KRISHAN KUMAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this appeal Krishan Kumar has challenged his conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code imposed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge vide his judgment of 5th August, 1983. He has also challenged the legality of the order of the same date sentencing him to imprisonment for life.

(2.) . The weapon of offence with which the appellant herein is stated to have stabbed the deceased Suresh Kumar and the other case property, including the clothes said to have been worn by the appellant at the the of commisson of offence were not produced before us during the course of arguments. Mr. E.T. Singh, learned counsel for the State made a statement that the case property is no longer in existence as it was destroyed on 8th May, 1986. Thus we have been deprived of the benefit of assessing the case fully. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that non-production of the case property in the present case is a serious infirmity which must be held to be fatal to the prosecution case. But first the facts.

(3.) The prosecution case was that at about 11.45 P.M. on 20th August, 1982 the appellant who is also known as 'Dagi' had committed murder of Suresh Kumar near the crossing of Goshala Road and Delhi Cloth Mills (hereinafter referred to as D.C.M.) School Road in the locality of Kishan Ganj Delhi. The incident had been witnessed by Santosh Kumar, a friend of the deceased and one Megh Raj Singh. The eye witnesses, the appellant and the deceased are all residents of Kishan Ganj. According to Public Witness .1 Santosh Kumar, at 11.45 PM on 20th August, 1982 he saw the appellant and Suresh Kumar coming from the side of the DCM school while exchanging hot words. They started quarrelling on the pavement at the corner of Goshala Road near the crossing. After a little while the appellant took out a dagger from the right side pocket of his pant and stabbed Suresh Kumar in his abdomen. The witness who had just closed his 'Pan-Beedi' shop which is nearby the place of occurrence, went to intervene when the stabbing incident took place. On his raising the alarm, Krishan Kumar ran away from the spot. Santosh Kumar and the other witness Megh Raj Singh, a shop keeper in a part of whose shop, the former sells 'Pan-Beedi' and who, it is stated, had also seen the occurrence, chased Krishan Kumar for about 2 to 21 furlongs but the appellant managed to escape. According to prosecution version, the injured was removed to the hospital by Public Witness .2 Shri vinod Kumar in a three-wheeler scooter. A Police party headed by Sub Inspector Ishwar Singh was on patrol duty in that very area. It reached the spot where according to Public Witness .5 Constable Bachan Singh, who was a member of the patrol party, a crowd had collected. In his own words "We saw that a crowd had collected at the crossing and people were saying 'Mar Diya Mar Diya and not naming the person who had assaulted. When we reached the stop we learnt that the injured had already been removed to the hospital." It was immediately thereafter that Public Witness .1 Santosh Kumar who after the chase had come back to the spot, met the Police party and made a statement (Ex. Public Witness .1/A) which is the basis of FIR (Ex. Public Witness .9/A). In that statement also the first informant stated that "On my raising the alarm Megh Raj and some other person reached the place of occurrence but Krishan Kumar ran away from the spot. I and Megh Raj chased him but he managed to escape towards Manak Pura. When I came learnt that Vinod Kumar had already taken Suresh Kumar to the hospital.