A.D. Koshal, J. - (1.) FOR the murder of Tilak Raj, aged 35 years, a resident of Mahan Singh Road, Amritsar, four persons, namely, Romesh Kumar alias Billa, a shop -keeper, aged 18 or 19 years, Ashok Kumar alias Ashoki, a labourer, aged 17 years, Amarjit Singh, a contractor, aged 23 years, and Paramjit Singh, an embroiderer, aged 18 years, all residents of different parts of the same town, were jointly tried by Shri Pritam Singh Pattar. Sessions Judge, Amritsar, Romesh Kumar accused was charged with an offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, was found guilty thereof and was sentenced to imprisonment for life. Out of the other three accused who were charged with an offence under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Code, Paramjit Singh to whom only a lalkara was attributed, was acquitted, while the other two were convicted of an offence under Section 326 read with Section 34 ibid and each one of them was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for seven years and a fine of Rs. 500/ -. the sentence is default of payment of fine being rigorous imprisonment for three months. The judgment of the learned Sessions Judge is dated the 8th of August, 1969, against which Amarjit Singh, Romesh Kumar and Ashok Kumar convicts have filed Criminal Appeals Nos. 994, 1088 and 1158 of 1969 respectively, all of which we are hererby disposing of.
(2.) THE prosecution case may be stated thus. At 9 or 10 P.M. on the 12th of October, 1968, Sulakhan Singh (P.W. 2) was present in Chowk Chhati Knui of Amritsar town when he met Tilak Raj deceased who, like himself, was a pick -pocket and was coming in the company of Nirmal Singh (P.W. 3) All these three persons then started walking together and reached that part of the Nimak Mandi Road where Gali Teliwanwali branches off it. All the four accused who were all pick -pockets and were known to them, met them there and were asked by Tilak Raj to stand him a feast on the plea that luck had favoured them in the matter of their profession. The response, however, was not a pleasant one in as much as Romesh Kumar and Paramjit Singh accused told their two co -accused that Tilak Raj should have a feast there and then. All the four accused then whipped out knives from their respective packets and the deceased was given three knife blows, one by Romesh Kumar in the left side of the chest, another by Ashok Kumar in the back and the third by Amarjit Singh, also in the back. During the course of this assault paramjit Singh accused was shouting that anybody who intervened would be killed. Tilak Raj had fallen on the ground as a result of the injuries received by him and thereafter all the four accused made good their escape. In addition to Sulakhan Singh (P.W. 2) and Nirmal Singh (P.W. 3), the occurrence was witnessed by Rajinder Parshad, a factory -worker (P.W. 10) and Piara Singh, a rickshaw -puller who was given up at the trial for the reason that he was not traceable. Nirmal Singh (P.W. 3) at once removed Tilak Raj in the rickshaw of Piara Singh aforesaid to the V.J. Hospital, Amritsar, while Sulakhan Singh (P.W. 2) left for Police Station "C" Division. Amritsar, where he lodged at 11 -05 P.M. with Sub -Inspector Ram Parkash (P.W. 13) first information report Exhibit P.C. which disclosed an offence under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code and was registered as such. Assistant Sub -Inspector Saudagar Singh (P.W. 11) then went to the V.J. Hospital in order to record the statements of Tilak Raj and Nirmal Singh P. Ws and there learnt that Tilak Raj had died before he arrived at the hospital. This information was passed on by him to the Sub -Inspector who then converted the offence committed by the accused to one under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code. At 11 -55 P.M. the Sub -Inspector proceeded to the spot of occurrence and recorded that statement of Rajinder Parshad (P.W. 10). Plenty of electric light was available around the place of occurrence not only from street lamps but also from those burning outside the closed shops in the vicinity. The Sub -Inspector secured bloodstained earth from that part of Telianwali Gali where it branches off the Namak Mandi Road. Then he made a search for the accused but none of them was traceable. After conveying information about the death of Tilak Raj to the Sub -Inspector, Assistant Sub -Inspector Saudagar Singh (P.W. 11) found the dead body lying in the dead house and prepared the inquest report which was completed after midnight. The autopsy was performed by Dr. A. Philips (P.W. 1) on the 14th of October, 1968, from 2 -10 P.M. onwards when the presence of three ante -mortem incised stab wounds was detected on the corpse. One of the wounds had the dimensions 1 3/4"x 3/4", was located on the left side of the chest and had entered the left auricle of the heart after piercing the left lung. The other two wounds were located in the back, one of them in the chest region which had pierced the left lung and the other one in the lumber region. The two wounds in the chest (one in the front and the other in the back) were individually sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. According to the doctor, the time -gap between the injuries and the death could be "10 to.10 minutes." Romesh Kumar and Ashok Kumar appellants were arrested in the 14th of October, 1968, and Amarjit Singh appellant a day later. On the 16th of October, 1968, Romesh Kumar appellant made a disclosure in the presence of Gura Singh (P.W. 6) to Assistant Sub -Inspector bisshamber Nath (P.W. 14) who recovered knife Exhibit P. 1 in consequence. Another disclosure made by Ashok Kumur appellant on the same day in the presence of Gulab Singh (P.W. 7) to Assistant Sub -Inspector Saudagar Singh (P.W. 11) led to the recovery of knife Exhibit P 2 On the 17th of October. 1968. knife Exhibit P. 3 was recovered by Assistant Sub -Inspector jagtar Singh (P.W. 12) in pursuance of a disclosure made by Amarjit Singh appellant in the presence of Mohan Singh (P.W. 8). The serologist found that the three knives just above mentioned had stairs of human blood on them. Nineteen witnesses were produced at the trial in support of the prosecution case, four of them on affidavits. They included three eyewitnesses, namely, Sulakhan Singh (P.W. 2), Nirmal Singh (P.W. 3) and Rajinder Parshad (P.W. 10), The first of these, i.e., Sulakhan Singh (P.W. 2) deposed that on the 12th of October, 1968, he met the deceased and Nirmal Singh (P.W. 3) in Chowk Chhati Khui at about 9 or 10 P.M., that the three of them then proceeded together and met the four accused, who were pick -pockets, opposite Gali Telianwali and that when the deceased asked for a feast, all the four accused whipped out their knives. Up to this point the story given by the witness is in accord with that detailed as part of the prosecution case, is also in the first information report. The witness went on to state that Amarjit Singh, Paramjit Singh and Ashok Kumar accused gave knife blows to Tilak Raj while Romesh Kumar accused ran away. According to him, Tilak Raj fell down on the ground and was removed by Nirmal Singh (P.W. 3) to the hospital in the rickshaw of Piara Singh. He added that the occurrence was witnessed by himself, Nirmal Singh (P.W. 3), Rajinder Parshad (P.W. 10) and Piara Singh and that he himself went to the police station and there lodged report Exhibit P.C. with Sub -Inspector Ram Parkash (P.W. 13). At the instance of the Public Prosecutor the witness was declared hostile and was confronted with varies portions of the first information report which he then admitted to be correct and which, when read together, fully Support the prosecution case as set out above, and as detailed by the witness in his deposition before the Committing Magistrate. To different parts of that deposition also his attention was drawn when he admitted that they were correctly stated by him and that it was komesh Kumar appellant who had given the first knife blow to Tilak Raj in the left side of the chest, the witness also admitted that he had wrongly stated earlier in the witness -box that he did not see Romesh Kumar accused giving any blow to the deceased. He further did not deny that he was under detention in the Central Jail, Amritsar, in connection with an opium case and that the accused persons who were also confined in that jail had threatened him that it he appeared as a witness against them, he would be killed. The statement made by him to the Committing Magistrates was transferred to the file of the Sessions Court under the provisions of Section 288 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. When cross -examined by the defence, the witness again took a somersault and stated that he did not see the author of the fatal injury received by the deceased, that two of the assailants of Tilak Raj had run away and that he could not identify them. He added that on the day following the murder he was called to the police station where his statement was recorded and his thumb impression obtained thereon. Nirmal Singh (P.W. 3) also refused to support the prosecution while in the witness -box. To the Committing Magistrate, however, he too had made a deposition which fully supported the prosecution case. When declared hostile at the instance of the Public Prosecutor who was allowed to cross -examine him, he denied having made the deposition just above mentioned, with various portions of which he was confronted and which was transferred as evidence to the Sessions Court's file under the provisions of Section 288 ibid. He was further confronted with various portions of that statement of his which forms part of the inquest report (Exhibit P.E.) and is in accord with the prosecution case, That statement bears his signature which, according to him, was obtained on the 16th or 17th of October, 1968. The house of Rajinder Parshad (P.W. 10) is situated at a distance of only one furlong from the place of occurrence. According to him he was going to Swank Mandi on the 12th of October, 1968, at about 10 P.M. on his way to see a friend when he saw the four accused quarrelling and exchanging abuses with the deceased opposite Gali Tehan -wali, The witness added that the four accused whipped out their knives when Tilak Raj tried to run away towards the Telianwali Gali but was encircled by them. He further averred that the deceased was given a knife blow in the chest by Romesh Kumar accused and a knife blow each by Ashok Kumar and Amarjit Singh accused in the back when he (Tilak Raj) fell down on the ground and the accused ranaway. The witness also stated that the deceased was put into a rickshaw by Sulakhan Singh (P.W. 2) and another person and was taken towards the hospital. The police, according to him, came to the spot during the night and not only recorded his statement but also took into possession bloodstained earth therefrom. From the ocular account of the occurrence given by Rajinder Prashad (P.W. 30) support was sought by the prosecution before the learned sessions Judge not only on the statements made by the other two eyewitnesses to the Committing Court but also on the medical evidence and the recovery of the three knives which were found to be stained with human blood.
(3.) WHEN examined in pursuance of the provisions of Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the accused denied the allegations made against them by the prosecution and stated that they had been arrested from their respective houses. According to them, the prosecution witnesses had made false depositions under police pressure. They pleaded innocence but none of them produced any evidence in defence.;