RAJINDER Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants along with accused Laxman Singh were tried and by judgment rendered by the trial court accused Laxman Singh, though acquitted of the charge under Section 27 of the Arms Act, was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as I.P.C.) whereas four appellants were convicted under Sections 302/149, I.P.C. and all sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- each, in default, rigorous imprisonment for a period of one month. Accused Laxman Singh was further convicted under Section 307, IPC and the appellants under Sections 397/149, I.P.C. and each one of them sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- each, in default, rigorous imprisonment for a period of one month. They were also convicted under Sections 148 and 323/149, I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year and three months respectively. All the sentences, however, were ordered to run concurrently. On appeal being preferred, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana confirmed the convictions whereupon two special leave petitions were filed before this Court one by accused Laxman Singh whereas the other by the appellants. The special leave petition of accused Laxman Singh has been dismissed but leave to appeal was granted in the case of appellants giving rise to the present appeal.

(2.) The prosecution case in short was that on 10.4.1999 at about 4.30 P.M., when Lakhan Lal, the complainant and his father Shiv Charan were at their shop, the appellants and accused Laxman Singh armed with lathies and gun respectively came there in a jeep bearing Registration No. HR-26 J-0051 and started abusing the complainant and his father whereupon the complainant and his father came out of their shop and asked the reason for abusing them. At this, the appellants threw stones and sticks on them and in order to save themselves, the complainant and his father ran towards their house and when they were on raised platform of the house, accused Laxman Singh, who had a double barrel gun, fired shot from the same. One shot hit Shiv Charan in his head while the other right calf region as a result of which Shiv Charan fell down. When the complainant tried to take care of his father, gun was fired at him too and stones pelted. While he escaped unhurt from the gun shots as they were off target, he received injuries by pelting of stones on his left palm and right calf. Finding that his father had already died, the complainant, out of fear, entered his house and closed the door from within. Thereafter, the accused persons stoned the women of the house who were on the roof and they were also fired at. The ladies came down out of fear and thereafter the accused fled away. Besides the complainant, his brother Johri Mal had also seen the occurrence. In the meantime, Meenu, wife of the complainant, left for the Police Station, arrived there at about 6.45 P.M. and reported the incident of physical violence. On her information, entry was made in the Daily Diary and Shakuntala, S.H.O. Police Station, Bilaspur and Vinood Kumar, Inspector, left for the place of occurrence with her where fardbayan of Lakhan Lal was recorded stating the aforesaid facts, on the basis of which First Information Report was drawn up. The police after registering the case took up investigation and on completion thereof submitted chargesheet, on receipt whereof the learned Magistrate took cognizance and committed all the aforesaid accused persons, including the appellants, to the Court of Session to face trial.

(3.) The defence of accused persons was that they were innocent, no occurrence, much less the one alleged, had taken place, the deceased might have received injuries at some other place of occurrence in some other manner and the accused were falsely implicated by members of the prosecution party to feed fat the old grudge.