DR JAINAND Vs. REX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Dr. Jainand Taga, a Homeopath, and his compounder, Kali Charan Brahman, were tried by the Additional Sessions Judge of Meerut for offences punishable under Secs.302/34 and 201, Indian Penal Code. The charge against them was that, in furtherance of their common intention, they had, on the night between 19 and 20 May 1947, committed the murder of Karan Singh at the residence of the doctor in Collectorganj, Hapur, and, on the following morning, they had removed his dead body to Kalinadi bridge at Samrauli for disposal, in order to cause the evidence of the commission of murder to disappear with the intention of screening the offender. The learned Sessions Judge found Jainand alone guilty of murder and convicted and sentenced him to death under Section 302, Indian Penal Code. He also found both Jainand and Kali Charan guilty under Section 201, Indian Penal Code, but in view of his conviction under Section 802, Indian Penal Code, Jainand was not convicted under Section 201, Indian Penal Code, and Kali Charon alone was convicted thereunder and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years. Jainand and Kali Charan have preferred an appeal and the reference made by the learned Sessions Judge for the confirmation of the sentence of death imposed upon Jainand is also before us.

(2.) Karan Singh deceased and his brothers Kanwal Singh, Kirpal Singh and Brijpal Singh lived in village Bigas, where they had their ancestral house and landed property. Karan Singh was married to Srimati Parmeshri Devi, daughter of Srimati Hukumdevi, and they had two daughters. Hukumdevi lived in village Phuldera. Karan Singh came into contact with Jainand appellant in connection with the treatment of his wife and daughter and eventually" they became friends, and members of the two families off and on exchanged visits. In November 1946, Karan Singh came to Hapur with his wife and children and stayed with the appellant Jainand at his house until about the middle of April 1947, when he went to live with his mother-in-law in Phuldera. He took up service as a clerk on daily wages at the Government Live-Stock and Dairy Farm at Babugarh. Sometimes he used to stay at the farm and at other times he used to return to Phuldera in the evening. It is said that on the morning of 19 May he was at Phuldera and left that place the same day. He was on duty at the farm for the last time on 19th May. He was not seen alive after that date.

(3.) The prosecution story begins with the discovery of a dead body tied in a piece of gunny bag, lying in the drain of a field near the Kalinadi bridge, close to the Nikai Park Road, within the boundary of the jungle of village Samrauli, and the recovery of a khaki jhola containing a ball of moonj string and one dirty dhoti of thin border, lying at a distance of 8 or 10 paces from the dead body. The bridge was under repairs and a large number of labourers used to work on the bridge from early morning till about 4 P.M. One of the labourers, Murli, (P.W. 3) noticed the bundle containing the dead body when he had gone to case himself, at about 2 or 2.30 P.M. on 20 May 1947, lying in a ditch 20 or 25 paces from the bridge and the jhola was lying some distance away from the bundle. He informed the beldar, Dal Chand (P.W. 27), who in his turn informed the Babu there, who sent for Ganga Saran Mukhia (P.W. 9). The Mukhia called Inderjit Singh Chowkidar (P.W. 2), who lodged the report at Police Station, Hapur, at 5.30 P.M. on the same day, viz., 20 May 1947, (Ex. P-4).