KARTAR SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Kartar Singh son of Ralla Ram and his two sons Harbans Singh @ Raju and Baldev Singh @ Pappu (the appellants), residents of house No. RZ-2062, Tughlakabad Extension, New Delhi were tried in case FIR No. 83/82 of police station Badarpur and have been convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code by Shri K.B. Andley, Additional Sessions Judge, New Delhi who sentenced each one of them to undergo imprisonment for life.

(2.) The prosecution story, in short, is that a water tap was installed in Gali No. 25 of Tughlakabad Extension, New Delhi. On 2nd May 1982 at about 8.30 pm. Abdul Majid @ Abdul Aziz (Public Witness 2) who resided in gali No. 26, where the appellants also resided, had gone to fetch water from the said water tap and was waiting for his turn to take water. When other persons, who were in queue in front of Abdul Majid, went away after taking water and it was Abdul Majid's turn, Harbans Singh came there to fetch water and wanted to take the same before Abdul Majid could take it. Abdul Majid protested by saying that it was his turn whereupon Harbans Singh got enraged and started beating Abdul Majid with slaps and fists. Hearing the noise, Kartar Singb and Baldev Singh reached the spot with lathis in their hands and in the meanwhile Abdul Rehman (the deceased), who was the husband of the paternal aunt of Abdul Majid, also reached there. The deceased asked the appellants not to quarrel with Abdul Majid and thereupon the appellants pounced upon him. They dragged the deceased from Gali No. 25 to in front of their house situated in gali No. 26 and after dragging him there, Kartar Singh gave a lathi blow on the waist of the deceased. Harbans Singh took lathi from Baldev Singh and assaulted the deceased with the same on his waist. Baldev Singh gave a kick blow on the testicals of the deceased with the help of his right loot. The deceased became unconscious and fell down at the spot and died soon thereafter and the appellants ran away from the spot. Mohd.Tejum(PW3),the son of the deceased, and Ram Chander (PW 4), who resided in the neighbourhood, were attracted to the spot and had seen the occurrence. Ram Chander, while trying to save the deceased, had received a lathi blow on his left hand. Prem Nath Kataria (Public Witness 1), who lives in Gali No. 30, was sitting outside his house when some persons came to him at about 9.45 p.m. or 10 p.m. and told him that there had been an altercation in Gali No. 26 and at their request he rang up police post Okhla, Phase I (the police post) and passed on the information that a quarrel was going on in Gali No. 26. This information was received on telephone at 10 p.m. by constable Ranbir Singh (Public Witness 7), who recorded the same at serial No. 22 in the daily diary (Ex. Public Witness 7/A) and handed over its copy to S.I. Vinod Kumar (Public Witness 14). On receipt of the copy of this information, SI Vinod Kumar went to the spot along with police staff and on reaching there at 10.30 p.m., found the dead body of the deceased lying in front of the house of the appellants in Gali No. 26. The S.I. found Abdul Majid and some of his relations at the spot. He recorded the statement Ex. Public Witness 2/A of Abdul Majid and after making his endorsement Ex. Public Witness 14/A thereon, sent the same to police station Badarpur where case FIR No. 83/82 was registered at 11.45 p.m. by duty officer head constable Kundal Lal (Public Witness 10). Afterregistering the case, the head constable returned the rukka Ex. Public Witness 2/A along with the copy of the FIR (Ex. Public Witness iO/A) to constable Rustom Singh who had brought the same and constable Rustom Singh brought it to the spot and gave it to SI Vinod Kumar who was busy with the investigation at the spot.

(3.) S.I. Vinod Kumar inspected the spot and on the pointing out of Abdul Majid, he prepared rough site plan Ex. Public Witness 14/B. In the meanwhile crime team arrived at the spot and under the directions of the SI, photographs of the scene of occurrence were taken. SI Vinod Kumar prepared inquest report Ex. Public Witness 14/C in respect of the deceased besides preparing the injury report Ex. Public Witness 14/D in respect of Ram Chander. He sent the dead body of the deceased along with application Ex. Public Witness 12/B and inquest papers to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for post mortem examination along with constable Krishan Pal Singh (Public Witness 6) and constable Tirath Ram. Ram Chander was also sent along with the said constables for his medical examination to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.