- (1.) These two appeals, filed under Section 14 of the Terrorist Affected Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1984, have been heard together as they stem from one the same judgment rendered by the Special Court, Ferozepore in Trial No. 112 of 1985. One of the appeals (Criminal Appeal No. 556 of 1985) is at the instance of Malkiat Singh and Mohinder Singh, son of Mukhtiar Singh, (hereinafter referred to as A1 and A2 respectively) who have been convicted under Section 302 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to imprisonment for life and other (Criminal Appeal No. 539 of 1985) has been filed by Teja Singh (PW-2), the de facto complainant, assailing the acquittal of others arraigned in the trial and seeking capital punishment of the above two convicts. During pendency of these appeals A1 died and therefore his appeal abates. The prosecution case as recounted in the trial is as under : On April 9, 1984 at or about 6.30 P.M. Teja Singh (PW-2), his father Ajaib Singh (the deceased) and his maternal uncle Major Singh (PW-3) were returning to their village Lehra Rohi on bicycles along the public road. PW-2 and PW-3 riding one bicycle while Ajaib Singh was on another. Suddenly a tractor came from behind in a great speed and stopped ahead of them. A2 was driving the tractor, A1 and Mukhtiar Singh were sitting on its left mudguard armed with a gun and a kirpan respectively and Surjit Singh and Mohinder Singh, son of Narain Singh, were sitting on the right mudguard with a dang and a gandasa respectively. Mukhitar Singh raised a lalkara and hearing the same when Ajaib Singh was on the point of getting down from the cycle Malkiat Singh fired at him from his gun twice felling him down with the cycle. A2 then reversed the tractor and drove it over the body of Ajaib Singh resulting in his death on the spot. Seeing the assault on Ajaib Singh when PWs 2 and 3 raised alarms Surjit Singh and Mohinder Singh (son of Narain Singh) assaulted PW-3 with the weapons they were carrying as a result of which he also fell down. Thereafter all the five miscreants fled away in the tractor. In the mean time PW-2 found Dhiraj Singh and Jarnail Singh coming from the opposite direction on a tractor. He stopped them and narrated the incident. Leaving Jarnail Singh to guard the dead body, PW-2 and Dhiraj Singh took injured Major Singh to the hospital. From there PW-2 went to the police station and lodged a First Information Report. On that report ASI Nachhatar Singh (Pw-7) registered a case and left for the spot accompanied by PW-2. Reaching there he held inquest upon the dead body of Ajaib Singh and sent it for post-mortem examination. He seized some blood stained earth, a piece of bone, two cycles and two empties found at the spot, besides other articles. On completion of investigation he submitted charge-sheet and in due course the case was committed to the Special Court.
(2.) The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them and contended that they had been falsely implicated owing to previous enmity.
(3.) To prove its case the prosecution relied, principally upon PWs2 and 3, who claimed to have been eye-witnesses to the murder. Both of them detailed the prosecution case as narrated earlier. As regards the motive PW-2 stated that two months prior to the incident in question A1 had launched a prosecution against him, the deceased and others for having assaulted him. Besides, a year before A2 and his nephew Mangal Singh had assaulted Sukhwinder Singh, brother of PW-3, and in the case that was filed over that incident PW-3 used to help Sukhwinder Singh in his capacity as the Sarpanch. The other material witness on whom prosecution relied was Dr. J.S. Gurjal (PW-1) who held the autopsy and also examined PW-3. According to PW-1 his post-mortem examination on the dead body of Ajaib Singh revealed the following injuries :- "1. Left side of the Skull bone was badly crushed with brain matter crushed. 2a. A lacerated wound 5 cms x 31/2 cms with inverted margins and blackened on the front of the right chest at the level of the lower end of the sternum. On exploration a wad was taken out. The left pleura and the lung were torn. The plural cavity was full of dark coloured clotted blood (wound of entrance). 2 b. A lacerated wound 4 cms x 21/2 cms with irregular margins on the front of the left chest towards the outer side 11 cms from the nipple (wound of exit). 3 a. A lacerated wound 2.1/2 cms with inverted margins on the back of the left fore-arm towards outer side in the upper third with underlying bones fractured. A pellet was taken out from underneath the injury (wound of entrance). 3 b. A lacerated wound with irregular margins 11/2 cms x 1 cm on the inner side of the left elbow (wound of exit). 4. Abrasion 10 cms x 4 cms on the inner side of the left leg upper third. 5. Abrasion 2 cms. x 11/2 cms. on the inner side of the right knee. 6. Right ulna was protruding out of the wrist joint.";