PALWINDER SINGH AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The prosecution story is as under:-

(2.) The prosecution in order to support its case, examined PW-1 Dr. Gurpal Singh, who along with Dr. Gurmanjit Rai had conducted the post-mortem examination on the dead body and had found smell of kerosene was coming out of it and also observed that the bums were sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature; OW-3 Dr. Balbir Singh, who had examined accused Palwinder Singh on Jan. 16, 1995 and had found 2nd and 3rd degree bums on his left hand; PW-4 Hardev Singh, father of the deceased, who stated to the motive, which had led to the incident, and that he had left her daughter Amarjit Kaur to stay back with her sister on the Lohri festival day though he had returned to his house, PW-5 Amarjit Kaur, the complainant, who stated to the motive and also furnished the eye-witness account of the actual incident; and PW-6 ASI Baldev Singh, the primary Investigating Officer.

(3.) The prosecution case was then put to the accused and their statements recorded under Sec. 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. They denied the allegations. Accused Palwinder Singh stated that at about 8.30 P.M. on the day in question, he had been standing outside the house carrying his child as Kamaljit Kaur was then preparing food in the kitchen and that she had accidently caught fire and on hearing shrieks, he had gone inside and tried to extinguish the fire and in that process had also received burns on his hand. Accused Samittar kaur stated that she had not been present in the house at the relevant time and had gone to visit the sick wife of Sarpanch Bhir Singh. Accused Rajwinder Kaur and Baljit Kaur also stated that they too had not been in the village as they were studying in the Kangra Medical institute in Himachal Pradesh and had been falsely implicated. The accused also examined DW-1 Sarpanch Bhir Singh aforesaid and DW-2 Surjit Kaur alias Surinder kaur, Principal of the Kangra Medical Institute, in support of their plea of alibi. Bhir Singh stated that Samittar Kaur was in his house at the relevant time whereas Surjit Kaur deposed, on the basis of the record of the Institute, that the two girls Rajwinder Kaur and Baljit Kaur had been present in the institute on the crucial day and had attended classes and that ASI Baldev Singh had verified this fact when he had visited the Institute.