BOOTA SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB
LAWS(SC)-1996-12-149
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (FROM: PUNJAB & HARYANA)
Decided on December 12,1996

BOOTA SINGH Appellant
VERSUS
STATE OF PUNJAB Respondents


Cited Judgements :-

MAJID KHAN VS. STATE OF M.P. [LAWS(MPH)-2002-5-61] [REFERRED TO]


JUDGEMENT

- (1.)The ten appellants before us, (hereinafter referred to as Al to A 10 respectively) were tried by the additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana for criminal conspiracy, rioting, murder and other related offences. The Trial ended in conviction and sentence of Al under Sections 302, 324/ 34 and 323/34, Indian Penal Code. A2 to A4 under sections 302/34, 324/34 and 323/34 Indian Penal Code, A5 to A8 under Section 324 Indian Penal Code, A2 under sections 326 and 323indian Penal code and A10 under section 326 Indian Penal Code. Against their convictions and sentences Al to A4 filed one appeal and a5 to A10 another. By a common judgment the High Court dismissed their appeals and aggrieved thereby they have preferred these appeals after obtaining special leave.
(2.)Bereft of details the prosecution case is as follows :
(A) On 3/8/1988 at or about 6 a. M. Swaran Singh (P. W. 6) , a resident of village Jainpur; called on his brother Charan singh (the deceased) , who used to live in the adjoining house. A little later A8, who lived nearby, came there and asked Charan Singh, to accompany him to his house as he wanted to discuss some urgent matters with him. Accompanied by A3 Charan Singh then proceeded towards the former's house. As they neared the neighbouring shop of lachhman Dass there was an alarm, whereupon Swaran Singh accompanied by his nephews Harjit Singh (P. W. 7) and Harnek singh (P. W. 8) (two sons of Charan Singh) rushed there. In their presence Al, who was armed with a gandasa, gave a blow with it on the head of Charan Singh as a result of which he fell down. When Swaran Singh went to his rescue A2 hit him (Swaran Singh) with another gandasa and A4 with a lathi. (b) On seeing such assault on their father and uncle, Harjit Singh and Harnek Singh rushed to their house and came back armed with dangs followed by other members of their family including Ms. Amarjit Kaur, wife of Charan Singh. Simultaneously, the other accused persons arrived at the scene armed with gandasas, dangs and kirpans and started assaulting the members of Charan singh's family. Some members of the party of Al also sustained injuries at the hands of the two sons of Charan Singh when they snatched away some arms from the accused persons and beat them in self defence. The hue and cry attracted some villagers and then the accused disappeared from the spot carrying their respective weapons. All the injured were removed to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana for treatment where from Charan Singh, who was found in a precarious condition, was immediately referred to C. M. C. Hospital, ludhiana. (c) On receipt of a telephonic message from the police guard posted at the C. M. C. Hospital, Ludhiana, Assistant Sub-Inspector karmit Singh of Police Station Sadar, Ludhiana (P. W. 10) along with some police officials went to C. M. C. Hospital, Ludhiana, where the Medical Officer opined that Charan Singh was not fit to make a statement. The police party then went to Police Station, Division no. 2, Ludhiana and collected the medicolegal-examination reports of all the other injured which had in the meantime been sent there by the Civil Hospital. Karmit Singh then went to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana and recorded the statement of injured Swaran singh (Ext. PT). He sent the statement to the police station for registering a case thereupon and accompanied by some police officials went to the scene of occurrence. There he seized some blood-soaked earth and prepared a visual plan of the spot (Ext. PY). While at the spot he got information about the death of Charan Singh and, hence went to C. M. C. Hospital. He prepared the inquest report regarding the death of Charan Singh and sent the dead body for post-mortem examination. On completion of investigation he submitted chargesheet against the accused persons and in due course their case was committed to the Court of Session. (d) The motive, which according to the prosecution actuated the accused to commit the above crimes, was that eleven months earlier Sewa Sirigh, son of Hazura Singh and brother of A6, A7, A8 and A9 had, on account of domestic problem, committed suicide by hanging near the tube-well of Charan singh (deceased) , with whom he was working as a share-cropper. When this matter was reported by Charan Singh to the police the accused party levelled allegation that Sewa singh was hanged. On that score the accused party nursed a grievance against Charan singh.

(3.)The appellants pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them and their version of the incident, as given out by Al in his statement recorded under Section 313 criminal Procedure Code, was that in the night preceding the date of the incident a calf of Al had fallen in the outlet of the Bio-Gas plant of the complainant party and over that issue there was an exchange of abuses between A3 and the complainant party. A3 then gave out that he was going to inform the police about the misbehavior of the complainant party. To that the complainant party retorted that the harijans (the accused party) had no right to abuse them. The following day (the date of the incident) the deceased and members of his family including Swaran Singh, Harinder singh, Ajit Singh, Harjit Singh and Hari singh went to the house of A3 armed with deadly weapons and asked him to come out. When he (Al) came out and protested he was attacked by the complainant party with the weapons they were carrying as a result of which he. sustained severe injuries on his person. Al next stated that thereafter when the complainant party trespassed into the house of A3 and his sons and caused multiple injuries to six members of their family, one of them, namely, Nachhatar Singh (A 7) caused injuries on some of the members of the complainant party. According to Al, on account of the affluence and influence'of the complainant party the police, instead of taking action against the complainant party who were the aggressors, falsely implicated them. While some of the other appellants took the same defence others took the plea of alibi.


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