PAWAN KUMAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants mentioned above having been convicted and sentence to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 5000/- each, under Section 460 of the Indian Penal Code and in default of payment of fine to undergo further RI for one year, by the court of learned Sessions Judge, Hoshiarpur, vide order dated March 27, 2003, have preferred this appeal before this Court.

(2.) IN brief, the facts of the case are that on July 16, 1995, Sodhi Lal son of Shri Dwarka Dass, Goldsmith, resident of Garhdiwala made statement before SI Gulshan Rai, Station House Officer of Police Station, Garhdiwala, that they are the four brothers and one sister and that his elder brother Ashok Kumar is married at Village Bhagowal, has gone to his in-laws along with his wife for the last four days; that his younger brother Sudesh resides with his sister who is married at Chandigarh and younger to him, namely, Naresh learns the work at the Goldsmith shop at Dasuya and resides there. It was on 16.07.1995, at about 6 PM he (Sodhi Lal) went out of his house to play and his mother Darshna Kumar was alone in the house and when he after playing returned home at about 7.30 PM, he went inside the house and found that his mother smeared with blood was lying on the cot in the courtyard and blood was oozing out from many part of her body; that a blood stained knife was lying by the side of the cot; that he called his mother but she did not speak and had died, her gold ear rings were missing from her ears; that some unknown persons have murdered his mother and removed her ear rings. Legal action be taken. The aforesaid SI Gulshan Rai made his endorsement Ex.PG/1 and sent the same to the Police Station where on its basis, formal FIR Ex.PG/2 was recorded by SI Jagtar Singh. SI Gulshan Rai along with police officials and Sodhi Lal went to the place of occurrence; inspected and the spot and prepared the rough site plan showing the place of occurrence with its correct marginal notes. He also lifted the blood stained earth from the spot, turned the same into sealed parcel with his own bearing letters GR which was taken into possession vide memo Ex.PH. He also called upon Gurdip Singh, Finger Prints Expert at the spot. A knife of which blade was broken was found at the spot. SI Gurdip Singh examined the same with the help of suitable developing powder and found one finger impression on such blade and encircled the same with his pen and put his initials as also the date and prepared his report. Ex.PA. SI Gulshan Rai prepared its rough sketch. He also prepared the inquest report Ex.PQ. Post mortem examination on the dead body of Darshna Kumari was conducted at Civil Hospital, Dasuya on 17.07.1995 and the doctor who conducted the post mortem examination found 11 injuries on the dead body. During investigation both the accused were arrested on 21.07.1995 by SI Gulshan Rai and the accused Pawan Kumar on the basis of disclosure statement got recovered a pair of ear rings, clothes of the deceased and bahola. Accused Jasraj also suffered a disclosure statement and pursuant to that disclosure statement, got recovered his shift and broken front part of the knife. After the completion of the investigation, the accused were challenged by SHO Didar Singh.

(3.) TO bring home the guilt of the accused, the prosecution relied upon the statments of the following witnesses :-