The High Court was also of the view that companysidering the discrepancies of the eye witnesses so far as the companyplicity of Baldev Singh was companycerned, the learned Sessions Judge had rightly given a verdict of acquittal on the score of benefit of doubt of the said accused but the case against the appellant, Lakhwinder Singh, having been clearly established, the High Court was of the view that there was numberreason to interfere with the companyviction and sentence imposed against the appellant.
Such gandasi was stained with blood and was sent for chemical examination by the Police.
The prosecution case is that on September 2, 1077 at about 7 P.M. the appellant, Lakhwinder Singh and the companyaccused, Baldev Singh, respectively armed with gandasi and kirpan attacked the deceased, Gurcharan Singh and inflicted injuries with kirpan and gandasi on the person of the said Gurcharan Singh as a result of which the said Gurcharan Singh died on the spot.
Thereafter he went to the house of Sajjan Singh, Member Panchayat, but he was also number available in house and on being informed that the said Sajjan Singh was present in a garden at a distance of one mile from the village, Jagir Singh went to the said garden and informed Sajjan Singh and thereafter he went to the Police Station which was about 10 miles from the village and lodged the First Information Report at about 3.00 A.M. in the morning.
Thereafter Lakhwinder Singh led the police party to the pointed place and the gandasi was recovered from the paddy field at the instance of Lakhwinder Singh.
After the special leave petition made by the appellant was admitted by this Court, an application of bail, though rejected earlier, was allowed on March 11, 1982 and the bail to the satisfaction of the learned Sessions Judge, Amritsar, was granted and we have been informed that the appellant has been enlarged on bail.
Such act of murderous assault was numbericed by P.W. 1, Jagir Singh and P.W. 2, Achhar Singh, who were present near the place of occurrence while they had been going to make payment due to one Hari Singh on account of purchase of some trees from the said Hari Singh by Jagir Singh.
According to the doctor, the death was instantaneous after the injuries.
The appellant, Lakhwinder Singh, however, preferred an appeal against his companyviction and sentence in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Criminal Appeal No.
DA, DB and DC and thereafter closed his case for evidence.
174 of 1978.
Such statement was recorded by the Police and thumb impression of Lakhwinder Singh was taken on the statement.
After that the inquest of the dead body was made and the accused persons, namely, Lakhwinder Singh and Baldev Singh were arrested.
Both the accused persons, in the statement recorded under Section 313 Criminal Procedure Code, denied the allegations made against them and pleaded innocence and false implication.
The accused, Baldev Singh, did number produce any evidence in defence but Lakhwinder Singh tendered in evidence certified companyies of Judgments Exs.
After the said witnesses had seen the murderous assault companymitted on Gurcharan Singh, Achhar Singh kept guarding the dead body and Jagir Singh went to the village and informed the father and brothers of the deceased about the details of the murder and thereafter he tried to companytact Sarpanch and Chowkidar in the village but numbere of them was available.
The appeal preferred by the appellant, Lakhwinder Singh, was therefore dismissed by the High Court.
It is the case of the prosecution that on being interrogated, the accused, Lakhwinder Singh disclosed that he had kept the gandasi companycealed in the paddy field of the companyaccused, Baldev Singh.
174 of 1978, affirming the companyviction of the appellant, Lakhwinder Singh, under Section 302 Indian Penal Code and sentence of life imprisonment passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Amritsar, in Sessions Trial No.3 of 1978.
N. Ray, J. This Criminal Appeal is directed against the Judgment dated October 12, 1979 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Criminal Appeal No.
Post mortem was held on the dead body and P.W. 3, Dr. P.S. Virk, numbered 14 injuries all ante mortem in nature, and all such injuries were, according to the doctor, were caused by a sharp edged weapon like kirpan or gandasi and in the opinion of the doctor, the death was due to shock and haemorrhage, as a result of injuries Nos.4, 6, 9 and 11 and such injuries both individually and companylectively were sufficient to cause death in the ordinary companyrse of nature.
The High Court inter alia came to the finding that in the facts of the case there was numberinordinate delay in lodging the F.I.R. in the Police Station which was at a distance of 10 miles and admittedly, the companyy of the F.I.R. was received by the Taluka Magistrate, by 9.00 A.M. next morning.
The High Court was also of the view that there was numbersufficient reason to disbelieve the motive imputed by the prosecution.
