IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA CR.R No.13 of 2003 Date of decision : July 14, 2009 Madan Lal …Petitioner. Versus State of H.P. …Respondent. Coram The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surjit Singh, Judge. Whether approved for reporting?1 For the Petitioner : Mr. Paresh Sharma, Advocate. For the Respondent : Mr. Ramesh Thakur, Assistant Advocate General. Surjit Singh, J (Oral) Petitioner is aggrieved by his conviction and sentence for an offence, under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code, as awarded by the trial Magistrate, vide judgment dated 12th January, 1999, and upheld by the Sessions Court, in appeal, vide judgment dated 7th December, 2002. So, he has filed the present Revision Petition, seeking reversal of his conviction and sentence and consequential acquittal. 2. Prosecution case, as per evidence on record, is like this. On 4th January, 1994, Sher Singh (PW-1), after return from office, went to his fields to fetch grass for his cattle and when he reached near the fields of the petitioner, the latter attacked him with a sword and caused a number of wounds. Some of the blows were so forceful that they caused fractures of the underlying bones. Three fractures, one of humerus, another of the rib and the third one of a finger, were noticed by PW-11 Dr. R.K. Verma. Injured PW-1 Sher Singh cried for help. On Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? …2… hearing his cries, his wife PW-2 Veena Devi, who too was going to the fields, reached the spot. She saw the petitioner running away, with a sword. Mother of the injured, namely PW-5 Leela Devi also heard commotion and she too rushed to the spot and saw the injured lying unconscious. The injured was carried to the hospital. There he made statement, under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Ex. PW-1/A, on the basis of which case was formally registered, under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code. 3. During the course of investigation, petitioner produced sword Ex. PW-6/D, sketch of which is Ex. PW-13/A. The sword was sent to the Chemical Examiner and it was found to have stains of human blood. Petitioner was arrested. Clothes, which he was wearing at that time, were taken into possession. The clothes were also sent to the Chemical Examiner, who opined that the same contained stains of human blood. 4. Petitioner was challaned in the Court of Judicial Magistrate 1st Class. Learned Judicial Magistrate, after complying with the requirement of law, regarding supply of copies etc., charged the petitioner with an offence, under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code, to which he pleaded not guilty and was tried for the said offence. 5. Prosecution examined the injured, namely PW-1 Sher Singh, his wife PW-2 Veena Devi and his mother PW-5 Leela Devi, as witnesses of the incident. …3… 6. Injured PW-1 Sher Singh stated that when he was going to his field and passed by the land of the petitioner, the latter attacked him with a sword and three other persons, who were accompanying him, threw him on the ground. In the FIR also, he got recorded that there were three other persons with the petitioner, whom he did not know. Police could not get any clue of those three persons and, therefore, only the petitioner was challaned. Injured Sher Singh further testified that when he was under attack, he raised cries, on hearing which his wife came and then he became unconscious. 7. Testimony of the injured is corroborated by his wife PW-2 Veena Devi and his mother PW-5 Leela Devi. His testimony is further corroborated by PW-11 Dr. R.K. Verma, who conducted medico legal examination and found five incised wounds on various parts of his body and one contused lacerated wound. He also testified that sites of three of the wounds were got X-rayed, which showed that there were fractures of a rib, upper 1/3rd of humerus and base of proximal phalanx of left index finger. 8. Petitioner produced, during the course of investigation, sword Ex. PW-6/D, as per testimony of PW-6 Dev Raj and PW-13 Dy.S.P. Pritam Singh, who investigated the case. The sword was found to bear stains of human blood. 9. Relying upon the testimony of the aforesaid witnesses, learned trial Magistrate convicted the petitioner of offence, under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of …4… one year and to pay fine of Rs.1,000/-, in default of payment of fine to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of three months. Appeal was filed by the petitioner against the judgment of the trial Magistrate, which has been upheld by the learned Sessions Court, as stated hereinabove. 10. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as also the learned Assistant Advocate General and gone through the record. 11. Evidence of the injured, his wife, his mother and the doctor, who conducted the medico legal examination, fully substantiates the charge against the petitioner. 12. Submission made by the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the injured had been assaulted by four persons, per earliest version, which he gave to the police, vide statement, under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as also his testimony in the Court, but the police, during investigation, found involvement of only one person, i.e. the petitioner and that this fact renders the prosecution version doubtful. 13. Injured stated that he had been assaulted by the petitioner and three other unknown persons and that injuries were caused only by the petitioner, while three other persons pushed and threw him on the ground. Since the names of those three persons were not known and the Investigating Officer also could not trace the identity of those three persons, challan was filed only against the present petitioner. Failure of the police to trace out those three persons and to challan them does not, in any way, affect the prosecution evidence, as referred to …5… hereinabove, so far as the role of the petitioner in the commission of the crime is concerned. 14. No other point has been urged. In view of the abovestated position, petition is dismissed, being devoid of merit. July 14, 2009(sd) ( Surjit Singh ), J