KARAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants were tried for the offence of murder for having caused the death of five persons. All the three were sentenced to death by the sessions Court. The High Court in the death reference confirmed the death sentences of Karan Singh and Kanwar Bahadur Singh, Appellants 1 and 2 respectively, but as regards the third appellant Phool Singh, it was commuted to life imprisonment. The appellants challenged their conviction and sentence. We have heard the appellants and also counsel for the respondent state.

(2.) The incident had happened at 8.30 p. m. on 12-4-1999 in the district of hamirpur in the State of Uttar Pradesh. There was a long-standing enmity between the appellants on one hand and the deceased Malkhan Singh and others on the other hand. In the year 1982 one Channa Singh father of malkhan Singh was murdered. The present appellant Karan Singh and his father Sewa Singh were prosecuted for the murder. At that time the deceased malkhan Singh was only 7 to 8 years old and the appellant Karan Singh had a grievance that the properties were being enjoyed by Malkhan Singh and others. On the date of the incident the deceased Malkhan Singh along with one Mohd. Idris, PW 2 were engaged in thrashing of wheat. After the work, they went to take bath near the common pump. At that time all the appellants came down armed with axe and other weapons. As soon as they reached near malkhan Singh, the second appellant Kanwar Bahadur Singh tried to give a blow on him but the blow fell on Mohd. Idris. Thereafter Malkhan Singh tried to run away but all the appellants gave axe-blows and the attempt of pw 2 Mohd. Idris to save him was not successful. Mohd. Idris raised an alarm and on hearing that, Ramesh Kumar, brother-in-law of Malkhan Singh came to the place. The appellants then killed Malkhan Singh, his mother Ram murti and his daughter Km Sadi. To save his life, Ramesh Kumar hid himself and saw the appellants going towards his house and he heard crying sounds from the house and later he found the dead bodies of Guddu and Sobit, the children. The appellants then ran away. PW 1 Ramesh Kumar with the help of one Akhlesh Kumar wrote a complaint and lodged an FIR before the muskhara Police Station.

(3.) Pw 2 sustained some injuries which were examined by PW 4 Dr. R. S. Verma. The dead bodies were subjected to post-mortem examination and almost all the deceased had sustained five to six injuries on their bodies. From the side of the prosecution PWs 1 and 2 were examined as key witnesses who deposed the incident in detail. PW 2 had described as to how malkhan Singh was done to death while PW 1 Ramesh Kumar deposed as to how the appellants killed Ram Murti, Sadi, Guddu and Sobit.