Sudevanand vs State Through Cbi

2. On March 20, 1975, at about 4.15 p.m. when the car in which Mr. Justice A.N. Ray, holding the office of the Chief Justice of India at that time, was travelling, along with his son Shri Ajoy Nath Ray and a Jamadar Jai Nand and the driver Inder Singh, stopped at the intersection of Tilak Marg and Bhagwan Dass road, at a stone throw distance from the Supreme Court of India, two live hand grenades were lobbed inside the car. Fortunately, the grenades did not explode and the occupants of the car, including the Chief Justice of India, escaped unharmed.

He was produced before a Magistrate on August 14, 1975, before whom he made a statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short "Cr.P.C.") giving the details of the conspiracy to kill the Chief Justice of India. He was again produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate on August 22, 1975 before whom he made a similar statement for grant of pardon under Section 306 Cr.P.C.

sheet against the three accused, namely, Sudevanand, Santoshanand and Ranjan Dwivedi and they were put on trial in Sessions Case No.9/1976.

7. Against the judgment and order passed by the trial court, Ranjan Dwivedi filed appeal before the High Court on December 6, 1976 which is 5 registered as Criminal Appeal No.436/1976. Sudevanand and Santoshanand jointly filed a separate appeal which is registered as 443/1976.

That case was also investigated by the CBI and in that case too Sudevanand and Santoshanand (along with others) were accused and in that case also Vikram was granted pardon on becoming an Approver. According to his statements made before the Magistrates both the killing of L. N. Mishra and the attempt on the life of Chief Justice of India were parts of a larger conspiracy, at the instance of the same organisation and a common group of persons.

10. It needs, however, to be noted that upset by these developments, the CBI moved this Court in Transfer Petition (Crl.) No. 69/1979 praying for the 7 transfer of the trial of the L.N. Mishra murder case outside Bihar. In the transfer petition though the State of Bihar was not formally made a party, a number of allegations were made against some of its officers. In those circumstances, the concerned officers after obtaining permission from the State Government, filed affidavits/applications denying the allegations made against them in the transfer petition filed by the CBI and supporting the veracity of the retraction made by Vikram in Danapur jail on September 30, 1978 disowning the earlier statements made by him. In the overall facts and circumstances of the case, however, this Court deemed just and proper to transfer the trial of the L.N. Mishra murder case from Bihar to Delhi where it now remains pending as Sessions Case No. 1/2006 (after being renumbered) before the Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi.

11. It is curious to note that in the L.N. Mishra murder case Vikram was examined by the prosecution as PW.2 and in course of his deposition before the court he said that the statement made by him at Danapur jail was not voluntary but he was forced to make the statement under coercion and threats by the Chief Secretary, Law Secretary and Home Secretary, Government of Bihar and the SP and the DSP in the State Police. He said in his deposition before the court that his statement in jail was made on the 8 basis of a statement prepared and given to him in writing by the State Government officers.

13. The Delhi High Court took up all the three criminal miscellaneous applications and disposed them of by order dated November 22, 2006. The High Court noted that it was within the knowledge of the appellants that the Approver had made the retraction in the year 1978 disowning his earlier statements but the three applications in question were filed after a lag of more than 20 years and primarily for that reason did not allow all the prayers made in the three applications but granted the appellants only a limited and partial relief. In the operative portion of the order the High Court observed and directed as follows:

21. Mr. Dey also submitted that the statement of Vikram that was recorded in Danapur jail on September 30, 1978 had no legal sanctity, as it was recorded in a manner and by means completely unknown to law. It also did not qualify as the previous statement within the meaning of Section 145 of the Evidence Act as in fact, it was later in time than the deposition of PW.1 in this case before the trial court. He also referred to passages from the 14 deposition of Vikram, the Approver, made in the trial of the L.N. Mishra murder case in which he was examined as PW.2 where he stated that his statement of September 30, 1978 recorded in Danapur jail was not voluntary but it was made under threats from the top officials of the State Government.

27. The facts of the case before us are quite different. It is not only Vikram who is making diametrically opposite statements but the CBI and the State (CID) seem to be at loggerheads with the one accusing the other of manipulating and using Vikram for its own designs. It is an unusual case by any reckoning.

33. In light of the discussions made above, we have no hesitation in holding that the High Court was in error in refusing to summon Vikram, the Approver (PW.1) for his further examination as prayed for on behalf of the appellants. We, accordingly, set aside that part of the High Court order and direct the High Court to summon Vikram (PW.1) for his further examination by the appellants and if so desired by the CBI. For the sake of convenience, the High Court may direct a member of the Registry of the rank of a Sessions Judge/Additional Sessions Judge to record the additional evidence of Vikram (PW.1). The examination of the witness by the appellants and the CBI must not go beyond two working days each so that the recording of his evidence should be complete in not more than four days. The Registrar recording the evidence would certify it and place before the Court and the Court shall then proceed to dispose of the appeals.

34. The appeals are thus allowed.

35. Before parting with the record of the case we are constrained to say that we are distressed beyond words to find that the case relating to the attempt on the life of the CJI remains stuck up at the stage of the appeal even after about 37 years of the occurrence. We are informed that the other case of the killing of Shri L.N. Mishra is still mired before the trial court. We do not wish to make any comment on that case as that is the subject matter of Writ Petition (Criminal) Nos. 200 and 203 of 2011 that remains pending before this Court. But so far as the present case is concerned, we would request the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court with all the strength at our command to take notice of the inordinately long time for which these appeals (Criminal Appeal Nos.436 & 443 of 1996) are pending before the High Court and to put a tab on them so as to ensure that the appeals are disposed of without any further delay and in any case not later than six months from the date of the receipt/production of a copy of this order.