HARPARTAP SINGH ALIAS GOLDI Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against the judgment dated 9/12/2003 of the Sessions Judge, Faridkot whereby he convicted Harpartap Singh alias Goldi and Kanwarpartap Singh alias M.P. under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and sentenced them to undergo RI for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000.00 each, in default to undergo further RI for one year.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is unfolded by the statement Ex.PM given by Gurpartap Singh alias Dimpy to ASI Jagsir Singh at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College at Faridkot at 4.15 P.M. on 22/5/2000. Gurpartap Singh alias Dimpy has stated, that he is a resident of Kotkapura. He has two brothers. He is the eldest. Younger to him is Kanwarpartap Singh alias M.P. and younger to him is Harpartap Singh alias Goldi. The name of his mother is Gurmail Kaur. He has a wife named Sarabjit Kaur. The three brothers had partitioned the land. Gurpartap Singh's father namely Suinderjit Singh alias Surinder owned 18 killas of land and two houses. His father had partitioned the land. Both younger brothers of Gurpartap Singh alias Dimpy i.e. Harpartap Singh alias Goldi and Kanwarpartap Singh alias M.P. were bachelors. In the partition, their old house had fallen to the share of Gurmail Kaur and both the younger brothers of Gurpartap Singh alias Dimpy. The two resided there along with their mother. Gurpartap Singh alias Dimpy and his wife and children along with his father started residing in the new house. Out of the land owned by Surinderjit Singh alias Surinder he gave four acres of his land to his wife Gurmail Kaur and to his younger sons Harpartap Singh alias Goldi and Kanwarpartap Singh alias M.P. in the partition. The remaining land was with his father and him. On 22.5.2000 at about 11 A.M. Gurpartap Singh along with his father and one Kuldip Singh son of Bhola Singh along with their Seeri and a mason by the name of Chanan were constructing a small room for motor (tubewell) in their fields. Younger brothers of Gurpartap Singh i.e. Harpartap Singh and Kanwarpartap Singh were sowing cotton crop in the land which had fallen to their shares. Surinderjit Singh alias Surinder felt thirsty. He went to drink water on the passage near the road. Within the sight of Gurpartap Singh and the others, Harpartap Singh alias Goldi armed with a spade and Kanwarpartap Singh alias M.P. empty handed reached the hand pump. Both of them started exchanging hot words with their father Surinderjit Singh alias Surinder and abused him. On hearing the noise, Gurpartap Singh along with others went that side. Before they could reach there, Kanwarpartap Singh alias M.P. caught hold of his father from his arms and Harpartap Singh gave two consecutive blows with the spade on the head of Surinderjit Singh. After giving these blows, both Harpartap Singh and Kanwarpartap Singh ran away from the spot. Surinderjit Singh was taken to Civil Hospital, Kotkapura. On seeing his condition, the doctor referred him to Guru Gobind Singh Medial College, Faridkot. Surinderjit Singh alias Surinder was taken in an ambulance to Faridkot, but on reaching the hospital, he breathed his last. The cause of grudge is that Harpartap Singh alias Goldi and Kanwarpartap Singh alias M.P. were nursing a grudge for giving less land to them by their father. This is the reason that in connivance with each other they had murdered Surinderjit Singh alias Surinder.

(3.) On the basis of this statement, FIR Ex.PM/2 was recorded on the same day at 5 P.M. Special report reached JMIC Faridkot at 7.30 P.M. on 22/5/2000. Prosecution to prove its case brought into the witness Dr.K.K.Aggarwal as PW1, Gursewark Singh as PW2, L.C.Bhupinder Singh as PW3, MHC Muhktiar Singh as PW4, Dr.Manjit Singh as PW5, Khem Chand as PW6, HC Harpal Singh as PW7, Dalip Singh as PW8, Gurpartap Singh complainant as PW9, Kuldip Singh as PW10, ASI Jagsir Singh as PW11 and Darshan Singh SI/SHO as PW12.