KUNDAN SINGH MOHINDER SINGH PAIRA SINGH Vs. DELHI ADMINISTRATION:DELHI ADMINISTRATION:DELHI ADMINISTRATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants before us by grant of special leave, Mohinder Singh, Kundan Singh and Piara Singh were convicted under S. 302/34, S. 364/34 and S. 325/34, I.P.C and sentenced to life imprisonment, 5 years R. I, and 2 years R. I respectively by an Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi. The Delhi High Court had confirmed their convictions and sentences.

(2.) The learned counsel for the appellants points out that there is no eye-witness at all of the alleged murder which is said to have resulted from the illicit relations between the deceased Surjit Singh and Jaswant Kaur the widow of Tara Singh and who is the mother of Mohinder Singh, appellant, and the sister of the appellants Kundan Singh and Piara Singh. Tara Singh is said to have died about a year and a half before the occurrences of 2-7-1968 which were the subject matter of the charges against the three appellants before us as well against Joginder Singh the elder brother of Tara Singh and his wife Pritam Kaur who were acquitted by the Trial Court, and Kartar Singh who was acquitted by the High Court. The First Information Report relating to abduction and murder was lodged on 2-7-1968 at police station Kingsway Camp at 2.45 P.M. by Jaswant Kaur, P.W. I. It discloses the following prosecution case:Jaswant Kaur was living with her three sons including Mohinder Singh and two daughters. She had developed illicit relations with Surjit Singh resident of Kingsway Camp during the lifetime of her husband. These were so open that all her relations knew about it. Her eldest son Mohinder Singh aged about 22 to 23 years and other relations were very resentful due to all this. They stopped her maintenance allowance. She used to often remain at the house of Surjit Singh alias Ajit Singh during the day time and spent her nights with a girl friend at Shakti Nagar. Her brother-in-law, Joginder Singh and his wife were also very annoyed with her. On the morning of 1st July, 1968, her relations did not even allow her to enter her house. On the 1st July, 1968, her son Mohinder Singh and her brother-in-law Joginder Singh, his son Bhajan Singh and one Jit Singh had beaten her with shoes and dundas, but she could not lodge the F.I.R. of that occurrence. On the morning of 2nd July, 1968, they all conspired with Kartar Singh, a resident of Gandhi Nagar to bring Ajit Singh into their house, sent away the children from the house and then the five accused persons, Kartar Singh, Mohinder Singh, Joginder Singh, Kundan Singh and Piara Singh took Surjit Singh into an adjoining room, beat him up with shoes and sticks. They then forced Jaswant Kaur into the same room and asked her to sleep with Ajit Singh and they beat her as well. Surjit Singh her paramour, succumbed to his injuries. Mohinder Singh and Piara Singh removed the blood stained cloths from his body. Jaswant Kaur's brother-in-law's wife wiped the blood off from the floor.

(3.) In her evidence in court Jaswant Kaur, P.W. 1 had gone back upon her statement to the police and the F.I.R. She tried to make out that some strangers and not the accused had attacked Surjit Singh and her. We, however, find that the Sessions Judge as well as the High Court have committed the mistake of drawing largely upon the version of Jaswant Kaur, P.W. 1 in her statement to the police which could only be used to contradict her statement in court.