GURMAIL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Special leave granted limited to the question of the nature of offence and sentence in respect of the 1st appellant Gurmail Singh and limited to the question of sentence in respect of remaining three appellants.

(2.) Appellants four in number are brothers and they belong to Village Bhawal Bassi. Jagir Kaur, wife of Bogha Singh was on her way to her house from the field where she had gone on November 22, 1990, Accused 4 Shardul Singh is alleged to have cut a joke at her Jagir Kaur complained about the misbehaviour of accused 4 to her husband Bogha Singh whereupon Bogha Singh and his brother Gura Singh went to the house of accused 4 Sardul Singh to protest against 'his misconduct. This led to an altercation with the accused on one side and Bogha Singh and Gura Singh on the other. On November 23, 1980, between 2 and 2-30 p.m. when Bogha Singh and Gura Singh were sitting in front of their house accused 4 Sardul Singh armed with gandasi, accused 3 Jagseer Singh armed with a gandhali, accused 2 Gulab Singh armed with a Kassia and accused 1 Gurmail Singh armed with a spear arrived there. All the four accused raised a lalkara saying that Bogha Singh and Gura Singh should get ready to learn a lesson for abusing one of them on the previous day. Accused 3 Jagseer Singh opened the attack and gave two gandhali blows to Bogha Singh when Bogha Singh raised his arm with a view to saving him from the assault and suffered an injury on his right hand. Accused 4 Sardul Singh gave a blow with gandasi to Bogha Singh which caused an injury on the fingers of his left hand. A second blow with gandasi hit Bogha Singh on the left thumb. Accused 3 Jagseer Singh gave two blows with gandhali on the left thigh of Bogha Singh. Accused 4 Sardul Singh gave some more blows from the blunt side of his gandasi on the left and right shoulders of Bogha Singh. At that stage accused 1 Gurmail Singh gave a blow with a spear which landed on the nose of Gura Singh. Accused I Gurmail Singh gave another blow with spear on the right hand of Gura Singh. Accused 2 Gulab Singh dealt a kassia blow one each on the right and left hand of Gura Singh. On hearing the commotion one Tej Singh, since deceased, nephew of Bogha Singh and Gura Singh reached the spot. Balbir Kaur. mother of Tej Singh followed him. When Tej Singh tried to intervene to save Gura Singh and Bogha Singh, accused 4 Sardul Singh and accused 2 Gulab Singh gave some blows to Tej Singh. Accused 1 Gurmail Singh then gave a blow with his spear on the chest of Tej Singh whereupon Tej Singh fell down on the ground and Balbir Kaur tried to cover him with a view to saving him from further harm. At that time P.W. Gura Singh who was then armed with a gandhali and Bogha Singh who had a soti, wielded the same in self-defence. Tej Singh was removed to Civil Hospital. Abohar, where in the course of his treatment as an indoor patient, he succumbed to his injuries on November 23, 1980. When admitted to hospital, Dr. Dilip Kumar who had examined Tej Singh, found one injury on his person being an incised wound of 4 cm. x 2 cm. going down deep up to. the chest cavity. The wound was running transversely from upper medial part of the left aerella running medially and slightly downwards. Dr. Dilip Kumar found five injuries on PW Gura Singh of which two were incised wounds, two abrasions and one lacerated wound. Dr. Dilip Kumar also examined PW. Bogha Singh and found as many as 11 injuries on his person.

(3.) After arrest, accused 2 Gulab Singh accused 3 Jagseer Singh and accused 4 Sardul Singh were found to have suffered injuries and they were sent to Dr. Dilip Kumar for medical examination, Dr. Dilip Kumar found three injuries on the person of accused 2 Gulab Singh, two of them being incised wounds. He found one injury on the person of accused 3 Jagseer Singh and simultaneously he found one injury on the person of accused 4 Sardul Singh