PIARA SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant Piara Singh stands convicted for an offence under Section 302, I.P.C., and has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the first Additional Sessions Judge of Shahjahanpur. He has filed this appeal against his conviction and sentence.

(2.) The prosecution case is that the deceased Karnail Singh, a resident of village Chathia, police station Kuthar, district Shahjahanpur, on 23-8-1960 called accused Piara Singh along with some others for ploughing the field of one Dalip Singh in the village. At about 4 p.m. after ploughing operations had finished, the accused along with other friends, named Surendra Singh, Sant Singh of village Chathia, Girja Singh of village Rampur and another Karnail Singh resident of a village which lay across the river who all had ploughed Dalip Singh's field collected at the house of Karnail J. Singh deceased. The prosecution story further la that Karnail Singh deceased was resting on a cot under a chappar, south of his house, while the accused along with persons just named was sitting on a cot in another chappar and drinking wine. Under the influence of intoxication Piara Singh accused became boisterous and noisy. Smt. Charan Kaur, wife of Karnail Singh deceased, Mho was preparing tea inside the house came out on hearing the noise and asked them to behave properly. Piara Singh accused, however, continued to be boisterous and broke the cot on which all of them were sitting. Thereupon Karnail Singh deceased came to the scene and there were exchange of abuses between the deceased and the accused. The accused thereupon took out a country-made pistol from his Tahmat and shot at the thigh of Karnail Singh deceased who fell down injured. After this the accused and other persons ran away. The loud noise of the altercation between the deceased and the accused attracted to the scene Niranjan Singh, Autar Singh and Harnam Singh. One Basant Singh who was living in a portion of the house of Karnail Singh deceased was also attracted to the scene by the loud noise and he also saw the incident and so did Smt. Charan Kaur wife of Karnail Singh deceased. It is further alleged by the prosecution that half an hour later accused Piara Singh returned to the house of Karnail Singh and persuaded Karnail Singh injured not to make any report to the police. It is further alleged that the accused also threatened Smt. Charan Kaur that she should not make any report and promised that he Will get the wounds of Karnail Singh treated at his own expense. The prosecution story then proceeds that the accused had brought a Larhia (small bullock-cart) and carried Karnail Singh injured along with his wife Smt. Charan Kaur and daughter to Kuthar. It is alleged that the party reached Kuthar sometime at about night fall when the stars were visible. Dr. Nandalal, private doctor of Kuthar, attended to the injuries of Karnail Singh and the accused made arrangements for the stay of the party and Karnail Singh injured at the house of one Mahendra Singh. During the day on the 24th of August 1960 Dr. Nanda Lal is alleged to have attended the injured, again and changed the dressing. Towards the evening the condition of Karnail Singh deteriorated and Dr. Nandial was again called and he administered an injection. In the early hours of the morning just before sun-rise on the 25th of August 1960 Karnail Singh died at the house of Mahendra Singh. When Smt. Charan Kaur discovered that her husband was dead she started weeping and one Khandara Singh and Mahendra Singh on hearing the lament of Smt. Charan Kaur came and removed the corpse along with the charpoy and Kept the charpoy with the corpse on it under a nearby thatch of one Shafiullah which was lying vacant at that time. It is further alleged that about the same time Ram Dayal Tripathi, Ram Chandra Misra and Ram Rakhan Vaishya and some other persons also reached the spot and seeing Smt. Charan Kaur weeping enquired as to what the matter was. Smt. Charan Kaur thereupon narrated the whole incident to them and at that moment Piara Singh accused is alleged to have slipped away. Sri Ram Dayal Tripathi is said to have prepared a report of the incident at the dictation of Smt. Charan Kaur who lodged it at the police station Kuthar at 6.25 a.m. on 25-8-1960. Thereupon a first information report was prepared on the basis of this report and a case under Section 304, I.P.C. against Piara Singh accused was registered.

(3.) The station officer Sri Mahendra Saxena who was present when the first information report was lodged by Smt. Charan Kaur immediately started the investigation of the case and recorded the statement of Smt. Charan Kaur at the police station. He then proceeded to the thatch of Shafiullah where he found the corpse of Karnail Singh lying on a charpoy. A panchanama was prepared and the dead body was sent for postmortem examination to Gola dispensary. The station officer recorded the statements of other persons present there and then he went to village Ghathia where the incident had taken place and recorded the statements of the eye witnesses of the incident mentioned in the first information report. He prepared a site-plan of the place of incident. He found two talkies on the spot and prepared a list of recovery. He also took into possession the broken cot. The accused Piara Singh was then searched for but was not available in the village and the station officer made a report on 3rd September 1960 for taking action under Sections 87 and 88 Cr. P. C. against the accused. The property of the accused Piara Singh was attached on 13-9-1960. His house was also searched but nothing incriminating was found. The accused Piara Singh eventually surrendered himself in court on 15th of September 1960. A charge sheet was submitted against him on 25-9-1960. Dr. R. D. Gupta, Medical Officer, Gola Dispensary, conducted the postmortem examination of the dead body of Karnail Singh on the 26th of August 1960 at 12-30 p.m. The postmortem report revealed the following injuries:-