GURDEV RAJ Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The present appeal is filed by the appellant-accused against the judgment and order passed by the Sessions Judge, Amritsar on August 12, 2002 in Sessions Case No. 53 of 1999 convicting him for an offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and confirmed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh on August 10, 2005 in Criminal Appeal No. 789-DB of 2002.

(3.) The case of the prosecution was that one Rajani Bala-PW4 was married to appellant Gurdev Raj before about one year of the incident which took place on July 5, 1999. According to the prosecution, relations between Rajani Bala and her husband Gurdev Raj appellant herein were not cordial. The appellant was doing labour work. He, however, used to pick up quarrels with his wife Rajani Bala over petty matters. Because of frequent quarrels, Rajani Bala was taken by her father at her parental home, Amritsar. An application was also made to the Women Cell, Taran Taran against the appellant. 15 to 20 days prior to the date of incident, because of intervention of Assistant Sub-Inspector-Rajwinder Kaur, In-charge, Women Cell, a compromise was entered into between the parties, i.e. the appellant-accused and the father of Rajani Bala. Pursuant to the said compromise, Rajani Bala went back to her husbands house. Before about a week of the incident, Rajani Bala had again gone to the house of her parents at Amritsar with the consent of the appellant. On July 5, 1999, a message was received by Rajani Bala from her husband (appellant herein) that he was not well. PW4-Rajani Bala (wife of the appellant-accused, PW1-Pooja (brothers wife of Rajani Bala) and Bhushan Lata (mother of Rajani Bala and mother-in-law of the appellant-accused) (since deceased) came to Taran Taran to enquire about the health of the appellant. It was said that in the evening of that day, a quarrel ensued between Rajani Bala and her mother Bhushan Lata on the one side and the appellant Gurdev Raj on the other side. The appellant got angry and picked up an iron mungli lying inside the room and administered blows on the head of Bhushan Lata (his mother-in-law). As a result of those injuries, Bhushan Lata died. It was about 6.30 p.m.