BALAKA SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by special leave preferred by the appellants Balaka Singh, Joginder Singh, Pritam Singh, Darbara Singh and Jarnail Singh. The appellant Balaka Singh has been convicted under Section 302, I. P.C. and sentenced to imprisonment for life. The other appellants have been convicted under Section 302 read with Section 149 and sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1.000/- each or in default further rigorous imprisonment for one year. All the appellants have also been convicted under Section 143. I. P. C. and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for four months each and under Section 148 to rigorous imprisonment for one year each. Balaka Singh has also been convicted under Section, 325, I. P. C. for having caused grievous hurt to Gurmej Kaur and Harnam Kaur and sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs. 100. The other accused have also been convicted under Section 325 read with Section 149, I. P. C. and awarded the same sentence as Balaka Singh. Apart from these five appellants there were four other accused who were prosecuted before the trial Court of the Additional Sessions Judge. Patiala, namely Makhan Singh, Sucha Singh s/o Inder Singh, Teja Singh and Inder Singh but these accused persons were acquitted on appeal by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. The High Court has, however, confirmed the conviction and sentences passed on the appellants and has dismissed the appeal and hence this appeal before us.

(2.) Put briefly the prosecution case is as follows. About seven years before the occurrence one Guranm Singh alias Karnail Singh was murdered and Balaka Singh accused end his brother Asa Singh were tried for the murder of Gunam Singh and convicted and sentenced under Section 302, I. P. C. to imprisonment for life by the Sessions Judge Balaka Singh and Asa Singh, however, went up in appeal to the High Court and were acquitted. Banta Singh P. W. 3 who is informant in the instant case was the chief prosecution witness in the murder case in which Gurnam Singh was killed. It is also the admitted case of the prosecution that Balaka Singh and his people were on inimical terms with Banta Singh and the deceesed Gurnam Singh. It was further alleged that Dharam Singh the deceased in the present case was the cousin of Banta Singh and was used by him as a sort of his body-guard to protect him from his enemies. Shortly before the occurrence the appellant Balaka Singh and his brother Asa Singh had filed an 'application under Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against Banta Singh. Dharam Singh, Budha Singh and Kashmir Singh and in those proceedings the licenced gun of the deceased Dharam singh was also deposited and this gave rise to a fresh grouse on the part of the prosecution party against the accused. Banta Singh and Dharam Singh also had de a counter-application for taking security proceedings against the present appellants but no action thereupon appears to have been taken. The actual occurrence took place on September 1, 1966. when Banta Singh P. W. 3 the informant and Dharam singh the deceased had gone to see their fields. They returned from their fields at about 6 P. M. and Dharam Singh had entered house while Banta Singh took his leave and went to his own house. While Banta Singh was going to his house he saw the nine accused persons including the five appellants variously armed with spears gandasis and lathis proceeding towards the house of Dharam Singh. The party of the accused is said to have entered the house of Dharam Singh and Makhan Singh, Sucha Singh s/o Inder Singh, Inder Singh and Teja Singh - hereinafter referred to as 'the four accused' (since acquitted by the High Court) are said to have incited and exhorted their companions to finish off Dharam Singh and not to spare any member of his family, Dharam Singh was busy in tying the rope of his ox which was tethered in his court-yard. The accused after entering the court-yard opened attack on the deceased Dharam Singh in which Balaka Singh took a main part and gave a spear blow on the chest of Dharam Singh as a result of which he fell down on the ground. Thereafter Banta Singh raised a hue and cry to the effect that Dharam Singh had been murdered. Not content with giving one spear blow to Dharam Singh even after he fell down. Joginder Singh is said to have given a barchha blow on his right knee and Pritam Singh a gandasi blow in the right shoulder of Dharam Singh. Just at that moment Smt. Gurmej Kaur the wife of Dharam Singh, his mother, Waryam Singh his father and his brothers who were in the house tried to intervene and fell on the body of Dharam Singh. But they were also assaulted by Joginder Singh, Balaka Singh and others. It is said that other inmates of the house were also assaulted. On hearing the cries of Banta Singh the informant. Harnam Singh and Kapur Singh reached the spot and they saw Joginder Singh accused catching Dharam Singh by his long hair, while Balaka Singh had caught him by the legs and were trying to drag the deceased towards the entrance gate of the house. Kapur Singh who was armed with a gun fired a shot in the air which dispersed the accused party who ran away. In the aforesaid occurrence apart from the deceased Dharam Singh Mst. Gurmej Kaur, Harnam Kaur, Waryam Singh Sucha Singh and Budha Singh also received injuries on their person.

(3.) Banta Singh P. W. 3 went to the police station Julkan and lodged the F. I. R. the police station being 6/7 miles away from the place of occurrence. The report was lodged at about 10 P. M. Accordingly a case under Sections 302, 307 and other sections of the Indian Penal Code was registered by the police. Assistant Sub-Inspector Teja Singh reached the spot along with Banta Singh and some constables. After reaching there at about 2 or 2-30 A. M. he prepared the inquest report and the injury statement of the injured persons. The dead body was sent to the mortuary at Patiala for post-mortem examination. The A. S. I. also took blood-stained earth from the spot and the blood-stained clothes of the deceased were also taken. After completion of the usual investigations the nine accused persons were challaned in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate. Patiala who committed them for trial to the Court of Session which resulted in the ultimate conviction and sentence against the accused as mentioned above. The accused pleaded innocence and averred that they (had been falsely implicated due to previous enmity.