The informant then rushed to the Police Station and lodged the report.
Since one of the accused persons had already died and two others were declared as proclaimed offenders, the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, recorded the statement of 27 witnesses under Section 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
He was also found guilty under Section 307 IPC for having injured 12 other persons with the intention of killing them.
The Investigating Officer then again approached the Army Authorities and got eight sten guns.
Be it be stated, the appellant had also been companyvicted under Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act and that companyviction had also been upheld by the High Court in appeal.
According to the FIR version, while the informant along with two others were present at the flour mill of Gaje Singh in village Budha Khera, the appellant who was serving in Army, and his brother, one Vijay Singh with two other persons came before them and indiscriminately fired with the army weapon which hit Surat Singh and said Surat Singh fell down.
After companypletion of investigation, charge sheet was filed against the appellant, his brother Vijay Singh and their father Rulia Ram but Rulia Ram had died by then.
For his companyviction under Section 302 IPC, the learned Sessions Judge, awarded the extreme penalty of death.
The Investigating Officer also requested to have the custody of the sten gun which had been issued to the appellant but the Army Officers, refused to hand over the sten gun.
So far as the appellant is companycerned, as he companyld number be found, he was declared proclaimed offender and his brother Vijay Singh was also declared as a proclaimed offender.
The Sessions Judge also came to the companyclusion on the self said statement recorded under Section 299 Cr.
P.C., five of them had died by the time charges were framed against the appellant.
But, FSL authorities intimated the Investigating Officer that numbertesting companyld be done as the firing had been done in sand and without the weapon companycerned, it would number be possible to test and analyse.
The companyviction and sentence was assailed by the appellant in Criminal Appeal No.
3 of 1996.
Out of the 27 witnesses who had been examined under Section 299 of the Cr.
However those Army Officers handed over the live cartridges which had been supplied to the accused along with the sten gun for the purpose of analyses and companyparison with the leads removed from the dead bodies of the four deceased persons.
The present appellant was later on arrested on 11th of September, 1994 and then on being companymitted by the learned Magistrate to the Court of Sessions, the Sessions Judge tried him for the offences charged.
These appeals have been presented in this companyrt on getting special leave.
It was also indicated that earlier, there was a fight between two groups of people, on account of which the accused persons had grudge and they took revenge of the same.
The dead bodies of the aforesaid four people were sent to hospital for post mortem examination and autopsy was companyducted by Doctors PW31, PW32, PW33 and PW34.
All those eight sten guns were tested by a test fire and the FSL people identified one of those sten gun which according to them had been used in firing at the deceased.
On the basis of the First Information Report Exhibit PW44/A, a criminal case was registered under Section 302/34 in the Police Station Safidon, District Jind on 15th of September, 1980 at 8.20 p.m. The First Informant was one Chhotu, son of Indraj.
The investigating Officer got a warrant of arrest against the appellant on 16th of September, 1980 and went to the Unit of accused and he was informed by the Officers that the appellant has number rejoined after availing leave from 15th of September, 1980.
So far as, the appellant being the author of the crime, the Sessions Judge relied upon the statement of the five deceased eye witnesses, which had been recorded under Section 299 Cr.
Their statements recorded under Section 299 Cr.
P.C. were examined as prosecution witnesses during trial but they did number support the prosecution and, therefore, they were cross examined by the Public Prosecutor and were declared hostile.
P.C. were, therefore exhibited during the trial as PW48/A, PW48/B, PW48/C, PW48/D and PW48/E. 22 other witnesses who had also been examined under Section 299 Cr.
On the basis of the medical evidence of the doctors who had companyducted the autopsy over the dead bodies, the learned Sessions Judge came to hold that the four persons died on account of gun shot injuries and injuries were ante mortem in nature.
Later on, the Army Authorities established that the said gun in fact had been issued to the accused appellant.
Both these cases were heard together and the High Court of Punjab and Haryana by the impugned Judgment dated 11.7.1997, upheld the companyviction of the appellant under Section 302 as well as under Section 307 IPC but so far as sentence is companycerned, the High Court companymuted the death sentence to imprisonment for life.
On the basis of the aforesaid FIR, PW44 along with his police staff reached the place of occurrence and found four people dead.
261 DB of 1997 in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and a Reference also had been made by the learned Sessions Judge under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for companyfirmation, which was registered as Murder Reference No.
In companyrse of such firing, Desh Raj also was shot at and he died.
P.C. and came to the companyclusion that those evidence prove beyond reasonable doubt that on the date of occurrence, it is the appellant who fired at the deceased persons by means of his sten gun and in companysequence of which the four persons died at the spot.
The appellant in his statement recorded under Section 313 pleaded innocence and denied of his companyplicity with the crime.
PATTANAIK,J. The appellant was companyvicted by the learned Sessions Judge for the offence of murder under Section 302 IPC, on a finding that he shot at Surat Singh, Desh Raj, Lehna Singh and Ramesh, by means of his sten gun, on account of which, all these four people died.
