Rohtash Kumar vs. State of Haryana,
Criminal Appeal No. 896 of 2011, Decided on May 29, 2013
“In cases
where the accused was last seen with the deceased victim (last seen-together
theory) just before the incident, it becomes the duty of the accused to explain
the circumstances under which the death of the victim occurred”. [Para 24]
“Thus, the doctrine of “last seen
together” shifts the burden of proof on the accused, requiring him to explain
how the incident had occurred. Failure on the part of the accused to furnish
any explanation in this regard, would give rise to a very strong presumption
against him”.[Para 25]
The Court referred following case
law:
Trimukh
Maroti Kirkan v. State of Maharashtra, (2006) 10 SCC 681, wherein the SC held as under:
“Where
an accused is alleged to have committed the murder of his wife and the
prosecution succeeds in leading evidence to show that shortly before the commission
of crime they were seen together or the offence takes place in the dwelling
home where the husband also normally resided, it has been consistently held
that if the accused does not offer any explanation how the wife received
injuries or offers an explanation which is found to be false, it is a strong
circumstance which indicates that he is responsible for commission of the
crime.”
Prithipal
Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Anr., (2012) 1 SCC 10)
To see full
text follow the link:
http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgs1.aspx?filename=40444