DHARAM ALIAS DHARAM SINGH Vs. STATE DELHI ADMINISTRATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant, who is a resident of a locality called 'Welcome" (Seelampur) has been convicted of offences under Section 302 and 324, Indian Penal Code (for short the Code), as also under Section 27 of the Arms Act, by an Additional Sessions Judge vide his order dated 16th May, 1979. He has been sentenced to imprisonment for life on the first count and rigorous imprisonment tor 1 rears on the second count. Further, he has been awarded rigorous imprisonment for two years under Section 27 of the Arms Act. However, all the sentences have been made to run concurrently. Feeling aggrieved he has come up in this appeal against his conviction and sentence.

(2.) The prosecution case may be briefly summerised as under. On March. 1978, which was a day of Holi festival, Ram Kishan Public Witness 1. Madan Lal Public Witness 3, Sohan Lal Public Witness 4 and Padam Singh, deceased, all residents of new Seelampur, went to the locality called "Welcome" (Seelampur) for playing Holi. They visited the house of Madho Singh, Public Witness 2. At about 11|11.30 A.M. while all of them including Madho Singh were returning to Seelampur from Welcome after playing Holi, they noticed some Purabias (people belonging to eastern Uttar Pradesh) coming from the direction of Jafrabad in a mood of Holi revelry. They were singing and dancing to the tune of a dholak (a kind of drum). On Nadu and Dharma, appellant, happened to be present at the Pulia (bridge) over the canal by the side of which Ram Kishan and others were going. Nandu tried to snatch the dholak from. the Purabias. This led to an altercation between Nandu and the Purabias. Padam Singh, deceased, tried to intervene and told Nandu not to snatch the dholak from the Purabias. However. Nandu resented his intervention and it led to exchange of hot words between Padam Singh, deceased and Nandu. Upon this the appellant. who was present close-by, moved forward holding an open knife in his hand and shoulted, "I will tell vou how Holi. is played". While saving so, he dealt a knife blow on the abdomen of Padam Singh which hit him near the navel. This he did despite Nandu's shouting that he should not do so. On receipt of the knife blow he staggered and fell down and the appellant took to his heels in the direction of Kabari Bazar (shops of junk dealers). Ram Kishan and his empanions Madan Lal and Madho Singh chased Dharma, appellant, for some distance. Even Nandu tried to help him in the matter. Ram. Kishan was able to apprehend the appellant with the help of Nandu but the appellant managed to escape after inflicting a knife injury on the left hand of Ram Kishan. Thereupon, Ram kishan and his companions brought Padam Singh to Police Station Seelampur which is at a distance of about a furlong or so from the place of occurrence. They found an ambulance van parked inside the precincts of the Police Station and they took him to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital Police Station Seelampur which distatice of about a in the same. After examination in the Casualty, Padam Singh was admutted to the Hospital for surgical operation and treatment. However, he succumbed to his injury on the same evening at about 5.40 P.M.

(3.) Constable Ram Avtar (Public Witness 6) was on duty at the Casualty of Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (for short JPN Hospital ). He informed Police Station Seelampur on telephone about the admission of Padam Singh to the JPN Hospital in an injured condition and an entry with regard to the same was made in the Daily Diary 'A' at serial No. 10. A copy of the said Daily Diary entry was delivered to Sub-Inspector Gurbax Lal at Jafrabad where he had gone in connection with his official duty. On receipt of the same, Gurbax Lal proceeded to JPN Hospital and contacted the doctor attending upon Padam Singh. The latter was declared by the doctor to be unfit to make a statement, so he recorded statement of Ram Kishan, Public Witness 1, and sent the same to the Police Station under the endorsement for registration of a case. A formal First Information Report was recorded on its basis by the duty officer ; that is how the police machinery came into action. The appellant was arrested on 30th March, 1978. On interrogation he disclosed that he had kept a dagger-shaped knife concealed in his jhluggi (hutment) and he could get the same recovered. His disclosure was reduced to writing and pursuant there to he got knife Ex. P1 recovered in the presence of Shri Daulat Ram and Sohan Lal, Public Witness s. It was stained with blood. It is further the case of prosecution that the appellant was advised to keep his face muffled immediately on his arrest and he was produced before a Metropolitan Magistrate with his face muffled on the next following day for the purpose of arranging a test identification prade. However, the appellant declined to have the test identification on the plea that he was already known to the so-called eye witnesses.