MOHINDERSINGH Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by Mohindersingh from the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge of Ganganagar, dated the 19th of June, 1961 convicting the accused appellant Mohindersingh under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to imprisonment for life.

(2.) THE prosecution case was that the accused Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh lived in village Chohilawali, police Station Hanumangarh, and that the deceased Gurbaxsingn also lived in the same village. There was dispute of one 'kiila' of and between them. On the 21st of October, 1960, Gurbaxsingh was coming to his house from his field with a bundle of green fodder on his head, and the accused Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh had also gone to their field to cut 'gawar' and they inflicted injuries with an axe and a 'kassi' respectively on Gurbaxsingh, killing him instantaneously, on the spot, in the field of Mohindersingh. Both of them then started for their village. Dalbarasingh threw away the blood-stained 'kassi' in a bush of 'kair' in the field of Lachhmansingh, and Mohindersingh carried his bloodstained axe with him to the village. On the way they met Karnisingh and Shersingh coming from the village on a camel from the opposite direction, at a distance of about one mile from the village al about 10 a. m. Shersingh questioned them as to why they were returning so early and one of the accused, namely Mohindersingh, replied that they had cut 'gawar' crop and were going back. Shersingh expressed his surprise at the statement of Mohindersingh, for he could not believe that 20 bighas of 'gawar' could be cut by both of them in no time, and the other accused Dalbarasingh then told him that they had killed Gurbaxsingh and were returning to the village. Shersingh, on hearing this, got down from the camel, and accompanied Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh to the village, and Karnisingh went to his field on the camel. Shersingh then went and informed Gyanaram (P. W, 2) that Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh had killed Gurbaxsingn. Gyanaram (P. W. 2), Biru (P. W. 7), Mallu (P. W. 5), Nandram (P. W. 6) and Banna (P. W. 8) went to the house of Mohindersingh to ascertain as to whether he and Dalbarasingh had killed Gurbaxsingh as reported by Shersingh, and they founa Mofiindersingh and Dalbarasingh in Mohindersingh's house and Gyanaram and Biru questioned both the accused as to what they had done and both of them, one after the other, told them that they had cut Gurbaxsingh in the field. Gyanaram and others then asked Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh to lead them to the place where they had committed the murder and all of them then went to the field of Mohinder singh led by the accused persons who pointed out the dead body of Gurbaxsingh in the field of Mohindersingh. they then returned to the village along with the two accused persons and Nandram (P. W. 6) then wrote down Ex. P-1-the first information report, which was signed by Gyanaram, Banna, Biru, Nandram, Sardararam and Badriprasad. The first information report (Ex, P-1) Was then sent with Mallu to Police Station Hanumangarh which is at a distance of 16 miles from Chohilwali. He reached the police station and lodged the first information report at 6 p. m. He also informed the Station House Officer that bom Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh were detained by the Chowdris at the house of Lunaram Lambardar and that he had been to the spot of occurrence with the Chowdris and the accused and had seen Gurbaxsingh lying dead. S. H. O. Pusaram Sharma reached the village Chohilawali two gharis after sunset and he found both Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh at the house of Lunaram as mentioned by Mallu. un interrogation, both the accused gave him information on the 21st of October, 1960 regarding their respective bloodstained weapons, and Mohindersingh got recovered the axe (Article 1) from a pit in the enclosure of his own house and Oalbarasingh got recovered the Kassi (Art. 2) from a 'kair' bush in the field of Lachhman about one square away from the spot of occurrence where the dead body of Gurbaxsingh was found lying. Both the articles, the Kassi and axe, were sealed and subsequently sent to the Chemical examiner. The Station House Officer also noticed stains of blood on the shirts of Mohindersingh (Article 4) and of Dalbarasingh (Article 3) and he took both of them in his possession and sealed them on the 21st of October, 1960. He sent for Dr. Swadesh Mitra from Hanumangarh for performing the post-mortem examination at Chohilawali. Dr. Swadesn Mitra ' (P. W. 4) performed the post mortem examination. He found the following injuries on the person of Gurubaxsingh:--

(3.) BOTH the accused Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh denied having inflicted injuries to Gurbaxsingh and they pleaded that the witnesses had involved them on account of enmity in this case. They produced no evidence in the defence. The learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ganganagar, did not believe the testimony regarding the two extrajudicial confessions of Mohindersingh and Dalbarasingh made by them firsty before Karnisingh and secondly be-fore the other witnesses mentioned above. The learned Judge, however, believed the evidence regarding there being stains of human-blood on the shirt of Mohindersingh and also the evidence regarding the recovery of shirt from the person of Mohindersingh accused. He also believed the evidence of the recovery of the blood-stained axe (Art. 1) from the house of Mohindersingh in consequence of information furnished by him to the investigating officer. He also believed the recovery of Kassi (Article 2) from the field of Lachhman on information given by Dalbarasingh. He assumed that the stains of blood on the shirt of Mohindersingh did not belong to the same group as that of the deceased and concluded from the presence of blood on the shirt of Mohindersingh and the recovery of the blood-stained axe that these circumstances were sufficient to warrant an inference against the accused that he was responsible for committing the murder of Gurbaxsingh. He gave the benefit of the doubt to Dalbarasingh for the reason that no stains of blood were found on his shirt and acquitted him for that reason.