GURBACHAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Special leave limited to the question whether the statements taken from the witnesses under S. 161 of the Criminal Procedure, Code, in the course of investigation in the connected case under the Arms Act, should not have been supplied to the accused for the purpose of his defence in the trial and whether the result of the trial has been materially affected thereby, was granted by this Court on 19th November 1956, in the petition for special leave to appeal from the judgment and order dated 26th September 1956, of the Punjab High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 407 of 1956. As a result, this appeal now comes up for final disposal.

(2.) On 12th December 1955, Mukhtiar Singh deceased, borrowed a mare from Wazir Singh (P. W. 5) for the purpose of going to Lakhewali Mandi and rode that animal. Late that night, his body was found on the boundary of a field within the area of Nand Garh, evidently having been murdered and the mare was missing. The father of the deceased made a report at the Police Station Muktsar where the complaint was made at 6 a.m. the next day. Pritam Singh (P. W. 26), who was the Station House Officer, Muktsar, at that time, took up the investigation and proceeded to the spot where he found near the body a bottle, containing a small quantity of liquor and a spent cartridge. It was further proved in the case by the evidence of Kalia (P. W. 10) and Bhag Singh (P. W. 11) that on the evening of the disappearance of Mukhtiar Singh they had seen the appellant drinking liquor in a field near Nand Garh and they had also been invited to join the drink. The further evidence is that of P. W. 14. who had seen the appellant at about 2 p.m. on 12th September 1955, riding the mare which had bean lent to the deceased that day. At about 5 p.m., on 14th September the appellant, riding a mare without a saddle came to the shop of Labh Singh (P. W. 20) in the Village of Ghanga Kalan and asked the witness to prepare some food for him. At about that time a Panchayat was being held in the village of Ghanga Kalan and the Sarpanch and the members of the Panchayat had assembled. Ujagar Singh ( P.W. 23) was on his way to the house of Gian Chand Sarpanch (P.W. 19) for attending the meeting of the village Panchayat when he saw the appellant sitting outside the shop of Labh Singh holding the reins of the mare at which he became suspicious at the presence of a stranger in the village in such circumstances The matter was reported to the other members of the Panchayat, whereupon Gian Chand Sarpanch (P. W. 19), Resham Singh (P. W. 24) and Ujagar Singh (P.W. 23) went to the shop of Labh Singh and questioned the appellant suspecting that the mare was stolen. On this the appellant tried to pull something out from the fold of his trousers but was prevented from doing any harm and was seized. A country made pistol, P.16 for firing twelve-bore shot gun cartridges together with four live cartridges were then taken from him who thereafter confessed that he had stolen the mare after shooting a Mazhabi of Nand Garh. The fact of the capture of the accused was thereafter recorded in the Panchayat records and the witness took the appellant to the Police Station of Jalalabad where the report of (P.W. 19) Gian Chand was recorded and a case registered against the accused under S.19 (f) of the Arms Act at 8.30 p.m. on 14th September 1956. Information was given to the Sub-Inspector of Muktsar on 15th September regarding the arrest of the accused who had already been sent up to the judicial lock up. During the course of investigation of the case of murder by the Sub-Inspector of Muktsar the cartridge recovered near the place where the dead body was found was sent along with the pistol seized from the accused for the examination and the option of Dr. D. N. Goyal (P. W. 3) was to the effect that the cartridge recovered at the spot was fired from that pistol. There were parallel investigation by Diwan Chand (P. W. 25) and Pritam Singh (P.W. 26) regarding the cases registered in their respective Police Stations. Diwan Chand (P. W. 25) investigated the offence under S. 19 (f) of the Arms Act, while Pritam Singh (P. W. 26) proceeded with the investigation of the offence of murder and robbery. At this stage it may be mentioned that P. W. 25 examined during the course of the investigation of the complaint recorded in his police station, Labh Singh (P. W. 20), Ujagar Singh (P. W. 23), Resham Singh (P.W. 24) and another person Kashmir Singh who is not now examined in this case. P. W. 26, Pritam Singh, who investigated the case of murder, apparently did not examine these witnesses.

(3.) As result of enquiries so made, chargesheets were filed against the accused before the Court of the lst Class Magistrate of Muktsar by the respective Police officers. The institution of the proceedings under S. 19 (f) of the Arms Act was on 30th January 1956, whereas the committal proceedings relating to the offence under S. 302 of the Indian Penal Code etc., were begun by the examination of P. W. 1, Dr. M. L. Sethi, on 3rd December 1955. The trial of the offence under S. 19 (f) ended by the conviction of the accused on 16th March 1956, by which he was sentenced to undergo nine months' rigorous imprisonment. The commitment proceedings ended on 3rd April 1956, though the first witness for the prosecution had been examined on 3rd December 1955. An appeal against the conviction under S. 19 (f) of the Arms Act was pending before the Additional Sessions Judge of Ferozepore when the murder trial commenced. The learned Sessions Judge found the appellant guilty of the offence of murder and sentenced him to the extreme penalty of the law on 1st August 1956. In appeal to the High Court of Punjab, along with the Reference under S. 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the death sentence was confirmed, with a slight modification regarding the sentence under the minor charges.