ROSHAN LAL Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Accused Roshan Lal was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs. 1,000 and in default of payment of fine he was further directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 2 years for the commission of offence under section 302, I. P. C. by the learned Additional Sessions Judge (II), Shimla.

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts are that accused Roshan Lal and deceased Jawahar Lal were real brothers and PW 12 Hira Lal was their uterine brother. Both the real brothers had contracted a joint marriage with a lady according to the custom of their area They had borrowed some money from one Shia Tanzan to meet the marriage expenses and in lieu thereof they had agreed to discharge the liability of grazing sheeps of the said creditor by rotation. Each of them was to graze the sheeps for 6 months in a year. Initially, deceased Jawahar Lal had gone to graze the sheeps of said Shia Tanzan. He had returned a day or two prior to the date of occurrence to his village Patena after completing his turn. Roshan Lal accused was asked to graze the sheeps for next 6 months but he was not prepared to go because by then he was extremely attached to the said lady (their common wife) and that he did not want the deceased to have any connection with her rather, he wanted the said lady to be his exclusive wife.

(3.) According to the prosecution, on the evening of May 24, 1987, a quarrel ensued between the two brothers in the verandah of their house. PW 12 Hira Lal attempted to disentangle them and in the process the accused jumped down from the verandah and ran away. Thereafter, the deceased, his mother and PW 12 Hira Lal went into one of the two rooms of the house, locking the other room from outside. The mother of the accused and the deceased cooked meals When they were taking their meals at about 9.00 p. m., they heard the sound of the breaking of the lock of the room which they had earlier locked. On hearing that sound deceased Jawahar Lal came out followed by his mother P W 12 Hira Lal, however, kept sitting in the room because he was taking his meals at that time. Both the accused and the deceased again had a quarrel. The accused then took out a dagger and inflicted several wounds (later, on autopsy found to be 9 in number) by giving repeated blows on the person of the deceased. The deceased raised alarm on receiving first wound which attracted PW Hira Lal. He is stated to have witnessed the occurrence. PW 3 Bhogi Devi, a cousin of the accused and the deceased who used to reside in the adjoining house also came out with a lantern and in its light she saw accused Roshan Lal running away with a dagger in his hand. Soon several other co -villagers gathered there. They asked PW Hira Lal to inform PW 1 Udham Singh, a member of the Gram Panchayat and to bring him to the spot. Accordingly, PW 1 Udham Singh was brought to the spot. The accused is stated to have came to the spot crying and wailing after about two hours and confessed before them that he happened to kill his brother with a dagger and begged to be excused for the sin. When PW 1 Udham Singh asked regarding the weapon of the offence, the accused went to one side and reappeared with a blood stained dagger. PW Udham Singh asked him to place the dagger near the dead body. On the following morning, PW Udham Singh proceeded to Police Station, Rampur along with the accused. PW 11 Bhola Singh Pradhan of the Panchayat met them at the bus stop in village Deothi. He had already been informed of the incident by one Kewal Ram. The accused is stated to have again confessed the guilt before PW Bhola Singh. The Pradhan asked his son to assist Udham Mngh (PW 1) in escorting the accused. On reaching the Police Station, PW 1 Udham Singh lodged the F. I R., (Ex P -A) at 9.00 a. m. on May 25, 1989 At the time the accused was wearing shirt P -l, waist P -2, Pyajama P -3 and coat P -4 which were stained with blood. The accused was got medically examined Exs P -l to P -4 were taken into custody and were sealed in a parcel.