RAKESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) - Rakesh Kumar and Sunil two brothers and their mother Bimla Devi were given out by Smt. Saneh Lata P.W. 3, author of the First Information Report, as culprits in the case and Sunder Bai, mother of the deceased, as an eye-witness to the occurrence besides herself. She made this statement to S.I. Manmohan Singh of Police Station Ferozepur Cant. In the supplementary statement recorded in the course of investigation Saneh Lata P.W. 3 and her mother-in-law Sunder Bai P.W. 4 got two more persons added in the array of the accused named Rajinder Singh and Kiranjit Singh and three more on the side of eye-witnesses named Kewal Krishan, Han Krishan and Shibu. The long and short of the prosecution story is that Rakesh Kumar accused had an altercation with Chand Ram, sunamica dealer of Ferozepur Cantt shortly before the present occurrence on 16th December, 1985. Thereafter Rakesh Kumar, Sunil Kumar and Bimla Devi came to the shop of the deceased wherein Rakesh Kumar gave knife blows to Chand Ram in the abdomen. Sunil Kumar inflicted Danda blows on his head and Bimla Devi slapped Saneh Lata, when she tried to intervene for the rescue of her husband.

(2.) Learned trial court vide its assailed judgment dated 8th August, 1986 disbelieved the prosecution version against Sunil Kumar. Bimla Devi, Rajinder Singh and Karanjit Singh accused and set them all free. Accused Rakesh Kumar alone was, however, convicted of an offence under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay Rs. 5,000/- (rupees five thousand only) as fine. In default of payment of fine the accused was ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of one year.

(3.) For assailing the judgment of the learned trial court, accused Rakesh Kumar has come up in appeal while Saneh Lata has filed revision petition for awarding capital sentence to the accused. We have heard Shri R.S. Cheema, learned counsel for the accused appellant, Shri G S. Bains, Deputy Advocate General. Punjab for the State, Savshri I.K. Mehta and K.K. Mehta, Advocates, for the revision-petitioner and carefully scrutinised the record of proceedings before the learned trial court.