BALBIR SINGH Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant herein is convict. Learned Addl. Sessions Judge (II), Kangra at Dharamshala has convicted him vide judgment dated 5.4.2011 passed in Sessions Trial No. 7/2011 for the commission of offence punishable under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and also to pay Rs. 5,000/- as fine. He has assailed the impugned judgment on the grounds, inter alia, that the findings holding him guilty for the commission of offence under Section 302 IPC are palpably erroneous and contrary to the facts of the case as well as evidence available on record. The allegations against him even if taken as it is, the same does not at all constitute the commission of offence punishable under Section 302 IPC against him. The Court below allegedly completely lost sight of the fact that the prosecution witnesses had turned hostile and demolished its case, however, irrespective of it, the testimony of such witnesses was misunderstood and misappreciated and as a result thereof self contradictory and wrong findings came to be recorded. Learned trial Court has read the statements of witnesses in peace meal which is not legally permissible as their statements were required to be read as a whole i.e. exculpatory and inculpatory. Learned Court below has completely ignored and overlooked vital and important admissions made by the prosecution witnesses and as a result thereof, the appellant came to be convicted erroneously. The statements of the witnesses, if read as a whole, shatter the entire prosecution case.

(2.) If coming to the factual matrix as disclosed from the the statement under Section 154 Cr.P.C. (Ext. PW-1/A), made by Jagdish Singh, the complainant (PW-1) they are three brothers. Elder one is Balbir Singh, accused herein whereas younger one was Jeevan Singh. All the three brothers are residing separately and the ancestral land stands partitioned amongst them by way of (khangi bant) family partition. The accused, however, was not satisfied with the partition of the ancestral property. Out of two ancestral houses, one in the partition was given to accused whereas one room of the other house was occupied by their mother (since dead) and one room had fallen in his share in the family partition. He and his younger brother Jeevan Singh had constructed their own houses also. After partition of the land, accused had been picking up quarrel with his mother, the deceased and not allowing her to speak to the complainant and Jeevan Singh aforesaid.

(3.) On 1.7.2009, around 8:30 PM, he was sitting on a cot with his mother the deceased in the verandah of the house. His wife Sandhya Devi (PW-2) was also present there whereas his daughter Aruna was in the courtyard of the house. The accused happened to come there and asked the deceased as to why she was speaking to the complainant party. On this, the deceased replied that all the three sons are equal to her and as such he had no authority to prevent her from talking to other two sons. This has enraged the accused and he at once hit his mother, the deceased with a broken piece (half piece) of brick in his hand which earlier did not come to the notice of the complainant and thereby hit the deceased on her head. The old and aged mother succumbed to the injury caused to her by the accused and fell unconscious. The head injury she received in the occurrence started bleeding. The accused fled away from the spot leaving behind the piece of brick. On noticing all this, PW-2 Sandhya Devi and Aruna, daughter of the complainant (PW-3) raised alarm. Their neighbour Baldev came to the spot along with his wife. They picked up the deceased from the verandah and made her to lie down in the room. He requested the neighbour to arrange for a vehicle so that the deceased could be taken to hospital and also to inform the police. However, his mother succumbed to the injury and died after some time of the occurrence well before she was taken to hospital for treatment. Therefore, it was reported by the complainant that his elder brother had killed the deceased due to land dispute.