SCC Online Web Edition, © 2022 EBC Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Page 14 Monday, October 24, 2022 Printed For: Navami Krishnamurthy, Jindal Global University SCC Online Web Edition: http://www.scconline.com © 2022 EBC Publishing Pvt.Ltd., Lucknow. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- evidence of the investigating officer. According to him while the police party along with the accused were on their way, all of a sudden, the investigating officer realized that he should have two independent witnesses with him for the purpose of drawing the panchnama of discovery. In such circumstances, while on the way the investigating officer picked up PW-2, Chhatarpal Raidas and Pratap to act as the panch witnesses. According to the investigating officer the accused led them to a coriander field and from a bush he took out the weapon of offence (Banka) and the bloodstained clothes. The weapon of offence and the blood-stained clothes were collected in the presence of the two panch witnesses and the panchnama Exh. 5 was accordingly drawn. The weapon of offence and the blood stained clothes thereafter were sent for the Serological Test to the Forensic Science laboratory. We are of the view that the Courts below committed a serious error in relying upon this piece of evidence of discovery of a fact, i.e., the weapon & clothes at the instance of the accused as one of the incriminating circumstances in the chain of other circumstances. We shall explain here below why we are saying so. 52. Section 27 of the Evidence Act, 1872 reads thus: “27. How much of information received from accused may be proved.— Provided that, when any fact is deposed to as discovered in consequence of information received from a person accused of any offence, in the custody of a police officer, so much of such information, whether it amounts to a confession or not, as relates distinctly to the fact thereby discovered, may be proved.” 53. If, it is say of the investigating officer that the accused appellant while in custody on his own free will and volition made a statement that he would lead to the place where he had hidden the weapon of offence along with his blood stained clothes then the first thing that the investigating officer should have done was to call for two independent witnesses at the police station itself. Once the two independent witnesses arrive at the police station thereafter in their presence the accused should be asked to make an appropriate statement as he may desire in regard to pointing out the place where he is said to have hidden the weapon of offence. When the accused while in custody makes such statement before the two independent witnesses (panch witnesses) the exact statement or rather the exact words uttered by the accused should be incorporated in the first part of the panchnama that the investigating officer may draw in accordance with law. This first part of the panchnama for the purpose of Section 27 of the Evidence Act is always drawn at the police station in the presence of the independent witnesses so as to lend credence that a particular statement was made by the accused expressing his willingness on his own free will and volition to point out the place where the weapon of offence or any other article used in the commission of the offence had been hidden. Once the first part of the panchnama is completed thereafter the police party along with the accused and the two independent witnesses (panch witnesses) would proceed to the particular place as may be led by the accused. If from that particular place anything like the weapon of offence or blood stained clothes or any other article is discovered then that part of the entire process would form the second part of the panchnama. This is how the law expects the investigating officer to draw the discovery panchnama as contemplated under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. If we read the entire oral evidence of the investigating officer then it is clear that the same is deficient in all the aforesaid relevant aspects of the matter. 54. The reason why we are not ready or rather reluctant to accept the evidence of discovery is that the investigating officer in his oral evidence has not said about the exact words uttered by the accused at the police station. The second reason to discard the evidence of discovery is that the investigating officer has failed to prove the contents of the discovery panchnama. The third reason to discard the evidence is that