MOHD ISHAQ AHMAD DIN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant, Mohammad Ishaq son of Ahmed Din, aged 37 years, Muslim, weaver of Jalalpur Jattan, District Gujrat, West Pakistan (a national of Pakistan), has been sentenced to death under Section 302, Indian Penal Code, to imprisonment for life under Section 398, Indian Penal Code, and to one year's rigorous imprisonment under Section 148, Indian Penall Code, by the learned sessions Judge, Gurdaspur, by his judgment dated 11-8-1958. The following charges were framed against the accused:

(2.) IT appears that on 17th of October 1957; '' about 6 a. m. a small police party consisting of three Punjab Armed Police Constables, Mehr Singh (P. W.), Baldey singh and Narainjan Singh deceased, started from Mella Picket post on the Indian side of the border between Indian and West Pakis-tan towards the side of river ravi. Before they actually started, they had been Issued One rifle and 50 rounds of cartridges each. Mehr Singh was even rifle. No. 442, Baldey Singh was given rifle No. 267 and Narinjan Singh was given rifle No. 412. These constables after passing by the village erewal and after crossing Dhussiband and the Kacha road alongside it, entered on the narrow footpath for the purposes of going up to' the bank of river Ravi. On both sides' of this footpa'h there is a thick and wild growth of high Jungle reeds and bushes. ' Before leaving Dhussiband they took some rest for about 45 minutes or an hour in the fields nearby and then proceeded on the same foot-path towards the Ravi. When they were about 1,800 feet away from the left bank of the. Ravi, some persons numbering five or more suddenly fell upon them shouting Kafars be captured and killed". Mehr Singh P. W.) being ahead of the other two constables by 8 or 10 paces, the assailants made Baldev Singh and Narinjan Singh object of their assault. They inflicted serious knife and dagger , blows on these constables who fell on the ground. One or two assailants also tried to assault Mehr Singh but he ,repulsed the attack with the butt-end of his rifle, and after running back a short distance he took up a firing position at the assailants. Find- ing themselves in that precarious position the as- allants ran away into the thick jungle (sarkanda bal) on both sides of the footpath. Mehr Singh fired some rifle shots in the jungle and after doing so he went near the other two constables whom he found badly injured and their rifles and ammuni- tion missing. He thereupon went to Metla Picket post to (inform the officer-in-charge of the incident. In the meantime Chand Ram, Head Constable, who happened to be inchargs of the Metla picket, post, on hearing the firing in the advanced border area had already taken 8 armed constables' with, him and started towards the aforesiad footpath as ,he was anxious to know the cause of the firing. Mehr Singh (P. W.) who was going towards the picket lost from the side of the incident met chand Ram, Head Constable, and his-party somewhere near Dhussiband and narrated to him the entire incident. Thereupon all of them spread out in a forma'-tion and reached the site of the incident where they found Baldev Singh and Narinjan Singh dead. Chand Ram then wrote rucqqa. Exhibit P. M. , and sent it to the Police Station Dera Baba Nanak, thereafter the Thana Police also turned up and started the investigation. On the arrival of the local police some search parties went into the jungle so that they might lay their hands upon the assailants who-may possibly be hiding there. One party with Mehr Singh (P. W.) reached near the bank) of the river Ravi when baj Singh, one of their party-men, tried to get into the open, to peep and look round. He, however, received a bullet from the Pakistan side of the border as a result of which he died within a few hours of the receipt of the injuries. Mehr Singh (P. W.) then retreated and joined another party of searchers. They located the accused-appellant in a Nala about a mile away from the place of occurcnce. Noticing him Mehr Singh (P. W.) at oncer shouted that' he was one of the assailants who had stabbed to death Baldev Singh constable. The accused tried to run away but Pritam Singh and others succeeded in securing him. They found him in possession of a blood-stained dagger in a cloth sheath and a bag containing parched grains They took him to the Station House Officer and produced him as one of the culprits of the crime. This happened at about 3 or 4 p. m. on 17th of october,. 1957--the day of occurrence.

(3.) THE whole story of the incident has been narrated in a straghtforward manner by P. W 4 Mehr Singh, Constable No. 3180. PAP Picket Metla, 'an eye-witness to the whole incident. Nothing has been-shown in his cross-examination to discredit his veracity, and I have no hesitation in placing full reliance on his testimony. . The recovery of the dagger and the rifle also amply corroborates his-statement. The arrest of the accused as stated by P. W. 4 Mehr Singh is also fully corroborated by pritam Singh, Head Constable, P. W. 5, Lachhman Singh, P. W. 6 and Bewa Singh, p. W. 7. The evidence of these witnesses by itself is, more than enough to prove, beyond the possibility of any reasonable doubt, 'the version contained in-the First information Report, but we have also on the record a very detailed confession made by the-accused on 28th of October 1957 before Mr. Jagat Singh, Magistrate, 1st Class, who has appeared in Court as P. W. 9. This confession, detailed as it is,; appears to me to be absolutely true; it has not been alleged even by the accused himself that he had been, compelled to make this confession as a result ' of any inducement, threat or promise. In this confession he has given his own' antecedents and the motive for committing the crime which verges almost on waging war against the Re -. public of India. It, is creditable for the above witnesses in such provocative and trying circumstances, to have kept themselves under restraint and maintained their sense of duty, discipline, justice and1 fair play in treating the appellant (a Pakistan national) like an ordinary accused. The accused has stated in his confession that he hailed from Jalalpur Jatan in the district of Gujrat Pakistan, that when Pakistan came into-being he was a member of the Muslim League and that, in the beginning of that year he had become a. member of the 'khaksar party. He took permission from his mother and from dr. Nur Mobam-mad the, husband of his father's sister's daughter," for joining the jehad Camp,, Lahore, opened by Alama Masharki, a- Khaksar leader. I may mention here that the word 'jehad' connotes a kind of religious crusade against non-Muslims. He was enrolled at Rs. 30/- per mensem and joined the minto Park Jahad Camp at Lahore, Khaki uniform was supplied to him along with his other Khaksar comrades. He gives full details as to how three camps were opened by Alama Masharki on the borders of Gujjar Toor, Jassar, Burj Arayan, wagha, Head Salamai, Kala Khatai and Narang Mandi. He also states about the opening of camps on the borders of Kasur etc. . He further states in his confession that about a fortnight or so previous to 28th of october 1957, he and his companions were told by one Tarak Salad that rifles were to be snatched from Indian Sepoys who roamed about with rifles on the other side of the river and the sepoys were to be killed. The accused with three persons, Muzaffar, Akbar and Mohammed Din offered themselves for the job; they were all given daggers and they (these four persons alone with Tarak) started at about 11 p. m. concealing themselves in the sarkanda bushes situated in Indian territory about 100 paces from Machan and quite close to the narrow pathway, about which a mention has already been made 'in this judgment. Then he narrates as to how at about 8 a. m. the three constables were seen coming from the Indian Side and how they all attacked and stabbed the two Sikh constables. He admits having been injured by the Sikh constables who assaulted the accused and his companions with bayonets. On the Diwali day he also recovered the rifle from the place where they had concealed it. The injuries on the accused were found when examined by Dr. P. N. Chhabra on 18th of October, 1957.