STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. KIRPAL SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) First Information Report No. 481 recorded against the three accused in Police Station Saddar Jalandhar at 11.00 p.m. on October 8. 1982 reads MJ am a resident of village Kala Singhia P.S. Saddar Kapurthala. About one year ago. I had married my one daughter Mohinder Kaur with Kirpal Singh 5/0 Sohan Singh. Jat rio village Gakhalan P.S. Saddar Jalandhar according to rites. After her marriage, she continued living In the house of heroin-laws. During that period, she used to visit our house several times. She used to return after staying for one or two days or we ourselves took her to the house of her-in-laws. But my daughter Mohinder Kaur used to tell me and my wife Pritam Kaur that her husband Kirpal Singh was in the habit to maltreat her illegally by saying Your parents are poor. When you come from their house you come with empty hands and you do not take anything from your parents. But, we remained helping our daughter according to our capacity and used to send her in the house of her-in-laws after making her understand. Sometime back our daughter was to deliver a child and my son Santokh Singh had brought Mohinder Kaur to our village from, (her in laws) village Gakhlan. About 2-1/2 months ago. Mohinder Kaur gave birth to a female child. About 1-1/3 months after Darshan Kaur who is the mother-in-law of Mohinder Kaur visited our house and told us to prepare the girl as she wanted to take her along. Upon which we sent the girl with her mother-in-law in the house of her in laws. After living in her in-laws house for a period of one month her, mother-in-law Darshan Kaur made Mohinder Kaur board the bus from the Bus Stand, of village Chogawan to village Kala Singhia. My daughter Mohinder Kaur came and told me that her mother-in-law, husband and sister-in-law whose name is Chhinder Kaur were taunting her by saying that she had given birth to a female child so they would not keep her in their house. On 7.10.1982 in the evening my son-in-law Kirpal Singh had come to our house and having quarrelied with us he took Mohinder Kaur and her female child with him. Today, the 8th October, 1982 one person came to our village at about 1.30 p.m. from village Gakhlan and he gave information, Our daughter has been burnt due to bursting bf a stove and she has been admitted in Ohri Hospital at Jalandhar. After going there, you can see her. Upon this information, I alongwith my son Santokh Singh, elder son-in-law Malkiat Singh s/o Inderjit Singh, Jatrlo Batala reached Hospital Jalandhar. After reaching there, we found our daughter lying burnt and un-conscious. Darshan Kaur mother-in-law of Mohinder Kaur and one other woman Swaran Kaur from village Gakhlan met us and we enquired about the reasons of burning of Mohinder Kaur from them. But they did not given any satisfactory reply. I wanted to take my daughter in Civil, Hospital for her treatment but within our sight, my daughter Mohinder Kaur died in Ohri Hospital. Then with the help of Santokh Singh, I took the dead body of my daughter to Civil Hospital. Darshan Kaur and Swaran Kaur afore said ran away from the Hospital to somewhere else. On account of greediness, Kirpal Singh s/o Sohan Singh, his (Kirpal Singhs) mother Darshan Kaur and Chhinder Kaur the sister-in-law of Mohinder Kaur deceased having connived with one another have caused the death of my daughter Mohinder Kaur.T

(2.) On being charged with the commission of the offence under section 306 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, all the three accused pleaded not guiltyT thereto and claimed to be tried. Vide its impugned judgment dated July 1, 1983 learned trial Court reached the conclusion that the utterances or the course of action attributed to the three accused in prosecution evidence did not constitute abetment, them accused Kirpal Singh was on duty in Mandi Gobindgarh at the relevant time and that there was no meeting of minds or common intention shared by all the three accused. Consequently all the three accused were acquitted. Feeling aggrieved therefrom the Slate of Punjab has filed Criminal Appeal No. 715 DBA of 1983 in this Court.

(3.) We have heard Shri Randhir Singh, A.A.G. Punjab, for the appellant State, memo for the three accused arrayed as respondents in spite of due service and have perused the relevant record.