Criminal Appeal No- 1713 Of 2012
High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad
BENCH: Hon’ble Harsha Devani J., Hon’ble A.S. Supehia J.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 20-04-2018
BRANCH OF FORENSIC SCIENCE: Voice analysis (Forensic Physics)
RELEVANT SECTIONS:
Indian Penal Code(IPC), 1860
- Section 143 – Punishment.
- Section 144 – Joining unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapons.
- Section 145 – Joining or continuing in unlawful assembly, knowing it has been commanded to disperse.
- Section 147 – Punishment for rioting.
- Section 148 – Rioting, armed with a deadly weapon.
- Section 149 – Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of the common object.
- Section 153 – Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot
- Sec 295 – Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.
- Sec 298 – Uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person
- Section 135(1) of the Bombay Police Act – Abetment of desertion of soldier, sailor, or airman.
BACK STORY
In this case, On 28.2.2002 the F.I.R lodged by one Vinubhai Solanki before Shri K. K. Mysorewala, Senior Police Inspector, Naroda Police Station at 8:45 p.m. indicating the fact that when the car Sevaks were returning from the Ayaodya on the issue of Ram Mandir then suddenly the coach of Sabarmati Express carrying sevaks ransacked, damaged, looted and set on fire, and their religious place, the Noorani Masjid was damaged and set on fire by mobs of Hindus, mostly comprised of members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and BJP even young girls have stripped naked, gang-raped and burnt alive around 9:30 in the morning to around 7:00 in the evening.
The investigation came to hand over to PW-274) Shri K. K. Mysorewala, who was the Senior Police Inspector of that police station and the statements of the injured persons and their dying declarations at the hospitals. From 1.5.2002, the investigation came to be entrusted to the Crime Branch and Shri S. S. Chudasama (PW-307) and submitted a charge-sheet on 3/4.6.2002 against (A Nos.1 to 17) in Metropolitan Court No.1 and then the investigation came to hand over to(PW-275) Shri H. P. Agrawal as Shri S. S. Chudasama. He submitted charge –sheet on 23.8.2002 against (A Nos. 18-30) and several other reports were also submitted accordingly.
The Special Investigation Team published an advertisement in leading newspapers in the State of Gujarat, inviting people to contact the SIT in person or through written applications to give any relevant information or evidence in connection with the present case and a result several new witnesses statement recorded. Another charge-sheet came to file on 1.5.2009 against (A Nos.34-37) and On 10.11.2009 against( A Nos.38 to 44) and on 13.8.2009 against (A Nos.60-62).There were a total of 72 Hindu accused and 10 died before they could send to trial and 3 persons are still absconding.
Accused No.21, 23, 29, 32, 46,47,48,50, 53 and 54, are the active member who was carrying dangerous weapons and also during the examination one of a victim of this case, having his phone in which he has opened the recorder so the voice of the accused recorded in it which is sent by the doctor to IO and then sent for voice analysis for comparison with the founded accused.
VOICE IDENTIFICATION REPORT
On 8.8.2010, the voice of the three accused has sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory, Jaipur for analysis and they matched and analyzed the samples and had sent the voice spectrographic report to the Police Commissioner, Crime Branch Shri Himanshu Shukla and the report state that if more than one word is spoken together, voice analysis cannot carry out. It has stated that for the purpose of analysis, four to five groups of words can consider being sufficient so the voice comparison report cannot become successful.
JUDGMENT
On the basis of total 114 witnesses and above forensic report and postmortem report and dying declaration the court has all the accused convicted for the offences punishable under sections 143, 144, 147, 148 read with section 149 of Indian Penal Code section 295, 427, 435, 436, 440, 153, 153-A, 153-A(2), 323, 324, 325, 326, 302 and 307 read with section 149 of Indian Penal Code and for the same offences read with section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code as well as under section 120-B of Indian Penal Code and section 135(1) of the Bombay Police Act.