STATE Vs. SARDARA SINGH AND OTHERS,

JUDGEMENT

(1.) There is a village Jagtewala, Chak No. 27 H. in Tehsil Karanpur, District Ganganagar. In this village the accused Sardara Singh, Kela Singh, Jaila Singh and Pal Singh possessed certain Murrabas of land. Lal Singh and his son Jagtar Singh deceased also owned certain Murrabas there. All the accused were the real brothers of Lal Singh deceased. Their lands were, however, partitioned a few years back. Some litigation had been going on between Sardara Singh, Kela Singh, Jaila Singh and Pal Singh on the one hand and Lal Singh on the other about water. On June 17, 1964, at 11 a.m., when Mst. Punjab Kaur, wife of deceased Lal Singh, was coming with her son, Mukhtiar Singh, from her fields, Sardara Singh gave her a lathi blow on her leg at a distance of about 8 furlongs from the village Jagtewala, Mst. Punjab Kaur made a report of this happening (Ex. P-19) at the Police Station, Keshrisinghpura, that very day at 7-30 a.m. Next day, i.e., on June 18, 1964, Lal Singh had to take water from the canal for irrigating his land. He accompanied by his sons, Jagtar Singh, aged 17 years, and Mukhtiar Singh, aged 14 years, went to his field early in the morning i.e., an hour before, sun rise. Sardara Singh had already diverted water to his own land 5 minutes prior to the arrival of Lal Singh on his field. Lal Singh objected to it. Thereupon Sardara Singh and Jaila Singh beat him with Kassis. Kela Singh and Pal Singh also inflicted injuries to Jagtar Singh with Kassis. Sardara Singh gave one Kassi blow with its handle to Mukhtiar Singh. In the meantime Mst. Punjab Kaur reached there. It is said that she brought tea from her house for her husband. She is alleged to have witnessed the occurrence. As soon as Mst. Punjab Kaur reached the place, she raised hue and cry as a result of which Kela Singh and Pal Singh ran away across the railway line and Jaila Singh and Sardara Singh took to their heels towards the village Jagtewala. Injured Lal Singh had already been thrown into a 'Khala' (water channel) by the accused. His body was taken out of the 'Khala' by Mst. Punjab Kaur, Mukhtiar Singh and others. Jagtar Singh was lying outside the 'Khala'. Mukhtiar Singh then went to Dalpatsinghpura to inform the Patwari of the village, but he was not available there. Mukhtiar Singh apprised Mehar Singh, a resident of Dalpatsinghpura, D.W. 1, of the happening. Soon after Mehar Singh rushed up to the spot. Mukhtiar Singh brought a cart from his house. The dead bodies of Lal Singh and Jagtar Singh were loaded on the cart and then they were taken to their house in the village Jagtewala. Mst. Punjab Kaur went to the Police Station, Keshrisinghpura, to lodge a report. Arjun Singh accompanied her upto the Police Station. The Station House Officer, Shankerlal, P.W. 5, recorded the first information report Ex. P-1 on June 18, 1964, at 11-15 a.m. Later on the S.H.O., Shankerlal went to the spot. He prepared the inquest report Ex. P-3, seizure memos of the blood-stained clothes of Lal Singh and Jagtar Singh, Exs. P-5 and P-6 respectively. He collected sand, stained with blood, from the spot under memo Ex. P-7. He also prepared the site plan Ex. P-8. Blood-stained shirt Ex. 1 and Gamcha Ex. 2 were recovered from the possession of Sardara Singh under the memo Ex. P-9, on June 18, 1964. These clothes were duly sealed. They were sent to the Chemical Examiner, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur. The Chemical Examiner (vide Ex. P-26) reported that these clothes were positive for blood. Cuttings of the articles were then sent to the Serologist and the Chemical Examiner to the Government of India, Calcutta, who reported that they were stained with human blood; vide Ex. P-27. The dead bodies of Lal Singh and Jagtar Singh were sent for post-mortem examination to the Medical Officer, I/C. Government Dispensary, Gulabewala. Dr. G.S. Grewal, P.W. 2 conducted the postmortem examination of the dead body of Lal Singh. He found the following injuries:-

(2.) After necessary investigation, the Police put up a challan in the court of learned Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Karanpur, District Ganganagar. The said Magistrate made requisite inquiry and committed the case to the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Ganganagar, for trial. All the 4 accused, namely Sardara Singh, Kaila Singh, Jaila Singh and Pal Singh were charged under Sec. 302, Indian Penal Code, on Feb. 15, 1965, to which they pleaded not guilty. In support of its case the prosecution examined 6 witnesses, namely, Kartar Singh (Motbir) P.W. 1; Mst. Punjab Kaur (eye-witness) P.W. 2; Dr. G.S. Grewal, P.W. 3; Mukhtiar Singh (eye-witness) P.W. 4; S.H.O. Shankerlal P.W. 5; and Patwari Sohanlal, P.W. 6. In his statement recorded under Sec. 342, Criminal Procedure Code, Sardara Singh said that he had diverted water to his field at 5-30 a.m., on the date of the occurrence. He arrived there 15 minutes before the scheduled time. He had found Jagtar Singh and Lal Singh dead. Thereupon, he went to Mst. Punjab Kaur and Mukhtiar Singh and informed them of the happening. Later he went to the Police Station, Kesarsinghpura, and lodged report Ex. P-19 that very day. The rest of the accused pleaded alibi. In their defence, the accused examined D.W. 1 Mehar Singh and D.W. 2 Mukha Singh. The trial Court held that the two eye-witnesses, Mst. Punjab Kaur P.W. 2, and her son Mukhtiar Singh, P.W. 4, reached the spot after the occurrence and were not present there at the time of the actual commission of the crime and, therefore, their testimony could not be said to be reliable in so far as complicity of the accused is concerned. The trial Court further held that mere production of Sardara Singh's blood-stained shirt Ex. 1 and Gamcha Ex. 2 was not sufficient to link him with the crime. There being no other evidence, the court below acquitted all the 4 accused for offence under Sec. 302, Indian Penal Code.

(3.) Aggrieved against the above judgement, the State Government has filed the present appeal. Before the case was put up for hearing, Jaila Singh died. It was, therefore, ordered that the appeal against the accused Jaila Singh stood abated. We are now concerned only with the appeal filed against Saradara Singh, Kela Singh and Pal Singh.