Blood stains on clothes, man convicted of murder

Chandigarh, February 7

Blood stains on clothes have landed a man behind bars in a murder case. Convicting and sentencing Shiri Pal to life imprisonment for his brother’s murder, Nawanshahr Sessions Judge Kanwaljit Singh Bajwa asserted that explanation was not rendered by the accused during his examination before the court as to how his “own clothes got blood stains of the deceased-victim”.

Circumstantial evidence

Circumstances sometimes speak as forcefully as does direct proof. The present case is one such instance of circumstantial evidence. Kanwaljit Singh Bajwa, Sessions Judge

An FIR for the murder of migrant labourer Taliban was registered on February 5, 2021 at the Balachaur police station. Taking up the matter, Judge Bajwa asserted that things happened suddenly at time without leaving behind much direct evidence. The main event in such cases was required to be reconstructed before the court with the help of surrounding circumstances. “Circumstances sometimes speak as forcefully as does direct evidence. Present is a case of such circumstantial evidence”, he said.

Judge Bajwa observed that the murder, as per the prosecution story, was committed with a log by the accused following an altercation between them over money distribution. The explanation was not rendered by the accused during his examination under Section 313 of the CrPC as to how his own clothes got the victim’s blood stains. Judge Bajwa added that the facts within the special knowledge of the accused would go against him, if not satisfactorily explained, though it would by itself not be conclusive about his guilt. It would be relevant while considering the totality of the circumstantial evidence.

Judge Bajwa added that the circumstantial evidence was incredibly important in criminal cases as there was a “probable need” to prove “actus reus” or the “act” and “mens rea” or the “intention”. “In most of the assault cases, for example, direct evidence for the mens rea is difficult to obtain, but easy to obtain for actus reus. In such cases, where it is difficult to obtain direct evidence for the mens rea, circumstantial evidence is used instead to prove the mens rea of the person who committed the crime,” he said.

Before parting with the order, Judge Bajwa added the inescapable conclusion reached by the court was that the prosecution had successfully brought home guilt against the accused beyond the shadow of any reasonable doubt. He was, as such, liable to be convicted for committing offence punishable under Section 302. 

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