ASHWANI KUMAR @ ASHU Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals by special leave challenge the judgment and order dated 15.02.2008 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. Criminal Appeal Nos.1041-1042 of 2008 are by Ashwani Kumar @ Ashu and Joginder Singh, Criminal Appeal No.1043 of 2008 is by Anil Kumar while Criminal Appeal No.1814 of 2009 is by Darshan Singh. The appellants stand convicted under Sections 364/302/307 read with Section 120B IPC. Since these appeals arise from the same judgment, they are being dealt with and disposed by this common judgment. Initially eleven persons were sent for trial while two absconding accused were marked as proclaimed offenders. The trial court convicted seven out of those eleven accused and acquitted four accused. In the appeals by the convicted accused, the High Court acquitted three more accused, confirming the conviction and sentence of the present appellants. Since the acquittal of others has attained finality, the facts narrated hereafter are confined to the appellants herein.

(2.) One Jaswinder Kaur @ Jassi, normally residing with her parents in Canada, married PW-15 Sukhwinder Singh resident of village Kaoka Khosa, District Sangroor, Punjab on 15.04.1999. It was a court marriage and against the wishes of her parents and her maternal uncle. Jassi thereafter went to Canada on 02.05.1999 and while she was there, on the basis of a fax message (Ext.PAO) allegedly under her signature, FIR No.38 dated 23.02.2000 was registered with Police Station Sadar Jagraon against PW 15 Sukhwinder Singh under Sections 342, 467, 468, 471 and 506 of the IPC. When Jassi got to know about this, she came back to India and appeared before the police. Her statement was recorded that she had married PW 15 Sukhwinder Singh out of her free will, that the alleged signature on the fax message was not hers and that the marriage was not to the liking of her parents and maternal uncle. Her statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. was also recorded and thereafter closure in respect of said crime was ordered. Jassi then started living with her husband in the house of PW 20 Sukhdev Singh, maternal uncle of her husband, in village Narike.

(3.) On 08.06.2000 PW 15 Sukhwinder Singh and Jassi were coming back on a scooter from Malerkotla to their village and when they had reached village Sykhe at about 9.30 PM, four persons armed with hockey sticks and swords got down from a white Maruti car and attacked them. PW 15 Sukhwinder Singh received number of injuries. Leaving him in injured condition, those persons forcibly took away Jassi in that car. PW 15 Sukhwinder Singh somehow managed to reach the house of PW 20 Sukhdev Singh who got him admitted in the Civil Hospital, Malerkotla, where PW-1 Dr. Amit Modi found him to have suffered the following injuries:-