TARSEEM SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant has been convicted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu, under Section 302, R. P. C. for having committed the murder of one Kripa Ram of village Saroda and sentenced to life imprisonment. He has come up in appeal before this Court against his conviction and there is also a reference before us made by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu for confirmation of the sentence. This judgment will dispose of both the appeal as well as the reference.

(2.) BRIEFLY put, the prosecution story goes like this: On 23rd of June 1973 a verbal report was lodged with the police station Saddar by P. W. Ram Saran. According to the first informant he was informed by P. W. Agya Ram Brahman, while returning home from Jammu, that his uncle Kripa Ram had been seriously injured by the appellant. P. W. Ram Saran immediately reported the matter to his father who was working at some machine nearby and both of them thereafter went to the house of Kripa Ram. They found Kripa Ram lying in an injured condition and also saw marks of injuries on his head and neck. Kripa Ram according to P. W. Ram Saran was profusely bleeding and on being questioned told P. W. Ram Saran and his father that he had been injured with the help of a Suthra (an iron instrument used by carpenters for making holes in wood etc.) by the appellant in presence of P. W. Ram Singh and Lal Singh when he had gone to the Haveli of Jagat Sani Pahalwan for getting his plough repaired. P. W. Ram Saran also informed the police that the appellant had also injured. P. Ws. Ram Singh and Lal Singh with the same Suthra. On this report the police in the first instance registered a case under Section 307 R. P. C. against the appellant. Harnam Singh ASI immediately thereafter repaired to the spot and recorded the dying declaration of Kripa Ram. As the injured succumbed to the injuries during the course of investigation, the offence was converted from 307, R. P. C. into one under Section 302, R. P. C.

(3.) THE appellant declined to make any statement before the Committing Court but in the Sessions Court he made a statement pleading his insanity at the relevant time in defence to the charge. The trial court after considering the entire evidence on the record rejected the plea of insanity put forth by the appellant and convicted him for having committed the murder of Kripa Ram and sentenced him to undergo life imprisonment as stated above. The trial court was of the opinion that the appellant had failed to discharge the burden of proving insanity at the relevant time. Reliance was placed upon the statement of P. W. Ram Singh made in the Committing Court which was transferred to the file of the trial court under Section 288 Cr. P. Code. Reliance was also placed upon the dying declaration made by the deceased Kripa Ram. Besides this, failure on the part of the appellant to plead insanity at the earliest when his statement was recorded in the Committing Court, weighed heavily against the appellant with the trial court. Another factor which the trial court took into consideration was that since the injuries were inflicted by the appellant on the vital part of the body i. e., head, it clearly indicated that an intention to kill was present in the mind of the appellant. Again the trial court attached considerable importance to the report of the Doctor who had examined the appellant during the course of the trial and failed to find any symptom of insanity at the time of his examination. The trial Court was of the view that mere probability of insanity was not enough to discharge the burden of the exception which lay squarely on the appellant. According to the trial court the appellant was bound to prove insanity beyond any shadow of doubt. The trial Court also held that in view of the direct evidence available in the case, absence of motive was of no consequence.