SUKHBEER Vs. STATE OF UTTARANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Criminal Appeal, preferred under Section 374 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is directed against judgment and order dated 20.11.1992, passed by the then learned Sessions Judge, Haridwar, in Sessions Trial No. 52 of 1990, whereby appellants sukhbeer and Shaunkecna have been convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, (herein after - for brevity I.P.C.) and each of them sentenced to life imprisonment.

(2.) IN brief, prosecution story is that Rajbala (deceased), a member of Schedule Caste, was wife of one Om Pal who is by caste a jaat. He is brother of Tejpal Singh (P.W.1 informant). Appellant Sukhbeer is real brother of the deceased who got annoyed with Om Pal Singh for keeping his sister as his wife. Om Pal used to work in a petrol pump where he was employed and lived with Rajbala in the house of Mehant Ratan Giri. Dharmendra Kumar (P.W.2) S/o Tejpal Singh (P.W1) also used to live in the same house. On 10.09.1986, Tejpal Singh (P.W.1) had come from village Tisotara, District Bijnor to meet his brother Om Pal Singh. He along with Om Pal Singh and Dharmendra at about 1:30 P.M. took their meals which was prepared by Rajbala. Thereafter Om Pal Singh and Dharmendra went out in connection of their duties. At 3:30 P.M. Sukhbeer, Shaukeena (both appellants) and Raju (co -accused acquitted by the trial court) came to the house of Om Pal and started chatting with Rajbala. Tejpal Singh (P.W.l) took it as the brother and sister are talking to each other. Thereafter, he went to tube well to fetch water in a bucket and when he came back, he heard shrieks of Rajbala and saw Sukhbeer, Shaukeena and Raju, armed with blood stained knives, running out of the house. They had committed murder of Rajbala with the help of knives. All the three accused after commission of crime, ran towards road and were also witnessed by Jaipal (P.W3). On this, Tejpal and Jaipal made attempts to chase the culprits and on the way Dharmendra (P.W2) also met them and accompanied them but the accused persons succeeded in teeing in a rickshaw. Tejpal and Dharmendra immediately came back in the house of Om Pal and found Rajbala lying dead in a pool of blood. First Information Report (Exh.A1) was lodged by Tejpal Singh (P.W 1) with the help of Dharmendra on the very day i.e. on 10.09.1986 at about 16:45 P.M. Head Constable Gajendra Singh (P.WS), prepared a check report (Exh. A6) on the basis of FIR and made an entry in the General Diary (copy Exh. A7) at serial No. 34. A crime No. 173 of 1986 was registered with the Police Station Kankhal, District Haridwar, againt all the three accused, Sukhbeer, Shaukeena and Raju under Section 302 of the I.P.C. and investigation was started by Sub -Inspector, Ram Kumar Singh (P.W.8), who proceeded to the place of occurrence and prepared the Site Plan (Exh. A -10). The dead body of Rajbala was taken into possession by the Investigating Officer who got prepared the Inquest Report (Exh. A -11), diagram of the dead body (Exh. A -12), Police form No. 13 (Exh. A -13), letter (Exh. A -14) to the Chief Medical Officer for autopsy and sample seal (Exh. A -16). Police also took into possession the blood stained clothes (Exh. 1 and 2), blood stained 'BAAN' (Exh. 3) of cot and prepared memo (Exh. A -2). The police also collected broken bangles (Exh. 4) and blood stained buttons (Exh. 5) from the place of occurrence and prepared memo (Exh. A -3). The Investigating Officer recorded the statements of witnesses and handed over the dead body to constable Chaman Lal (P.W9) and constable Raghubeer Singh in a sealed cover for being taken for post mortem examination.

(3.) DR . A.K. Jain (P.W6), performed the autopsy on the dead body of Rajbala, on 12.09.1986 at about 2:00 P.M., which was brought to him by he aforesaid two constables. The Medical Officer, after examining the dead body, prepared post -mortem report (Exh. AS) in which he observed that the dead body was of a 35 years old woman of average built. Rigour mortis had passed off all over the body. Early decomposition was present. Following ante -mortem injuries were recorded by the aforesaid Medical Officer: 1. Incised wound 7cm x 1 V2 cm x soft tissue deep dividing muscle and vessels on right side neck 3cm above middle V3 of right clonicle transverse in direction tailing towards chin. 2. Incised wound 2 cm x 1 cm x muscle deep left side of neck, 4cm below left ear transverse tailing towards chin. 3. Incised wound l cm x .5 cm x muscle deep transverse tailing towards chin, lcm below injury no. 2.