NARESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment would dispose of Criminal Appeal No. 961 -DB of 2004, as well as, and Criminal Revision No. 268 of 2006, as the same have arisen out of the same impugned judgment.

(2.) THE instant appeal has been filed against the order passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ambala, in Sessions Case No. 12 of 2002 decided on 20.11.2004. By the impugned judgment the accused/appellant Naresh Kumar has been held guilty of having intentionally committed the murder of Gurnam Singh punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. By a separate order passed on 22.11.2004, the accused/appellant Naresh Kumar was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 200/ - under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. In default of payment of fine he was ordered to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one month.

(3.) ASI Raj Kumar PW 17 having recorded the complaint of Balwinder Singh PW 15, went to the place of occurrence and summoned a photographer and took photographs of the deceased Gurnam Singh at the place of occurrence. He then prepared parcels of the rope found around the neck of the deceased Gurnam Singh, the blood stained sugarcane leaves a "khes" and broken bangles recovered from the spot. He recorded the statements of those present at the place of occurrence including Surjit and Jagir. He then prepared the rough site plan of the place of occurrence with marginal notes as well as the inquest report of the dead body of Gurnam Singh. He then sent the dead body of Gurnam Singh for post mortem examination to the Civil Hospital, Ambala. During the course of investigation, ASI Raj Kumar PW 17 arrested all the four accused Naresh Kumar, Gulab Khan, Salma and Ashgiri. On 5.4.2002 i.e. on the date of arrest of Ashgiri a bangle was got removed from the arm of the accused Ashgiri and was put in a sealed parcel. On interrogation, Gulab Khan suffered a disclosure statement Exhibit PD. Likewise separate disclosure statements of accused Naresh Kumar Exhibit PDD and Naushad Ali Exhibit PEE were recorded. Despite the disclosure statements Exhibits PD, PDD and PEE no recovery could be made. On further interrogation on 7.4.2002, the accused/appellant Naresh Kumar made a further disclosure statement Exhibit PC wherein he disclosed the place where he had hidden the wires stolen by him, which the deceased Gurnam Singh had found in his possession, i.e. in wheat crop grown near the "kotha" of his tubewell. Similar separate disclosure statements were made by Gulab Khan and Naushad Ali wherein they acknowledged that they had stolen wires along with the co -accused Naresh Kumar and had kept the same in the "kotha" of the tubewell of Naresh Kumar. It was pointed out that after the deceased Gurnam Singh had seen the stolen wires at the "kotha" the same were moved from there and hidden in the wheat crop nearby. On completion of investigation, a challan was presented in he Court of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Ambala. The Judicial Magistrate First Class, Ambala, vide his order dated 24.7.2002, concluded that a prima facie case was made out against the accused under Section 302/149, 404 and 148 of the Indian Penal Code. Since the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code is exclusively triable by the Court of Session , the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Ambala by his said order dated 24.7.2002, committed the case to the Court of Session as against the accused Naresh Kumar, Gulab Khan and Ashgiri. The accused Naushad Ali was found to be juvenile on the day of the commission of the crime, accordingly, a separate challan was presented against him in the Juvenile Court, Ambala. On 5.12.2002, the Additional Sessions Judge, Ambala charged the accused appellant Naresh Kumar, Gulab Khan, Salma and Ashgiri for having committed the murder of Gurnam Singh by strangulating him while he was present in his fields to guard the gram crop sown by him punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code. Since all the accused had constituted an unlawful assembly, and in furtherance of their common object, had caused the death of Gurnam Singh, they were also charged for having committed the offence punishable under Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code.