JAGTAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant, who is the brother of deceased Paramjit Kaur and thus, a 'victim' as defined under Section 2 (wa) of the Code of Criminal Procedure has filed the present appeal for challenging the judgment dated 5.1.2015 passed by the Sessions Judge, Faridkot, whereby respondents No. 2 to 4 stand acquitted of the charges under Sections 302 and 201 read with Section 34 IPC.

(2.) According to the prosecution, deceased-Paramjit Kaur, aged about twenty eight years, was married to accusedKala Singh and she had one son aged about eight years. Paramjit Kaur used to be refrained by her father-in-law Niranjan Singh, mother-in-law Phinno Kaur and husband Kala Singh from having relations with her brother, i.e. the appellant and they never allowed her to visit him for a period of seven years. The deceased never visited the village of the appellant. However, the appellant had learnt from his relatives that his sister was being refrained by the accused from coming to his house. On the morning of 15.3.2013, the accused committed murder of his sister and without disclosing about the same to him, performed her last rites. When the appellant and his brother Balkar Singh went alongwith the Panchayat of their village to the in-laws house of his sister, none was present there. On learning that the accused had taken the dead body of his sister for cremation, the appellant also proceeded for the said place. The police officials also reached the cremation ground. As the dead body was being cremated, it was difficult to douse the fire. The accused had already fled from the cremation ground. The appellant claimed that the husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law of his sister had committed her murder and without informing him, had cremated her and resultantly destroyed the evidence.

(3.) After hearing learned counsel for the appellant and on going through the impugned judgment of acquittal, this Court finds that though according to the prosecution, the accused had committed the murder of Paramjit Kaur yet the plea of the accused that Paramjit Kaur had died due to heart attack stands established from the report Ex.PX of the Forensic Science Laboratory, as per which, no metallic poison was detected in the contents of the parcels. Further, according to the testimonies of PW2 Jagtar Singh and PW3 Balkar Singh, they had learnt about the murder of Paramjit Kaur on 15.3.2013, but they could not narrate as to from whom they came to know about the accused having committed the murder of their sister Paramjit Kaur. No such person, who had accompanied the appellant and his brother to the house of the accused, has been examined and so also anyone from the neighbourhood of the accused. On the other hand, there is the testimony of PW1 Jaspal Singh, a Granthi of village Mani Singh Wala, who testified that on 15.3.2013, he had gone to the cremation ground and recited Kirtan Sohila and performed final prayers (Ardass) while performing last rites of Paramjit Kaur. He went on state that the accused alongwith a number of persons were present in the cremation ground.