JASWANT SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment disposes of three appeals which arise out of the same judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The appellant in the first appeal has challenged the judgment because it upheld his conviction under Sections 323 and Sections 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in respect of the murder of Kulwant Singh and Bidhi Shankar. The three appellants in the second appeal have also appealed against their conviction by the High Court for the same offence under Sections 148, 307/149, 323/149, 302 and 302/149, IPC. The appellant in the third appeal was the complainant and he is aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court because two of the accused were acquitted.

(2.) The case of the prosecution was that there was a long standing enmity between the accused and the deceased. Darshan Singh a relative of the accused had been murdered. Kulwant Singh and Bidhi Shankar had been charged with the murder, but had been released on bail. With the intention of avenging the murder of Darshan Singh the nine accused formed an unlawful assembly armed with guns, spears, lathis and axes and kirpans on 1st September, 1989 near the road leading from Chammu Kalan to Ismilabad Shisha Singh (son of Banta Singh), Amrik Singh, Baksha Singh (also known as Gurbaksh and Bakshi), Iqbal Singh, Gurnam Singh, Balkar Singh, Jaswant Singh, Satnam Singh and Dalip Singh. Amrik Singh and Balkar Singh were carrying guns; Jaswant Singh and Satnam Singh were carrying lathis, Shisha Singh was carrying a 'gandasi', Iqbal Singh and Gurnam Singh were carrying 'naizas' and Baksha Singh and Dalip Singh were carrying kirpans. That morning Jagjit Singh (appellant in the third appeal) and Bidhi Shankar were driving two motor-cycles with Kulwant Singh riding pillion on Jagjit's motor-cycle and Raj Rani, Bidhi Shankar's mother, riding pillion on the motor-cycle of her son, Bidhi Shankar along that road. They were going to get medical treatment for Kulwant Singh and Raj Rani. They were waylaid on the road at 11.00 a.m. by the nine accused persons. Jaswant Singh (appellant in the first appeal) struck Jagjit on the head with a lathi as a result of which Jagjit's motor-cycle went out of control and fell on the road. Shisha Singh inflcited a gandasi blow to Bidhi Shankar. Jagjit Singh fled and hid behind a wall when Balkar Singh fired a shot at him. Kulwant Singh and Bidhi Shankar both ran into the house of Shisha Singh (son of Waryam Singh) and locked the door. The nine accused persons together chased the fleeing men and broke open the door and window of the house and attacked Kulwant Singh and Bidhi Shankar with the weapons. Shisha Singh (son of Wayam Singh)'s wife, Gurdeep Kaur was then present in the house. Bidhi Shankar and Kulwant Singh tried to defend themselves by taking kirpans which were hanging on pegs in the room and they inflicted wounds on Baksha Singh, Amrik Singh and Shisha Singh. Although all the nine accused took part in the attack on Kulwant Singh and Bidhi Shankar, Iqbal and Baksha in fact, inflicted the fatal wounds on Kulwant Singh while Shisha, Gurnam, Satnam and Dalip struck Bidhi Shankar fatally. After the incident took place the assailants left taking their weapons with them.

(3.) Jagjit Singh lodged the complaint with the local police station at 12.20 p.m. He named each of the nine accused. (Ex. PA). On the basis of his complaint a case was registered under Sections 302, 307, 323, 148, 149, 120-B and 452, IPC against Shisha Singh (son of Banta Singh) (accused No. 1), Baksha Singh (accused No. 2), Amrik Singh (accused No. 3), Gurnam Singh (accused No. 4), Iqbal Singh (accused No. 5), Dalip Singh (accused No. 6), Balkar Singh (accused No. 7), Jaswant Singh (accused No. 8) and Satnam Singh (accused No. 9).