VIKRAM SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two connected appeals arise out of the judgment of the learned I Additional Sessions Judge, Muzaffarnagar. Appeal No. 953 of 1977 has been filed by Vikram Singh and the other appeal is by Dharampal. Appellant Vikram Singh has been convicted under Section 302, I. P. C, simpliciter and has been sentenced to death. He has also been convicted under Section 307, I. P. C. with Section 34, I. P. C. and Section 27 of the Arms Act. He has been awarded a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for five years under the first count and rigorous imprisonment for four years under the second count. These two sentences have been ordered to run concurrently. Appellant Dharampal has been convicted under Section 302, I. P. C. read with Section 34 I. P. C. and also under Section 307 I. P. C. He has been sentenced to imprisonment for life under the first count and rigorous imprisonment for seven years under the second count. The two sentences have been ordered to run concurrently. There is the usual reference for confirmation of the death sentence.

(2.) THE two appellants are related to each other; Dharampal's sister being married to the brother of appellant Vikram Singh. According to the prosecution case, the Sarhoo of Tek Singh complainant used to reside in the house of Jahan Singh as a tenant. The landlord had asked the tenant to vacate the house and in that connection the tenant was beaten by one Sewa Ram at the instance of the landlord. The tenant had lodged a report, about this beating against Sewa Ram and his brother. The police submitted a charge-sheet in that case and according to the prosecution story, the complainant and his son Rajendra Singh alias Pappu deceased used to do Pairvi in that case on behalf of the tenant. It was further alleged that prior to this murder, brother of Sub-Inspector P. N. Singh was murdered and in that connection a case of murder was registered against the two appellants. The property of appellant Vikram Singh was attached under the orders of the Court on 6-6-1975, The police used to visit the house of the complainant and had come to the house of the complainant on the date of attachment also. This was the reason for the two appellants having a grudge against the complainant and his son Rajendra Singh. On 8-10-1975 at about noon, the complainant and some Others were sitting on chairs in front of the complainant's shop while the deceased was sitting at the counter. At about 12-10 p. m. , the two appellants came on a motor cycle (USP 3937 ). They left the motor cycle keeping the engine running at some distance and both of them entered the shop. Appellant Dharampal asked Rajendra Singh to stand up and immediately appellant Vikram Singh fired a number of shots in quick succession from his sten gun with the result that Rajendra Singh fell down on the chair. The two appellants came out of the shop while the complainant and others, after hearing the gun fire, wanted to proceed towards the shop but Dharampal fired his revolver towards them and the complainant and others, took shelter behind two trees. The two appellants immediately escaped on the motor cycle. The complainant and others went to the shop and found Rajendra Singh lying in a pool of blood. He was immediately taken to the District Hospital, Muzaffarnagar where the doctor declared him dead. A written report of this occurrence was lodged by Tek Singh at police station Kotwali at 1 p. m. The investigation was taken up by Sub-Inspector Raghuraj Singh who immediately reached the spot. On his direction Sub-Inspector R. L. Gautam went out in search of the assailants. The Investigating Officer recorded statements of the witnesses, prepared site-plan, picked up four empty cartridges Exts. 12 to 15, and a bullet Ext. 19, from the scene of occurrence, collected blood and also took in custody some blood-stained articles. Sub-Inspector Brijendra Singh went to the District Hospital where he held inquest on the body and sent it for postmortem examination with the necessary papers. Sub-Inspector R. L. Gautam, who had been deputed to search out the culprits received an information at about 2-30 p. m. that a motor cycle had knocked down a rickshaw. He at once reached the spot and there he came to know that a motor cycle going on a high speed had knocked down the rickshaw. He found revolver Ext. 1 lying on the ground. The revolver, which is Ext. 1, was taken in custody and it was found that it had three or four live cartridges in its chambers. The weapon was sealed and memo Ext. Ka. 13 was prepared. A report had been lodged by one Prabhu Dayal Singh on 6-10-1975 that his motor cycle No. USP 3937 had been snatched away by some robbers. Om Prakash (P. W. 11) noticed a motor cycle abadoned on the road outside his village Sher Nagar. He brought it to police station Nai Mandi and deposited it at the Thana. This motor cycle was found to be that of Prabhu Dayal Singh and it was given in his custody. On 8-11-1976 (1975?) the complainant found two bullets Exts. 20 and 81 lying under his Jeep which was at that time behind the chair on which Rajendra Singh was fatally shot at. These two bullets were deposited by him at the Thana. Under the orders of the Superintendent of Police, the investigation was handed over to the C. I. D. K. P. Shastri of the C. I. D. completed the investigation and submitted a charge-sheet. On 1-61976 Sub-Inspector M. P. Tyagi of Dehradun contacted Sub-Inspector Raghuraj Singh and after taking some police force, Sub-Inspector Tyagi went to Chandigarh in search of the accused persons. On 2-61976, some members of the U. P. Police force in plain clothes were seen grappling with the two appellants near a betel shop at 12-30 p. m. A. S. I. Kishori Lal of Chandigarh was coming on a Jeep with some accused persons of another case. On seeing this grappling, he stopped the vehicle and with the help of the members of the U. P. Police force, the two appellants were arrested. On a search being taken the two appellants were found in possession of unlicensed arms. On the basis of this recovery, cases under the Arms Act were registered. The two appellants were handed over to Sub-Inspector Gurbachan Singh. While under arrest, appellant Vikram Singh promised to point out the sten gun. The appellant led Sub-Inspector Bal Kar Singh and the witnesses to house No. 1197 in Chandigarh and from a locked room sten gun Ext. 2 with magazine and some other articles was recovered. The appellant could not produce any licence for the weapon, A case under the Arms Act was registered.

(3.) DR. A. K. Gupta conducted the post-mortem examination of the body on 8-10-1975 at 7 p. m. He found five gun shot wounds of entry on the various parts of chest and left hand. There were also five gun shot wounds of exit on the various parts of the back and left palm. There was no blackening or scorching in any wound. On internal examination the Doctor found that the peritoneum and the intestines had multiple lacerations. Shots had passed through the pleura, lungs, diaphram, liver and heart. The third rib had been fractured. The cause of death was found to be shock and haemorrhage and the probable time since death was estimated to be about one and a quarter day. The recovered empty cartridges and the bullets were examined by the Ballistic Expert and he submitted his report which is dated 30-6-1976.