SITA SINGH Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) On 27.2.92 at 3.00 AM an oral information was received at Police Station Chunawat District Sriganganagar by Bhajan Singh that at about 9-9.30 on the night of 26.2.92 a noise was heard from the house of Sharwan Singh and Kulvinder Kaur went keeping to Bhanjan Singh and informed him that Sharwan Singh was forcibly taken away by Balkar Singh and Siva Singh to their house and he has been killed by them. Bhajan Singh and his wife went in front of Sita Singh's house and saw Sita Singh standing there with a naked sword. Sita Singh said that he had killed Sharwan Singh. Balkar Singh was standing in the courtyard. It was also stated in this information that Sharwan Singh's was lying in the courtyard of the accused persons. After investigation Sita Singh and Balkar Singh were prosecuted on charges under Sec. 450 and 302 IPC. On trial, both of them were acquitted of charge under Sec. 450 IPC. The accused Balkar Singh was acquitted of charge under Sec. 302 Penal Code also but Sita Singh was convicted under Sec. 302 Penal Code and was sentenced to undergo life imprisonment. This is appeal of Sita Singh against his conviction and sentence.

(2.) The prosecution examined PW-3 Kulvinder Kaur as eye- witness. Apart from her, other witnesses have been examined for proving memoranda prepared during the investigation. Kulvinder Kaur PW-3 is daughter of Bhajan Singh PW-2 who is the brother of deceased Sharwan Singh. She was living with Sharwan Singh, as according to her he had adopted her. Sharwan Singh did not have wife or children. She used to reside with Sharwan Singh and her maternal grand mother in a house which was adjacent to the house of Balkar Singh and Sita Singh. On the date of the incident at about 9.30 PM Kulvinder Kaur and her grand mother were lying on the bed in the inner room of their house. Sharwan Singh was lying in a room meant for coats. They heard the cries of Sharwan Singh and Kulvinder Kaur and her grand mother both came out and saw that Balkar Singh and Sita Singh were taking away forcibly Sharwan Singh. They took him to the house of Sita Singh and Kulvinder Kaur and her grand mother followed them. Inside Sita Singh's house they saw that Sita Singh was assaulting Sharwan Singh by means of a Sword. Balkar Singh was standing nearby. On this Kulvinder Kaur rushed to his father Bhajan Singh and told him what she had seen. On receiving this information, her father and her mother came to the house of Sharwan Singh. Kulvinder Kaur also stated that there was a suspicion about the wife of Balkar Singh which was the cause for the killing. In her cross- examination many omissions in her statement to the police under Sec. 161 Cr.PC. were pointed out to the witness, she had no convincing answer for the omissions. The omissions were material because the facts of the deceased being forcibly taken to Sita Singh's house, Kulvinder Kaur's following the accused persons to their house alongwith her grand mother, Sita Singh's assault on Sharwan Singh were not found in the statement under Sec. 161 Cr.RC. She also admitted that her grand mother was quite old and her vision is affected, she cannot identify persons. She also stated that Sharwan Singh had a dog in the house who did not use to allow strangers to enter the house. She also stated that when both the accused persons had come to Sharwan Singh's house Sita Singh had a Sword in his hand. She also stated that when the accused persons entered Sharwan Singh's house the main gate was closed. Because the several omissions and improvements in her testimony the uncorroborated testimony of PW-2 Kulvinder Kaur could not be relied upon in support of conviction. The grandmother has not been examined. It is also not likely that an old lady of poor eye-sight could follow the accused persons to their house alongwith her grand-daughter when she was hardly of any help even in the matter of witnessing the incident or identifying the accused persons because of her poor eye-sight. If Kulvinder Kaur's version had been correct it would have found place as it is in the first information report as she is said to have narrated the entire incident to her father Bhajan Singh. It is, therefore, difficult to believe that Kulvinder Kaur was the eye witness of the commission of offence.

(3.) However, it is not in dispute that Sharwan Singh died on the premises of the house of Balkar Singh and Sita Singh. In his statement under Sec. 313 Cr.RC. the appellant Sita Singh has taken a specific defence and stated that at the time of incident Balkar Singh was not at home, but his wife was in the house. Sharwan Singh had an evil eye on Balkar Singh's wife and at the time of incident he had entered the house with bad intention of outraging the modesty of Balkar Singh's wife. Because of this a quarrel took place and in that Sharwan Singh got killed. Balkar Singh's wife Kulwant Kaur was examined as a defence witness. She stated that on the date of the incident at 8.00-9.00 PM Sharwan Singh had come to their house and was trying to outrage her modesty. Sita Singh was at home and Balkar Singh had gone out. In absence of her huoband Sharwan Singh had entered the house. According to her when he tried to outrage her modesty she raised an alarm, on which, her husband's brother Sita Singh arrived on the spot. They started fighting in the court yard and Sita Singh killed Sharwan Singh. She further stated that she did not know the weapon by which Sharwan Singh was killed. She also stated that Sita Singh killed Sharwan Singh as he tried to outrage her modesty. In her cross-examination she stated that it was a dark night and there was no light inside the house, but outside there was light. Her mother-in-law was also in the house, but she was sleeping in the room in which Sita Singh was sleeping and in the other room she was sleeping with her children. She further decide that Sharwan Singh had come to her for the first time, but he had come only with the Shirt on and had worn nothing below the shirt. She also stated that Sita Singh arrived an hour after Sharwan Singh started misbehaving with her. She also stated that when Sita Singh came Sharwan Singh was not with her but had gone out, and Sita Singh chased him and killed him. She also stated that Sharwan singh not even touched her. She denied the suggestion that Sharwan Singh was forcibly brought from his house and said that he had himself come.