GURNAM SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) D .B. Criminal Appeal No. 80 of 1974 filed by Gurnam Singh and D.B. Criminal Jail Appeal No. 131 of 1974, preferred by Avtar Singh, arise out of one and the same judgment of the Sessions Judge, Sri Ganganagar, dated January 17, 1974, by which each appellant was convicted under section 302 read with section 34 and 201, I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life on the first count and on the second to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years. The prosecution case against both the appellants was as follows: -Two days prior to September 11, 1972, at about 2 p.m., Gurnam Singh appellant met Karnail Singh, approver, at his house situated in 3 H, Choti. He had a battle of liquor with him. Both Gurnam Singh and Karnail Singh took in liquor. Under intoxication of wine, Gurnam Singh disclosed to the approver that he wanted to kill a person. Gurnam Singh, however, did not disclose the name of the person to be murdered by him. Thereafter, he wont to his house situated in Chak 20Z the very day in the evening. Thereafter on September 11, 1972, Gurnam Singh appellant accompanied by Avatar Singh appellant and Jeet Singh, deceased, came to the approver in the evening about one hour before the sun -set. At that time the approver was plastering a temple. Gurnam Singh and his associates took one cot from a Sadhu and sat in the neighbouring field and began to drink wine. After sun -set the approver finished his work and joined Gurnam Singh and his companions in drinking wine. After taking in some liquor along with Gurnam Singh and his associates, the approver went to his house for taking bath and for preparing food. Then Jeet Singh, deceased, and Gurnam Singh appellant visited the approver's house. The approver asked them where Avatar Singh had gone. Thereupon, Gurnam Singh replied that he had gone to his house to call for Kulvir Singh. After some time Avatar Singh and Kulvir Singh also came to the approver's house. Gurnam Singh asked the approver to fetch wine from the shop. The approver brought liquor and all of them then consumed it. Thereafter, the approver was again sent to purchase more wine. He brought about 1 1/2 bottles of wine, which also was taken in by all of them. Thereafter, the approver brought half a bottle of wine again and all the five persons proceeded on foot towards 20 Z. On the way, near the house of one Gurdayal Singh, Jeet Singh, deceased, abused Avatar Singh appellant in a foul manner under intoxication of wine. Avatar Singh also hurled abuses upon the deceased. The other persons asked them not to exchange filthy abuses. Avatar Singh and appellant thereafter proceeded towards 20z along with their companions. When they went about two Bighas away from the house of Gurdayal Singh, all of them again took in wine and proceeded further. Jeet Singh, deceased, was going a little ahead of his associates. Behind him Avatar Singh was going having a lathi in his hand and he was followed by Gurnam Singh appellant, Kulvir Singh and the approver. Gurnam Singh had a 'Gupti' in his hand while Kulvir Singh was armed with a 'Barcha', the approver was empty banded. All of sudden, Avatar Singh appellant struck a lathi blow on the back -side of the neck of Jeet Singh, deceased. As a result of this blow, Jeet Singh fell -down. Thereafter Gurnam Singh appellant dealt two or three blows with his 'Gupti' on the front side of his neck. Karnail Singh, approver, intervened and tried to rescue the deceased. In the course of intervention, he received an injury from the 'Gupti' of Gurnam Singh appellant. Gurnam Singh, appellant, thereupon, told the approver that Jeet Singh was the person whom he wanted to kill. Then Karnail Singh approver caught hold of the legs of the deceased and Kulvir Singh (absconder) inflicted two blows on the stomach of Jeet Singh with his 'Barcha' Thereafter, all the four assailants dragged Jeet Singh at a distance of about 1 1/2 Bighas towards 3 H. Choti and brought him to a water -channel which had some water in it. The deceased was again dragged along with the water -channel towards the village. The assailants found life in the deceased. So Gurnam Singh asked his companions to drown Jeet Singh in the water. Then they threw the body of Jeet Singh into the water and stood over it for some time. Jeet Singh breathed his last. Then the dead Body was taken out of water and tied with the bush -shirt and trousers of the deceased and the piece of cloth of Avatar Singh appellant was tied to the lathi and 'Barcha' and was carried away to a canal through the fields and 'Kutcha' routes to the canal half filled with water. The dead body was then thrown into the canal. Kulvir Singh, absconder, and Avatar Singh, appellant, thereafter went to their village 3 H. Choti along with Gurnam Singh. The approver also went from there to the house of one Ratna Chamar and slept there. On the next day in the morning, the approver came to his house from the house of Ratna Chamar. When he reached his house, he saw Gurnam Singh appellant standing there. Gurnam Singh asked the approver to go to the place where Jeet Singh was murdered and to see that no clue of murder was left there. The approver went on bicycle to the place where Jeet Singh was murdered and found the nicker of the deceased lying on the ground near the road. When the approver was locking at the nicker Phuman Singh asked him what he was doing. The approver replied that the nicker was of Jeet Singh who had been murdered by Gurnam Singh, Kulvir Singh and Avatar Singh. Then Karnail Singh approver came back to his house leaving the nicker there. At his house he told Gurnam Singh appellant that the nicker of the deceased was lying there but he could not pick it up as Phuman Singh was there. Thereupon, Guruam Singh asked the approver to go with him and to inform the father of Jeet Singh, deceased Gurnam Singh and the approver went on bicycle to village 20Z and met Niranjan Singh, father of Jeet Singh deceased in the latter's field. Gurnam Singh appellant disclosed to Niranjan Singh, father of the deceased, that his son Jeet Singh had been murdered by Kulvir Singh, absconder, Avatar Singh and the approver. Niranjan Singh told Gurnam Singh, appellant, that he had taken his son Jeet Singh along with him from the village and that he was murdered. Then Niranjan Singh along with Gurnam Singh appellant and the approver went to the place where Jeet Singh was murdered. He saw Jeet Singh's nicker lying there. He noticed marks of dragging also. Meanwhile other inhabitants of the village also reached there and Niranjan Singh accompanied by Gurnam Singh rushed to the police station for making a report. He lodged a first information report about the incident of murder with the police at police station, Chunawad, on September 13, 1972 at 11.30 a.m. The report contained all the facts disclosed to him by Gurnam Singh appellant. On the basis of the report Birju Singh, Head Constable, registered a criminal case under section 302 read with section 34, I.P.C., and sent a copy of the report to the Station House Officer at Ganganagar for investigation. He rushed to the place of occurrence for supervision of the site. Inder Singh, Station House Officer on receipt of the copy of the first information report took up the usual investigation into the matter and reached the place of occurrence along with the Circle Officer. He inspected the dead -body of Jeet Singh, prepared a 'Panchnama' Ex. P. 7 and the inquest report Ex. P. 6. He prepared the site -plan and the site inspection memo at the instance of the father of the deceased and took blood stained earth and one nicker, i.e. 'Kachha' of the deceased into his possession. Then he seized the piece of cloth, bush -shirt and the pieces of trousers also and recorded the statements of Niranjan Singh, Hari Das and Phuman Singh. The dead body of Jeet Singh was sent to the Medical Jurist, General Hospital, Sri Ganganagar, for post -mortem examination. Dr. M.P. Agrawal, conducted an autopsy over the dead body at 12.30 p.m. He found the following external injuries on the body of Jeet Singh: -

(2.) THE Sessions Judge, Sri Ganganagar, tried both the appellants for the aforesaid offences and found them guilty under section 302/34 and 201, I.P.C. and sentenced them in the manner stated above. Aggrieved by their convictions and sentences both the appellants have preferred separate appeals in this Court. As both the appeals are directed against one and the same judgment of the Sessions Judge and as common questions of law and facts are involved in both of them, they are disposed of together by our one judgment.

(3.) WE have carefully perused the record and heard Mr. Than Chand Mehta, for Gurnam Singh, B.R. Arora, appearing on behalf of Avatar Singh and Mr. N.S. Acharya, Public Prosecutor, for the State of Rajasthan assisted by Mr. M.L. Garg, Advocate. It has been contended on behalf of the appellants that the evidence of Karnail, Singh, approver, is highly incredible in itself and apart from the statement of the approver, there is no evidence that he also played some important role in the commission of the crime. It was further urged that even if the approver is held to be a reliable witness, his evidence with respect to the part played by the appellants in the crime stands uncorroborated by any evidence coming from independent source. The Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, argued that the approver is a reliable witness and there is ample corroboration of his statement with regard to the facts of the case and to the identity of the offenders who participated in the commission of the crime.