PREM SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is directed against the judgment dated 13.09.2010 passed in Sessions Case No. 136/2009 arising out of FIR No. 45/2007 under Section 302/201 IPC registered at Police Station Okhla Industrial Area, whereby the Appellant, Prem Singh, has been found to be guilty of commission of the offences punishable under the said sections. The Appellant is also aggrieved by the order on the point of sentence dated 16.09.2010, whereby the Appellant was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 5000/ - in respect of the offence under Section 302 IPC and in default of payment of fine to further undergo simple imprisonment for three months. The Appellant Prem Singh was also directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/ - for the offence under Section 201 IPC and in default of payment of fine to undergo simple imprisonment for one month. The benefit of Section 428 Code of Criminal Procedure was given to the convict and both the sentences were to run concurrently.

(2.) THE Appellant was charged for having allegedly caused the death of Harish Kumar and thereby having committed an offence punishable under Section 302 IPC by the side of the Domestic Container Depot, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase -II, within the jurisdiction of P.S. Okhla Industrial Area. An additional charge was framed under Section 201 IPC for the Appellant having allegedly destroyed the evidence of the aforesaid offence in order to conceal the crime.

(3.) THE most material witnesses from the side of the prosecution are PW -15 Charan Singh and PW -16 Mithun who are supposed to be the witnesses who last saw the deceased alive in the company of the Appellant at around 10 p.m. on 08.01.2007. Apart from these witnesses, the prosecution has also placed reliance on the testimonies of PW -4 Yad Ram, PW -5 Babu Lal and PW -10, Nathu Giri who are witnesses of the fact of recovery of the dead body, which was found lying next to the road within the jurisdiction of P.S. Gabana, Aligarh. The prosecution has also placed stray reliance on the testimonies of PW -17 Sajjan Kumar Goel and PW -18 Ankur Goel as well as PW -19 G Grish Saini who is the brother of the deceased Harish Kumar. The prosecution had also built up a case of extra -judicial confessions based on the testimonies of PW -21 (Rinku Yadav) and PW -26 (Srinivas Gupta) who, however, turned hostile in court.