LAMBARDAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment will dispose of Criminal Appeal No.645 -DB of 1996 filed by Lambardar and Criminal Appeal No.838 -DB of 2002 filed by Rajinder Singh to challenge the conviction and sentence recorded against them by the Sessions Judge, Ludhiana on 12.8.1996.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the prosecution case, as brought out in the testimony of its witnesses, is that on 6.1.1995 at about 5 A.M. Azad (PW -4), Jit Singh (PW -5), Ram Pal and Naresh Kumar, residents of Mandi Mullanpur were going to wards the railway line in order to answer the call of nature when they saw the, appellants dragging a dead body, which was eventually found to be that of Baljit Singh alias Ballu, brother of Azad Singh PW -4, towards the railway line and throwing the same on the railway track and before these witnesses, both the appellants confessed that they had killed Baljit Singh alias Ballu at 2 A.M. after going to the house of Baljit Singh alias Ballu where Rajinder Singh had given a blow with Kulhari and Lambardar had given a blow with Bahi on the head of the deceased and were removing the dead body to the railway line to destroy the evidence of murder on account of his illicit intimacy with the wife of Rajinder Singh. After leaving Ram Pal near the dead body, Azad Singh, J it Singh and Naresh Kumar took the appellants to Police Station, Dakha where they were produced before Inspector Sant Singh (PW -7). On the basis of the statement made by Azad Singh (PW -4), the FIR Ex.PD was drawn up and the appellants formally arrested. The dead body was sent for post mortem examination through Constable Om Parkash. After conducting post mortem examination on 6.1.1995, Dr. Satbir Singh (PW -1) gave his report Ex.PA. The appellants were interrogated by the Investigating Officer in the presence of Jit Singh and S.I. Nirbhai Singh and during interrogation, Rajinder Singh had made a disclosure statement Ex.PH about his having kept concealed one Kulhari in a heap of woods lying in his house. This kulhari had been got discovered in pursuance of the disclosure statement of Rajinder Singh and was eventually taken into possession by the police through recovery memo Ex.PK. Similarly, Lambardar had made a disclosure statement Ex.PJ about his having kept concealed Bahi and the same was got discovered and taken into possession through recovery memo Ex.PL. Thereafter, the Investigating Officer took into possession blood -stained blanket Ex.P -3, which Rajinder Singh was wrapping around himself, through recovery memo Ex.PE. The blood -stained trouser Ex.P -3 worn by Lambardar was also taken into possession through recovery memo Ex.PF. Thereafter, Inspector Sant Singh went to the spot, collected blood -stained earth from there and took the same into possession through recovery memo Ex.PM. The same were forwarded to the Chemical Examiner and Serologist for examination. The Chemical Examiner through report Ex.PR found the clothes of the deceased and pieces of stone to be stained with blood, which, according to the report of the Serologist Ex.PS was, except on the Bahi, to be of human origin. On completion of the investigation, the challan was put in Court against the appellants and the Illaqa Magistrate committed the same to the Court of Sessions for trial.

(3.) THE prosecution examined PW -1 Dr. Satbir Singh; PW -2 Constable Om Parkash; PW -3 Constable Gurmukh Singh; PW -4 Azad Singh; PW -5 Jit Singh; PW -6 Sukhwinder Singh; PW -7 Inspector (now DSP) Sant Singh and PW -8 MHC Joginder Singh.