HARPAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The prosecution story is as under :

(2.) On an appreciation of the evidence, the trial Court held that the eye- witness account given by the injured witnesses had been fully corroborated by the medical evidence and proved the case beyond doubt. It was also held that the statements of Dr. Jagdish Chhatwal and Dr. S.C. Saini as well as the medico-legal reports of Chhindo etc. were admissible in evidence, more particularly as Dr. Jagdish Chhatwal and Dr. S.C. Saini were no longer traceable due to passage of time. It was also observed that though Mohindro (P.W-3) and Kashmir Singh (P.W-5) had been declared hostile yet the other evidence clearly proved the case beyond doubt. The plea of the accused that he could not have wielded the spear as he was physically handicapped was repelled as there was no evidence with regard to the nature of his incapacity. The trial Court accordingly convicted and sentenced the accused as under :

(3.) All the substantive sentences of imprisonment were, however, ordered to run concurrently.