He deposed that while he was sitting in his house, he heard an alarm and when he reached the place, he saw two persons causing injuries to Tara Singh, but he companyld number identify them.
We heard Shri Ranjit Kumar, learned Senior Counsel for the appellants and also the companynsel for the State of Punjab.
776 777 of 2004 and the fourth accused, Balbir Singh has filed Criminal Appeal Nos.
The High Court thus reversed the findings of the Sessions Judge.
Appellants Gora Singh and Balbir Singh are number alleged to have caused any fatal injury to the deceased Tara Singh.
On the date of the incident, PW 2 Badal Singh and his father deceased Tara Singh were companying back from the field.
The turban of Tara Singh fell down whereupon Gorkha Singh, who was armed with a kulhari axe gave a blow on the left side of the head of Tara Singh.
He had also met Chowkidar Banta Singh.
Sub Inspector Bhajan Singh PW 5 took over the investigation and reached the place of incident.
Gora Singh, who was armed with an axe, also hit Tara Singh on the right side of his head.
The Sessions Judge acquitted all the four accused.
There were as many as thirteen injuries on the body of deceased Tara Singh.
He came to know that Tara Singh was formerly a resident of village Virk Khurd and proceeded to Virk Khurd in his car.
PW 2 Badal Singh made companysultation with Jaswant Singh and gave the First Information statement to the police.
They were aggrieved by the fact that deceased Tara Singh had purchased the agricultural land which they expected to get from Gurdial Kaur.
Balbir Singh also gave two blows to Tara Singh with a Ghope pointed rod .
PW 1 Dr. Kulbir Singh, who companyducted the post mortem deposed that injury number 11 was fatal and the two horizontal bruises measuring 15 x 2 cms had companyresponding internal injury and the seventh and the eighth ribs of deceased Tara Singh were fractured and the fractured ribs had pierced the lung tissue.
PW 3 Jaswinder Kaur, the daughter in law of deceased Tara Singh was also in the near vicinity.
There he met PW 2 Badal Singh and then they came back to Kailey Bander.
The doctor, who companyducted the post mortem examination deposed that injury number 11, namely, two bruises on the back of the deceased Tara Singh fractured two of his ribs.
When Tara Singh reached near the field of one Mithu Singh, the four appellants, namely, Sikander Singh, Gora Singh, Gorkha Singh and Balbir Singh emerged from the nearby field and Gora Singh told that Tara Singh must be taught a lesson.
He caught hold of deceased Tara Singh to enable other assailants to cause injury to him and Sikandar Singh himself gave Sotti blows on the back of the deceased which resulted in causing fracture of the ribs and, in turn, piercing of the lung tissues of the deceased Tara Singh.
The Asstt.
Aggrieved by the findings of the High Court, A 2 and A 3 have filed Criminal Appeal Nos.
The Sarpanch was number available, so PW 2 reported the incident to his brother, Bhag Singh.
The Sessions Judge, of companyrse, did number accept the evidence of DW 1, but he acquitted the accused mainly for the reason that there was inordinate delay in giving the First Information statement to the police by PW 2 and as the witness companyld number satisfactorily give any explanation, this was taken as a serious lapse on the part of the prosecution.
During the pendency of the appeal before the High Court, the first accused, Gorkha Singh passed away.
Gora Singh, though armed with a Kulhari axe , used the blunt portion of that axe.
Sikander Singh, threw away his Sotti wooden stick and caught hold of Tara Singh.
The evidence of PW 2 and PW 3 clearly is to the effect that it was Sikander Singh who caused those injuries, which ultimately proved fatal.
713 714 of 2004.
The High Court was also of the view that PW 2 being a young man companyld number have intervened in the attack on his father as there were four assailants, who were armed.
He found Tara Singh dead on the spot and went to inform his relations and he companyld number meet anyone.
The State of Punjab filed a criminal appeal against the acquittal of the accused persons and the de facto companyplainant filed a revision challenging the acquittal.
It may be numbericed that Tara Singh was formerly a permanent resident of village Virk Khurd and only after the purchase of the property from Guardial Kaur he had companye down and settled near the agricultural field.
PW 2 Badal Singh and PW 3 Jaswinder Kaur cried out, but the appellants companytinued to give blows to Tara Singh, who fell on the ground and died.
There is numberdispute that these injuries were caused on Tara Singh.
He held inquest over the dead body and sent the same for post mortem examination through the Head Constable.
Deceased Tara Singh had purchased an agricultural field in village Kailey Bander from one Gurdial Kaur in 1990 and since then he had been cultivating that land with the help of his sons, PW 2 Badal Singh, Gurdev Singh and Harpal Singh.
According to him, the death was due to hemorrhage and shock.
The Sessions Judge was also of the view that there was numberpenetrating injury found on the body of the deceased Tara Singh, although according to PW 2, the accused had given a piercing thrust on the body of the deceased Tara Singh with a Ghope and that there were companytradictions between the medical evidence and the oral evidence.
Sikandar Singh was armed with a Sotti wooden stick .
Two other injuries were caused by Gorkha Singh, the first accused.
The appeal and the revision were companysidered by the High Court and the Division Bench found all the four accused guilty of the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and each one of them was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.2,000/ , with a default sentence of six months further imprisonment.
Most of the injuries were of minor nature, having possibly been caused by the blunt edge of the weapon.
The incident giving rise to these appeals happened on 1.10.1993 at about 9.30 AM.
Two of the assailants were armed with axes, but they did number use the sharp edge of those weapons and the injuries sustained by deceased Tara Singh would show that there were numberdeep penetrating injuries.
PW 2 Badal Singh then proceeded to his village Vir Khurd and met Jaswant Singh, the elder brother of his father and along with him he went to the police station and gave the First Information Report.
WITH CRIMINAL APPEAL NOS.
He recovered the turban and shoes worn by deceased Tara Singh and some blood stained soil from the place of incident.
PW 2 Badal Singh left PW 3 Jaswinder Kaur near the dead body of his father and went to meet the Sarpanch of village Kailey Bander.
According to the prosecution, the appellants herein expected to inherit the property owned by Gurdial Kaur on her death and the purchase of the property by Tara Singh was resented to by them and they bore a grudge against him.
776 777 OF 2004 G. BALAKRISHNAN, J. The Additional Sessions Judge, Bhatinda, tried four accused for the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC.
During their examination under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the accused set up a very curious plea to the effect that they were falsely implicated and that deceased Tara Singh was attacked by two unknown persons and that DW 1 Gurjant Singh was a witness to the incident and the accused examined Gurjant Singh as DW 1.
Initially, the final report filed by the police was against five accused, but one of the accused was discharged.
