MANGAL SINGH Vs. KING-EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by special leave from a judgment and order of the High Court of Judicature at Lahore, dated 27 April 1936, which affirmed the conviction of the appellant and the sentence of death passed upon him by the Sessions Judge of Montgomery, dated 13th February 1936. The following is a summary of the relevant facts : One Narain Singh married a widow, Mt. Harnam Kaur, who died in or about the year 1931. The appellant is her son by a previous marriage. By her marriage with Narain Singh she had four sons, the eldest being Kartar Singh. After the death of Mt. Harnam Kaur, Narain Singh indulged in a liaison with his widowed sister-in-law Mt. Basant Kaur. In the early part of October 1935, Narain Singh disappeared from his home. Following upon a panchayat, searchers, including the appellant, were despatched with a view to finding the missing man. On 13 October the searchers, other than the appellant, returned unsuccessfully from the search. The appellant was not seen again till he was arrested on 15 October. Another panchayat was meantime convened. Kartar Singh was questioned as to his father's whereabouts, and, in consequence of the disclosures made by him, information was lodged with the police. Kartar Singh took the police to a field which belonged to Narain Singh, and there, after digging four feet or thereby, the dead body of Narain Singh was found. The appellant and his half-brother, Kartar Singh, were tried, on 11 February 1936, by the Sessions Judge, with the aid of four assessors, on the following charge :

(2.) That you, on or about the 2-3 night of October 1935, at 139/9-L did commit murder by intentionally causing the death of Narain Singh and thereby committed an offence punishable under S. 302, I.P.C., and within Sessions cognizance.

(3.) Both the accused pleaded not guilty, but led no evidence. At the end of the trial the assessors held that the appellant was guilty of murder, but that Kartar Singh was not, though they were of opinion that, acting under the influence of the appellant, he helped to dispose of the dead body of Narain Singh. On 13 February 1936, the learned Sessions Judge delivered judgment. He found the appellant guilty of murder, and sentenced him to death. He found Kartar Singh guilty of an offence under S. 201, I.P.C., and sentenced him to three years' rigorous imprisonment. Both the accused appealed to the High Court at Lahore, who, after argument, dismissed the appeal, found the appellant guilty of the murder charged against him, and confirmed the sentence of death passed upon him by the learned Sessions Judge. The High Court however reduced the sentence on Kartar Singh to one year's rigorous imprisonment, and recommended that the Government should place him in a Borstal or other similar institution to serve his sentence. The appellant thereupon presented a petition to His Majesty in Council, asking for special leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence. On 26 September 1936, the special leave sought, was granted. The appellant then preferred this appeal, praying that the judgment of the High Court should be set aside, and that his conviction should be quashed. Counsel for the parties have been fully heard, and their Lordships have carefully considered the case in light of the argument submitted. Their Lordships have, in the result, already intimated that they would humbly advise His Majesty to refuse the appeal, and they stated that they would give their reasons for this course at a later stage. This they now propose to do.