RANDHIR SINGH @ TIRA Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the appeals, whose particulars are mentioned in the title, are directed against the same judgment, i.e. judgment dated 27.9.2003, of the Sessions Court, whereby the appellants have been convicted of offences punishable under Sections 364, 302 and 392 of the Indian penal Code and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for different terms and also to pay fine; in default of payment of fine to undergo simple imprisonment for extra terms.

(2.) PROSECUTION version, as made out from the evidence adduced by it before the trial Court, may be summed up thus. Deceased Jai Pal, aged about 20 years, was employed as a driver by Jatinder Singh (PW-5), along-with PW-3 Bhim Singh, PW-4 Rajesh Kumar and one more person, to drive his fleet of Maruti Cars and vans for hire. Jatinder Singh had purchased one car from PW-7 Dinesh Kumar of Ludhiana. He had taken the delivery of that car but it had yet not been registered in his name. So the car bore no registration number on the number plates and instead letters "A/F" (implying that number had been applied for) were written. This car with letters "A/F" written on the number plates had been entrusted to deceased Jai Pal, one of the drivers engaged by Jatinder Singh (PW-5). On 27.4.2002 around 8.00 p.m., when Jai Pal was present at the bus stand of Rajgarh along-with the aforesaid car and Rajesh Kumar (PW-4), another driver engaged by PW-5 Jatinder singh, was also present there with his own car, four persons alighted from a bus that came from Solan side. One of them was appellant Mohan Kumar. Appellant Mohan Kumar went to Jai Pal and approached him to carry him and his companions to village Churvadhar. The companions of appellant Mohan Kumar were the three appellants, named Tira, Rajesh Kumar and Tara. Village Churvadhar is at a distance of about five kilometers from Rajgarh. The deceased then drove the appellants in the aforesaid car from bus stand Rajgarh towards village Churvadhar. On the way at village Samoga the car was spotted by PW-3 Bhim Singh, another driver engaged by PW-5 Jatinder Singh. He (PW-3 Bhim Singh) was then returning from his village Kanda by the car entrusted to him by Jatinder Singh (PW-5). The time was around 9.00 p.m. when Bhim Singh (Pw-3) spotted the car by which deceased Jai Pal carried the appellants. Though village Churvadhar is only five kilometers away from bus stand Rajgarh, Jai Pal did not return with the car that night.

(3.) POLICE then started looking for appellant Mohan Singh and his companions. On 8.5.2002 appellant Mohan Singh was arrested by Parwanoo police, when he was moving about in suspicious circumstances. Rajgarh Police, with whom the FIR had been lodged, was informed of his arrest. PW-27 Lachhman Dass, S.I., who was then posted as S.H.O. Police Station Rajgarh, went to Parwanoo. He took Mohan Singh, appellant into custody and carried him to Rajgarh. On 9.5.2002 while in police custody, appellant Mohan Singh made a disclosure statement leading to the discovery of a decomposed dead body of a male. This body was headless. Head was found lying about 36 feet away from the site where the headless body lay. The dead body was identified by Ram Swaroop (PW-8) one of the brothers of the deceased. From near the dead body a pair of shoes, buckle of safety belt and bicycle chain in two pieces were also recovered. Photographs of the dead body and the aforesaid articles as also the spot were taken. Some blood was also noticed by the side of the road above the site where the dead body was found lying. That was scrapped and taken into possession and sealed in a polythene bag. Post mortem of the dead body was conducted initially by PW-22 Dr. Sukhwinder Singh, whose observations are reproduced below:-