FAIZAN UDDIN - (1.) THE four appellants, namely, Kashmiri Lal, Ravinder Kumar, Manmohand Rai and Mool Chand were charged and tried along with the co-accused Chander Prakash for offences punishable under Sections 302, 307, 326, 452 read with Section 140 IPC by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, in Sessions Case No. 30 of 1978 (Trial No. 8 of 1978), who by his judgment dated 11/05/1978 acquitted the co-accused Chander Prakash, but convicted and sentenced the four appellants herein as under :- JUDGEMENT_471_10_1996Html1.htm
(2.) THE High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 593 of 1978, decided on 18/12/1979, upheld the conviction and sentences imposed on the appellant No. 4, Mool Chand. THE High Court also upheld the convictions of the remaining appellant Nos. 1 to 3 under various counts, as indicated above, but reduced the period of their sentences to that already undergone by each of them. In addition, the High Court imposed payment of fine of Rs. 1,000.00 on appellant No. 1, Kashmiri Lal, in default of payment of fine to undergo further R. I. for six months. Admittedly, the incident had occurred on 6/01/1978 at about 11 P. M. in the house belonging to the appellant Kashmiri Lal, the first floor of which was tenanted by him to the deceased Gurbachan Singh. The appellant Kashmiri Lal and his family occupied the ground floor of the said house and a room in the ground floor is said to be in possession of one Krishan Lal, Prosecution witness 14. The appellant Kashmiri Lal had initiated eviction proceedings against the deceased Gurbachan Singh, who had also filed a suit for injunction against the appellant Kashmiri Lal. The prosecution case was that on the aforesaid date and time, the four appellants along with the acquitted accused Chander Prakash were attempting to break open the lock of the room in ground floor which was in possession of Krishan Lal, Prosecution witness 14 and, therefore, the deceased Gurbachan Singh directed his son Manmohan Singh, Prosecution witness 12, to go and inform Krishan Lal about the same. It was alleged that when Manmohan Lal, Prosecution witness 12, came down and was in the court yard of the ground floor, the appellant No. 1 Kashmiri Lal armed with an axe, appellant No. 4, Mool Chand armed with a Sua, appellant No. 2, Ravinder Kumar armed with a Sota and appellant No. 3, Manmohan Rai armed with a knife and the acquitted accused Chander Prakash armed with a hammer were seen there, when the appellant Kashmiri Lal is said to have raised a Lalkara that Manmohan Singh should not be allowed to escape. Thereupon, Manmohan Singh, Prosecution witness 12, was assaulted by the appellants. On sustaining the injuries Manmohan Singh ran back to the first floor but the appellants as well as the acquitted accused chased him up to the first floor where the appellant Kashmiri Lal inflicted an axe blow on the head of Gurbachan Singh, as a result of which he fell down. Thereafter, the appellant Mool Chand inflicted repeated Sua blows on his back. When Mohinder Singh, Prosecution witness 9, came forward to save Gurbachan Singh from further assaults, the appellant Mool Chand inflicted Sua blows on his left arm. At this stage, when other inmates of Gurbachan Singh tried to intervene, they were also assaulted by the appellants. According to the prosecution, the complainant party also inflicted injuries to the appellants in exercise of their right of self-defence. On hearing the hue and cry the witness Gurdev Singh, Prosecution witness 19, and other neighbours rushed to the scene and then the appellants and the acquitted accused went away down the stairs.
(3.) THE injured Gurbachan Singh died on the way when he was being taken to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. THE Police Inspector Bua Das, Prosecution witness 21, on receiving the information, reached the Civil Hospital where he recorded the statement of Surinder Singh, P.W. 7, at about 1.30 A. M. on 7/01/1979 on the basis of which a report of the incident was lodged in the Police Station, Ludhina at 1.45 A. M. Dr. Gurcharan Kaur, Prosecution witness (9), performed an autopsy on the dead body of Gurbachan Singh, who found three lacerated wounds, four punctured wounds on various parts of the body of the deceased, besides a few abrasions, injury No. (5), a punctured wound on the left back was found chest cavity deep. THE pleura was punctured on left side under injury No. 5 and left lung was also punctured and heart was punctured through and through in left auricle. In the opinion of the Doctor death was due to shock and internal haemorrhage as a result of injury to the lung and heart due to injury No. 5 which was individually sufficient in the ordinary course of nature of cause death. The injured witness Mohinder Singh, Prosecution witness 8, was also examined by Dr. Ashwni Kumar, Prosecution witness 3. at 7 p. m. on 7/01/1978, who found seven abrasions of simple nature on his person. The injured Manmohan Singh, Prosecution witness 12, was examined by Dr. Anand Prakash, P.W. 4, at 1 a.m., on 7/01/1978 and found seven injuries on his person, out of which five were incised wounds besides one abrasion and a contusion. Dr. Anand Prakash also examined Smt. Kartar Kaur, wife of the deceased at 10.40 a.m. on the same night and found five incised wounds, two lacerated wounds, three swellings and two abrasions with pain in abdomen.;