Nisa Stree vs The State Of Orissa

Rewritten Version Notice: This is a rewritten version of the original judgment.

Court: Supreme Court of India

Case Number: Not extracted

Decision Date: 24 September 1953

Coram: S.R. Das

In this case, the Court noted that the appellant, a twenty-year-old woman, had been convicted on 18 April 1953 by the Additional Sessions Judge of Cuttack. The conviction was under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for the murder of a seven-year-old girl named Panchali, and also under Section 379 of the same Code for dishonestly taking a pair of gold Naulis that had belonged to the deceased. The Additional Sessions Judge, after imposing the death sentence for the murder charge, made a reference to the High Court pursuant to Section 374 of the Criminal Procedure Code seeking confirmation of that sentence. The appellant also filed an appeal before the High Court challenging both the conviction and the death sentence. By a judgment dated 25 May 1953, the High Court affirmed the conviction and the death sentence, accepted the reference for confirmation, and dismissed the appeal. Nevertheless, the High Court granted the appellant leave to appeal to this Court under Article 134(1)(c) of the Constitution of India. The prosecution case, as summarised by the Court, was that both the appellant and the deceased were residents of Jahnapada, a small village comprising roughly sixty houses. They lived as immediate neighbours and reportedly enjoyed a cordial relationship. On 27 November 1952, about an hour before sunset, the deceased was observed leaving the village in the company of the appellant and proceeding towards Bhaludhar Nala, a stream situated approximately three furlongs north-east of the village centre. That stream was commonly used by village women as a place of privacy. Later that evening, the appellant was seen returning alone from the Nala to the village, walking hurriedly with the garment she was wearing lifted up over her knees. Approximately one ‘ghari’ (about one hour) later, the mother of the deceased began searching for her child and questioned several persons, including the appellant. The appellant told the mother that the girl was likely nearby. In the early hours of the following morning, relatives of the deceased discovered her dead body in the Nala, and the first information report was promptly lodged at the police station. During the inquest, investigators recovered several pieces of physical evidence near the body. These included a fragment of a regular rugged stone that was stained with blood, broken glass bangles, and a torn necklace. The ground beneath the corpse was soaked with blood, and the clothing that the deceased had been wearing was also found to be blood-stained. According to the prosecution, the two gold Naulis that the deceased had been wearing on the evening of the incident were later found concealed in the thatch of the appellant’s roof. That discovery was made based on information supplied by the appellant herself. The police also seized the garment worn by the appellant, which was subsequently found to be stained with human blood.

On the allegation that the cloth recovered from the scene was stained with human blood, the appellant was sent up for trial. The appellant entered a plea of not guilty and asserted that the witnesses had given false testimony because of personal enmity toward her. The record contained no direct eyewitness testimony; consequently, the conviction relied wholly on circumstantial evidence. The central issue for the Court was whether the material on record could be explained only by the appellant’s guilt or whether an alternative rational explanation existed. The circumstances established against the appellant were as follows: about an hour before sunset on the day of the incident, two ladies identified as witnesses number seven and eight observed the appellant walking together with the deceased in the direction of the place where the murder later occurred; later that evening the appellant returned home without the deceased, walking hurriedly with her clothing lifted upward; forensic examination of that clothing revealed it to be stained with human blood; and the two Naulis worn by the deceased, which had been observed on her person as she proceeded toward the murder site, were later discovered, at the appellant’s indication, hidden in the thatch of her hut. The learned trial judge, after articulating reasons that the Court finds cogent and convincing, concluded that these circumstances could not be reconciled with any rational hypothesis of innocence. All four assessors unanimously agreed with that conclusion and held that the appellant was guilty of both offenses charged. The High Court subsequently affirmed the trial court’s finding and upheld both the conviction and the sentence imposed on the appellant.

The Supreme Court concurs with the findings of the lower courts. No submission from counsel appearing as amicus curiae for the appellant introduced any factual material that could cast doubt on the appellant’s guilt or alter the established circumstances. The Court observes that the circumstantial evidence presented in the record points exclusively toward the appellant’s culpability and therefore upholds the conviction as proper. It is further noted that the murder was committed with cold-blooded intent and pure greed. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.