- (1.) THE State of Punjab has come up in appeal against the acquittal of accused Baljit Singh, Gurbachan Singh, Amrish Kumar and Jagdish Lal for offence under Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC; acquittal of accused Baljit Singh under Sections 307 and 25 of the Arms Act; acquittal of Sukhwinder Singh, Gurbachan Singh, Amrish Kumar and Jagdish Lal under Section 307 read with Section 149 IPC and acquittal of all the accused for offence under Section 148 IPC.
(2.) PROSECUTION version is that on 16.3.1999 at about 10:00 P.M. Tejinder Singh, complainant, accompanied by his brother Balraj Singh, since deceased, after attending the meeting of Akali Dal were coming in their Maruti car bearing registration No. PB -10 -AC -8071. Charanjit Singh @ Pannu son of Darshan Singh, resident of Lal Quaters, Basti Abdullahpur, Ludhiana, after dropping Amarjit Singh Bhatia at his residence also accompanied them. Balraj Singh deceased was driving the car and Tejinder Singh was sitting on the front co -driver seat. Charanjit Singh @ Pannu was sitting on the rear seat. Charanjit Singh @ Pannu was accompanying the complainant as he was to bring back the vehicle after dropping the complainant and his brother Balraj Singh at their house.
(3.) WHEN they reached in the street near the house of Banta Singh Fauji, there was a curve where a Maruti car was found parked in the slanting position. Balraj Singh blew horn of his car and asked the driver of the car to remove the car to one side of road. Then out of the said car, Gurbachan Singh son of Dalip Singh, resident of Fauji Mohalla, Basti Abdulapur, Ludhiana accompanied by his two sons Sukhwinder Singh @ Bhap and Baljit Singh and two others, namely, Jagdish Lal and Amrish Kumar sons of Amir Chand, residents of Fauji Mohalla, Basti Abdulahpur, Ludhiana, alighted. The lights of the car of the complainant were on. Gurbachan Singh raised exhortation that Balraj Singh should be taught a lesson for passing on secret information against them. Sukhwinder Singh took out a pistol from his lion cloth (dubb). Accused Sukhwinder Singh and Baljit Singh told Jagdish Lal and Amrish Kumar to bring Balraj Singh out as he is to be shot dead after making him stand in the street. Tejinder Singh and Charanjit Singh @ Pannu were frightened and hid themselves behind the car. Then accused Jagdish Lal and Amrish Kumar dragged Balraj Singh outside the vehicle. Balraj Singh grappled with both of them. Baljit Singh and Sukhwinder Singh @ Bhap fired shots from their pistols at Balraj Singh who on receiving gun shots fell down. Said accused also fired shots towards the complainant and Charanjit Singh @ Pannu, but they saved themselves. All the accused started raising exhortation and thereafter they fled away from the spot with their respective weapons. Thereafter, Palwinder Singh and Tejinder Singh came at the spot. Then they alongwith some other persons rushed the deceased Balraj Singh to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana in the same vehicle where he breathed his last.;