SURINDER GROVER Vs. STATE DELHI ADMN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mr. Mudgal appeared as Amicus Cuarie on behalf of the appellant at the instance of the court.

(2.) The sole appellant is the accused who is convicted under S. 302 of Indian Penal Code and sentenced to imprisonment for life for causing the death of one Raj Kumar by inflicting injuries with a knife. The occurrence took place on 2/11/1978. One Savita (P. W. 11) aged about 12 years is the eyewitness on whose evidence both the courts below relied and convicted the appellant.

(3.) The prosecution case is as follows:- There had been bitter enmity between the accused and his brother Subhash (P. W. 20). The father of these two persons had been siding with the accused. There had been a number of civil as well as criminal litigations between the accused and his father on one side and Subhash on the other side. A case under S. 392, Indian Penal Code had been registered against Subhash and Raj Kumar (deceased) by the accused. The accused also filed a complaint under Ss. 506 and 511 Indian Penal Code against his brother and the deceased Raj Kumar which was pending. While so on the date of occurrence P. W. 11, a student, who was residing with her family members in the house of one Saraswati as tenant witnessed the occurrence. She deposed that she had accompanied the deceased for going to the house of Subhash as she was to apply Teeka on Subhash's son's forehead being a Bhaiduj day. The deceased had taken out his bicycle and P. W. 11 sat on the front rod and at about 7-30 a. m. they had reached in front of the house in Gujrawalan Town. The accused came and stopped the cycle of the deceased and hurled abuses at the deceased. He took out a knife from his pocket and attacked the deceased. P. W. 11 became panicky and stood aside. She saw the accused inflicting injuries on the deceased. The deceased who was severely wounded was put on a bullock-cart for taking to the hospital but meanwhile P. W. 9 (A. S. I. ) who came on a police patrol took the injured to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital but he died very soon at about 8.55 a. m. Within half-an-hour the statement of P. W. 11 was recorded in which she had given all the details. The inquest was held on the dead body and it was sent for post-mortem. The doctor who conducted the post-mortem found ten incised wounds mostly on the forearm and chest and one on the back of the abdomen and another on the right side. He opined that the injuries 8, 9 and 10 were sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. The accused was absconding and he was arrested later. After completion of the investigation, the charge-sheet was laid.