KASHMIRI LAL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE four appellants, namely, Kashmiri Lal, Ravinder Kumar, Manmohand Rai and Mool Chand were charged and tried along with the co-accused Chander Prakash for offences punishable under Sections 302, 307, 326, 452 read with Section 140 IPC by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, in Sessions Case No. 30 of 1978 (Trial No. 8 of 1978), who by his judgment dated 11/05/1978 acquitted the co-accused Chander Prakash, but convicted and sentenced the four appellants herein as under :- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_471_10_1996Html1.htm</FRM>

(2.) THE High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 593 of 1978, decided on 18/12/1979, upheld the conviction and sentences imposed on the appellant No. 4, Mool Chand. THE High Court also upheld the convictions of the remaining appellant Nos. 1 to 3 under various counts, as indicated above, but reduced the period of their sentences to that already undergone by each of them. In addition, the High Court imposed payment of fine of Rs. 1,000.00 on appellant No. 1, Kashmiri Lal, in default of payment of fine to undergo further R. I. for six months.

(3.) THE injured Gurbachan Singh died on the way when he was being taken to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. THE Police Inspector Bua Das, Prosecution witness 21, on receiving the information, reached the Civil Hospital where he recorded the statement of Surinder Singh, P.W. 7, at about 1.30 A. M. on 7/01/1979 on the basis of which a report of the incident was lodged in the Police Station, Ludhina at 1.45 A. M. Dr. Gurcharan Kaur, Prosecution witness (9), performed an autopsy on the dead body of Gurbachan Singh, who found three lacerated wounds, four punctured wounds on various parts of the body of the deceased, besides a few abrasions, injury No. (5), a punctured wound on the left back was found chest cavity deep. THE pleura was punctured on left side under injury No. 5 and left lung was also punctured and heart was punctured through and through in left auricle. In the opinion of the Doctor death was due to shock and internal haemorrhage as a result of injury to the lung and heart due to injury No. 5 which was individually sufficient in the ordinary course of nature of cause death.