the leased premises either fully or partially on the ground that he was living in great hardship in a single room in a house
The Prescribed Authority refused to grant the permission on the ground that the application had been made within a period of six months from the commencement of the 1972 Rent Act and hence it was barred by Rule 18 1 of the UP Urban Buildings Regulation of letting Rent and Eviction Rules 1972
The Appellate Authority however granted permission to the second respondent to recover possession of the ground floor portion of the house
The appellant moved a petition in the High Court against the order of the Appellate Authority but did not succeed
Before this Court the appellant contends thatl a second application on the same ground made within six months from the commencement of the 1972 Act was barred under Rule 18 1 of the 1972 Rules 2 the High Court s view that it is not barred because it is the circumstances of requirement and not the nature of the requirement that would constitute PG NO 722 PG NO 723 the ground of eviction is erroneous and unsustainable 3 the Act and the Rules do not permit the creation of two dwelling units in a building covered by a single tenancy 4 the Appellate Authority has erred in rendering a finding against the appellant in the matter of comparative hardship and 5 the Appellate Authority and the High Court have failed to notice the without the ground floor the first and second floors cannot be used as residence because the bath and toilet rooms are situated only in the ground floor
Dismissing the appeal it was HELD I All that Rule 181 says is that if a second application is made for release of the house on which permission to sue was sought for in the previous application on the same ground within a period of six months from the date of the final order in that application or within six months from the commencement of the Act whichever is later the prescribed authority shall accept the findings in those proceedings as conclusive 727E Fl 2 Even if the two applications are treated as having been made on the same ground the second application would not attract the operation of Rule 181 since the Rule contains only a formula of presumption based on facts
The prescription of the rule is only of a directory nature and not of a mandatory nature 728C 3 In the interpretation of statutes where the situation and the context warrants the word shall used in a section or rule has to be construed as may
The present context is one such where the words the prescribed Authority shall accept the findings in those proceedings as conclusive have to be read as the Prescribed Authority may accept the findings in those proceedings as conclusive because the finding are based upon existence of facts
728 H 4 It will be inequitable and unrealistic to construe Rule 181 as containing an inexorable legal prescription for rejecting a second application filed within the prescribed time limit solely on the basis of the findings rendered in the earlier application
729F 5 The long interval of time between the rejection of the first application and the date of making the second application viz about five years and the significant changes that had taken place during the interval in the living conditions of the second respondent undoubtedly rendered irrelevant the earlier findings
730A B PG NO 724 6 Section 211 provides for an order of eviction being passed against a tenant From the building under tenancy or any specified part thereof 730C 7 It is open to the appellant to move the Prescribed Authority for directions being given to the second respondent to make suitable provision in the ground floor for the appellant and his family members to have access to and make use of the bath and toilet rooms in the ground floor
730G