VIRENDER KUMAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants Kaptan Singh, Virender and Jai Kumar, on being convicted in terms of impugned judgment dated 21st April 1997 for the offences punishable under Section 302 IPC and Section 201 IPC both read with Section 34 IPC in Sessions Case No. 143/1995, FIR No. 227/1995, Police Station Narela and sentenced in terms of order on sentence dated 22nd April 1997, have preferred the instant appeals.

(2.) Briefly stated, case of the prosecution is that on 8th July 1995 at about 9.00 p.m., the appellants Kaptan Singh, Jai Kumar and Virender went to the house of Anup Singh (hereinafter referred to as the 'deceased'). The deceased left with them, telling his mother Sarla Devi (PW-1) that he was going for a bath at the tube well of Bholu. He, however, did not return back. Around 1.00 a.m., Satpal (PW-4) father of the deceased returned home after duty and PW-1 expressed anxiety about her son and told her husband PW-4 that the deceased had gone with the three appellants and not returned back. PW-4 Satpal thereupon went to the respective houses of the appellants but none of them was available. On 9th July 1995 at around 9.30 p.m. Satpal saw appellant Kaptan Singh going with his father. He enquired about his son Anup. Initially, Kaptan Singh feigned ignorance but on sustained interrogation, he broke down and confessed that he, along with the other two appellants had killed the deceased on the previous night. In the meanwhile, somebody informed the police and on the receipt of said information, which was recorded at the police station as DD No. 20-A, the police arrived in the village. On interrogation, appellant Kaptan Singh repeated his confession and made a disclosure, pursuant to which dead body of the deceased was recovered, found buried in the drain near Safiyabad Road, Delhi. The recovery was effected on the night intervening 9th and 10th July 1995.

(3.) The post mortem on the dead body was conducted by Dr. L.T. Ramani, PW-14 on 10th July 1995 at 12.00 Noon. He found as many as 9 incised wounds on the dead body, besides an abrasion on the tip of right shoulder of the deceased. He opined that the death was homicidal and it had occurred 40 hours earlier, which fixes the time of death of the deceased on or about the night intervening 8th and 9th July 1995.