RAJ KUMAR Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANT Raj Kumar has been convicted of offence, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and pay a fine of Rs.50,000/ -, for allegedly murdering a young man, named Rishu Kumar alias Vikki, by the Sessions Court, vide judgment dated 22nd August, 2005. He has filed the present appeal against the said judgment

(2.) PROSECUTION story, which has led to the conviction and sentencing of the appellant, as aforesaid, may be noticed. Deceased Rishu Kumars father, Nand Lal, was employed in Kandi Project at Hishiarpur. He died in harness. A sum of Rs.1,13,000/ - was paid to the mother of the deceased, by the employer of the father of the deceased, by way of terminal benefits. The money had been paid by transfer into a Bank Account, in the name of the mother of the deceased in a Bank at Gagret. On 12th January, 2004, mother of the deceased, namely PW -4 Nirmala Devi, withdrew a sum of Rs.60,000/ -, out of the aforesaid amount of Rs.1,13,000/ -. On 14th January, 2004, the appellant, who was then working as a Postman, visited the house of the deceased to collect monthly instalments of money from two aunts of the deceased, for deposit into their Recurring Deposit Accounts. Mother of the deceased expressed to the appellant her desire to deposit a sum of Rs.50,000/ - in the Post Office. Appellant told her that it would be better if she deposited the money through some agent, because in that situation the agent would be getting some commission and out of that a portion of the commission would be paid to her. Mother of the deceased agreed to that. Appellant then gave Form Ex. PB to the mother of the deceased and asked her to put her signatures at four places. He also required the mother of the deceased to put her specimen signatures on a plain paper piece, Ex. PC. The form and the paper sheet, containing signatures of the mother of the deceased, were left with the mother of the deceased and she was told that she need not come to the Post Office herself and instead could send her son, i.e. the deceased, to the Post Office at Gagret, on the next following day, alongwith the said papers and the money.

(3.) ON 15th January, 2004, the deceased, in addition to visiting the present appellant, was supposed to have gone to Court complex at Amb to get some papers for seeking employment on compassionate grounds prepared and thereafter he was supposed to go to Hoshiarpur to submit those papers to the employer of his father. When deceased did not return till late in the evening on 15th January, 2004, his mother informed her husbands elder brother Dilbagh Singh (PW -6), who scolded her for having sent the deceased all alone, with huge amount of money.