MANPREET SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Manpreet Singh and Prabhpreet Singh were committed to the Court of Sessions on the charge that on 21st April, 1999 they committed the murder of Raj Kumar Vajpayee an employee of one Rajiv Bansal a share broker. Charges under Section 302/201 Indian Penal Code [hereinafter referred to as the IPC] were framed against them. The learned Additional Sessions Judge came to the conclusion that the prosecution had proved the entire link in the chain of circumstances leading to no hypothesis other than that of guilt. He convicted them under Section 302 as well as under Section 201 IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonment and further to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years under Section 201 IPC and a fine of Rs.10,000/- in default to further undergo R.I. For five months. The sentences were to run concurrently and benefit of Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was accorded to them.

(2.) Aggrieved by the order of conviction and sentence, appeal has been preferred by the appellants, primarily on the ground that the prosecution miserably failed to discharge its duty in linking, in the chain, the circumstance that injuries No.2 & 3 could be caused by the knife Ex.P-3 alleged to have been recovered on the disclosure of appellant No.1 or that injury No.1 could be caused by the iron rod allegedly recovered at the instance of appellant No.2.

(3.) Prosecution relied on number of circumstances to prove its case against the appellants. Those circumstances can be summarised thus: (I) Raj Kumar Vajpayee, the deceased was employee of Rajiv Bansal (PW-11). Rajiv Bansal was a share broker. He had a business dealing with appellant Manpreet Singh. Manpreet Singh owed more than Rs. One Lac to Rajiv Bansal. Rajiv Bansal deputed Raj Kumar Vajpayee to collect the money. Rajiv Bansal provided the deceased with TVS Moped No.DL-4S V 9117. Deceased Raj Kumar Vajpayee was present in the house of Manpreet Singh at about 1.45 P.M. Rajiv Bansal talked to deceased on telephone at the house of Manpreet Singh. Chander Mohan Garg, (PW-8) also talked to the deceased on telephone at the house of Manpreet Singh. Chander Mohan Garg (PW-8) on the telephone directed the deceased to visit the house of Raj Kumar Khanna resident of same area i.e. Janakpuri. Manpreet Singh informed Rajiv Bansal that he would be making payment to the deceased. Deceased Raj Kumar Vajpayee did not reach the house of Raj Kumar Khanna nor came back till 6.00 P.M. At about 6.00 P.M. Rajiv Bansal contacted Manpreet Singh, who informed that payment to the deceased was made at about 3.00 P.M. and thereafter he left. Raj Kumar Vajpayee when could not be contacted, a missing report was lodged on 21st April, 1999 itself at P.S. Paschim Vihar. Next day, Rajiv Bansal lodged FIR against the deceased on the specific allegation that deceased had collected Rs.1.15 lac in cash from Manpreet Singh at about 3.00 P.M. but had neither reached his house nor reported for duty. He was missing. Rajiv Bansal suspected that deceased deliberately disappeared with the money. FIR under Section 408 IPC was accordingly registered against the deceased on 22nd April, 1999.