NARINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellant has been convicted for offences under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years and a fine of Rs. 10,000/ - and in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for six months.

(2.) The prosecution case is based on circumstantial evidence which, according to it, forms a complete chain of circumstances which leads to no other conclusion except that it was the Appellant who is alone responsible for the death of the deceased Tirath Ram. It is accepted case of the parties that there are no eye-witness to the Appellant committing the offence.

(3.) The prosecution basis its case on the evidence of PW-1 Des Raj, elder brother of the deceased Tirath Ram, PW-2 Dharam Pal, PW-3 Balwant Singh son of the deceased, PW-4, Chanan Singh son of PW-1 Desh Raj and PW-5 Sucha Singh. The chain of circumstances is sought to be established starting with the evidence of these witnesses. PW-4 Chanan Singh states that on 21.10.2008 at around 3.20 P. M. he had received a phone call from the Appellant who had asked him to call Tirath Ram as he wanted to talk to him. He says that he conveyed this information to Balwant Singh PW-3 who sent his father to answer the telephone call. The deceased talked to the accused on the phone for about sometime and left the shop. On the next day he learnt that his Chacha (uncle) deceased Tirath Ram has died. In cross-examination he says that the person whose telephone call is answered has disclosed his name as 'Billa'. He did not know from where the call had been made.