ONKAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF HP

JUDGEMENT

(1.) State has appealed against the judgment, dated 30th December, 1994, of learned Sessions Court, Una, whereby respondents Onkar Singh and Kishan Chand, who had been sent up for trial for offences, under Sections 201 and 202 of the Indian Penal Code, alongwith proclaimed offender Raghubir Singh, who was alleged to have committed the offence of murder, have been acquitted.

(2.) Prosecution case, as per evidence adduced by it during the course of trial, is like this. Deceased Neelam Kumari, daughter of PW-1 Satya Devi and PW-2 Kartar Singh, was married to proclaimed offender Raghubir Singh, in February, 1990. After the marriage, the deceased started living with proclaimed offender Raghubir Singh, at her in-laws village Ambehra in Una District. Raghubir Singh was allegedly having a keep, who lived at Delhi. On 1st July, 1991, Raghubir Singh wanted to go to Delhi, but the deceased opposed. Raghubir Singh then dropped the idea of going to Delhi, but brought a bottle of liquor and consumed the whole of it. Then he brought another bottle of liquor. Deceased Neelam Kumari objected to Raghubir Singh's drinking excessively. That enraged him and he allegedly slapped the deceased and then pushed her with a great deal of force, as a result of which her head struck against the wall of the room and she sustained head injury, which proved fatal.

(3.) Parents of deceased Neelam Kumari were informed. After the arrival of the father and a cousin of the deceased and some other residents of their village, dead-body was cremated. Accusation against the respondents is that they, being the Pradhan and the Nambardar of the village of proclaimed offender Raghubir Singh, did not report the matter to the police, even though Raghubir Singh (proclaimed offender) had confessed in their presence that he happened to slap and push the deceased, in the aforesaid manner. Respondents were also alleged to have destroyed the evidence by getting the dead-body cremated, without post-mortem.