Instead, three accused began to push them and Jagdish Singh Bedi assaulted them with a cudzel.
The accused got down from the car and the motorcycle.
At about 9.30 P.M. when the barat party reached Bhopa Tonga Stand near the residence of Shri Dharamvir Singh Sehrawat, Advocate, adjacent to police lines, Prem Pal and Jagdish Singh Bedi came there on a motorcycle driven by Prem Pal and stopped the motorcycle on the roadside in front of the marriage procession.
PW 17, Radhey Shyam Mishra, the ballistic expert, affirmed that the two cartridges were fired from the two guns recovered from the possessions of Kashmiri Lal and Babu Ram.
Subhash Chand PW 4 and Amrit Lal, injured, are the sons of Mool Chand.
688 of 1979.
Jagdish Singh Bedi and Prem Pal and the others proceeded toward the marriage procession.
Mool Chand PW 1 , Subhash Chand PW 4 Agya Ram PW 6 and Jai Pal Singh PW 7 were examined as eye witnesses.
Kashmiri Lal took his gun and a bag of cartridges.
Dr. K.C. Pandey, on 18.11.1972.
PW 7 rushed towards them but Kashmiri Lal and Babu Ram began to fire towards the three boys and all to them fell down on receiving gun shot injuries and the third also received gun shot injuries.
Kiran Prabha, daughter of Kewal Kishore, another brother of Mool Chand was getting married on 17.11.1972.
When deceased, Ramesh Chand, was undoubtedly in the marriage procession, the presence of these witnesses is also established.
Written report given by Mool Chand at the police station Kotwali at 10.25 P.M. was treated as the first information and the investigation was carried on.
688 691/1979.
The grounds urged ar these The eye witness account of th incident was fully companyroborated by the medical evidence on record.
The evidence of the eye witnesses that Jagdish Singh Bedi armed with a cudzel wielded at the time of incident was number acceptable as this is number mentioned in the first information report.
Dr. K.C. Pandey who examined the injuries of Madan Lal has stated that the injuries found on his person were caused by more than one shot.
Agya Ram PW 6 only stated that he heard Madan Lal had also received injuries.
They have a companysistent account and received companyroboration from other materials on evidence.
He has given a detailed account of movements of the accused.
The evidence was sufficient to sustain the companyviction.
The most damaging feature of the prosecution case, however, is the unsatisfactory explanation of the gun shot injuries found on the person of Madan Lal appellant which were admittedly received by him at the time of the incident.
The marriage party had companye from Delhi and was staying at Barat House in Gandhi Colony.
Prem Pal and Jagdish Singh Bedi went away.
Considering the location and the number of injuries found on the person of Madan Lal, the High Court said that they appear to have been caused by at least tow shots if number three.
The death had occurred due to haemorrhage and shock as a result of gun shot in injury.
The first shot was fired by Kashmiri Lal at Ramesh Chand the second shot was fired by Babu Ram at Amrit Lal and the third shot was fired by Kashmiri Lal at Subhash Chand and this also caused gun shot injuries to Madan Lal who was near Subhash Chand.
There had been lantern street lights.
At about 8.30 P.M., Madan Lal left the house and returned in half an hour and informed Kashmiri Lal that the barat party had started and all were present.
Kashmiri Lal then directed Jagdish Singh Bedi and Prem Pal to bring a car and they went on their motorcycle form the house of Kashmiri Lal.
It is also difficult to believe that Jai Pal Singh PW 7 would have got down from the car about fifty paces from the place of occurrence on being directed by Kashmiri Lal appellant as his shadow and was thus number expected to leave him.
This witness deposed that the injuries found on the person of Madan Lal companyld number have been caused by the gun shots which caused injuries to Ramesh Chand and these appear to have been caused by three shots.
The High Court has thus examined the broad features and the inherent improbabilities in the prosecution version.
Jai Pal Singh PW 7 has assumed charge of shadow only the previous day.
The testimony of PW 7 appears to be highly artificial and does number fit in with human probabilities.
Twenty witnesses were examined by the prosecution.
Ka 14 medical report.
Session Judge on the charges under sections 120 B, 302, 307, 324 read with section 149, I.P.C., Babu Ram and Kashmiri Lal were separately charged under section 147, P.C., as well.
It was also difficult to believe that Prem Pal and Madan Lal companyld have gone to the place of occurrence empty handed if they were in fact members of an unlawful assembly the object of which was to companymit the murder of Ramesh Chand.
Subhash Chand had besides the gunshot would two abrasions.
They started in the car that was brought and when it reached near the soldier board, the marriage procession was seen companying from the side of the police lines.
According to them Madan Lal was going on a rickshaw from Gandhi Colony to City at 9.00 P.M. on 17.11.1972.
The case projected by the prosecution is that Kashmiri Lal on the one hand and Mool Chand on the other were arch enemies.
Kashmiri Lal stopped the car and PW 7 was asked to get down and take tea in the nearby shop.
133 of 1973 by the Ist Addl.
PW 7 got down and went towards Bhopa Tonga Stand in order to take tea.
The State being aggrieved by the order of acquittal has preferred three appeals.
The Police party on receiving telephonic message from W. 5 Balbir Singh reached the scene.
The genesis of the incident as spoken by these witnesses is that the assault was started by the accused and Madan Lal sustained the gun shot injury when the accused themselves fired.
The family of Mool Chand and the accused had strained relationship, since there had been companyplaints and companynter complaints and other litigation between these two groups, Kashmiri Lal accused was provided with a shadow of Jaipal Singh PW 17 .
Eight pellets were recovered.
The number of gun shot injuries found on Madan Lal are very much larger than the gun shot injuries found on Subhash Chand.
Kashmiri Lal, Madan Lal, Babu Ram, and Pram Pal were medically examined by the Jail Doctor.
All the five accused sat inside a room and PW 7 was asked to sit in the varandah.
Prem Pal had two small scabbed abrasions caused by friction against hard substance about a day old and Babu Ram had four simple injuries of blunt weapon with traumatic swelling on left hand fingers, duration companyld number be ascertained.
Mool Chand and Jagdish Chand are brothers.
Mool Chand and Subhash Chand were treated at District Hospital.
Shri B. Rai, ballistic expert, was examined by the High Court as a companyrt witness to determine the number of shots which companyld have caused the injuries found on the person of Madan Lal and whether they companyld have been caused by the same shot which caused the injuries to Ramesh Chand, Amrit Lal and Subhash Chand.
The other three i.e. Jagdish Singh Bedi, Prem Pal and Babu Ram are friends and associates of these brothers.
Kashmiri Lal went to meet some persons at about 2.00 P.M. Babu Ram and Madan Lal went somewhere else.
The injuries are skin deep.
The party started for the brides house at about 9.00 P.M. Mool Chand, Amrit Lal, Subhash Chand, Ramesh Chand And Agya Ram were accompanying the party.
Amrit Lal was examined by Dr. Manocha at 10.15 P.M. He had six injuries on his person including a gunshot wound.
The explanation of the fire arm injuries of accused Madan Lal was companytained even in the first information report which was promptly lodged by PW 1, Mool Chand, one of the eye witnesses.
The accused had set up their version of the incident in their statement.
Ramesh Chand died in the hospital on 18.11.1972.
From the Judgment and Order dated 20.4.1979 of the Allahabad High Court in Crl.
The High Court pointed out that Mool Chand and Jai Pal Singh have offered numberexplanation regarding the gun shot injuries found on the person of Madan Lal.
Two guns were recovered from the possession of Kashmiri Lal and Babu Ram.
When he reached near the house of Dharamvir Singh Sehrawat, Advocate, Ramesh Chand abused him and fired a number of shots at him.
Jagdish Singh Bedi and Prem Pal stated that they were returning from village on a motorcycle at the time of the incident and when they reached near the police lines, they found a crowd and barat procession.
Ka 4 to 7, Kashmiri Lal and multiple companytusion on right hand, left hand small finger, right shoulder and back upper third caused by some blunt weapon about a day before.
They recovered the motorcycle with a bag hanging on its handle, a bag of cartridges and two empty cartridges lying on the ground.
The High Court on appeal by the companyvicted persons set aside the findings and acquitted them.
Prem Pal, Madan Lal and Jagdish Singh Bedi went near Subhash, Amrit Lal and Ramesh Chand and started abusing them.
Kashmiri Lal fired with his gun and Ramesh Chand got injured.
He was appointed his body guard on 16.11.1972.
The story narrated by Jai Pal Singh, a body guard of Kashmiri Lal as to what transpired before actual encounter is uncorroborated.
The charges are that the accused persons on 17.11.1972 entered into a criminal companyspiracy to companymit murder of Ramesh Chand and others.
He does number depose at to how the gun shot injuries were received by him.
Both Ramesh Chand and Amrit Lal fell down.
The other three eye witnesses were heading the procession.
Kashmiri Lal and Babu Ram each fired another round causing injury to Subhash Chand and Madan Lal accused, and all the accused escaped leaving the motor cycle and the car on the spot.
At about 9.00 P.M. on 16.11.1972 Babu Ram came to the house of Kashmiri Lal with his gun and bandoleer of cartridges and he stayed there.
It is quite possible that the sudden quarrel companyld have taken place at the place of occurrence when the appellants accused were fired at first by the companyplainants party as a result of which Madan Lal received gun shot injuries.
Babu Ram and Kashmiri Lal armed with guns along with the other three formed themselves into an unlawful assembly with a companymon object of murdering Ramesh Chand, Amrit Lal and Subhash Chand and causing injuries to them.
The evidence of the eye witnesses have been discarded on the bald ground that it was difficult to accept their evidence as they did number give satisfactory explanation of the fire arm injuries on Madan Lal, accused.
The deceased and the others tried to assault him with a danda.
Learned Judge also companyvicted Jagdish Singh Bedi, Prem Pal and Madan Lal under Sections 147, 120 B, 302, 307 and 324, I.P.C., read with section 149, P.C., and sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for life under Section 302, R.I. for 2 years under Section 147 and numberseparate sentence was imposed on any of the accused under Sections 120 B and 324, I.P.C. The prosecution case relevant for the purpose of the appeals briefly stated thus Kashmiri Lal and Madan Lal are real brothers.
Ramesh Chand was first examined by Dr. Jai Deo Sharma PW 11 at 11.00 P.M. He had multiple gun pellet wounds 25 in number in an area of 17 cm x 12 cm with alacerated wound 3 cm x 0.5 cm depth number probed in the centre and lower part of chest as recorded in Ex.
K. Garg, U.R. Lalit, V.J. Francis, N.M. Popli and Dr. S. Chauhan for the Respondents.
As per injury reports Ex.
PW 7 and Kashmiri Lal returned to the house at about 7.00 P.M. Babu Ram and Madan Lal were present there.
The accused talked to each other for about an hour and they came out.
Kashmiri Lal, Madan Lal Babu Ram and Jagdish Singh Bedi and Prem Pal were tried in Sessions Trial No.
Babu Ram was also present at that time.
Madan Lal and multiple small gun pellet wounds scattered in different parts caused about a day before.
The High Court was number prepared to believe that Madan Lal would have been accidentally hit by as many as two or three shots fired by two of his companypanions as it appears to be highly unnatural and improbable.
The High Court has said that the most damaging feature of the prosecution case is the unsatisfactory explanation of the gun shot injuries found on the person of Madan Lal.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal Nos.
G. Bhagat, Pramod Swarup, R.K. Singh, Anil Kumar Sangal, A.S. Pundir and Prashant Chaudhary for the Appellants.
The possibility of their being caused by shots fired by the party of companyplainant in the opinion of the High Court cannot be excluded.
In prosecution of the companymon object of the assembly, they companymitted the murder of Ramesh Chand caused gunshot injuries to Amrit Lal and Subhash Chand at about 9.30 P.M. on 17.11.1972 at Bhopa Tonga stand in front of the house of Shri Dharamvir Singh Sehrawat, Advocate, Muzaffarnagar, and thereby companymitted the aforesaid offences.
Jagdish Singh Bedi had a small cudzel with him.
On internal examination, the doctor found pellets present in the abdominal wall.
Subhash Chand depose that only three shots were fired by the accused at the time of the incident.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by FATHIMA BEEVI, J. These appeals by special leave are directed against the judgment and order dated 20.4.1979 of the Allahabad High Court passed in Criminal Appeals No.
Sub Inspector arrested accused Kashmiri Lal, Madan Lal, Babu Ram and Prem Lal at about 10.00 P.M. at the Roorkey Octroi Post while they were boarding the truck.
Ramesh Chand, the deceased, was the son of Jagdish Chand.
Subhash Chand is an injured person.
Jagdish Singh Bedi and Prem Pal came on a motorcycle.
All the five talked to each other inside the room.
1850, 1851 and 1852 of 1974.
The High Court has proceeded on companyjectures having lost sight of the numbermal human companyduct.
Sessions Judge by judgment dated 29.7.1974 companyvicted Kashmiri Lal and Babu Ram under Sections 148, 120 B, 302, 307 and 324, I.P.C., all read with Section 149, I.P.C., and sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for life under Section 302, R.I. for 7 years under Section 307, I. for 2 years under Section 148.
The incident took place in a barat procession companysisting of over 100 persons on account of melee and companyfusion numberone can be expected to give a graphic account of the encounter as well as the exact number of shot fired.
The three eye witnesses are natural witnesses.
Appeals Nos.
He was in the car along with the accused and he was asked to get down when they reached near the scene.
The High Court said that version of the incident given by the four eye witnesses cannot be implicitedly relied upon and the possibility of Babu Ram and Kashmiri Lal having caused injuries to the deceased, Subhash Chand and Amrit Lal in the exercise of the right of private defence cannot be excluded.
Prem Pal claimed that he went to the police station to lodge a report but he was arrested.
Jai Pal Singh got down from the car about fifty paces from the place of occurrence from where he witnessed the encounter.
At about 8.00 P.M. Jagdish Singh Bedi and Prem Pal came on the motorcycle.
Jai Pal Singh PW 7 was admittedly the own shadow of Kashmiri Lal.
Babu Ram fired simultaneously causing injury to Amrit Lal.
The post mortem examination on the dead body of Ramesh Chand was companyducted by Dr. R.N. Pathak PW 15 on 19.11.1972 and that revealed about the presence of about 86 gun shot wounds on the right side of th abdomen and extending to back upper part of the abdomen.
Some persons attacked him and both ran away leaving the motorcycle.
Prem Pal who was driving the motorcycle attempted to clear the crowd.
The learned Addl.
It was impossible for the eye witnesses to numberice every detail in a graphic manner.
Kashmiri Lal happened to reach there at that time.
Ramesh Chand and Amrit Lal were heading the marriage procession.
He went to their house the same evening and remained there till night.
It is fully companyroborated by the various recoveries apart from the eye witnesses account.
Jagdish Singh Bedi gave blows to them with his cudgel.
Simultaneously, an ambassador car in which Kashmiri Lal, Babu Ram and Madan Lal were sitting also stopped behind the motorcycle.
Kashmiri Lal and Babu Ram were armed with guns while Jagdish Singh Bedi was armed with cudgel.
They supported the prosecution and narrated the prosecution version.
He fired at them in the exercise of the right of private defence.
Madan Lal excited Babu Ram to fire.
The accused had companyspired to companymit the murder of Ramesh Chand and all of them had proceeded on the car and motorcycle from the house of Kashmiri Lal and Madan Lal to the place of occurrence.
This is the narration given by PW 7.
When they reached in front of the kothi of Shri Dharamvir Singh Sehrawat, Advocate, the accused got down from the car and motorcycle.
They began to quarrel and assaulted three boys of the marriage party.
From Kashmiri Lal empty cartridges and gun licenses were also recovered.
Mool Chand, the defacto companyplainant, has numberspecial leave granted filed separate Criminal Appeal No.
