BALREJ SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY his judgment dated October 6, 1975, the Sessions Judge, Faridkot, convicted Balraj Singh son of Dalmer Singh aged about 21 years, resident of village Jasseana, District Paridkot, under Section 302, Indian Penal Code, and! sentenced him to death and directed that he be hanged by neck till he is dead and that this sentence is subject to confirmation by the High Court. He also convicted him by the same judgment under Section 27 of the Arms Act and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years. The records of this case have been submitted by the Sessions Judge to this Court for confirmation of the death sentence under Section 366, Criminal Procedure Code. Feeling aggrieved Balraj Singh accused has filed Criminal Appeal No. 1409 of 1'975 against this judgment alleging that the decision of the Sessions Judge is wrong and incorrect and it may be set aside and he may be acquitted. By this judgment this Murder Reference No. 35 of 1975 and the Criminal Appeal No. 1409 of 1975 will be decided.

(2.) THE facts of this case are that Balraj Singh appellant and his two brothers Gurbaj Singh and Shivraj Singh are the sons of Dalmer Singh, who died about 8 or 9 years ago. All the three brothers performed the marriage of their sister Baljit Kaur about 2 1/2 years ago and they spent a lot of money on the marriage. Shivraj Singh and Gurbaj Singh took a loan of Rs. 8,000/- from Paramjit Singh and Amarjit Singh, who are their cousins, on the basis of pronote Exhibit P-E dated 10th February, 1973. They could not repay the loan in time. Jaswinder Kaur wife of Gurbaj Singh was sent by Gurbaj Singh to the house of her brother Karam Singh P. W. 7 in village Malha about 8/9 months prior to the occurrence to bring money for payment to Paramjit Singh and Amarjit Singh. About 2 or 3 days thereafter Karam Singh came to village Jasseana and gave Rs. 1,800/-to Gurbaj Singh for payment towards the said loan. Jaswinder Kaur used to go to Karam Singh to bring money for the repayment of the said loan. Jaswinder Kaur sent a message some days prior to the present occurrence which took place on 27th May, 1975, asking Karam Singh to pay more money. Karam Singh P. W. 7 came from his village on 26th May, 1975, to village Jasseana. In fact Shivraj Singh and Balraj Singh were pressing Jaswinder Kaur to bring more money from the house of her brother but Jaswinder Kaur was saying that she had already brought sufficient money from her brother and could not bring more money. Shivraj Singh and Balraj Singh appellant quarrelled with Jaswinder Kaur about this loan amount on 26th May, 1975, but they were pacified.

(3.) ON 27th May, 1'975, early in the morning Gurbaj Singh and Shivraj Singh took a camel cart load of grams to Muktsar for selling the same in the market but Karam Singh P. W. remained in village Jasseana. At about 2 P. M. Jaswinder Kaur was feeding her daughter Kulwinder Kaur, aged about 1 1/2 years, from her breasts while lying in a room of her house and at that time Karam Singh P. W. was sitting on the Thara of the adjoining deori with Raja aged three years, who is the son of Jaswinder Kaur. Gurbaj Singh and Jaswinder Kaur were living on the northern portion of the house while the appellant and Shivraj Singh, whose wives are real sisters, were living on the southern portion of the house. It is alleged that Balraj Singh appellant at about 2 P. M, entered the kotha where Jawinder Kaur was present with the child and he picked up the licensed gun of Gurbaj Singh from the wooden box lying there and loaded it and fired a shot hitting Jaswinder Kaur in the abdomen. She tried to Ret up but the accused fired second shot hitting her in the chest. She fell down on the ground and died. The accused fired a third shot hitting the small girl Kulwinder Kaur in the chest, who died on the cot. Karam Singh P. W. 7 raised an alarm and on hearing the same Ajaib Kaur, the mother of the accused, Surjit Kaur wife of Shivraj Singh and Chhinder Kaur newly married wife of Balraj Singh accused came there from the southern portion of the house in their possession and caught hold of the accused and made him sit in the deori. The prosecution story is that Karam Singh P. W. got terrified lest the accused might also kill him and so he took Raja the son of his sister outside the house and concealed himself in the dry water-course situated at a distance of 300 karams from the house of the appellant and others.