GURANDITTA AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Guranditta and Jagan Nath on their conviction under Section 307 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentence of three years' rigorous imprisonment and payment of a fine of Rs. 30/- or in default to undergo six months' rigorous imprisonment each by the learned Sessions Judge of Ferozepore by his order dated the 25th June, 1966, have come up in appeal to this Court. Diwan Chand was also tried alongwith them but was acquitted. This judgment will dispose of the appeal as well as the revision petition put in by Jai Ram Das complainant for enhancement of punishment awarded to the convicts.

(2.) The prosecution case may briefly be stated. Guranditta, Jagan Nath and Diwan Chand are brothers. Bimla and Kumari Babo D.W. 1 are daughters of Rukmni Bai. Guranditta's wife's sister Rukmni Bai in the month of June, 1965, used to live with her brother Lekhraj in a portion of a house situate in Basti Gurunanak Nagri of Malaut belonging to Jai Ram Das P.W. 2. The other portion of the house was in occupation of Ram Parshad P.W. as a tenant. The accessed-appellants suspected that Jai Ram Das had developed illicit connection with the said Rukmni Bai and so they bore ill-will towards him. On 11th June, 1965, at about 8.30 or 8.45 P.M. Jai Ram Das went to the house of Ram Parshad and collected rent from him. Thereafter he went to the portion of the house in occupation of Lekhraj and Smt. Rukmni Bai but both of them were not there. Their mother also had gone out to answer the call of nature. However, Babo aged 8 or 9 years was inside the house. She asked Jai Ram Das to wait for her maternal uncle as she though he would be returning home shortly. Within a couple of minutes the two accused-appellants and Diwan Chand accused, since acquitted, armed with knives and dang appeared from the room of the house in the court-yard where Jai Ram Das was sitting on a cot. Guranditta started quarreling with Jai Ram Das saying that he had no business to come to the house of Lekhraj. Jai Ram Das replied that he had come to collect the rent. Thereupon Diwan Chand hit him with the knife above his left eye-brow. Guranditta gave him a knife blow in his head. Thereafter all the three accused went on causing him injuries. He raised an alarm which brought Natha, Bushan Das and Mehnga Ram in the spot and on their arrival the three accused made good their escape. Charan Das carried Jai Ram Das his brother in an injured condition to the Civil Hospital, Malaut where he was medically examined by Dr. Anek Singh Bedi P.W.1. The doctor found as many as 18 simple injuries on different parts of his body out of which all were caused by a sharp-edged weapon, while the others by blunt weapon.

(3.) Chaman Lal, Assistant Sub-Inspector P.W.6, Incharge City Police Post, Malaut, on receipt of the medical report about the injuries suffered by Jai Ram Das on 12th June, 1965, about 3 A.M. went to the Hospital and recorded the statement of the injured, Exhibit P.F. He had also visited the hospital earlier on receipt of a telephonic massage about a person having been admitted in the hospital in an injured condition but the doctor stated that the injured person Jai Ram Das was not in a fit condition to make his statement. Therefore he returned without doing anything in the matter.