Madhya Pradesh High Court
Hoti Lal Chadhar vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 18 April, 2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VIVEK KUMAR SINGH
&
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE AJAY KUMAR NIRANKARI
ON THE 18th OF APRIL, 2026
CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 1541 of 2014
HOTI LAL CHADHAR
Versus
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH
Appearance:
Shri Sanjay Kumar Saini - Advocate for appellant.
Shri Amit Pandey - Government Advocate for State.
Reserved on : 09.10.2025.
Pronounced on : 18.04.2026.
JUDGMENT
Per: Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari
The instant criminal appeal has been preferred by the appellant under
Section 374(2) of Cr.P.C. against the judgment dated 06.03.2014 passed by
6 th Additional Sessions Judge, District Sagar in Sessions Trial No. 548/2012
(State of M.P. Vs. Hoti Lal) whereby the appellant has been convicted for
the offence punishable under Section 302 of IPC and sentenced to undergo
for Life imprisonment with fine of Rs.1,000/- and Section 201 of IPC and
sentenced to undergo R.I. of 3 years with fine of Rs.1,000/- respectively,
with default stipulation.
2. The case of prosecution, in a nutshell, is that on the basis of
information given by Smt. Kiran Bai in respect of death of her minor son
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Rishabh. The police station Gopalganj, District Sagar has registered a Merg
No.20/2012 and started merg inquiry. Subsequently, an FIR under Sections
302 and 201 of IPC was registered against the appellant with the allegation
that the complainant along with her husband and their three minor children
resided at Baghraj Ward, Village Tili. On 17.09.2012, the complainant with
her children returned back to her home after obtaining medical treatment for
one of them. During this period, her neibhbour took away her minor child
Rishabh for watching television. When Rishabh did not return at night, she
was under impression that Rishabh might have stayed at the house of
appellant Hotilal. In the morning, on asking about Rishabh, appellant Hotilal
said he was not aware about Rishabh. After sometime, she got the
information that in cremation ground of village one dead body of a child was
found in a jute bag. From the hole of said jute bag, the complainant identified
the body of her son. She also found that the blood stains were also found
from the cremation ground towards the house of appellant Hotilal.
3. After registration of the FIR, the police authority recovered the dead
body and sent it for postmortem, prepared the spot map, statements of
witnesses were recorded, seized the blood-stained soil and simple soil from
the incident place, arrested the accused/appellant, seized a dari (carpet), mat,
blanket and four stones along with blood stained soil jute bag from the house
of appellant. The memorandum statement of the appellant under Section 27
of Indian Evidence Act was recorded and seized the articles. All seized
articles were sent for chemical analysis to the State Judicial Science
Laboratory.
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4. After completion of investigation, filed the charge-sheet before the
JMFC, District Sagar after receiving the chargesheet, committed the case and
forwarded the same to the Sessions Court for trial. Fromwhere the case was
triable to the 6th Additional Sessions Judge, District Sagar in Sessions Trial
No.548/2012.
5. Learned trial Court framed the charges under Sections 377, 302 and
201 of IPC. The appellant refused to accept the charges and wished to face
the trial.
6. The prosecution, in order to substantiate its case, examined 16
witnesses as PW-1 to PW-16 and also exhibited the documents as Ex.P/1 to
P/22. The appellant has not examined any witness in support of his defence.
He only exhibited the police statements under Section 161 of Cr.P.C. Rishi,
Gomti Bai Patel, and Pavan Kumar Patel, which were marked as D-1 to D-
13. In the statement recorded under Section 313 of Cr.P.C. the appellant
stated that he is innocent and has falsely been implicated in the murder of the
deceased on account of previous enmity.
7. Learned trial Court vide judgment dated 06.03.2014 held the
appellant guilty of committing murder of deceased Rishabh, accordingly,
convicted the appellant for life imprisonment with fine of Rs. 1,000/- under
Section 302 of IPC and rigorous imprisonment for three years with fine of
Rs.1,000/- under Section 201 of IPC. The charge under Section 377 of IPC
was not found proved and the appellant has been acquitted from the said
charge.
8. Being aggrieved by the impugned judgment dated 06.03.2014
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passed by 6th Additional Sessions Judge, District Sagar, the appellant has
been preferred the instant appeal before this Court.
9. Learned counsel for the appellant has advanced the argument that
the appellant is innocent person and has not committed the said alleged
offence. He also submitted that the police authority has not properly linked
the chain of circumstantial evidence only on the last seen theory, on the basis
of which appellant has been held guilty. It is further submitted that learned
trial Court has not considered this aspect that the appellant has been falsely
implicated in the present case on account of previous enmity with respect to
the murder of the deceased. The learned trial Court has also not considered
this aspect that there was no motive that the appellant to commit the murder
of deceased. He further advanced the argument that only on the basis of last
seen theory a person could not be convicted. Learned trial Court has also
committed illegality in shifting the burden of proof on the appellant. Though
the prosecution has to establish its case beyond any reasonable doubts. He
also submitted that mere presence of blood stains on the clothes of the
appellant, he could not be held guilty of committing the murder. The FSL
report has not duly been proved from the witness of FSL unit. In support of
his contention, the learned counsel for the appellant relied on the judgments
of Hon’ble Apex Court in the cases of Mohan Vs. State of M.P. reported in
1993 0 Supreme (MP) 206, Anjan Kumar Sarma Vs. State of Assam reported
in AIR 2017 SCW 617, Dinesh Kumar Vs. The State of Haryana (Criminal
Appeal No.530/2022, decided on 04.05.2023), Kansa Behera Vs. State of
Orissa report in AIR 1987 SC1507, Vijay Shankar Vs. State of Haryana
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reported in AIR 2015 SCW 5324, Prabhu Vs. State of U.P. reported in AIR
1963 SC 1113 and Govindaraju @ Govinda Vs. State by Sriramapuram P.S.
and another reported in (2012) 4 SCC 722. Thus, he prays for allowing and
setting aside the impugned judgment passed by the trial Court.
10. Learned counsel for the State has advanced the arguments that the
learned trial Court after proper appreciation the material available on record
rightly reached to the conclusion that the appellant is guilty of committing
the murder of deceased Rishabh. He further submitted that on the last night
of incident, at about 9:00 p.m., the appellant took away the deceased from
his house for watching television and on the next day, the dead body of
deceased was recovered. It was also submitted that a dari, mat and blanket
were recovered from the house of appellant as well as blood stained soil
were also recovered and on the seized articles, the human blood was found
but due to insufficient quantity, the blood group could not be identified on
the seized articles and have not proved the motive of committing the offence.
The entire prosecution story could not be discarded on that basis. As per the
postmortem report, two incised wounds were found on the neck of the
deceased and one abrasion on his cheek. The cause of death has been opined
to be shock due to injuries to vital organs and major vessels i.e. carotid
arteries and trachea and the duration of death was within 24 hours prior to
the time of examination. It was also submitted that the prosecution has
properly linked the chain of circumstantial evidence. Accordingly, the
judgment is well-reasoned and speaking and does not warrant any
interference. Thus, he prays for dismissal of the present criminal appeal.
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11. We have perused the record and heard the arguments advanced by
both the counsel for the parties.
12. The sole question for adjudication before us is that whether the
learned trial Court was fully justified in holding the guilty under Sections
302 and 201 of IPC and awarding the life imprisonment.
13. It is the case of circumstantial evidence. On the information of
PW-1, a merg was registered and after completion of merg enquiry, the FIR
was registered. PW-1 has consistently alleged that on 18.07.2012, the
complainant along with her children returned home after obtaining the
medical treatment for her daughter. At about 9:00 p.m., the appellant called
the deceased and took him away the deceased for watching television. In the
night, the deceased did not return back his home, on asking, the appellant
stated that he was not aware about the deceased. Thereafter, the dead body of
the deceased was found in a jute bag at the cremation ground. (PW-2)
Sangeeta and (PW-3) Rishi Raikwar have also supported the statement of
PW-1.
14. In view of the above, it is clear that the deceased lastly seen
together with the appellant on 18.07.2012 and on the next day, dead body of
the deceased was recovered. As per postmortem report (Ex.P/14), two incised
wounds were found on the neck of deceased and one abrasion on his cheek.
As per postmortem report, the cause of death has been opined to be shock
resulting from injuries to vital organs major vessels i.e. carotids arteries and
trachea and the death of the deceased was homicidal in nature. (PW-11) Dr.
R.K. Khare, who conducted the postmortem of deceased has supported the
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postmortem report. The appellant has not brought any material in his cross-
examination for doubting on postmortem report. The I.O. (PW-16) deposed
before the trial Court in his chief-examination that on getting the information
about the dead body, a merg was registered then an FIR was registered and
started the investigation. During the investigation, spot map was prepared,
the blood-stained soil and simple soil have been recovered from the incident
place, arrested the accused persons. The memorandum of the appellant under
Section 27 of Indian Evidence Act was duly recorded and, an axe was
recovered from the house of the appellant at his instance. The blood-stained
clothes of appellant were also seized in the presence of independent witness.
The appellant cross-examined the PW-16 in detailed but he remained
unsuccessful to bring any material for doubting the investigation. He was
also submitted that he has no motive to commit the murder of deceased and
the last seen together is not sufficient for conviction in support of said
contention. He has relied on the case of Mohan (supra). The relevant para is
reproduced as under:-
“The question, therefore, arises: as to why the accused would
commit the murder of deceased Nora by throttling her-as is
alleged by the prosecution. The motive for committing the jurder
is not known, and nor the same is established from the prosecution
evidence on record. Besides this, from the version of Dr. Chandra
Bhan Prasad (P.W.7), who had performed the autopsy on the dad
body of Nora, it is clear that he was not sure about the exact cause
of her death-as was stated by him in para 8 of his deposition. Dr.
Chandrabhan Prasad had not found any finger mark on the nectk
of the deceased. Dr. Chandrabhan Prasad has stated in his cross-
examination, that the death could be homicidal and it could also be
accidental. This statement of Dr. Chandrabhan Prasad also goes to
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was homicidal or accidental in nature.”
15. On bare perusal of aforesaid citation, it appears that the facts of the
cited case are quit different with the facts of the present case. In the cited
case, there was no substantial material on record except the last seen,
whereas, the substantial material piece and link of circumstantial evidence
was properly established by the prosecution. The appellant has relied on the
case of Anjan Kumar Sharma (supra) wherein the Hon’ble Apex Court has
held the suspension cannot take place of legal proof for something, there is
no proof on the seized article human blood was found. However, in the
present case, the human blood was duly found on the clothes of appellant,
mat and blanket seized from the house of appellant as well as axe recovered
from his house at his own instance. Thus, the appellant is also not getting any
benefit of said citation. Learned counsel for the appellant has further
advanced the arguments that initial burden lies on the prosecution to
establish its case beyond any reasonable doubt, and that such burden cannot
be shifted on the appellant/accused to prove his innocence. In support of this
contention, appellant relied on the law laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court
in the case of Dinesh Kumar (supra). It is not in dispute that the initial duty
and burden on the prosecution is to establish its case beyond any reasonable
doubt. It is also settled legal proposition that once the prosecution beyond
any reasonable doubt, prima facie, established its case, then the burden is
shifted on the accused to explain the circumstances and proved his or/her
innocence. In the present case, the blood-stained soil, clothes, axe and mate
were recovered from the house of the appellant. In FSL report, the stains on
these articles were confirmed to be of human blood. In such circumstances,
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the burden automatically be shifted on the appellant to explain the
circumstances or evidence which establishes his guilty prima facie there is
no explanation of appellant in the present case that how the blood stained
were found on his clothes, soil, axe and mat recovered from his house. Thus,
the law of Hon’ble Apex Court is not held in any manner. Similarly, the law
laid down by Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Kansa Behra (supra), Vijay
Shankar (supra) and Prabhu (supra) is not helping the appellant in any
manner because the said fact is quite different of the present case.
16. Learned counsel for the appellant has also advanced the argument
that the prosecution has to establish and prove the medical/expert
information by examining the competent authority of medical/expert mere
production of a document is not itself proved. In support of its contention,
the appellant relied on a judgment of Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of
Govindraju @ Govinda (supra). The relevant para No.45 is reproduced as
under:-
“45. The applicability of the principle of `adverse inference’ pre-
supposes that withholding was of such material witnesses who
could have stated precisely and cogently the events as they
occurred. Without their examination, there would remain a
vacuum in the case of the prosecution. The doctor was a cited
witness but was still not examined. The name of the Head
Constable and the Constable appears in the Police investigation
but still they were not examined. It is true that in their absence the
post mortem report and FSL report were exhibited and could be
read in evidence. But still the lacuna in the case of the prosecution
remains unexplained and the chain of events unconnected. For
instance, the Head Constable could have described the events that
occurred right from the place of occurrence to the death of the
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possible for one Police Officer, one Head Constable and one
Constable to apprehend all the accused or any of them
immediately after the occurrence or even make enquiry about their
names. Similarly, the doctor could have explained whether
inflicting of such injuries with the knife recovered was even
possible or not. The expert from the FSL could have explained
whether or not the weapons of offence contained human blood
and, if so, of what blood group and whether the clothes of the
deceased contained the same blood group as was on the weapons
used in the commission of the crime. The uncertainties and
unexplained matters of the FSL report could have been explained
by the expert. There is no justification on record as to why these
witnesses were not examined despite their availability. This Court
in the case of Takhaji Hiraji (supra) clearly stated that material
witness is one who would unfold the genesis of the incident or an
essential part of the prosecution case and by examining such
witnesses the gaps or infirmities in the case of the prosecution
could be supplied. If such a witness, without justification, is not
examined, inference against the prosecution can be drawn by the
Court. The fact that the witnesses who were necessary to unfold
the narrative of the incident and though not examined, but were
cited by the prosecution, certainly raises a suspicion. When the
principal witnesses of the prosecution become hostile, greater is
the requirement of the prosecution to examine all other material
witnesses who could depose in completing the chain by proven
facts. This view was reiterated by this Court in the case of Yakub
Ismailbhai Patel v. State of Gujarat.”
17. In the present case, the seized articles were sent for chemical
analysis to the State Judicial Science Laboratory, District Sagar and the
report thereof was exhibited as Ex.P/14. At the time of its exhibition the
appellant did not raise any objection in respect of credibility of said DNA
report. Mere also the report of expert is just an opinion and the Court is not
bound to accept the said opinion. The Court is duty bound to consider the
expert report with other material evidence. In the present case, there is no
explanation that as to how blood stained soil, clothes, mat and a blanket were
recovered from his house and on all articles human blood was found. The
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statements under Section 313 of Cr.P.C. the accused has not suggested with
the said blood-stained in which human blood was found is of him or how the
blood-stained was found on that articles. Accordingly, the said citation is not
helping the appellant in any manner.
18. In overall consideration of facts and material available on record,
we reached to the conclusion that the impugned judgment passed by learned
trial Court is just proper and based on proper appreciation and reasoning. The
appellant on the grounds as well as arguments raised at the time of final
hearing have not brought any material on record for creating a doubt suspect
on the material available on record, accordingly, finding recorded by the trial
Court was fully justified and not warranted any interference.
19. Thus, the present appeal fails and is hereby dismissed.
20. Let a copy of this judgment be sent to the trial Court along with its
record for information and necessary compliance.
(VIVEK KUMAR SINGH) (AJAY KUMAR NIRANKARI)
JUDGE JUDGE
NP
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