- (1.) UJAGAR Singh appellant aged 27 has been convicted under S. 302, Penal Code & sentenced to transportation for life. The learned trial Judge while rejecting the plea that the case was covered by S. 84, Penal Code holds that 'the accused is suffering from fits of insanity' and has, therefore, made a recommendation to the Local Government to commute the sentence to one of five years simple imprisonment and to remove the accused to some mental hospital. The convict has appealed.
(2.) THAT Ujagar Singh killed his uncle Kundha Singh by a single stroke of spear at his neck on 11 -6 -1951 is not only amply established by the evidence of his own brothers Pillu and Magher Singh (P.Ws. 7 and 12) and his uncle Karnail Singh (P.W. 6) but was not disputed at the trial and is not contested before us either. The accused was caught at the spot with the blood stained weapon of offence in his hand and detained till the arrival of police. The blood on the spear was found to be human by the Serologist. The question that is agitated and falls for decision is whether the appellant at the time when the offence was committed, by reason of unsoundness of mind, was incapable of knowing the nature of his act or that he was doing what was either wrong or contrary to law. The relevant facts set forth in the F.I.R. and brought out in evidence at the trial are these: About a month prior to this incident Ujagar Singh had gone to Dabhwali to meet his sister. There he got a fit of insanity and information, about it was sent to his relations at Kalewala. He was then brought back to his village by his mother and uncle Kundha Singh deceased. The insanity was of a degree that the accused had to be brought in chains and was kept chained for several days. In the hope that he might behave better, he was released one day, but he proved to be violent and attacked his own mother. He was, therefore, re -chained and a constant guard was put on him. At about 2 P.M. on the day of occurrence when Kundha Singh deceased and Pilu lay asleep at a few paces from the court -yard where Ujagar Singh was confined, he somehow got himself released, took out a spear from another room of the house and plunged it into the neck of Kundha Singh. Pilu had in the meantime got up and he too was attacked. Pilu with the assistance of Karnail Singh who had come out of another room of the same house on hearing the noise over -powered the accused and succeeded in snatching away the bhala and putting him in chains as before.
(3.) THE earliest medical examination of the accused, so far as we can know from the judicial record, was conducted by Dr. P.L. Bedi, Civil Surgeon Bhatinda. The doctor kept the appellant under observation from 1 -8 -1951 to 25 -8 -51. Examined as a prosecution witness before the committing Magistrate on 31 -8 -51 he stated that the accused had a deranged brain for which he was being medically treated in jail and that he was not fit to make his defence. The case was, therefore, adjourned. The inquiry proceedings were started on 1 -11 -51 when the doctor reported and also made a statement that the accused had greatly improved and become fit to make his defence. For the purposes of an inquiry under S. 465, Criminal P.C. the accused was placed under the observation of Dr. Sood, Civil Surgeon, Bhatinda from 19th March to 17th April, 1952. During this period the accused was found to be 'free from any congenital or sexual defect' and the doctor opined that he was fit to make his defence.;