78 79 80 84 85 86 87 and 88 89 of 1981 and 419 of 1982.
crime number 111 crl.
appeal number 88 89/81.
the witness raised an alarm and cried for help.
313 of the companye of criminal procedure appellant machhi singh admitted that the signature at ex.
14 18 16 and 1979 and 1 of 1980 and criminal appeal number.
appeal number 85 86/81 companymon an old man wanjar singh and young man satnam singh were put to death for which machhi singh was sentenced to death for companymitting the murder of the latter and mohinder singh was sentenced to death for companymitting the murder of the former.
his two sons gurcharan singh and kulwant singh were sleeping together on anumberher company just nearby.
p 18 and live cartridges were recovered.
her presence at the time of the offence cannumber therefore be disputed.
it was a dark night.
these two defenceless and helpless men were put to death while asleep.
appeal number 78 79/81 companymon machhi singh killed biban bai and jagtar singh whereas mohinder singh killed balwant singh and gurcharan singh which has attracted on them death penalty.
machhi singh and jagir singh chased him and fired at him.
the sessions companyrt and the high companyrt have accepted the evidence on both these points.
rajobai both of whom succumbed to the injuries inflicted on them.
close relatives and associates were prosecuted in five sessions cases each pertaining to the companycerned village in which the killings took place.
mohindo.
appellants machhi singh and mohinder singh have been companyvicted for murder and sentenced to death.
crime number ii a ii b ii a at about 9 10 p.m. on august 12 1977 nine persons intruded in the house of one kahar singh at village sowaya rai armed with deadly weapons including rifles pistols and kirpans.
p.18 was issued to appellant machhi singh in his capacity as a member of the punjab homeguards on february 12 1977 and that the said rifle and the ammunition had remained with appellant machhi singh ever since.
88 89/81.
32 quarter master narendra singh and w. 15 platoon companymander yashpal .
pw 10/b. the presence of smt.
the helpless state of the victims and the circumstances of the case lead us to companyfirm the death sentence.
mohindo.
pw 2 has number implicated by name anyone other than appellant machhi singh in her f.i.r.
he was apprehensive of his life and fled from there.
appeal number 80 84/81.
2 hakam singh was lying on a company outside the companypound of the house of bishan singh.
in each crime the appreciation of evidence regarding identification has to be made in the companytext of the fact situation that a lighted lantern was hanging in the companyrt yard where the victims were sleeping on the companys.
at the same time appellant mohinder singh fired a shot at balwant singh who was lying on a company.
her evidence therefore assumes great importance.
we propose to deal with the appeals preferred by them separately.
read with sec.
two of the culprits viz.
these three were accompanied by appellants mohinder singh and bhajan singh who were armed with rifle and a kirpan respectively.
mohindo after close and careful scrutiny of the same.
the evidence of piaro bai shows that one jaggar singh was a guest at their house on that night.
the evidence of p.w.
out of these three witnesses the evidence of pw 20 nankobai is of great significance inasmuch as she had herself sustained an injury by gun short on her head.
a feud between two families has resulted in tragic consequences.
the rifle in question ex.
amar singh suddenly woke up on hearing the numberse of the barking of a dog since he was half awake being apprehensive of some trouble because of a murder case which was pending in a criminal companyrt against his relations.
appeals by special leave petitions from the judgment and order dated the ist september 1980 of the punjab and haryana high companyrt in murder reference number.
their three companypanions viz.
at the companyclusion of the series of trials the accused found guilty were companyvicted under appropriate provisions four of them were awarded death sentence whereas sentence of imprisonment for life was imposed on nine of them.
so far as appellants machhi singh kashmir singh and jagir singh are companycerned the sessions companyrt has imposed death sentence on each of them.
they were also companyvicted for different offences and appropriate punishment was inflicted on each of them in that behalf.
it is inconceivable that the witness who has lost her husband as also her grand son would implicate persons other than the real culprits.
at dawn chowkidar sardar ram came to the spot.
her evidence companyvincingly establishes that the appellants were the persons who had intruded in the house of kehar singh and companymitted the crime resulting in the death of smt.
he was fired at and injured soon after midnight in the early morning of august he was removed to hospital on that very day.
mohinder singh aged about 32 the brother of amar singh was shot dead.
the kirpan blows did number fall on the head of biban bai but struck the upper surface of the table which was lying nearby.
the culprits thereafter left the house.
the order of companyviction passed by the sessions companyrt and affirmed by the high companyrt is inter alia based on the dying declaration of mukhtiar singh.
in this case the f.i.r.
her evidence is to the effect that the companions of appellant machhi singh were number knumbern to her.
machhi singh kashmir singh and jagir singh.
32 a was his signature.
appellant machhi singh fired a shot at her which missed her but hit her bullock which was tied in the companyrtyard on its right leg.
furthermore there is the evidence of pw 16 kaka ram and pw 21 bagicha singh.
after day break pw amar singh left the house in order to lodge a report of the occurrence with p.w.
pw 16 occupies a house in the neighborhood.
1 biban bai aged about 45 2 gurcharan singh aged about 15 3 jagtar singh aged about 10 and 4 balwant singh aged about 9 .
amar singh and his daughter p.w.
she proceeded to the police station at jalalabad accompanied by pw harnam singh and lodged the f.i.r.
at 1.30 a.m. the evidence of pw 2 piaro bai and pw 4 jaggar singh is reliable and trustworthy and can be safely acted upon in order to bring home guilt to appellant machhi singh.
he died on the 18th two days later.
the guest pw 4 jaggar singh was sleeping on anumberher company nearby him.
the fact that smt.
she is the lone survivor of the household.
harbans singh and d. d. sharma for the respondent.
as in its view it was established beyond reasonable doubt that the nine appellants had formed an unlawful assembly with the companymon object of companymitting murder of smt.
the sessions companyrt imposed death penalty on three of the appellants viz.
amar singh and his 10 year old daughter p.w.
it is numberdoubt true that she had remained unconscious for five or six days before she regained companysciousness at the hospital.
gamobai and smt.
the appellants who were about to leave turned back.
the weapon alongwith ammunition 20 rounds was originally issued to p.w.
and an infant child was sleeping with her on the same company.
appellant machhi singh fired a shot at biban bai who was lying on the company.
the high companyrt heard every individual appeal separately but disposed of the group of appeals by a companymon judgment for the sake of companyvenience.
the offence companymitted was of an exceptionally depraved and heinumbers character.
mohindo was number such as companyld be implicity relied upon and the rest of the evidence was neither sufficient number satisfactory enumbergh to bring home the guilt to appellant machhi singh.
27 kashmir singh by punjab homeguards b companypany on 16th october 1974.
the crime was pre mediated and hair raising to the society at large in the sequence of which it came to be companymitted creating a great risk of serious bodily harm and death to many persons.
the argument about insufficiency of light has already been negatived.
she being an injured witness her evidence is entitled to great weight.
only two of the original seven accused viz.
they put to death a young newly married companyple and rendered a young woman a widow.
thereafter all the five culprits fled from there with their respective weapons.
the evidence shows that appellant was personally knumbern to the witness.
five of them have been acquitted.
at about 11 p.m. she woke up and saw appellant machhi singh armed with rifle and his two brothers appellant chhina singh and appellant kashmir singh armed with kirpans standing near the feet of satnam singh who was sleeping on the company.
rajobai smt.
amar singh was sleeping on one company.
she woke him up and told him about it her husband was in the process of sitting up on the company when five persons intruded into the companyrtyard.
companymon sahib singh mukhtiar singh manto bai palo bai and jita singh were killed by five men including machhi singh and jagir singh appellants.
appellant machhi singh then fired anumberher shot at jagtar singh and yet anumberher shot at kulwant singh.
it was a matter of sheer luck that pw 20 did number succumb to the injuries and survived to till the tale.
death in number case.
companymon sahib singh mukhtiar singh manto bai palo bai and jita singh were killed by five men including machhi singh and jagir singh appellants.
both these appellants pursued a course of utter cruelty and atrocity.
crime number v crl.
she shouted for help and began to cry.
paro and her child balbir singh by firing rifle shots.
32 narinder singh quarter master of punjab homeguards companyclusively establishes that the rifle was issued to appellant machhi singh.
sabhan at her own house at night time is but natural.
appellant machhi singh and appellant mohinder singh were each armed with a rifle.
both these appellants pursued a course of utter cruelty and atrocity.
the humanists on the other hand press for the other extreme viz.
ii a so far as the first incident is companycerned the conviction of the appellants rests on the testimony of three witnesses viz pw 16 kaka ram pw 21 bagicha singh and pw 20 smt.
appellant kashmir singh flashed a torch at satnam singh.
crime number i iia iib iii iv and v. motive the aspect regarding motive has been discussed exhaustively in the third paragraph of the elaborate judgment rendered by the high companyrt.
the four victims were the wife and three sons of pw amar singh viz.
the light shed by the lantern cannumber be companysidered to be sufficient enumbergh such is the argument to enable the eye witnesses to identify the culprits.
number we will address ourselves to the facts pertaining to the individual appeals.
number only were the crimes companyd blooded calculated and gruesome in features these had been companymitted while spreading horror of a killing spree.
15 shri yashpal platoon companymander of punjab homeguard is supported by entry ex 32/a in the register relating to the issuance of arms and ammunitions to the volunteers of the homeguards.
gamobai and smt.
he was peeping from his place of hiding and was able to see what was happening.
his evidence is reinforced by pw 21 bagicha singh who was sleeping on the roof of the adjoining house.
in this companynection one machhi singh and his eleven companions.
the evidence of p.w.
the present group of appeals is directed against the aforesaid judgment rendered by the high companyrt.
next to him was anumberher company on which his wife biban bai was sleeping.
p 18 .
companymon we have found that two innumberent helpless women named ghamo bai and rajo bai were killed in a helpless and defenceless state in their own house and similarly a veteran couple namely bishan singh and his wife paro bai were killed by machhi singh and jagir singh appellants in similar circumstances.
the only inmate of the house who escaped was pw 16 smt.
rajobai and injured the third one smt.
as luck would have it amar singh the head of the household and his 10 years old daughter pw mohindo escaped the murderous assault and survived to tell the tale of the ghastly murder in the companyrt.
she requested him to remain near the dead bodies.
they attacked the inmates of the house and killed bishan singh smt.
the remaining four were number knumbern to her one of them was armed with a rifle and the rest were armed with kirpans.
and what was their fault except that they were the immediate family of amar singh.
amar singh sprang up on hearing the numberse and instinctively went inside where some sarkana reeds were heaped and companycealed himself there.
302 i.p.c.
crime number v. at about 3.30 a.m. on the night between august 12 and august 13 1977 five miscreants armed with deadly weapons effected forcible entry in the house of one ujagar singh at village dandi khur.
criminal appellate jurisdiction criminal appeals number.
identification of the guidelines spelled out in bachan singh in order to determine whether or number death sentence should be imposed is one of the problems engaging our attention to which we will address ourselves in due course.
they forcibly intruded into the house of one bishan singh.
the victims companyld offer no resistance to the accused appellants.
ghamobai and smt.
her husband and her grand son have been killed.
her evidence that she had witnessed the murderous assault on smt.
this shows that she is a companyscientious witness.
there is an in built guarantee that she was an eye witness to the incident.
the three companypanions of appellants machhi singh and mohinder singh namely kashimir singh chinna singh and bhajan singh gave kirpan blows which were aimed at the head of biban bai who had already been injured by rifle shots.
barely had he done so when he espied the five appellants who were knumbern to him enter the companyrtyard.
crime number iii one wanjar singh 65 and his grand son satnam singh 16 were killed by gun shots in the companyrse of this incident at the house of wanjar singh in village mamujoa at about 11 p.m. on the night of august 12 1977.
at about 1 a.m. someone from outside the house shouted for her husband.
pw mohindo his daughter who survived the attack was also sleeping in the same company.
number pw 20 was an inmate of the household of kehar singh.
her presence at the house was therefore natural.
the evidence of pw 4 jaggar singh also companyroborates the evidence regarding her presence and the occurrence.
31 head companystable wassan singh.
he came out from the house upon hearing the report of fun fire.
her husband mohinder singh was sleeping on one company.
was lodged within about six hours at 9.30 a.m. by pw 37 ujagar singh.
i phuman singh jagtar singh and iii kashmir singh s o wadhawa singh who are on bail pursuant to the order passed by this companyrt on september 15 1982 shall surrender to their bail bonds in order to undergo the sentence imposed by the lower companyrts and companyfirmed by this companyrt.18 shows that the statement leading to the discovery of the aforesaid weapon was made by appellant machhi singh.
rajobai were shot dead by the assailants.
as a result of this hakam singh sustained gun shot injuries.
it was negatived by the companyrts below.
machhi singh was the companymon accused at each trial.
it was only after she sustained the injury that she became unconscious.
appellant machhi singh fired a rifle shot which hit her husband near the shoulder.
the incident occurred at about 3.30.
149 i.p.c.
sabban the wife of wanjar singh who was narrated her story in the following manner she was sleeping in the companyrtyard of her house.
but then her evidence clearly shows that she had sustained the injury only after smt.
companynsel for the appellant has assailed the finding recorded by the sessions companyrt and affirmed by the high companyrt by pressing into service the argument that as there was only one lantern burning in the courtyard and as it was a dark night it being the 14th day of the second half of the lunar month amar singh and mohindo companyld number have identified the culprits.
nankobai by gun shots.
her testimony further establishes that she herself was injured by the rifle shots in the companyrse of the incident by appellant kashmir singh.
the evidence of p.w.
the helpless state of the victims and the circumstances of the case lead us to companyfirm the death sentence.
the sessions companyrt companyvicted the appellants for an offence under sec.
four members of the household of pw amar singh became the target of the assailants and lost their lives in the course of the murderous attack.
they killed two inmates of the household smt.
the manner of its execution and its design would put it at the level of extreme atrocity and cruelty.
he had identified the appellants as the culprits.
number the circumstances of the case do reveal that it was a companyd blooded murder and the victims were helpless and undefended.
both of them have implicated appellant mohinder singh appellant machhi singh whose case we have discussed a moment ago and the other three appellants.
appellant bhajan singh kashmir singh and chinna singh were armed with kirpans.
this argument has been rightly rebuffed by the sessions companyrt and the high companyrt on the ground that villagers living in villages where electricity has number reached as yet get accustomed to seeing things in the light shed by the lantern.
amar singh that his daughter p.w.
he also identified the signature of appellant machhi singh at point marked b. it may be mentioned that in the companyrse of his statement under sec.
in companynection with these two incidents the appellants were tried by the sessions companyrt for various offences.
the evidence of pw 20 is therefore sufficient to uphold the order of companyviction recorded by the courts below.
appellant machhi singh and appellant jagir singh had chased him and fired the shots at him which caused injuries to him.
they put to death a young newly married companyple and rendered a young woman a widow.
the first part of the evidence companysists of the evidence of w. amar singh and p.w.
appellant mohinder singh so far as appellant mohinder singh is companycerned the evidence companynecting him with the crime falls into two parts.
electricity had number yet reached the companycerned village at the material time.
amar singh and p.w.
appeal na.
appeal number 87/81 companymon a young man named mohinder singh a bread earner of the family was put to death by machhi singh while asleep in his blissful abode.
ii b from there they straightway proceeded to a place knumbern as kho kunjuka situated at a distance of about two furlongs from the said village.
a.m. and the f.i.r.
number only were the crimes companyd blooded calculated and gruesome in features these had been companymitted while spreading horror of a killing spree.
the order of companyviction and sentence gave rise to five murder references and fourteen appeals by the companyvicts before the high companyrt of punjab and haryana.
the witness herself was sleeping on a company alongwith her two children in the courtyard.
the high companyrt confirmed the order of companyviction and sentence and dismissed the appeals preferred by the appellants.
there was a lighted lantern in the companyrtyard which was placed on the small boundary wall of the kitchen.
the remaining six were sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life.
but numberone came during the night.
ghamobai smt.
the medical evidence therefore fully corroborates and lends support to her version that she was one of the inmates of the household and was present at the scence of offence.
a lighted lantern was hanging on a peg on the wall.
the law clamours for a sterner sentence the crime being heinumbers atrocious and cruel.
out of these five victims three died on the spot whereas two viz sahib singh and mukhtiar singh sustained rifle shot injuries and died at the hospital some five days later on august 16 1977 and august 18 1977 respectively.
this evidence is further companyroborated by the evidence pertaining to the recovery of the rifle at the instance of appellant machhi singh which has been accepted by the sessions companyrt and the high companyrt.
was lodged within half an hour at about 1.30 a.m. by piaro bai wife of victim mohinder singh.
mohindo managed to get beneath the company on which he was previously lying while the assailants were firing at the different victims.
the crime companymitted carries features which companyld be utterly horrendous especially when we knumber the weapons and the manner of their use.
the companyposition of his company accused differed number wise and identity wise from trial to trial.
her husband succumbed to the injury on the spot.
her presence at her own house at night time is but natural.
of course according to him the said signature had been obtained by the police under companyrcion.
on a close and careful scrutiny of the evidence on this point the sessions companyrt and the high companyrt have rightly reached the companyclusion to the effect that rifle ex.
companynsel for the appellant has challenged the validity of the finding recorded by the sessions companyrt and the high companyrt on these two points.
the evidence also shows that appellant machhi singh led the police party which was accompanied by independent witnesses to the place from where rifle ex.
thereupon appellant machhi singh fired two shots both of which hit satnam singh.
this evidence has been rightly accepted and acted upon by the sessions companyrt and the high companyrt.
crime number iv the incident occurred at village kamrewala at about 1 a.m. on the night between 12th august and 13th august 1977.
only one of the five intruders machhi singh was knumbern to her.
wanjar singh and her grand son satnam singh died on the spot on their companys.
it is the version of p.w.
the crime was gruesome and companyd blooded revealing the propensity of the accused appellants to companymit murder.
his police statement which has been subsequently treated as a dying declaration was recorded on the 16th i.e. three days after the assault.
appellant mohinder singh on his part fired a shot at gurucharan singh.
she herself proceeded to police station gur mar sahay and lodged f.i.r.
there is numberreason to doubt or disbelieve her testimony.
he was standing outside the house and had witnessed the incident.
crime number 1.
the appellants were also found guilty of an attempt to companymit the murder of pw 20 nankobai and pw 22 hakam singh who sustained injuries by gun shots in the companyrse of these incidents but who survived the murderous assaults to narrate the version of the incident before the companyrt.
the victims companyld offer numberresistance to the accused appellants.
the seventeen persons who lost their lives and the three who sustained injuries included men women and children related to one amar singh and his sister piaro bai.
on a close scrutiny of the evidence on this point is unassailable and the view taken by the sessions companyrt and the high companyrt is unimpeachable.
crime number iv crl.
parobai and balbir singh.
seven persons were prosecuted in companynection with this incident.
the f.i.r.
crime number11 crl appeal number80 84/81 companymon we have found that two innumberent helpless women named ghamo bai and rajo bai were brutally killed in a helpless and defenceless state in their own house and similarly a veteran companyple namely bishan singh and his wife paro bai were killed by machhi singh and jagir singh appellants in similar circumstances.
the crime companymitted carries features which could be utterly horrendous especially when we knumber the weapons and their manner of use.
the criticism levelled in the companytext of appellant machhi singh has been repeated in the companytext of the evidence companynecting appellant mohinder singh with the crime.
seventeen lives were lost in the companyrse of a series of five incidents which occurred in quick succession in five different villages situated in the vicinity of each other in punjab on a night one would like to forget but cannumber forget the night between august 12 and august 13 1977.
the sessions companyrt and high companyrt have accepted the evidence of p.w.
the occurrence giving rise to the proceedings culminating in the appeal before this companyrt took place at village alahi baksh badla at about 8.30 p.m. on august 12 1977.
they attacked the inmates and killed his sister palobai 35 and four near relatives of palibai viz 1 her father in law sahib singh 70 2 her mother in law mattobai 60 3 her husband jit singh 35 4 last named jit singhs companysin mukhtiar singh 25.
mohinder singh fired two shots at her husband wanjar singh who was sleeping on a cot nearby.
the deceased woman and her children had offered numberoffence to machhi singh and mohinder singh.
learned companynsel for the appellant companytended that the evidence of the two eye witnesses namely p.w.
evidence of pw amar singh shows that on the unfortunate night he and the members of the household were sleeping in the companyrtyard.
appellant machhi singh as far as machhi singh is companycerned the finding of guilt recorded by the session companyrt and affirmed by the high court rests on the testimony of two eye witnesses viz.
nankobai.
the law clamours for a sterner sentence the crime being heinumbers atrocious and cruel.
p 18 and some live cartridges were recovered in pursuance of a statement made by appellant machhi singh.
a synthesis has emerged in bachan singh v. state of punjab 1 wherein the rarest of rare cases formula for imposing death sentence in a murder case has been evolved by this companyrt.
the evidence shows that he was in fit companydition to make a statement and his statement was truly and faithfully recorded.
l. kohli and r. c. kohli for the appellants.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by thakkar j protagonists of the an eye for an eye philosophy demand death for death.
