STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. POONAM SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prisoner Poonam Singh has been convicted by the Sessions Judge, Jodhpur under sec. 302 I. P. C. for committing the murder of Smt. Hansa Devi, and has been sentenced to death. He has also been convicted under sec. 392 I. P. C, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years. THE prisoner has filed appeal from his convictions and sentences through Jail and the learned Sessions Judge has made reference to this Court for confirmation of the sentence of death under sec. 374 Criminal P. C.

(2.) THE prosecution case is that the deceased Smt. Hansa Devi was a mid-wife in the Residency Dispensary, situated in Jodhpur. She used to live inside the old City. Residency Dispensary is situate on the outskirts of the city of Jodhpur, and, therefore, she took a room on rent in the house of one Rao Raja Bheru Singh, which is situated at a short distance from the dispensary. It is said that quite often she used to take rest after working hours in that rented room and sometimes she even used to stay there at night. It further appears that she was a woman of some substance and used to keep a number of gold ornaments on her person all the twenty four hours. We have it in evidence that she also used to do money lending. On 24-11-1976 at about 12 in the noon the accused Poonam Singh who was also living in Bheru Singh's bungalow came to see the deceased Smt. Hansa Devi in the dispensary, and asked her to advance a loan to him in the presence of P. W. Rama, Furrash of the dispensary. Smt. Hansa Devi did not give any reply but after some time she gave Rs. 2/- to Rama to bring tea. THE accused noticed at that time that Smt. Hansa Devi was carrying a number of currency notes with her. After Smt Hansa Devi and others sitting with her had taken the tea, Smt. Hansa Devi left the dispensary in the company of the accused Poonam Singh and both of them were seen going towards the golf-course which is situated towards the south of that Dispensary. Smt. Hansa Devi was not seen thereafter, but her dead body was found lying under a Babul tree in the golf course by P. W. 3 Rasilaram, a cook in the Indian Air Force Department at Jodhpur, who happened to go that side that very evening to answer the call of nature. Rasilaram informed the Police Corporal Rao of this fact and Rao sent a telephonic message at Police Station, Sardarpura. On receving the information on telephone Mohammad Hashim, Sub Inspector, Police Station, Sardarpura got it reduced to writing in the daily diary of the Police Station by Shri Gajraj Singh, Head Constable. A copy of this writing has been placed on the record and marked Ex. P. W. 30. P. W. 8 Mohammad Hashim went to the place where the dead body was lying, but since darkness had set in, he could not make any investigation at the site and deputed police constables to guard the dead body. On his return to the police station he informed P. W. 22 Devilal, Station House Officer, of the crime. Devilal reached the place of occurrence on the next day and found multiple injuries on the dead body. He also found a knife, a big piece of stone weighing about 2-1/2 Kgrms. , a broken pair of glasses, a pair of 'chappals', a gold 'toti', an eight anna coin, and a handkerchief stained with blood lying near the dead body. All these articles were recovered vide Panchnama Ex. P. 3. At the time the Station House Officer was carrying on investigation at the site, P. W. 4 Rama Farrash also happened to come there and he identified the dead body to be of Smt. Hansa Devi. After having got some clue at the site regarding the perpetrator of the crime Devilal proceeded to Rao Raja Bherusingh's Bungalow in search of Poonam Singh accused, but did not find Poonam Singh there, he searched a small room in that bungalow which was said to be in the joint occupation of the accused Poonam Singh and Jethu (P. W. 17) and recovered from there a Khakhi pant and a shirt of Khakhi colour lying underneath a box having stains of blood over them, as they were suspected to be of Poonamsingh. THE seizure memo of the said clothes is Ex P. 4. THEreafter he returned to the Police Station and registered a case under sec. 302 I. P. C. He also deputed P. W. 15 Kistoorram, Head Constable to apprehend the accused. Having received information to the effect that the accused had fled away to Poona, Kistoorram also left for Poona, and found the accused Poonam Singh there sitting in a hotel known as Samadan Guest House Hotel, and arrested him on 28-11-1970. On his personal search a sum of Rs. 310. 80 paisa and two wrist watches, one on his hand and the other in his pocket were recovered. Kistoorram took possession of these articles (vide recovery memo Ex. P. 29 ). It was further noticed at the time of arresting the accused that he had injuries on the thumb and the middle finger at his left hand. THE accused was brought to Jodhpur and produced before Devilal, Station House Officer on 30-11-1960. While in police custody, the accused gave information to Devilal, that he had sold away three gold bangles and one gold chain to one goldsmith P. W. 9 Chhotmal residing in Sardarpura and that he was ready and willing to get the same recovered This information was reduced to writing and is marked Ex. P. 35. THE Station House Officer then recovered the three gold bangles from Chhotmal but could not recover the gold chain as the same had been melted by Chhotmal, who, however, produced a piece of gold bar which he had prepared out of it. THE three gold bangles are Articles Ex. 16 and the piece of gold bar is Article Ex. 29. THE recovery memo is Ex. P. 6.

(3.) NOW coming to the question of sentence, the sentence of 10 years' rigorous imprisonment under sec. 392 I. P. G. presents no difficulty and we uphold the same.