KARAMBIR SINGH Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has prayed that order dated January 29, 1998 passed by the Commandant 12th Bn. BSF, as the Presiding Officer of the Summary Security Force Court be set aside and further order dated April 05, 1999 accepting petitioner's alleged resignation be also set aside.

(2.) WE note that vide order dated January 29, 1998 passed by the SSF Court, being found guilty of the charge of acting rashly and negligently so as to endanger human life, the petitioner has been sentenced to undergo 89 days imprisonment in force custody.

(3.) WHAT happened at the spot? Counsel for the petitioner concedes, is best described in the words of Ct.Gautam Mukherjee, PW-1, for the reason the petitioner and S.Dhanwant Singh would obviously state twisted version. As deposed to by Ct.Gautam Mukherjee, he i.e. Gautam Mukherjee and the petitioner were on duty at the border out-post and at around 16:20 hours S.Dhanwant Singh came near the border fence with 15-20 buffalos. While grazing, the buffalos scattered and went out of control of S.Dhanwant Singh, at which petitioner told S.Dhanwant Singh that if being an old man he could not control his cattle he should not bring the cattle for grazing, much less near the border fence, to which S.Dhanwant Singh replied that the land on which the cattle was grazing was his. Petitioner responded that so what, the fence belonged to BSF. The verbal duel between the two, starting with an innocent exchange of dialogue, turned acerbic and therefrom to a physical confrontation when S.Dhanwant Singh attempted to snatch the Self Loading Rifle from the petitioner, and upon being unsuccessful, pulled out a kirpan; with the petitioner reacting by corking his Self Loading Rifle. S.Dhanwant Singh tried to snatch the rifle. Two shots were fired, and probably one of which hit a buffalo grazing nearby. As recorded during Record of Evidence, the petitioner did not cross-examine Ct.Gautam Mukherjee by stating that he was not cross-examining Ct.Gautam Mukherjee because Ct.Gautam Mukherjee had told the truth.