JAG RAM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE two appellants are impugning the judgment of conviction dated 24. 01. 1998 and order of sentence dated 28. 01. 1998 delivered by the learned Additional Sessions judge, Delhi in Sessions case No. 23/96 whereby both the appellants were convicted under Section 302 r/w Section 34 I. P. C. for the murder of one Ramesh, who was the husband of appellant Munni and elder brother of appellant Jag Ram, and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and also to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/-each and to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for one year in case of default in payment of fine. Further, both the appellants were also convicted and sentenced for the commission of the offence punishable under Section 201 r/w Section 34 I. P. C. Since both the appeals arose out of the same judgment of the trial Court they were heard together and now are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) THE prosecution case in nutshell is that on 1. 4. 95 an information was received at police Station Seema Puri about a dead body lying in a nallah near Railway Lines, sdn Hospital, Shahdara. That information was recorded as DD No. 15 (Ex. PW-8/a)and then PW-21 Sub-inspector Sajjan kumar along with constable PW-13 Yudvir singh reached the spot and took out a dead body from the nullah which was wrapped in a quilt (razai ). The dead body was in a highly decomposed condition. Since it appeared to be a case of murder FIR no. 147/95 (Ex. PW-3/a) was got registered under Section 302 IPC. As the dead body could not be got identified and it was preserved in the mortuary. On 5. 4. 95 post-mortem examination was conducted on the dead body and as per the postmortem report (Ex. PW-18/b) the cause of death of the deceased was shock due to cut throat injuries. As per the further prosecution case PW-17 Pratap had lodged a report (Ex PW-19/a) at the Mansarover park police station on 03. 04. 1995 that his brother Ramesh (husband of appellant munni) was missing since 27-03-95. In the said report it had been stated by PW-17 pratap that his brother Ramesh had left the house on 27-3-95 after saying that he was going to Chander Prakash in Ashok Nagar and would come back within 2/3 days but had not come so far. It is also the case of the prosecution that on coming to know that a dead body had been recovered by the policemen of Seema Puri police station on 01. 04. 1995 and had been kept in the mortuary for identification Pratap contacted the police at Seema Puri Police Station on 06. 04. 1995 and then he was taken to the mortuary by Inspector Ram Niwas vashisht (PW-15) and there he was shown the dead body which was recovered on 1. 4. 95. Pratap identified the dead body being that of his brother Ramesh. Thereafter investigation started to find out as to who had killed Ramesh. The son (PW-2) and one daughter (PW-1) of the deceased ramesh and appellant Munni claimed before the police during investigation that the two appellants and their maternal uncle Satish had killed their father. During the investigation statement of daughter of the deceased, PW-1 Seema, was got recorded under Section 164 Cr. P. C. also. As per that statement (Ex. PW-20/a) Seema had claimed before the Metropolitan Magistrate that one day a quarrel had taken place in their house when Jag Ram was also present. Then she gave a detailed version as to what had transpired on the day when that quarrel had taken place and what happened on the night when her father was killed. This is what she narrated before the Magistrate:-

(3.) THE appellants were then arrested but their accomplice Satish could not be arrested and so he was got declared by the police as a proclaimed offender. On completion of investigation charge sheet was filed against the two appellants and in due course their case was committed to the Court of Session and then they were tried for having murdered ramesh and causing disappearance of the evidence of his murder in furtherance of their common intention.