- (1.) Vijender, Devinder Bhinder and Mukesh Kumar, the appellants in these three appeals, were placed on trial before the Judge, Designated court No. 111 (Karkardooma courts) , Delhi to answer common charges under S. 364/34, 302/34 and 201/34 Indian Penal Code. The charges were based on the allegations that on 26/6/1992, at or about II a. m. they, in furtherance of their common intention, kidnapped Khurshid Ali from Village Johripur, within the jurisdiction of Gokalpuri Police Station, in a Maruti car bearing Registration No. DDB 5067 in order to put him in danger of being murdered; and after committing his murder on the same night they concealed his dead body in Village Banthala, within the jurisdiction of Loni Police Station, to escape from legal punishment. Against Vijender and Devinder separate charges under Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959 read with Section 5 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 ("tada") were also framed for illegal possession of country-made pistols and cartridges. The trial ended with an order of conviction and sentences recorded against all the appellants under S. 364 and 362 Indian Penal Code and also under Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959 read with Section 5 of TADA against appellant Vijender. Aggrieved thereby the three convicts have filed these appeals under Section 19 of TADA which have been heard together and this judgment will dispose of them.
(2.) Shorn of details, the prosecution case is as under: (A) On 26/6/1992 at or about 11. Raj Kumar (Public witness 4, a resident of Johripur, went to the house of Shaikh Raful Hassan (Public witness 5 of their locality and informed him that he had just seen Vijender, Mukesh and Devinder (the three appellants) taking away his son Khurshid in Maruti Car No. DDB 5067. On getting that information, Public Witness 5 called up the police control room over telephone and reported the kidnapping of his son. Lady Constable Urmila, who was then on duty in the Police Control Room, received that message and communicated it to Gokalpuri Police Station as Village Johripur fell under its jurisdiction. On receipt of that communication SI Shivraj Singh (Public witness 8 recorded the same in the daily diary book under Entry No. 13-A (Ext. Public Witness 8/a) and proceeded to Johripur. There he met Public Witness 5 and assured him that his son would be traced out soon. Since in spite of such assurance his son remained untracked till evening, Public Witness 5 went to the Police Vigilance Cell and lodged a report there (Ext. Public Witness 15/a). On the following morning Public Witness 5 went to Gokalpuri Police Station and lodged another report which was recorded by Public Witness 8 (Ext. Public Witness 5/a). Treating this report as the FIR Public Witness 8 registered a case and Shri R. S. Chauhan (Public witness 19, the Station House Officer of Gokalpuri Police Station, took up its investigation; (B) In the meantime some officers of Loni Police Station in the district of Ghaziabad (U. P) , while on patrol duty in the afternoon of 27/6/1992, found the dead body of a young boy aged about 17/18 years lying by the side of railway lines in Village Banthala. Sub-Inspector Santosh Kumar (Public witness 20 got photographs of the dead body taken (Ext. Public Witness 20/b) and, after holding inquest thereupon, sent it to the Ghaziabad mortuary for post-mortem examination; (C) On getting that information Saddiqan (Public witness 6, mother of Khurshid, went to the mortuary on 28/6/1992 and identified the dead body as that of her son from the wearing apparel and an injury on his finger which he had sustained earlier; (D) On the same day, i. e. , 28/6/1992, Constable Meghraj Singh (Public witness 17 of Police Station Khekhra in the district of Meerut (U. P. ) found, while coming back from patrol duty, a red-coloured Maruti car bearing No. DDB 5067 lying abandoned near a field in Village Ahmadnagar with its front door glass broken and bloodstains inside the car. He made necessary arrangement to take the car to the police station and deposited it there as unclaimed property; (E) On getting information that Car No. DDB 5067 was lying in Khekhra Police Station Public Witness 19 went there on 29/6/1992 along with a fingerprint expert and a photographer. The expert took impressions of the fingerprints found on the car and Public Witness 19 seized sample of bloodstains found inside the car after scratching; (F) On the following day i. e. 30/6/1992 Public Witness 19 went in search of the accused persons and ultimately apprehended them from a house in Khajani Nagar behind Johripur. On search of their persons, a. 315 bore country-made pistol with a cartridge inside was recovered from the trousers' pocket of 175 Vijender and 0. 12 bore broken country-made pistol and a cartridge from underneath the bed of Devinder. Besides, a key of a Maruti car was also a recovered from Vijender. Public Witness 19 seized all those articles and sealed them. The seized arms and ammunition as also the wearing apparels of Khurshid earlier seized were sent for examination by Ballistic Expert and the bloodstained articles to the Forensic Science Laboratory. After receipt of the reports of the post-mortem examination (Ext. Public Witness 2 I/a) and of the Experts (Ext. Public Witness 19/j. K. L) and completion of investigation Public Witness 19 submitted charge-sheet against the appellants.
(3.) The motive that was ascribed by the prosecution for the kidnapping and murder of Khurshid was that he used to send love letters to the sister of Vijender who was the driver of the Maruti car in question and lived in the same locality. When Vijender learnt about the same he warned Public Witness 5 that if his son did not stop such undesirable activity he would be compelled to take dire steps.;