Paras Yadav vs. State of Bihar, 1999

• On 7th February 1983, Sambhu Yadav, an employee at a cloth shop in Chanpatia Bazar, was returning home on a bicycle around 7:00 p.m.
• At approximately 8:00 p.m., while he was about 100 yards north of Ghogha Chowk on a pitch road, three individuals stopped him.
• Paras Yadav (accused no. 1) stopped his bicycle, and Satan (accused no. 2) and Tulsi (accused no. 3) caught hold of his arms and began assaulting him with fists and slaps.
• During the assault, Paras Yadav stabbed Sambhu Yadav in the abdomen with a chhura (knife). The accused fled the scene immediately after the attack.
• Upon hearing his cries for help, witnesses, including Jhakhari Yadav (P.W. 9), Bagur Raut (P.W. 8), Basgeet Yadav (P.W. 1), and Gogari Yadav, along with others, arrived at the scene.
• Before his death, Sambhu Yadav reportedly told the witnesses and the Police Sub-Inspector (P.W. 16, Shri Dina Nath Singh) that he was attacked by Tulsi, Satan, Munshi, and Paras, and that Paras stabbed him in the abdomen.
• There was a known enmity between the deceased and the accused due to a land dispute.
• Sub-Inspector Dina Nath Singh (P.W. 16), who was patrolling nearby, arrived at the scene and recorded the fardbeyan under Section 307 IPC against the three accused, along with two unidentified individuals.
• Sambhu Yadav was taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on the night of 8th February 1983.
• Following his death, the charge was upgraded to Section 302 IPC.

Whether the statement of a deceased recorded by the police officer taken as dying declaration?

Arguments Presented by the Learned Counsel:

• The Counsel argued that there is no evidence on record to establish that the accused acted with a common intention, nor is there any evidence from which common intention could be inferred.
• The prosecution witnesses' evidence is inconsistent regarding the roles played by accused nos. 2 and 3, as stated by the deceased.
• It was submitted that the fardbeyan should not be treated as a dying declaration because it was recorded in a routine manner by the Police Sub-Inspector.

Evidence Referred by the Learned Counsel:

• P.W. 1, Basgeet Yadav, stated that at 8:00 p.m., he rushed to the newly built bridge and found Sambhu Yadav lying there, bleeding. Upon inquiry, Sambhu said that Paras Yadav, Tulsi, and Munshi surrounded him, and Paras stabbed him with a chhura (knife).
• P.W. 2, Bachu Das, testified that while cycling home with Jagannath, he saw five persons, including Paras, Munshi, Tulsi, and Satan, and one unidentified individual walking away from the scene, 200 yards from Ghogha Chowk.
• Upon reaching Ghogha Chowk, they saw Sambhu Yadav injured and lying on the ground. Sambhu informed them that Munshi, Tulsi, and Satan held him down while Paras stabbed him with a chhura.
• Sambhu repeated this statement to the Sub-Inspector, confirming the identities of the accused.

Judgement:

• The Court concluded that there was no reason to disbelieve the oral dying declaration of the deceased, Sambhu Yadav, as testified by multiple witnesses and recorded in the fardbeyan.
• The fardbeyan was recorded by the Police Sub-Inspector at the scene of the incident within minutes of its occurrence.
• Witnesses reached the scene after hearing the commotion (hulla gulla) and corroborated the prosecution’s version.
• The medical evidence provided by P.W. 11 supported the prosecution’s case and aligned with the recorded dying declaration.
• The Court upheld the conviction of original accused no. 1, Paras Yadav, under Section 302 IPC, confirming the decision of the lower courts.
• The convictions of original accused nos. 2 and 3, Satan Yadav and Tulsi Sonar, were set aside due to lack of evidence against them.
• Appellants Satan Yadav and Tulsi Sonar were ordered to be released immediately unless required in connection with any other case.

The Court Conclude in this case that the statement of a deceased recorded by a police officer in a routine manner as a complaint and not as dying declaration can be taken as  a dying declaration after the death of the injured if he was found to be in a fit health to make a statement