Case: State through C.B.I Vs. Mahender Singh Dahiya


Decision reasoning: 0[ds]We are of the considered opinion that the High Court was not correct in drawing an adverse inference against the respondent because he remained in hiding till he was arrested by the CBI. In this case, the subsequent conduct of the appellant is not consistent with the expected conduct of a guilty person. If the respondent had any intention of absconding, he could have done so initially after the alleged murder of his wife. He had no need to come back to England. Having come back he need not have gone directly to the house of his in-laws. Not only did he come back to England, he carried with him the red suitcase containing some of Namitas clothes. According to the prosecution, this suitcase had contained blood stains which had belonged to Namita. It is inconceivable that a person having a guilty mind would have been carrying such an incriminating article back to the house of his in- laws. As noticed above, he went back to India apprehending danger from his father-in-law and family. This apprehension of danger to his life at the instance of his father-in-law continued even in India. The fact that an attempt was made on his life had been duly recorded by the trial court. The respondent had been petitioning the police authorities as well as the Home Minister and the Prime Minister of India seeking protection. Evading arrest would certainly be an illegal act but it does not lead to the only conclusion that the respondent was hiding due to a guilty conscienceaccording to the prosecution, dismemberment of the body parts was performed either with surgical instruments or with the aid of a butter knife and a fork. However, at the trial, the prosecution did not produce any evidence with regard to the recovery of any weapon of offence. Nor any weapon was produced in court, at the trial. Even according to the sequence given by the prosecution, it would have been impossible for the respondent to procure the surgical instruments in the city of Brussels during the night intervening 27th/28th May, 1979. It is a matter of record that the entire group of tourists did not return back to the hotel till after 11 O clock during the tour Brussels by Night. Namita was with him throughout the tour. Equally he could not have carried the surgical instruments with him without the same being noticed at the customs barriers. This apart, prosecution has miserably failed to establish that the respondent had any intention of committing the murder of his wife at the commencement of the honeymoon trip. Even Namitas parents did not entertain any such apprehensions. It is also the prosecution case that something went amiss in room no. 415 during the night of 27th/28th May, 1979. Therefore, it makes the possession of surgical instruments by the respondent on the fateful night in Brussels virtually impossible. We are also unable to accept that such severance of the body parts could possibly be achieved by use of a simple butter knife. It is simply too farfetched a notion to be taken seriouslyThe conclusions recorded by the High Court are fully justified by the evidence on record. We are, therefore, unable to agree with Mr. Malhotra that there has been any miscarriage of justice in the facts and circumstances of this case