- (1.) M. Chaudhary, J. This is an appeal filed by the accused appellants from judgment and order dated 17th of February 1981 passed by IV Additional Sessions Judge Pilibhit in Sessions Trial No. 162 of 1980, State v. Darshan Singh & others, convicting accused appellants Darshan Singh, Pal Singh alias Richpal Singh, Baba Singh and Suchcha Singh under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and sentencing each of them to imprisonment for life thereunder and accused Surta Singh under Section 201 IPC and sentencing him to four years' rigorous imprisonment thereunder.
(2.) CO-accused Suchcha Singh was reported having died and hence appeal preferred by him or on his behalf stood abated. Brief facts giving rise to this appeal are that at 12. 30 noon on 17th of November 1979 Gur Dayal Singh lodged an FIR at police station Madho Tanda District Pilibhit situated at a distance of about 15 Kms from village Paurkhas alleging that criminal litigation was going on between his father Baba Singh on the one hand and Hajara Singh father of Darshan Singh on the other and on that very account Hajara Singh and his relations were inimical to them; that at about 9. 30 a. m. on 17th of November, 1979 Gur Dayal Singh and his father Baba Singh went to see their harvested paddy crop lying in their field and saw that Darshan Singh and his brother Pal Singh were diverting the flow of water from the canal distributory with shovels towards their field in order to damage their paddy crop lying there; that then Baba Singh asked them as to why they were diverting the water towards his field and immediately both of them started abusing him shouting that he should be done to death; that in the meanwhile Surta Singh and Baba Singh sons of Kesar Singh who were cousins of Darshan Singh armed with lathis reached there and all the four started giving shovel and lathi blows to Baba Singh; that on hearing the hue and cry raised by Gur Dayal Singh and his father Baba Singh Smt. Jagir Kaur, Gurmej Singh and Sulakkshan Singh rushed to the scene of occurrence and that sustaining the injuries Baba Singh fell down and he rushed for his life leaving the place of occurrence. The police registered a crime against the accused under Sections 307, 323 and 504 IPC (Ext. Ka-14) and made an entry regarding registration of the crime in the general diary (Ext. Ka-15 ). It appears that at that time station officer, police station Madho Tanda alongwith the police force were busy in drawing inquest on the dead body of one Sheo Charan Lal at village Gulariya and SI Om Prakash Sharma was also present there, that at about 10. 00 a. m. Satwant Singh son of victim Baba Singh's daughter informed the police personnel there that his maternal grand-father was being given shovel and lathi blows by Darshan Singh, Pal Singh, Baba Singh and Suchcha Singh. Immediately on the directions of the station officer police station Madho Tanda SI Om Prakash Sharma alongwith the police force accompanied with Satwant Singh proceeded to the place of occurrence. On the way as they reached at the culvert of canal at village Sandai they saw a tractor-trolley there and the same was intercepted by the police at the instance of Satwant Singh. That tractor-trolley was being driven by Surta Singh and dead body of Baba Singh was lying on 'pual' in the trolley and Darshan Singh, Pal Singh, Suchcha Singh and Baba Singh son of Kesar Singh were sitting therein. The police personnel could apprehend Surta Singh and Darshan Singh after giving beating to them. Then SI Om Prakash Sharma taking the tractor trolley in which dead body of Baba Singh son of Sohan Singh was lying and the two persons apprehended went to police station Madho Tanda. Then the crime was altered under Sections 302 and 201 IPC at the police station making Surta Singh also an accused vide GD entry No. 16 at 1. 40 p. m. (Ext. Ka-13 ). Then SI Om Prakash Sharma drew inquest on the dead body of Baba Singh inside the police station, prepared the inquest report (Ext. Ka-2) and other necessary papers (Exts. Ka-3 to Ka-5) and entrusted the dead body in a sealed cover alongwith necessary papers to constables Uma Shanker and Jagdish Chandra for being taken for its post mortem. Thereafter the investigating officer collected blood stained 'pual' from the tractor trolley and prepared its memo (Ext. Ka-6 ).
(3.) THEREAFTER SI Om Prakash Sharma, the investigating officer went to the scene of occurrence, inspect the site and prepared its site plan map (Ext. Ka-7 ). He also collected blood stained and simple earth from the place of occurrence and prepared its memo (Ext. Ka-8 ). He also recorded statements of the witnesses and did other necessary things. Autopsy on the dead body of Baba Singh son of Sohan Singh conducted by Dr. R. C. Maheshwari Medical Officer District Jail Pilibhit on 18th of November, 1979 at about 1. 00 p. m. which revealed the below noted ante mortem injuries: (1) Lacerated wound 1 cm x 0. 5 cm x 0. 5 cm on the bridge of nose in the centre. Clotted blood present. (2) Lacerated wound 4 cm x 1 cm x bone deep on the left side of head about 7 cm above the left eyebrow and 10 cm above the left ear. Left temporal bone fractured. (3) Lacerated wound 1. 5 cm x 0. 5 cm x muscle deep on the left index finger on top. Clotted blood present. (4) Contusion 2 cm x 1 cm on left upper eyelid. (5) Contusion 2 cm x 1 cm on right upper eyelid. (6) Abraded contusion 2 cm x 1 cm on left leg about 5 cm below the left knee joint. Left tibia bone fractured. (7) Lacerated wound 2. 5 cm x 1 cm x bone deep anteriorly on right leg in the middle. (8) Contusion 4 cm x 3 cm on right upper arm laterally in the middle. On an internal examination haemorrhage was found present between the skull and dura matters and meningeal vessels ruptured. The doctor opined that the death was caused due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of ante mortem injuries about one day ago.;