Case: Ranjeet Kumar Ram @ Ranjeet Kumar Das Vs. State Of Bihar

the vegetable vendors in the Paswan Chowk Market. Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) and Sanjay (A-4) were also selling vegetables in the same market. In her evidence, PW6 stated that Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) and Sanjay (A-4) were jealous of PW6 and PW8 as in their vegetable shops they were having good business. PW8 in his evidence stated that he was persuaded by Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) and Sanjay (A-4) to pay the ransom money and get back his son even when no such demand was made by the kidnappers viz., Chintoo Singh (A-5) and Birendra Bhagat (A-3). After number of phone calls, demand of ransom was reduced to Rs.1,05,000/- and PW8 was asked to deliver the amount. PW8 categorically stated that when he expressed fear of going alone, kidnappers told him over phone to bring his neighbours Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) and Sanjay (A-4). PW8 withdrew Rs.80,000/- from his Savings Bank account with Bank of India at Rajendra Chowk and Ext.5 is the Savings Bank passbook of PW8. PW8 took loan of Rs.20,000/- from his father-in-law Sakal Mahto and PW8 was already having Rs.5,000/-. In his evidence, PW8 stated that the amount he arranged was of denomination of five hundred rupees and in some of the currency notes, he has signed. PW8 stated that he wrapped the ransom amount in a plastic bag and kept in a gunny bag in the carrier of his cycle and when they reached New Gandak Bridge, Sanjeet (A-2) got down from his cycle and went to the hut on the left side of the road and when PW8 followed him, Chintoo Singh (A-5) and Birendra Bhagat (A-3) pulled away money kept in the gunny bag from PW8’s cycle. Only accused Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) and Sanjay (A-4) had the knowledge that the money was kept in the gunny bag in the carrier of cycle. From the conduct of A-5 and A-3, it appeared as if they were already having knowledge about money being kept in the gunny bag in the carrier of the cycle of PW8 which only indicates prior meeting of minds of the accused. 25. Birendra Bhagat (A-3) is the brother-in-law of Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1). Had there been no complicity of Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) in the commission of the offence, on knowing for the first time that his brother-in-law Birendra Bhagat (A-3) was involved in the kidnapping, Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) must have been greatly shocked and he must have questioned his brother-in-law Birendra Bhagat (A-3) as to why he had committed such gruesome act of kidnapping his neighbour’s son? But Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) had not reacted to the situation and he remained quiet. His conduct in not showing any reaction to his brother-in-law’s act of kidnapping of PW8’s son, which is not in consonance with natural human conduct. This conduct of first accused coupled with the evidence that he has been persuading PW8 to pay the money to kidnappers to get back his son leads to the irresistible inference that accused Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) shared the common intention with accused Nos.3 and 5 in kidnapping the child and committing murder. 26. Recovery of five hundred rupee currency note (Ex.1) from the house of Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) is yet another link strengthening his complicity in the commission of offence. Pursuant to the statement of accused Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1), currency note of Rs.500/- which contained signature of PW8-Sunil Kumar Singh in green ink was seized from the house of first accused under Ext.1 seizure list (Ext.18). PW4-Raj Banshi Devi, a neighbour had spoken about the recovery of Ext.1 currency note of Rs.500/- from the house of accused No.1 and PW8 had identified his signature on Ext.1 currency note. Recovery of a part of ransom amount from the house of Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A1) is a determining link completing the chain of circumstantial evidence against Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1), pointing to his guilt. 27. Defence plea of accused Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) is that some time prior to the occurrence, there was an altercation between him and PW8 and at that time PW8-Sunil Kumar Singh stated that he would falsely implicate Ranjeet in a criminal case. To prove the defence plea, defence witnesses Baiju Sharma and Budhan Paswan were examined as DWs 4 and 5. The defence plea that PW8 falsely implicated Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) and his family members in the offence of kidnapping and murder of his son defies logic and rightly rejected by the trial court as well by the High Court. 28. Direct evidence of common intention is seldom available. Such common intention of the accused can only be inferred from the evidence and circumstances appearing from proved facts of case. In furtherance of common intention, Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) had been persuading PW8 to pay the ransom amount even before there was no such demand from the kidnappers viz., Chintoo Singh (A-5), Birendra Bhagat (A-3). Considering the act of Ranjeet Kumar Ram and the proved circumstances, courts below rightly held that Ranjeet Kumar Ram had the common intention of kidnapping and committing murder of the boy Vicky and the courts below rightly convicted Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) under Section 364A IPC and Sections 302/34 IPC. 29. As far as Sanjay Mahto (A4) is concerned, he is also a vegetable vendor in Paswan Chowk Market. Though the circumstances that he has also persuaded PW8 to pay the ransom amount to kidnappers and also accompanied PW8 to Sonepur to pay the ransom amount to the kidnappers, Sanjay might have accompanied PW8 as a bonafide helper. Neither any recovery was made from Sanjay nor any incriminating evidence is available against him. So far as Sanjay Mahto (A-4) is concerned, though there may be strong suspicion about his involvement in the commission of the offence, suspicion however strong it may be, cannot take the place of proof. The case against Sanjay (A-4) is not proved beyond reasonable doubt and his conviction is liable to be set aside.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]19. So far as the recovery of dead body of boy under the culvert between Bhagwanpur and Bahadarpur road is concerned, as noticed earlier, a F.I.R. was registered in (Fakuli OP) P.S. Case No.128/2006 dated 22.4.2006 under Sections 302, 201 IPC read with Section 34 IPC. Though the statement recorded from the accused Chintoo Singhand Birendra Bhagatdid not lead to any recovery as admissible under Section 27 of the Evidence Act, their statement led to the disclosure of the details of the dead body and registration of F.I.R. in (Fakuli OP) P.S. Case No.128/2006. If no statement was recorded from the accused, place of the dead body of deceased boy would have remained unknown.20. So far as the contention regarding the inadmissibility of the statement recorded from the accused Chintoo Singhd Birendra Bhagatof course, the statement did not lead to the disclosure of any fact as admissible under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. Ideally based on the statement recorded from the accused, the investigating officer should have taken the accused to the alleged place of occurrence which would have led to the disclosure of place of occurrence and omission to do so, is only a lapse in the investigation. Even if it is accepted that there was deficiency in investigation that cannot be a ground to doubt the prosecution version which is otherwise cogent and credible.21. It is well settled that in criminal trials even if the investigation is defective, the rest of the evidence must be scrutinized independently of the impact of the defects in the investigation otherwise the criminal trial will plummet to the level of the investigation. Criminal trials should not be made casualties for any lapses committed by the investigating officer.We are not impressed with the arguments advanced on behalf of the accused Chintoo Singhd Birendra Bhagatthat there is nothing to connect the accused with the body found under the bridge. Corpus delecti in some cases may not be possible to be traced or recovered. If the recovery of a dead body is an absolute necessity to convict an accused, in many cases the culprits would go unpunished as the accused would manage to see that the dead body is destroyed or not recovered. Any lapse in recovery of the dead body or missing link qua the dead body will not enure to the benefit of the accused.Defence plea of accused Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) is that some time prior to the occurrence, there was an altercation between him and PW8 and at that time PW8-Sunil Kumar Singh stated that he would falsely implicate Ranjeet in a criminal case. To prove the defence plea, defence witnesses Baiju Sharma and Budhan Paswan were examined as DWs 4 and 5. The defence plea that PW8 falsely implicated Ranjeet Kumar Ram (A-1) and his family members in the offence of kidnapping and murder of his son defies logic and rightly rejected by the trial court as well by the High Court.As far as Sanjay Mahto (A4) is concerned, he is also a vegetable vendor in Paswan Chowk Market. Though the circumstances that he has also persuaded PW8 to pay the ransom amount to kidnappers and also accompanied PW8 to Sonepur to pay the ransom amount to the kidnappers, Sanjay might have accompanied PW8 as a bonafide helper. Neither any recovery was made from Sanjay nor any incriminating evidence is available against him. So far as Sanjay Mahto (A-4) is concerned, though there may be strong suspicion about his involvement in the commission of the offence, suspicion however strong it may be, cannot take the place of proof. The case against Sanjay (A-4) is not proved beyond reasonable doubt and his conviction is liable to be set aside.