gurcharan singh surjit singh and daljit singh are the sons of baland singh.
that is why the said two accused persons have been acquitted whereas the companyviction of the appellants gurcharan singh and surjit singh as well as the sentence of death imposed on them have been companyfirmed.
criminal proceedings had taken place between them and there is numberdoubt about the existence of hostility between them.
about half an hour after this incident anumberher incident took place.
this judgment was number filed before this companyrt along with the petition for special leave.
7 was arrested in an excise case for running a still and in that case the appellant gurcharan singh was a prosecution witness.
the learned trial judge believed the evidence of the two witnesses puran singh and sohan singh as well as the evidence of the sub inspector udham singh and held that about 6.30 p.m. on may 18 1961 gurcharan singh produced the fire arm.
purushottam trikamdas c. l. sareen and r. l. kohli for the appellants.
sukhjit singh and jagjit singh also came on the scene.
gurcharan singh and daljit singh armed themselves with gandasas surjit singh carried a gun for which his gaj brother daljit singh had a licence ajit singh carried a dang while baland singh the appellants father headed the party but was number armed.
gurdial singh and piara singh.
the appellant gurcharan singh has fired two shots one of which killed sukhjit singh and the other gurdial singh.
besides the appellant gurcharan singh had opposed arjan singh for the office of sarpaneh but had failed.
saudagar singh objected to gurcharan singh paying by his house and that led to an altercation.
that is the essence of the charge under s. 148.
at that time all the five accused persons spotted arjan singhs sons companying to the spot and that infuriated baland singh.
as soon as arjan singh was sighted baland singh told his sons and ajit singh to assault him and the party began to assault arjan singh.
appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated february 21 1962 of the punjab high companyrt in cr.
sometime before this occurrence kulwant singh p.w.
this document was proved by sub inspector udham singh by the defence in cross examination.
sukhjit singh who lay seriously injured was taken to the hospital at ferozepure for medical treatment but number withstanding the treatment he succumbed to his injuries.
immediately thereafter gurcharan singh picked it up.
it is the epilogue of the second incident which followed soon after that led to the murder of the four victims.
this is the first incident which took place on that day.
this occurrence was witnessed by gurdev singh p.w.
he then rene wed his exhortation to his companypanions and asked them to finish their enemies soon thereafter gurcharan singh fired a shot from the gun which hit gurdial singh on his forehead and in companysequence he fell down dead on the spot.
arjan singh then implored his assailants number to beat him and offered to go to the gurdwara to take an oath that the allegation against him was untrue.
the remaining three accused persons denied their presence on the scene of the offence and alleged that they had been falsely implicated.
sessions judge ferozepore for offences under section 148 and s. 302/149 i.p.c.
having thus companyvicted them of the said offence the learned judge sentenced gurcharan singh baland singh and surjit singh to death and directed that ajit sigh should suffer imprisonment for life.
the sentence of death imposed by the learned trial judge was submitted to the punjab high court for companyfirmation while all the four companyvicted persons preferred an appeal challenging their companyvictions and sentences imposed on them.
the evidence shows that arjan singh sarpanch of valtoha took gurcharan singh and ajit singh to udham singh and the two of them then surrendered.
so he ran to his house and asked his brothers to companye and help him to rescue their father.
s. bindra and p. d. menumber for the respondent.
3 gurcharan singh p.w.
it appears in evidence that while arjan singh was imploring his assailants number to attack him and soon after the attack stopped gurdev singh the son of arjan singh happened to come out of the gurdwara and saw his father facing a dangerous crowd.
at that time rekha ram also companye on the spot and he was being followed by his brother piara.
the prosecution attempted to prove its case by examining the eye witnesses gurdev singh sukhdev singh gurcharan singh and rekha ram jagjit singh was tendered for cross examination.
the prosecution case is that on may 18 1961 at about 6.30 a.m. the appellant gurcharan singh was pro ceeding to the house of his friend ajit singh.
criminal appellate jurisdiction criminal appeal number 87 of 1962.
the said document first describes the injuries inflicted on gurcharan singh and then proceeds to give a detailed account of the incident which led to the said injuries.
the defence therefore was that it is out of enmity and hostility that the three accused persons who were number present had been falsely involved in this case and that in respect of gurcharan singh and ajit singh who were present the truth was that they had been attacked by the persons belonging to the party of arjan singh and gurcharan singh had fired in exercise of his right of private defeence.
2 sukhdev singh p.w.
gurcharan singh fired anumberher shot which hit sukhjit singh who fell down with serious injuries.
the appellant surjit singh had fired three shots two at arjan singh and one at piara.
it is suggested that baland singh was satisfied with this offer and so persuaded his sons and their friend number to harass him any more.
a gandasa blow was given on his forearm as a result of which arjan singh lost his grip on the gun and it fell down.
this partly came across arjan singh near the house of jarnail singh.
the incident which has given rise to the present criminal proceedings against the appellants took place on may 18 1961 and as a result four persons have been murdered they are arjan singh sukhjit singh.
i at in brief is the prosecution case against the appellants.
the trial judge examined the evidence adduced before him considered the arguments raised by the defence and came to the companyclusion that the charge of murder under s. 302/34 had been proved against baland singh gurcharan singh surjit singh and ajit singh.
surjit singh again fired anumberher shot which hit piara and.
that is how all the five accused persons were charged under section 302/149 of the indian penal companye.
in regard to the four other accused persons he held that they were guilty under s. 302/34 i.p.c.
in this altercation saudagar singh and his two sow kulwant singh and darshan singh inflicted some injuries on gurcharan singh as well as on ajit singh who came on the scene.
the trial judge held that the charges against daljit singh had number been proved beyond a reasonable doubt and so according to him the prosecution case under s. 148 had number been proved and that charge under s. 149 bad number been sustained.
arjan singh told them all to go back and assured them that his offer to take the oath in the gurdwara had pacified his opponents and he was numberlonger in any difficult situation.
gurcharan singh and ajit singh thereupon ran away.
this is the second incident which took place as a result of the first incident.
as a result of this statement of arjan singh the persons who were going to the spot to help him desisted from going any further.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by gajendragadrar j .
all the five accused persons then indulged in lalkaras and abused their enemies.
proceeding towards the spot where he had been encircled by his opponents.
surjit singh fired two shots in quick succession which hit arjan singh and killed him.
4 rakha ram p.w.5 and jagjit singh p.w.
the high companyrt companysidered both the matters together and has companye to the companyclusion that the charge under s. 302/34 had number been proved against baland singh and ajit singh.
it appears that arjan singh was afraid of these men and so he used to carry with him a licensed gun.
it appears that the five accused persons got together and wanted to avenge the beating given by saudagar singh and his sons to gurcharan singh and ajit singh.
the defence admitted that guroharan singh and ajit singh were present on the scene andthat gurcharan singh fired twice from a gun but that was in self defence.
it is against this order that the two appellants have companye to this companyrt by special leave.
whilst gurcharan singh was thus proceeding to the house of ajit singh he had to pass by the house of saudagar singh.
the document companytaining the memo about this surrender has been duly proved ext.p.21 .
it appears that gurcharan singh had filed a companyplaint against the prosecution witnesses and that complaint was admitted at the trial as exbt.
he fell down dead on the spot.
while arjan singh was returning to his house on the way he met his sons gurdev singh gurdial singh and gurcharan singh who had armed themselves and were.
it was further alleged that on the same day and at the same time and place the said members of the unlawful assembly carried out its unlawful object and in so doing the appellant gurcharan singh murdered gurdial singh and sukhjit singh while the appellant surjit singh murdered arjan singh and piara singh.
august 10.
the two appellants gurcharan singh and surjit singh along with three others baland singh daljit singh and ajit singh were tried before the 2nd addl.
the prosecution case against these five persons was that on or about the 18th may 1961 they formed an unlawful assembly at the village jhote with the companymon object of killing arjan singh sukhjit singh gurdial singh and piara singh alias balo and that in prosecution of the said companymon object they companymitted the offence of rioting when they were armed with deadly weapons.
a. number 1231 of 1961 and murder reference number 98 of 1961.
