- (1.) This is an appeal against the judgment and order of the Punjab High Court reversing an order of acquittal by the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar. The appellant Bakshish Singh and his brother Gurbagshi Singh were tried for an offence under Ss. 302/34, Penal Code but were acquitted. Against this judgment the State took an appeal to the High Court. As Gurbaksh Singh was said to be absconding the appeal against the appellant alone was heard aid decided by the High Court.
(2.) On 1-8-1954, sometime between 7 and 8 p.m. Bachhinder Singh son of Bhagwan Singh of village Kairon was shot in the lane in front of their house and as a result of bullet injuries he died the next day in the hospital at Amritsar. He was at the time of shooting accompanied by his younger brother Narvel Singh, a boy of 13 and after getting injured Bachhinder Singh and his brother returned to the house. Bhagwan Singh states that he was informed of the identity of the assailants by Bachhinder Singh who was, at his own request, carried from the house to the hospital at Kairon but as the injuries were serious, the doctor at Kairon rendered "first aid" and advised the father to take his son to V.J. Hospital at Amritsar. Bhagwan Singh then took Bachhinder Singh to the Railway Station but before the arrival of the train he went to the Police Post at Kairon which is at a distance of about 100 yds. from the Railway Station in order to make a report. As the Assistant Sub-Inspector was away at Sarhali, he returned to the Railway Station and took his son to the Amritsar hospital by the train leaving Kairon at 9- 47 p.m. Bhagwan Singh was accompained at that time by his younger son, Narvel Singh P.W. 12, and by Shamir Singh, Inder Singh and Narinjan Singh. Soon after their arrival at the Amritsar hospital Bachhinder Singh was examined by Dr. Kanwal Kishore P.W. 2 at 11-45 p.m. and finding the injury to be of a serious nature the doctor sent information to the police as a result of which Head Constable Maya Ram Sharma. P.W. 4 arrived at the hospital sometime after midnight and, in the presence of Dr. Mahavir Sud, P.W.17 recorded the dying declaration of Bachhinder Singh Ex. P-H, after getting a certificate from the doctor that the injured person was in a fit state to make a statement. This statement is the basis of the First Information Report Ex. P-H 1 which is a copy of Ex. P-H. This report was recorded on 2-8-1954, at 7-50 a.m. at Police Station Sarhali which we were told, is about 20 miles or so away from Amritsar. In the early hours of the morning Dr. K. C. Saronwala P.W. performed an operation on Bachhinder Singh and extracted the bullet from the left abdominal wall which was handed over to the Police. But Bachhinder Singh died at 1-35 p.m. on 2-8-1954. An inquest report Ex. P-K was prepared at 2-30 p.m. by Head Constable Maya Ram P.W.
(3.) The case for the prosecution rests on the dying declaration of Bachhinder Singh Ex. P.H and on the statement of Narvel Singh P.W. 12 who was as an eye witness to the occurrence and on the statement made by the deceased to his father as to his assailant as soon as he (Bachhinder Singh) was brought to the house after receiving the injuries. The prosecution also relied on an extra-judicial confession made to Teja Singh P.W. 13 but both the courts below have rejected this piece of evidence and it is unnecessary to consider it any further.;