BHUPINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE two appellants, Bhupinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh, in Criminal Appeals Nos. 164-DB and 202-DB of 1986 were tried along with two others for offences under sections 302/34 and 392, IPC, i.e., for the murder of Tarsem Lal and having robbed him of Rs. 7000/-, on May 21, 1984. Only they stand convicted. Sukhdev Singh appellant was additionally found guilty under Section 25 of the Arms Act. This conviction is challenged in Criminal Appeal No. 247-DB of 1986. For convenience sake all these three appeals area being disposed of together. What was alleged and found established against them was as follows.

(2.) IN May, 1984, Tarsem Lal deceased along with his son Subhash Chander, PW 4, was carrying on his business as a Commission Agent in a purchase centre (temporary grain market) set up in the grounds of Khalsa High School, Hariana, District Hoshiarpur. The shop was set up in a tent at the back of which land was lying vacant. On May 21, 1984, at about 8.15 P.M., while Bharat Bhushan, PW 5, another son of the deceased and his brother-in-law Girdhari Lal were present with him besides PW 4, four Sikh youngmen with muffled faces entered the tent from the back side and two out of them fired two shots each at Tarsem Lal and Subhash Chander, PW. Out of these, three shots hit Tarsem Lal and Subhash Chander remained unhurt as he immediately lay down on the ground. At that very moment, Subhash Chander picked up courage and grappled with one of the culprits and succeeded in removing the cover from his face. This man was identified as Bhupinder Singh appellant. It was he who had fired at Tarsem Lal and Subhash Chander also. He, however, was able to escape from there along with his companions after throwing Subhash Chander on the ground. Though these PWs chased the culprits upto a certain distance, yet since they fired three more shots towards them, the effort was abandoned. On account of the commotion in the tent, Baldev Sahai, Subhash Chander and Bharat Bhushan took Tarsem Lal to Civil Hospital, Hariana. There on examination the latter was declared as dead by Mohan Singh, Pharmacist, PW 1. Then Ruqa, Exhibit PA was sent by this witness to the police station after making due entries about it in his own register. At that very time, Sub Inspector Manohar Singh (PW 6) SHO, who was passing by the side of the hospital and had come to know of the occurrence contacted Subhash Chander, PW, in the hospital. The latter made his statement Exhibit PL which was sent by the Sub Inspector to the police station for the registration of a case vide his endorsement Exhibit PL/1. On the basis of this statement, formal FIR, Exhibit PL/2 was recorded. The Sub Inspector then prepared the inquest report, Exhibit PG. He also despatched the dead body for purposes of post-mortem. Thereafter he reached the place of occurrence and after preparing the rough site plan. Exhibit PM, lifted the blood-stained search and took into possession a blood-stained cushion vide memo Exhibit PN. He also recorded the statements of Bharat Bhushan, Baldev Sahai and Girdhari Lal.

(3.) BHUPINDER Singh appellant and Ranjit Singh were arrested by the Sub Inspector on May 28, 1984. Sukhdev Singh appellant was produced before him by Mohinder Singh Sarpanch of village Koopar on June 1, 1984 and was immediately put under arrest. Tarsem Singh accused was apprehended on June 17, 1984. At the time of his arrest, Sukhdev Singh was interrogated by the Sub Inspector in the presence of ASI Basant Singh and Mohinder Singh, Sarpanch, when the former disclosed vide his statement Exhibit PQ that he had kept concealed a revolver near to his residential house. He then in pursuance of this statement took the party to that place and got recovered revolver Exhibit P 3 which laid buried. Its sketch, Exhibit PR 1, was prepared and the same was made into a sealed parcel and taken into possession vide memo Exhibit PR.