SATISH AND ANOTHER ETC. Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants stand convicted under Sec. 120-B, 302, 34 Penal Code and sentenced to life imprisonment. The appellant Satish has been further convicted under the Arms Act.

(2.) The deceased, husband of appellant Anita, was fatally assaulted inside his house at about 1.30 a.m. in the night intervening 31.03.2007/01.04.2007. PW-2 Sahil, the son of the deceased, went and informed PW-1 Sunita who lived next door. The police report was lodged by PW-1 the next morning at about 9:00 a.m. The postmortem of the deceased was conducted on 01.04.2007 by PW-10 Dr. Suman Tanwar, which revealed eight incised wounds and seventeen penetrating incised wounds.

(3.) Ms. Prachi Bajpai, learned counsel for the appellants Satish and Kishan, submits that there was an unexplained delay of eight hours in lodgment of the First Information Report giving sufficient time for manipulation and false implication. PW-1 Sunita deposed in cross-examination that about 15-20 villagers had come on hearing the commotion, but none of them has been examined. PW-2, a child witness aged about 12 years, admitted not knowing the appellants since earlier. He claims dock identification for the first time, more than six months later, without any test identification parade held in the meantime. It cannot be safely relied upon as the witness may have had only a fleeting opportunity to see them during the alleged occurrence. Any recovery from them is irrelevant in absence of a forensic report with regard to the alleged weapons of assault. The conviction is, therefore, not sustainable and liable to be set aside.