SAROOP SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SARUP Singh and Salwant Singh motor driver and residents of Inder Puri. Delhi, were convicted under Section 302, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to death by the Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi.

(2.) THE prosecution case is that Hukam Chand deceased owned a number of taxi cars. He had an office at Gurdwara Road. On the evening of the 21st December, 1962, he was standing in front of his office on the footpath near his car No. DLF-4311. The time of the day was 5 45 P M His son Chander Mohan P W 7 was in the verandah of the office along with one Harkishan Lal P W. 5 who had come there for the purpose of making a telephone call Sarup Singh accused armed with a kirpan and Salwant Singh armed with a scv the (drant) came from the side of the street No. 66 and started indicting injuries on the head and neck of Hukam Chand. Hukam Chand tell down on receiving the injuries The accused ran away towards the street No. 66 from where they had come An alarm was raised by Ratan Lal P. W. t. an employee of the deceased. Ram Sarup Sharma. P. W. 6, an astrologer, who has his office on the first floor of No 2239, Gurdwara Road, on hearing the commotion rang up the Flying Squad informing them that there was tome dispute (Jhagra) going on down-stairs. It is also the prosecution case that Ratan Lal chased the accused but without success Having failed to catch the accused he came to the office of Ram Sarup P W and requested him to inform the police Ram Sarup rang up the local police informing them that two persons had killed Hukam Chand and had run away Within five minutes of the telephone call the Flying Squad came and removed Hukam Chand to the Irwin Hospital who was then bleeding profusely. Soon after the local police also arrived. The police recorded the statement of Ratan Lal P. W. and sent it to the police station for purposes of registration of the case. Thereafter the statement of Chander Mohan P. W 7 was recorded. The spot was inspected and rough sketch of the spot Exhibit PY was prepared. Various articles belonging to the deceased along with the blood-stained earth were removed and taken into custody (vidya recovery memo. Exhibit PE ). Hukam Chand died in the hospital at 8. 30 p. m. without regaining consciousness. The accused persons were arrested from their houses the same night between 8 and 9 p. m. by Mehar Singh, Police Inspector P. W 18. The case was investigated by Sub Inspector Vidya Sagar of karol Bagh Police Station, P W 25.

(3.) ONE of the accused persons, namely, Salwant Singh made a statement, on interrogation to the police, which is Exhibit P. G. This statement reads thus: