MOHINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal filed by Mohinder Singh against the judgment of the Sessions Judge, Sri Ganganagar, dated 13-3-1975, by which the appellant has been convicted of an offence under sec. 304 Part I, I. P. C. and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/-, in default of payment of fine to further suffer simple imprisonment for two months for causing the death of Butta Singh.

(2.) THE prosecution case against the appellant was that on 22-3-1974 at about 5 p. m. he along with Gurdeep Singh visited the house of Butta Singh. Gurdeep Singh informed the mother of Butta Singh that Butta Singh's mother-in-law had come to village Kardwala after undergoing an eye operation and Butta Singh and bis wife should meet her. Butta Singh's mother then prepared tea for Butta Singh, Mohinder Singh, Gurdeep Singh and herself. All of them took tea in the home. THEreafter Mohinder Singh and Butta Singh went together out of the house and Gurdeep Singh began to talk to Jangir Kaur, mother of Butta Singh. After a short while he also went away from there Jangir Kaur saw all of them going towards the house of Mohinder Singh, Jangir Kaur waited for the return of her son Butta Singh for some time but Butta Singh did not come back to his house. At about 8 30 p m she heard cries of Butta Singh On hearing the screams of her son Jangir Kaur rushed to the house of Mohinder Singh and saw that Butta Singh was lying on a cot of Mohinder Singh inside his house and Mohinder Singh was causing injuries to him with a short thick stick, commonly known as 'sotta' in vernacular. Butta Singh was raising a hue and cry. Jangir Kaur on seeing her son being beaten by the appellant cried loudly 'do not beat, do not beat', but the appellant turned deaf ears to her cries and threatened her with dire consequences in case she continued to raise on outcry. Out of fear, Jangir Kaur ran away from there and approached her son-in-law Arjun Singh at village Kardwala which lies at a distance of about 1-1/2 miles from her village. She met Arjun Singh and related the whole of incident to him. She disclosed to him that Mohinder Singh was inflicting blows on the person of Butta Singh On hearing the news, Arjun Singh asked Jangir Kaur to go back to her village as he was immediately reaching there along with some persons. THEreupon Jangir Kaur returned to her house. After a short-while Arjun Singh came to her and informed her that Butta Singh had been killed. THEn Arjun Singh went to Police Station, Sadulshahar, for miking a first information report of the occurrence. THE incident was alleged to have occurred on account of personal grudge having been entertained by the appellant against the deceased over a dispute relating to boundaries of their agricultural lands. THE Station House Officer, Sadulshahar recorded the first information report made to him by Arjun Singh and registered a case under sec. 302, I. P. C. on its basis. Station House Officer, Bhanwar Lal immediately rushed to the place of occurrence and reached there at about 3 a. m. He did not find Mohinder Singh and his family in their house. He went in search of the appellant but could not arrest him. So he returned to the place of the incident, prepared Panchanama Ex. P. 3, and site-plan Ex, P. 4 with site inspection memo Ex. P. 4a. He took photos of the place of occurrence and recovered a pair of shoes of the deceased lying in a 'kotha' of Mohinder Singh. On the next day, the Station House Officer arrested the appellant at bus stand, Satipura. At the time of arrest, the Station House Officer saw blood stains on the right leg of the appellant. He scratched the dried blood with a blade and took it into his possession, vide memo Ex P. 11. THE appellant, while under police custody, supplied an information to the Station House Officer that he had concealed a short thick stick, i. e. , 'sotti' in a heap of fodder lying in his thatched house. THE Station House Officer recorded the above information in a memo Ex. P. 12 and recovered the short thick stick at the instance of the appelant and in consequence of his above information from the heap of fodder vide memo of recovery Ex. P. 18. THE dead body of the deceased was sent to Hospital for post-mortem examination. Dr. Bahadur Singh, P. W. 9, conducted an autopsy over the dead body and found the following eleven injuries on it: - (1) lacerated wound l"x1/2"x1/4" middle of forehead upward downward over the scalp hair and forehead junction; (2) lacerated wound 3/4"x1/2"x bone deep on the body of right mandible upward downwards with fracture in the middle; (3) contusion 7"x1" obliquely on the front of chest from right nipple to the epigastrium; (4) contusion 10"x1" upward downward right side of chest lateral to right nipple upto the right hypochondrium; (5) contusion 9"x1" upward downward medial to injury No. 4 and along it; (6) contusion 5"x1" over and along 8th rib backside right hall; (7) contusion 4"x1" along with 9th rib back side to right half; (8) contusion 4"'x1" along the 10th rib right side of back; (9) contusion 4"x1" medial aspect of left thigh lower part transversely; (10) contusion 3"x1" medial aspect of left thigh middle of the thigh trans-versely; (11) contusion 5"x1" anterior aspect of right thigh above knee joint. Upon dissection of the dead body middle lobe of his right lung was found ruptured. In the abdomen, the base of left lobe was also ruptured. Thoracic cavity was found full of coagulated blood. In the opinion of the Medical Officer the death was caused by rupture of vital organs, i. e. right lung and liver leading to haemorabge. and shock due to thoracic injuries. THE Doctor further opined that Butta Singh died within 6 10 hours prior to the post mortem examination. THE external injuries were ante mortem in nature and were caused by blunt weapon. THE Doctor found semi-digested food material also in the stomach of the deceased. THE Station House Officer collected other necessary evidence and eventually put up a challan against Mohinder Singh appellant under S. 302 I. P. C. in the court of the Munsiff-cum-Judicial Magistrate, Hanumangarh. THE learned Magistrate committed the appellant to the court of Sessions Judge Shri Ganganagar, for trial for the offence of murder. THE Sessions Judge tried the appellant for the aforesaid offence and found him guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder punishable under S. 304 Part I, I. P. C. He, therefore, acquitted the appellant of the offence of murder punishable under S. 302, I. P. C. and convicted and sentenced him, as stated above. Aggrieved by his convictions and sentence the appellant has come-up in appeal to this Court.