JASWINDER KAUR AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANTS Garib Dass and Sewa Singh are in appeal against their conviction for the murder of Parkash (Criminal Appeal No. 181 -DB of had been filed by the appellants - Jaswinder Kaur alias Bholi, Garib Dass and Sewa Singh). Jaswinder Kaur had also filed Criminal Appeal No. 108 -DB of 2001 through Jail against that very indictment. Insofar as Criminal Appeal No. 108 -DB of 2001 is concerned, it is dismissed as abated as it is common ground that Jaswinder Kaur had died in the meantime. Criminal Appeal No. 181 -DB of 1999 qua Jaswinder Kaur shall also stand dismissed as abated.

(2.) A reference to the prosecution presentation in the first instance would be helpful in appreciating the controversy before this Court. Jaswinder kaur having been deserted by her husband long ago, was residing in the present accommodation (Markfed Chowk, Preet Nagar Mohalla, Kapurthala), along with her son i.e. appellant - Garib Dass. Appellant - Sewa Singh is her paramour. Parkash deceased (a brother of first informant/PW2 - Subhash Lal) was also on visiting terms with Jaswinder Kaur and vice versa. There were times when Parkash would not be home at night and he had to be fetched from the house of Jaswinder Kaur by PW2 - Subhash Lal.

(3.) THE police party accompanied Subhash Lal gone to the house of Jaswinder Kaur where the only room under her possession was found locked. A half burnt T -Shirt, which Parkash was wearing when he went over to the house of Jaswinder Kaur, was lying in earthen hearth. The prosecution examined as many as seven prosecution witnesses at the trial. PW1 - Dr. Raj Kumar had (along with two other members of the Medical Board, namely, Dr. Gurbachan Singh and Dr. Hussan Lal Mehmi) conducted the post mortem examination on the dead body of Parkash on 18.05.1997 and had found the following injuries on it: