SURJA SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this judgment I dispose of Criminal Appeal No. 299-SB of 1987 titled Surja Singh and another v. The State of Haryana and Crl. Revision No. 970 of 1989 titled Ram Kalan v. The State of Haryana and others as the appeal and revision have arisen from the judgment and order dated 13.4.1987 passed by Addl. Sessions Judge, Kurukshetra, who convicted the appellants under Sections 323/308/34 I.P.C. and sentenced them to undergo R.I. for 6 months under Section 323/34 I.P.C. and 2-1/2 years under Section 308/34 I.P.C. The trial court ordered that both the sentences shall run concurrently.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are that the complainant party consisting of two injured persons namely Ram Kalan and Lala Ram as well as both the accused belong to the same village and also have the same caste. Their houses are situated near to each other. There was a party faction in the village of the accused and the complainant party. In the year 1983, Panchayat elections took place in the village and the families of the complainant and that of the accused supported different candidates though both of them were elected as member of the Panchayat of the same village. However, the relations between the two factions became strained. Their relations also remained strained in the year 1984 when the same dispute took place between the same parties. So much so, the parties were even challaned under Section 107/151 Cr.P.C. and a criminal case was also registered. Anyway, a good sense prevailed subsequently and the matter was patched up but the differences between the parties continued. On 13.1.1986 at about 10.00 p.m., Ram Kalan went to the Dera of Satnam Singh to fetch Lala Ram, who was working as servant of Satnam Singh. At about 10.30 p.m. both Ram Kalan and Lala Ram returned from the Dera of Satnam Singh and when they reached near the house of the accused, they found Surja Ram armed with a lathi and Ram Kishan empty handed emerging out of heap of Parali lying there. Surja Ram gave a lathi blow on the head of Lala Ram and Ram Kishan threw brick bats hitting Ram Kalan on his abdomen. An alarm was raised which attracted to the place of occurrence Tulsi Ram, Phool Singh and Amar Singh and they also witnessed the occurrence. After causing the injuries both the accused fled away from the place of occurrence. Injured Lala Ram was brought to the house and on the way he became unconscious. During the night no member of the complainant party went to the police station or to the hospital on account of the fear of the accused and also on account of non-availability of conveyance. On the next morning, Lala Ram in unconscious condition was taken to Primary Health Centre, Pehowa along with the other injured namely Ram Kalan and they reached there at about 8.30 a.m. Dr. Rajinder Kumar in-charge of PHC, Pehowa medico-legally examined Lala Ram and found injuries on his person. He also medico-legally examined the other injured Ram Kalan. The doctor then sent a ruqa Ex.PB/2 to the police station informing the police about the admission of Ram Kalan. ASI Siri Ram of Police Station Pehowa rushed to PHC, Pehowa and he made an application Ex. PB/3 before the doctor in order to ascertain his opinion whether Lala Ram was fit to make a statement. However, the doctor opined vide Ex. PB/4 that Lala Ram was not in a position to make a statement. The ASI then recorded the statement of other injured namely Ram Kalan Ex. PH and sent it to the police station with his endorsement Ex. PH/1 for the registration of the case and formal FIR was registered. Rough site plan Ex. DL of the place of occurrence was also prepared. Injured Lala Ram was shifted to L.N.J.P. Hospital. The ASI went there and submitted application Ex.PD before the doctor in order to ascertain whether Lala Ram was fit to make a statement or not. But the doctor declared him unfit to make a statement. The investigation of this case was further conducted by SI Sohan Singh, who on 16.1.1986 arrested the accused. During the course of interrogation Surja made a disclosure statement that he had kept concealed one lathi in the heap of Parali and he could get the same recovered. Thereafter in pursuance of his disclosure statement he got recovered a lathi which was taken into possession vide recovery memo Ex. PH/1. The condition of Lala Ram did not improve even in L.N.J.P. Hospital and he was shifted to PGI, Chandigarh on 17.1.1986. Even in the PGI Lala Ram was not fit to make a statement. Ultimately Dr. Bindira of PGI performed an operation upon Lala Ram on 17.1.1986 and found fracture of linear tempro frontal extending towards midline. Lala Ram was finally discharged from the PGI on 24.1.1986 and his statement was recorded by SI Sohan Singh on 28.1.1986. With above allegations the investigation was completed and the challan was submitted in the Court of Area Magistrate, who supplied the copies of documents to the accused and vide commitment order dated 21.5.1986 committed the accused to the Court of Session in order to face the trial under Sections 308/323/34 I.P.C.

(3.) IN order to prove the charges, the prosecution examined PW 1 Dr. N.C. Mureja, who x-rayed Lala Ram and found fracture of left fronto parietal region of the skull and proved this fracture through opinion Ex. PA. Ex.PA/1 is the skiagram of the injury. Dr. Rajinder Kumar Goel appeared as PW 2, who initially medico-legally examined Lala Ram and found two injuries on his person which are described as under :-