TMI Blog1973 (8) TMI 176X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... also convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code in connection with the murder of Labh Singh and were sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life on that account. In addition to that, the aforesaid two accused were convicted under Section 307 Indian Penal Code on four counts for the injuries caused to Mohinder Singh, Ajit Singh, Jarnail Singh and Harbans Singh PWs and were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years on each count. Karam Singh accused was convicted under Section 302 Indian Penal Code for causing the death of Labh Singh deceased and was sentenced to death. In connection with the death of Joginder Singh and Lakha Singh, Karam Singh was convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code on two counts and was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. Karam Singh was, in addition, convicted under Section 307 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code for injuries caused to Ajit Singh, Jarnail Singh, Mohinder Singh and Harbans Singh and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years on each count. The remaining six accused were acquitted by the Sessions Judge. On appeal and referen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... found Labh Singh, Joginder Singh and Lakha Singh deceased as well as Ajit Singh (PW 19), Jarnail Singh (PW 22), Mohinder Singh (PW 27), Harbans Singh (PW 21), Bawa Singh (PW 25) and Chanan Singh (PW 26) present in the courtyard of Labh Singh's house. Joginder Kaur, wife of Labh Singh, and Harbans Kaur, wife of Bawa Singh, too were present there. The nine accused are then stated to have come near the compound wall of the courtyard of Labh Singh's house. The compound wall was about six-and-a-half feet high from outside and four-and-a half feet high from inside because the courtyard was at a higher level than the ground outside. At the instigation of Tarlok Singh, Atma Singh and Swarn Singh accused, it is stated, Jagir Singh and Baljit Singh accused threw one hand-grenade each into the courtyard of Labh Singh's house. Both the hand-grenades exploded in the courtyard as a result of which Labh Singh, Joginder Singh and Lakha Singh deceased and Mohinder Singh, Jarnail Singh, Ajit Singh and Harbans Singh PWs received injuries. All the nine accused then came inside the courtyard of the house of Labh Singh deceased. Karam Singh and Amarjit Singh accused were armed with spears. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Singh then Went from Batala hospital to the place of occurrence and reached there at 5 a.m. The Sub Inspector found the dead body of Labh Singh lying on a cot. The Sub Inspector prepared inquest report relating to the dead body of Labh Singh. Blood-stained earth was taken into possession from three places in the courtyard of Labh Singh's house. The Sub Inspector also took into possession lever P1, percussion cap P2 and four pieces of exploded hand-grenade from the place of occurrence and put them into a sealed parcel. 7. Injuries of Harbans Singh, Ajit Singh and Jarnail Singh were examined by Dr. N.S. Dhillon on July 9. Harbans Singh was found to have two lacerated wounds, one on his right index ringer and the other on the bridge of his nose. Both the injuries were grievous. Ajit Singh was found to have one punctured wound with averted lacerated margins on his right thigh, while Jarnail Singh had one lacerated wound on the right side of his neck. The injuries of Ajit Singh and Jarnail Singh were found to be simple. Mohinder Singh was examined by Dr. S.P. Mago on July 10, 1968 and was found to have four simple injuries on his person. 8. Lakha Singh and Joginder Singh who ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on behalf of the appellant. The evidence of Dr. Dhillon, who performed post-mortem examination on the body of Labh Singh, shows that there were five injuries on the body of the deceased. Out of them, three could be caused with a hand-grenade, while two had been caused with a sharp pointed weapon. One of the last two mentioned injuries was a punctured incised wound on the back of the right forearm, while the other injury was as under : Punctured incised wound 1 x3/4 with clean cut margins, over 5th rib and 5th left intercostal space in mid axillary line with fracture of 5th rib, puncture of left lung near the fissure, went through the entire lung, cross punctured the walls of left auricle, haematoma over the lung and pleural cavity pleura punctured left side, pericardium puncture. The above mentioned injury was sufficient in ordinary course of nature to cause death. The evidence of Dr. Narinder Mohan, who performed post-mortem examination on the bodies of Joginder Singh and Lakha Singh, shows that Joginder Singh had three lacerated wounds which could be caused with a hand-grenade. Likewise, Lakha Singh had two injuries which could be caused with a hand-grenade. The following ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d to fix the identity of the assailants. 15. Another fact of which note should be taken is that the first information report in this case was lodged at 11.15 p.m., within a few hours of the occurrence. Although Mr. Nuruddin has urged that there was delay in lodging the first information report, we find it difficult to accept this submission. The occurrence, according to the prosecution case, took place at 7.15 p.m. As a result of the occurrence, Labh Singh died soon thereafter, while Joginder Singh and Lakha Singh received serious injuries. In addition to that, four prosecution witnesses also received injuries. It is plain that the prosecution witnesses must have got stunned because of the sudden occurrence in the course of which three of their close relatives received injuries which ultimately proved fatal and four others were also injured. Attempt was made to pour water into the mouth of Labh Singh deceased but Labh Singh died soon thereafter. It must have taken some time for Chanan Singh and others to get out of the state of shock and regain their composure. They then arranged for a cart which was brought from Chanan Singh's house in Longowal Kalan Joginder Singh and Lakh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ook place in the courtyard of his house. 17. The High Court while rejecting the prosecution evidence referred to the fact that in one of the plans, height of the outer wall of the courtyard of Labh Singh's house was mentioned to be 61/2 ft. while in the other, it was mentioned to be 41/2 ft. This discrepancy has been explained by Bal Kishan Draftsman (PW 9), whose evidence shows that the level of the courtyard of Labh Singh's house was higher than the ground outside. The height of the boundary wall consequently measured to be 61/2 ft. from outside and 41/2 ft. from inside. No question was put to the witness in cross-examination, and we can find no cogent reason as to why the evidence of Bal Kishan be not accepted There could also, in our opinion, be no difficulty for those present inside the courtyard from seeing as to who were the persons who threw the hand-grenades, because a 41/2 ft. high wall could not obstruct their view in fixing the identity of the culprits. 18. Another circumstance which weighed with the High Court in rejecting the prosecution evidence was the nature of the injury on the nose of Harbans Singh (PW 21). According to the evidence of the prosecuti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... corroboration from the testimony of Piara Singh who has deposed that when the said bus arrived at Batala at about 5 p.m. on the day of occurrence on its way from Amritsar to Pathankot the witness relieved Labh Singh deceased. Labh Singh then got down from the bus at Batala and the witness took it to Pathankot. Another witness who has been examined on the point is Yog Raj (DW 2), who was the booking clerk of the Punjab Roadways office at Pathankot. According to this witness, the advance way bill of the bus in question showed that its driver was Labh Singh when it left Amritsar for Pathankot. The witness, however, admitted that the entry in the way bill was made at the commencement of the journey. In the circumstances, the evidence of the witness is quite consistent with Labh Singh having been relieved by Piara Singh at Batala. 20. Labh Singh admittedly died during the course of this occurrence. Had he been at Batala at 7 p.m. on the day of occurrence, it is not likely that he could have reached his village before 9.30 or 10 p.m. on the day of occurrence. It is in evidence that a bus takes two hours to travel from Pathankot to Batala. It is difficult to believe that a report abou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a defence witness. Bachan Singh in the course of his evidence denied being present at the scene of occurrence and having been injured at that time. According to Bachan Singh, he had received an injury during the course of a dispute with his father. Piaro, sister of Bachan Singh, was also examined as DW 4. She too has denied that Bachan Singh was present at the time of the present occurrence. It is, in our opinion, not necessary to dilate upon the injury of Bachan Singh because even if it may be assumed that Bachan Singh too received an injury during the course of the present occurrence, that would not materially affect the substance of the prosecution evidence regarding the guilt of the three accused-respondents. 23. The learned judges of the High Court in rejecting the prosecution evidence have made observations critical about the magistrate, who received the copy of the first information report, as well as about Dr. Dhillon, Sub Inspector Kehar Singh and the learned Sessions Judge. So far as the magistrate is concerned, it observed that he was an irresponsible lazy officer as he could not reach the hospital at about 1 a.m. on the night of occurrence in spite of heavy rain for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on its own facts. Although the benefit of every reasonable doubt should be given to the accused, the courts should not at the same time reject evidence which is ex facie trustworthy on grounds which are fanciful or in the nature of conjectures. 26. The High Court in the present case, in our opinion, has rejected the prosecution evidence which was ex facie of a convincing nature on grounds which partake of the nature of conjectures and surmises. The view taken by the High Court, as already observed, is manifestly unreasonable and has resulted in miscarriage of justice. We accordingly accept the appeal, set aside the judgment of the High Court and convict the accused-respondents for the offences for which they were convicted by the trial court. As regards the sentence for the offence under Section 302 Indian Penal Code, we find that a period of more than two years has elapsed since the acquittal of the accused-respondents by the High Court. It would, in the circumstances, be appropriate if the extreme penalty for the offence under Section 302 Indian Penal Codes is not exacted from the accused-respondents. We, therefore, sentence the accused-respondents for the offence under Sectio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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