PAWAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellants Sandeep, Pawan and Jaswant, by the impugned judgment dated 16th December, 2010, have been convicted under Section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC, for short) for murdering a blind man named Umed Singh, a money lender by occupation. By order of sentence dated 21 st December, 2010, they have been sentenced to life imprisonment and fine of Rs.15,000/- each. In default of payment of fine they have to undergo SI for four months.

(2.) In the early morning of 24th February, 2007, dead body of Umed Singh was found lying in Gali No. 8, Nehru Nagar, Anand Parbat, New Delhi. Police Control Room was informed vide Ex. PW14/B at 6.36 AM on 24th February, 2007. Consequent thereto DD Entry No. 11A dated 24th February, 2007 (Ex. PW13/B) was recorded at 6.55 AM. Subsequently, FIR No. 43/2007 was recorded at 9.45 A.M. on the basis of the statement made by Mahinder Singh (PW-19), brother of the deceased.

(3.) The prosecution case was premised upon statements of eyewitnesses: Kamal (PW-4) Deepak (PW5), Manoj Kumar (PW6) and Praveen Kumar (PW10). However, apart from PW-10, all other public witnesses i.e. PW-4, PW5 and PW6, Kamal, Deepak and Manoj Kumar, along with other public witnesses Sunil Kumar (PW-8), Anand Prakash (PW12) and Guddi (PW -23), turned hostile and did not substantially support the prosecution case. PW-2 Ram Dulari, aunt of PW-10, also turned coat during her cross-examination. We have dealt with this grave and serious aspect in some detail below. This leaves us with the testimony of (PW-10) Praveen Kumar which forms the substratum of the prosecution case. Before we examine his testimony we shall deal with how the FIR came to be registered in the first place.