BALWINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant on conviction by the learned Judge, Special Court,Patiala for offences under Section 302/201 IPC was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- and in default to suffer further RI for two years for the offence under Section 302 IPC and 2 years RI for the offence under Section 201 IPC. Both the sentences were, however, directed to run concurrently. Through this appeal under Section 14 of the Terrorist Affected Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1984, he has questioned his conviction and sentence.

(2.) The prosecution case in brief is that the appellant and Smt. Tajinder Kaur, PW-2 were married about 10 years prior to the date of occurrence which allegedly took place on 18.3.1984. Twodaughters pinky and Rozy aged about 6- 1/2 or 7 years and 2-1/2 years respectively were born out of this wedlock. AjmerKaur, mother of the appellant as well as the appellant wereunhappy with Tejinder Kaur, PW-2 for giving birth to daughters only and both she and the appellant used to quarrel with Tejinder Kaur on that account, who was also given beating by the appellant on certain occasions. On 17.3.1984 there was one such quarrel. The appellant and his mother Ajmer Kaur conspired to put an end to the life of the two daughters and in pursuance thereof on March 18, 1984, the appellant took away both the daughters stating to PW-2 that he would return only after killing them. He reached bus-stand Patiala where he met Balwant Kaur, PW-4 and on her enquiry about the welfare of the children told her that he was taking away his daughters to kill them. Balwant Kaur PW- 4 on hearing this went to the houseof the appellant and informed Tejinder Kaur PW-2 about it. The appellant took the children to Ludhiana to the house of his sister Mohinder Kaur, DW-1 and after staying there for a few hours left the house saying that he was going to Rara Saheb. On 19.3.1984, Dr. Jaswant Singh PW-6 found the dead body of a female child in the canal at about 12 or 12.30 p.m. when he went there to ease himself. The dead body was taken out but no one who reached there from the adjoining villages could identify it. At about 4.30 or 5.00 p.m., the appellant also reached there and identifiedthe dead body as of his own child. He took the dead body of Rozy and cremated her near Gurdwara Rara Saheb. The other daughter Pinky, however, was not found either dead or alive. Satya Walia PW-3, a social worker and a neighbour of the appellant and Tejinder Kaur PW-2 on coming to know about the murders from the neighbours and from an extra-judicial confession made by the appellant to her that he had murdered thegirls and cremated the dead body of Rozy made a written complaint, Ex. PB, to the police on 23.3.1984 and on its basis the first information report was registered. The investigation of the case was taken in hand by ASI Iqbal Singh PW-9 who visited the village as well as thesite of cremation. During the investigation the police took into possession some bones and steel bangles from the place where the deadbody of Rozy was cremated on the basis of a disclosure statement made by the appellant. After completion of the ivestigation, challan was filed against both the appellant and his mother Smt. Ajmer Kaur. Both of them were charged for an offence under Section 120-B IPC, for conspiring to commit the murder of Rozy and Pinky. As already noticed the appellant was also charged with the offences underSection 302/201 IPC for commiting the murder of Rozy and cremating her dead body to screen himself. He was also charged for an offence under Section 302 IPC for the murder of Pinky. The Trial Court after recording the evidence foundthat the charge of conspiracy under Section 120-B IPC was not established and consequently both the appellant and Ajmer Kaur were acquitted of the said charge. The Trial Court also found that thechargeagainst the appellant for an offence under Section 302 IPC for committing the murder of Pinky had also not been established and therefore acquitted the appellant of the said charge while convicting and sentencing him for the offences under Section 302/201 IPC for the murder of Rozy. The appellant, in his statement under Section 303 Cr.P.C. had denied the prosecution allegations and stated that his wife was under the influence of Satya Walia PW-3 who was leading her estray and since the parents of his wife, Tejinder Kaur, PW-2 were greedy she used to earn money and handover the same to her parents. He had admonished his wife for going estray and keeping company withSatya Walia PW3 on a number of occasions. PW-2 had gone to her parents house at Sunam leaving the children behind. While he had gone to the market, the children left the house on their own and when he and his mother Ajmer Kaur after search did not find them, they sent a telegram to Tejinder Kaur PW2 and Sham Singh, on March 22, 1984. That with the connivance of Satya Walia, PW- 3 he was falsely implicated in the case.

(3.) There is no direct evidence in this case in sofar as the murder of Rozy is concerned. The prosecution relied upon the following circumstances to connect the appellant with the crime in the Trial Court :