ps and the pass book entry ex.
the purse ex.
he companyld number however succeed in depositing the money as the cash had been closed by that time.
in fact the identity of the purse as his own property has been admitted by the respondent in his statement in the trial court where be merely companytended that the purse companytaining his address was taken by the sub inspector from his pocket at the time of his arrest.
he was then taken to roranwali and was interrogated there in the presence of many persons.
19 in the presence of avtar singh and balbir singh p.w.
he took his wheat there on june 17 1974 and asked his companymission agent to pay rs.
mohan lals other son satpal who was studying in class viii in a school at sikhanwala saw nishan chands bicycle lying at some distance from the boundary of village roranwali near a culvert on the pakka road leading to sikhanwala and he also saw a man lying dead in a field at a short distance from there.
2000/ by the time he met inspector gurdev singh some time after 3 p.m. the high companyrt has examined the question whether there was evidence to prove that the respondent had absconded after the incident and has found that it companyld number be said that he did so to companyceal his guilt.
the high companyrt therefore again did number read a material part of the record in taking the companytrary view.
4156/ and that be and the respondent met darshan lai p. w. 6 at lambi at 6.30 p.m. the prosecution has relied on the statement of darshan lal p. w. 6 for the subsequent conduct of the respondent and has led its evidence to show that he was searched but companyld number be found.
companylege ferozepur which companytained the address of the respondent written in english.
it is alleged that nishan chand and the respondent left together on june 17 1974 for villages lambi and malout on nishan chands bicycle as they had to deposit the money realised by them.
p. 3 was also found lying near the dead body and a shoe was found lying in the water channel at a distance of 7 or 8 karams the small piece of black cloth fifty ex.
as there was numberjustification for doing so we would restore the finding of the trial companyrt regarding that item of payment as well.
11 and budh singh and have given our reasons for the finding that the deceased had at least that much money with him when he and the respondent met inspector gurdev singh p.w.
3 was the blade and that possibly three types of weapons were used to cause injuries.
9th july 1975 of the punjab and haryana high companyrt in criminal appeal number 1423 of 1974.
the blade of knife ex.
the first item of companylection relates to the recovery of rs.
p. 9 was of plastic on which government companylege mukhtsar was written in punjabi and english and it companytained a library card of r.s.d.
the high companyrt seems to have accepted the statement of the respondent that the police took his finger impressions on the currency numbere while he was in police custody but it number only lost sight of the fact that there was numberevidence to that effect but also of the fact that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the recovery by the reliable evidence on the record.
p. 4 was found lying at a distance of 25 or 30 karams from the dead body.
what he has stated is that some of the injuries were caused by a sharp pointed weapon one injury by a sharp edged weapon and injuries number.
p. o. on june 23 1974 and at his instance within two days of his arrest.
on the other hand sub inspector harnek singh p.w.
the respondent then went to the place near the heap of companyton sticks and recovered the blood stained clothes ex.
2000/ deposited in the central companyoperative bank at malout in the presence of the respondent and his inability to do so.
the directors report ex.
2000/from avtar singh p. w. 10 at malout on june 17 1974.
p. k. and was sealed.
agyawanti near the dead body.
it bad many injuries and a blood stained blade of knife ex.
as regards the incised injuries the witness has stated that it was number necessary that the stab wounds companyld have been caused by a weapon of which both the edges were sharp.
with clean cut edges on the left temporal region of head 7.5 cm.
the deceased was number seen alive after he had met inspector gurdev singh in the companypany of the respondent and the categorical statement of the inspector gurdev singh that they both went away leaves numberroom for doubt that was the last occasion when they were seen together.
the high companyrt rejected the prosecution evidence for the further reason that the bicycle of the deceased which was lying on the road was number in a damaged companydition and did number have blood stains and also because the respondent companyld number have dragged the deceased alone to a distance of 50 or 60 karams and inflicted all the injuries with his knife.
p. k. narang p.w.
inspector gurdial singh p. w. 14 of the companyoperative department had also gone there to attend a meeting of his department.
he was interrogated regarding the handle of the knife.
on which the address of the respondent was written in english.
the witnesses came to the police station of their own accord.
all the articles were sealed and were taken in possession vide memorandum ex.
the relevant portion of that statement reads as follows on 21st june 1974 1 interrogated him where he was arrested.
it was found during the companyrse of the investigation that nishan chand had companylected the dues of the companyoperative societies from atma singh.
mohan lal p. w. 5 has identified the ring to be that of his son nishan chand which he was wearing when he left the house.
p. 5 to p. 7 which were in jhola ex.
4142/gold ring ex.
4100/ and a gold ring in his purse tied in a handkerchief near the water lift in the middle of the way leading from village khankhanwali to roranwali which he companyld recover and that he had kept companycealed his clothes and one shoe under the heap of companyton sticks in a kiln on the road outside khankhanwali village which also he companyld recover.
p. 10 number ad 53007632 with fingerprints thereon.
the ring was of gold and weighed about 3 grams.
while he was in custody at the police station.
1 and 2 which were as follows a stab wound with clean cut edges 2.
on the front of left side of forehead just above the eye brow.
the prosecution gave up avtar singh on the ground that lie had been won over but balbir singh and harnek singh were examined in the trial court.
the sub inspector took the shoe also in his possession.
2000/ to the deceased.
bone underneath was cut and the wound was directed backwards and downwards.
bone underneath was cut.
the prosecution examined behari lal w. 26 as the companymission agent who had made the payment of rs.
pf/2 of the respondent were also taken by magistrate mukhtsar and were sent for companyparison along with the finger impression on the currency numbere of rs.
the expert ignumbered the other impressions which were sufficiently smudged or were partly interfered with by the design and the printed writing of the currency numbere or were faint.
the high companyrt has disbelieved the payment because the name of the companymission agent was number disclosed by avtar singh and he did number take.
finger impressions ex.
p. 1 1 were written and signed by his son nishan chand.
623/ in his presence to nishan chand.
a black piece of cloth fifty was lying at some distance towards the road.
he prepared an inquest report and sent nishan chands dead body for postmortem examination.
p. 3 was lying near it.
there was therefore numberjustification for rejecting kartar singhs evidence and for dubbing him as a highly unreliable witness.
p.f has been placed on the record according to which he had three simple lacerated wounds of a duration of more than 48 hours on the left ring finger.
they were sent for companyparison to the director of forensic laboratory who has made his report ex.
the doctor found that nishan chands death was due to the injuries to vital organs of the brain as a result of injuries number.
avtar singh however did number obtain a receipt for the payment from nishan chand.
as has been stated the additional sessions judge of faridkot found the respondent guilty of the offences under sections 302 392 and 397 i.p.c.
as he found sub inspector harnek singh p. w. 19 .
4256/ by nishan chand from four persons on june 17 1974 and his failure to deposit the same in the central companyoperative bank at malout and has taken the view that the companylection of the money by nishan chand had number been proved and that the motive for the crime had number been established.
mohan lal therefore left for police station lambi which was at a distance of about 9 miles from the place of occurance.
11 and gurdev singh p.w.
on 23rd june 1974 i started interrogating the accused at about 12 numbern.
9 were recovered in pursuance of that information tied in a handkerchief when the respondent dug them out from a place near the water lift in the middle of the way going from khankhanwali to roranwall.
kartar singh p. w. 17 of village lambi has stated that lie prepared the ring for nishan chand 8 or 9 months before his statement and had made the inscription as desired by him.
it sikhanwala bus stand he reported the matter to him at about 9.30 a.m. the sub inspector recorded mohan lals statement and sent it along with companystable mal singh to police station lambi for registering a case.
he has further stated that one atma singh p. w. 12 paid rs.
the first information report ex.
p. w. 26/a in respect of the payment but the high companyrt rejected the evidence because the signature of nishan chand was number obtained by behari lal.
the respondents statement to that effect was recorded in the presence of witnesses balbir singh p. w. 7 and avtar singh.
the witness clarified that injuries number.
856/ by examining balli singh p.w.
2 320 sci/78 i. harnek singh went to the place of occurrence with mohan lal and found dharam chand p. w. 8 and nishan chands mother smt.
the initials n. c. were inscribed on it.
avtar singh and balli singh and others on june 17 1974 and had gone with the respondent to deposit the same in the central companyperative bank malout.
he promised to make the repayment at malout mandi.
as the high companyrt has set aside the companyviction by its impugned judgment dated july 9 1975 by giving the benefit of doubt to the respondent mohan lal p. w. 5 father of nishan chand deceased and one surinder kumar have filed the present appeal by special leave.
as the dead body appeared to be of nishan chand satpal went back to his house and informied his father mohan lal p. w. 5 at about 7 a. m. mohan lal w. 5 and his brother dharam chand p. w. 8 went to the place where the dead body was lying.
the prosecution has all the same relied on the statement of inspector gurdev singh p.w.
mookerjee s. k. mehta k. r. nagaraja and p. n. puri for respondent number 1 hardev singh for respondent number 2.
it was stated by gurdev singh w. 14 that the entry in the pass book had been made in the hand writing of nishan chand but the high companyrt rejected that evidence for the reason already stated.
nishan chand and the respondent met him after 3 m. and asked him to get the sum of about rs.
the respondent stated in the trial companyrt that he left nishan chand at malout at 10 a.m. he did number however lead any evidence to prove his contention which has in fact been disproved by the statement of inspector gurdev singh that they were together with him until some time after 3 p.m. that day.
it is alleged that nishan chand companylected rs.
the high companyrt however forgot that mohan lal was an illiterate man who had thumb marked even.
the moulds prepared by him were number found fit for companyparison and wire again taken on july 4 1974 in the presence of magistrate dina nath p. w. 2 .
ff stating that the impressions on the crime mould were found to tally with the test moulds.
it was also number the case of the prosecution that the respondent dragged the deceased to a distance of 50 or 60 karams from the road.
above the ear directed downwards and inwards.
criminal appellate jurisdiction criminal appeal number 377 of 1975.
2000/ on behalf of avtar singh to the deceased.
the specimen impressions ex.
the high companyrt therefore misread the evidence in this respect also.
the police could number therefore have obtained his fingerprints in the manner alleged by him and the respondent would have resisted any such attempt to create irrebuttable evidence against him of a serious charge like murder and he or his uncle would have exposed it immediately.
avtar singh has stated that he had taken a loan from the companyopcrative society of his village and had been asked by the deceased to repay it.
5 x 0.
2000/ were accordingly paid by his commission agent to the deceased.
the medical officer expressed the opinion that these two injuries were individually sufficient to cause death in the ordinary companyrse of nature.
any receipt or the signature of nishan chand in his bahi in token of the payment.
according to the expert so many points of similarity companyld number be found to occur in the impressions of different fingers and that they were identical or are of one and the same person.
p. 9 companytained enumbergh particulars to show that it belonged to the respondent and to numberone else.
2000/ deposited in the bank.
p. k. narang p. w. 1 of civil hospital gidderbaha examined the dead body and found 12 injuries all of which were ante mortem.
14 has stated that his aforesaid talk with nishan chand in the presence of the respondent took place when they met him at malout after 3 p.m. on june 17 1974.
it is further alleged that the respondent went to the place near the water lift and dug out a handkerchief which companytained currency numberes of rs.
as it was possible for the high companyrt to take that view.
the high companyrt has examined the question of motive first of all and has referred to the good relations between the respondent and the deceased.
in pursuance of the information furnished by him in ex.
14 at malout.
2000/ and rs.
the prosecution has in fact led its evidence to prove that the deceased bad collected rs.
the respondent was nishan chands friendand was secretary of roranwali patti sikhan companyoperative society.
5 who was the father of the deceased did number state that receipt ex.
he was interrogated by the investigating officer and is alleged to have made statement ex.p.o.
the allegation of the prosecution that the respondent companymitted the murder of nishan chand for the purpose of robbing him of the money has been established by the fact that rs.
the witness produced his bahi entry ex.
the ring ex.p.1 bore the initials of the name of the deceased and the purse ex.
4156/ on that day but as a matter of abundant caution we have leftout two of those companylections in holding that at least rs.
4142/ were actually recovered at the instance of the respondent.
as nishan chand used to bring home the money of the societies some times mohan lal suspected that the respondent might have murdered him for the money.it seemed to him that the black piece of cloth fifty belongedto the respondent which he was wearing on the previous morning.
the respondent was medically examined an the very next day of his arrest and the medical officers report ex.
and to rigorous imprison ment for five years and seven years respectively for the offences under sections 392 and 397 i.p.c.
the sub inspector made an application before magistrate mukhtiar singh p. w. 3 on june 28 1974 for taking the moulds of the foot prints of the respondent.
3 was sent to the chemical examiner to the government of punjab and his report ex.p.
p. 3 was also taken in possession vide memorandum ex.
here again the high companyrt went beyond the record because it was number the case of the prosecution that the bicycle was damaged at the time of the incident or that it was stained with blood or that the incident took place near the place where the bicycle was found by the witnesses so as to have blood stains near it.
p. 10 to the director fingerprint bureau phillaur.
11 and 12 companyld be caused by a fall and injury number 10 being a linear abrasion could be caused by the point of any substance.
p. bb is on the record.
the high companyrt rejected that important piece of evidence on the ground that balbir singh w. 7 did number state that the currency numbere had fingerprints it was number explained why the currency numbere was number sent to the finger print bureau immediately why it was sent there after the arrest of the respondent alongwith his specimen impressions and also because there was numberproof that the specimen fingerprint impressions were of the respondent and there was numberevidence to show on what date they were taken.
aa companytains a diagram of its shape which clearly shows that it was a peculiar blade with a pointed end as well as a sharp blade.
p. 10 which was at the ton of the bundle of currency numberes had some blood stained fingerprints.
p. ii.
i interrogated him for about two hours.
as regards the infliction of the injuries by the respondent singly there was numberreason for the high companyrt to think that was number possible.
the sub inspector recorded the statement of smt.
nishan chand deceased son of appellant mohan lal p. w. 5 was a resident of roranwali.
there were other impressions also on the currency numberes but they were either sufficiently smudged and partly interfered with by the design and the printed matter or were sufficiently faint and were rejected as unfit for comparison.
we have also made a mention of gurdev singhs statement that the deceased asked him to get a sum of more than rs.
1523/ bad been companylected by him.
19 has stated that after recording the first information report he made a search for the respondent in villages roranwali and khankbanwali and even stayed in village khankhanwali for the night he has stated further that the respondent companyld be arrested only on june 21 1974 at about 8 p.m. near village fatuekhera.
question number 28 was asked of the respondent whether that was so and lie gave a categorical reply that the evidence in that respect was companyrect.
blood stained brain matter was companying out of the wound.
he lifted moulds of the foot prints and took them in his possession.
he did number give any disclosure statement that day.
1523/ by nishan chand from balli singh p.w.
the high companyrt has arrived at its companyclusion to the companytrary on the basis of the statement of harnek singh p.w.
inspector gurdev singh p.w.
he found foot prints two of bare foot and one with the shoe near the dead body.
10 11 and 12 by a blunt weapon.
as the cash had been closed.
he photographically enlarged the impressions and expressed the opinion that there were eight points of similarity in respect of the form and the position which were graphically shown by him in his report and that the nature direction and sequence of each point had been indicated in its relevant circle.
from there we returned to police station at 10 30 p.m. on 22nd june 1974 he was again interrogated at the police station.
he was arrested on june 21 1974 at about 8 p.m near village fatuekhera.
the blood stained blade of knife ex.
the additional sessions judge had sentenced the respondent to death for the offence under section 302 i.p.c.
1533/ with him at the time of his murder.
for which he was companyvicted by the additional sessions judge of faridkot on october 31 1974.
p. 1 and purse ex.
the high companyrt has gone to the extent of basing its finding to the companytrary for the further reason that mohan lal p.w.
as the impression mark a on the currency numbere was partly smudged and partly on the design and the printed writing it was photographically enlarged along with the right middle finger impression of the respondent and the two photographic enlargements were marked a a and 1/1 respectively.
from the judgment and order dt.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by shinghal j. this appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment of the punjab and haryana high companyrt dated july 9 1975 giving benefit of doubt to respondent ajit singh hereinafter referred to as the respondent and acquitting him of offences under sections 302 392 and 397 p.c.
we have gone through the statement of dr narang p.w.
the respondent has number succeeded in explaining his absence or his movements during the intervening period and has failed in his attempt to establish his presence at ferozepur on the fateful night.
the respondent tried to take the plea in his statement in the trial companyrt that he was at ferozepur on the night of the alleged incident as he had gone there to meet his elder brother who was a companyductor in the punjab roadways.
c. manchanda and n. k. agarwal for the appellants.
6 in regard to their movements at about 6 p.m. in lambi and has placed reliance on the statement of prita singh p.w.
p. 8 along with a shoe.
the statement was recorded by sub inspector harnek singh p.w.
100/ ex.
on june 23 1974 to the effect that he had buried a sum of about rs.
1 performed the post mortem examination on the body of nishan chand and the high companyrt has taken the view that his evidence showed that the injuries companyld number have been inflicted with the knife of which ex.p.
the fact that the purse was found tied in the same handkerchief along with the ring ex.
the other reason about number sending the currency numbere to the finger print bureau until after the arrest of the respondent is equally untenable because the high companyrt lost sight of the fact that the currency numbere was recovered on june 23 1974 only after the arrest of the respondent and there was numberhing wrong if it was sent alongwith his specimen fingerprints which had necessarily to be obtained by making an application to a magistrate.
mohan lal w. 5 has stated that neither his son nishan chand number the respondent returned to the village in the evening and the next day his sons bicycle was found lying on the pakka road going from roranwali to sikhanwala and nishan chands dead body was also found nearby.
the respondent has himself admitted that he and the deceased went to village lambi on june 17 1974 at 7.30 a.m. and then went to malout.
a stab wound 3.5 x 1 cm.
they did number however return to roranwali that night.
623/ are left out the fact would still remain that the deceased had a sum of about rs.
p.g./1 and was number in a position to make a statement regarding the hand writing or the signature of his son on the two documents.
the respondent was an educated man who was employed as the secretary of the local companyoperative society and who had an influential maternal uncle.
but numberother person was present at the time of the interrogation.
the recovered articles were taken in police custody vide memorandum ex.
so even if the items of rs.
agyawanti.
he also used to live in village roranwali with his maternal uncle gurdial singh who was the village chairman.
100/ ex.
one currency numbere number ad 53007632 of rs.
he was secretary of roranwali and phulu khera companyoperative societies.
