STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. LALA ALIAS ABDUL SALAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal by way of special leave at the instance of the State of Rajasthan has been filed challenging the judgment of the Rajasthan High Court whereby the appeal filed by the accused/respondent Lala @ Abdul Salam against his conviction and sentence for an offence under Section 304 Part-II I.P.C has been allowed leading to his acquittal. The facts are as under:

(2.) At about 3.00 p.m. on 3rd August, 1996, police station Bani Park, Jaipur received information that some person had been caused injuries with a knife in front of Dilbahar Wine Store and had been removed to the SMS hospital. This report was immediately entered in the roznamacha and as a consequence thereof ASI Banwari Lal PW 14 accompanied by Constables Khem Chand and Jai Kishan went to the hospital and found Satish Kumar PW 3 present there. Satish Kumar gave a written report Ex. P-4 to ASI Banwari Lal in which he stated that at about 2/2.30 p.m. while at home he had received information from some person that his brother Om Prakash @ Omi had been caused injuries with a knife near the Dilbahar Wine Store and was lying there in an injured condition. He further stated that he rushed to the Wine Store which was near the Khasa Kothi Circle and found Om Prakash screaming in pain with blood oozing from his stomach. On enquiry, Om Prakash told him that Lala @ Abdul Salam s/o. Mohd. Yusuf who was a pick pocket by profession had stabbed him after a quarrel over some money matter. Satish Kumar further stated that he had removed Om Prakash to the hospital in an Auto rikshaw and had got him admitted in Ward No.2. As Om Prakash was not in a position to give any statement, an FIR was registered under Section 307 IPC on the basis of the written information provided by Satish Kumar. ASI Banwari Lal then started with the investigation and also made a search for the accused and he was finally arrested from near the Maharani Hotel later the same day. Om Prakash died at 10.30 p.m and the case was converted to one under Section 302 IPC. During the course of the investigation a knife, the alleged murder weapon, and the clothes of the accused were recovered at his instance and were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. On the completion of the investigation, he was charged for an offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC and Section 4/25 of the Arms Act to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

(3.) The prosecution in support of its case relied inter alia on the statements of the brothers of the deceased, PW 2 Bhagwan Sahai and PW 3 Satish respectively, PW 5 Bhagirath, a police constable posted at Bani Park Police Station and who was at the relevant time on duty on the Sawai Jai Singh Highway, two recovery witnesses PW 6 Ram Singh and PW 7 Tej Singh, who were declared hostile, PW 8 Jagdish Prasad Head Constable Traffic Police who was on duty at the Khasa Kothi round-about along with Deepak Kumar and Jagdish Prasad constables and had reached Dilbahar Wine Store on hearing a commotion. PW 14 Banwari Lal ASI, and PW 15 Dinesh Kumar Sharma DCP both Investigating Officers in this case and PW 17 Dr. O.P. Saini who had conducted the post mortem examination and prepared the report.