SULTAN Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants Sultan and Chatru who have come to this Court by special leave have been sentenced to death by the Additional Sessions Judge, Rohtak and the death sentence has been confirmed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh. The charge against them was under Section 302 r/w S.149 Indian Penal Code. They were jointly tried with Giani Ram and Dhare Chandan Singh who was the fifth person to form the unlawful assembly was absconding and was, therefore, not available at the time of the trial. Giani Ram and Dhare have been acquitted and the appellants who were then convicted under Sec.302 r/w 34, Indian Penal Code are before us in this appeal.

(2.) The victim of the assault was one Sardara. The appellants and Sardara belonged to the village Kulsi within the jurisdiction of the Police Station Bhadurgarh in Rohtak District. He was murdered on 18-5-1969. The relations between Sardara and the appellants that on 24-7-1968 the appellant Sultan had applied to the Police Sub-Inspector Bhadurgarh to take action against Sardara under Section 107. Criminal Procedure Code. Along with Sardara he had also complained against Bhim Singh, P. W. 3 and others. On 4-8-1968 at the intervention of other respectable villagers the parties settled their differences and thereafter the chapter proceedings were dropped. Some four days before the murder i.e. on 14-5-1969 the marriage of the sons of one Parshada, the deceased brother of Sultan, was to take place. Appellant Chatru is Sultan's other brother. For the purposes of the Ghurchari ceremony, a procession consisting of women and children was taken out in the village and the procession was to terminate near the village tank. While the procession was moving forward with the usual tom-toming Sardara happened to come there with his bullocks. Owing to the noise the bullocks shied and so Sardara asked the processionists to stop the noise. Thereupon the procession was abandoned and the people went back. This was resented by the appellant Sultan and other members of the family who must have regarded it as an ill-omen.

(3.) Four days later on 18-5-1969 Bhim Singh left his village at about 7.15 a.m. for Ashodha - a neighbouring village in bullock-cart. He was taking with him wheat for being ground and paddy to be husked. After he had gone a little distance, he saw Sardara following him in his cart in which Mukhtyar Singh, P. W. 4 and Ram Singh, P. W. 5 were also seated. The latter two were also taking some wheat of their own for being ground at Ashodha. The two carts were going to Ashodha one behind the other. When they came near Arawala pond within the limits of village Ashodha, the appellants along with their sons Giani Ram and Dhare and the absconding Chandan Singh came there on bicycles. According to the prosecution Sultan was armed with a gun and his brother Chatru was armed with a pistol. The other three were armed with Gandasas. They kept aside their bicycles and came in front of Sardara's cart. They told Sardara that he had broken up the Ghurchari procession which made their life difficult and they would not leave him now. On seeing this Bhim Singh, P. W. 3, Mukhtyar Singh, P. W. 4 and Ram Singh, P. W. 5 got down from their carts and started imploring the appellants and others not to put their design into effect but Sultan asked them to move away and immediately fired his gun which hit Sardara in his chest. The second shot was fired by Chatru from his pistol which hit Sardara on the left clavicle in between the left shoulder and the neck. Sultan refilled his gun and fired the third shot and this hit Sardara above the abdomen on the left side. Sardara who was in the cart lay down with his head on the bags in the cart. At this stage the other three companions of the appellants are alleged to have got up into the cart and each one of them gave a blow with the Gandasas on the back of the head of Sardara and on the left lumbar region. The proseuction witnesses ran towards a nearby village and thereafter all the five assailants got on their bicycles and proceeded towards the side of village Bherai. The three prosecution witnesses then went to village Kulasi and informed Jailal, the father of Sardara, about the occurrence. Jailal took them to the village Sarpanch Bani Singh. On the suggestion of Bani Singh, P. W. 12, Bhim Singh, P. W. 3 went to the Police station Bhadurgarh on a bicycle and lodged his report Ext. P.A. at about 11.00 a.m.