RANJEET Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HAVING been convicted and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment and fine under Sections 148, 302, 302, and 323 read with Section 149, and Section 452 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ('IPC', for short) by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge (Adhoc), Fast Track Court, Faridabad ('trial Court', for short), vide judgment of conviction dated 27.04.2002/order of sentence dated 29.04.2002 passed in Sessions Case No. 21 of 2001/99, the convicts have brought this appeal to seek, upsetting of the aforesaid judgment/order and their acquittal.

(2.) PROSECUTION story, put in brief, is that Amar Singh, the deceased, was in possession of panchayat land measuring 1 acre and appellant -Ranjeet Singh wanted to enter forcible possession thereof. Civil litigation was going on in this respect. On 17.09.1999, all the appellants descended on the scene, appellant -Danna was armed with a Kulhari (axe) and others were carrying lathies/dandas. They entered house of the deceased. Ranjeet, Rattan Singh, Karnail Singh, Gurdass and Kashmir Singh abused the deceased and inflicted lathi/danda blows on his right hand, right foot, head, back and arms while appellant -Danna administered Kulhari blow on right leg of the deceased. Rattan Singh asked others that the deceased be picked up and taken to, and confined in, Ranjeet's house. Thereupon all the accused dragged the deceased towards Ranjeet's house. Complainant -Kaushalya Devi, who was present by the side of the deceased, raised an alarm. Swarno Bai, who was also present there, witnessed the entire occurrence and intervened to save the deceased from the assailants . Ranjeet inflicted a lathi blow to her also. Both PWs Kaushalya Devi and Swarno Bai raised an alarm whereupon Ranjeet made the deceased to board the tractor belonging to Gurdass and took him to village Tigaon. Kaushalya Devi followed them; made the deceased to board down from the tractor and took him to village Kurali in a three -wheeler. He breathed his last there. Doctor who attended on the deceased, wrote ruqa Exhibit PG/2 concerning arrival of the deceased in the hospital and Exhibit PG/1 with regard to his death. On receipt of the ruqa, ASI Dharampal reached the hospital; met complainant -Kaushalya Devi there and recorded her statement Exhibit PA. Based on the statement Exhibit PA, formal First Information Report ('FIR' for short) was recorded. Spot of occurrence was inspected, inquest proceedings were carried out and on completion of investigation the appellants were challaned. Learned trial Court, on hearing the prosecutor and the defence and appraisal of the record of the case, found a prima facie case triable under Sections 148, 452, 323, 302, IPC, and charged the appellants accordingly. The appellants pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed to be tried.

(3.) ON close of case of the prosecution, learned trial Court examined, the appellants so as to afford them an opportunity to explain the inculpating circumstances brought on record by the prosecution, as required by Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 ('Cr.P.C' for short). Appellants denied all these circumstances as false and incorrect and reiterated plea of their innocence. Appellant -Gurdass also added that when he was coming from Faridabad to his village on a tractor deceased boarded his tractor from village Jasana and when the tractor reached near village Kabulpur, he tried to board down from the running tractor -trolly and fell down in the process and received injuries. Khazan Singh and Sardar Singh who were also travelling on the aforesaid tractor witnessed the occurrence and after the occurrence he took the deceased to Primary Health Centre, Kurali and informed members of family of the deceased.