Case: Pupinder Pal Singh Vs. State of Punjab

The short facts of the prosecution case are as follows:The accused No. 1, Iqbal Singh, the father of the accused No. 2 had migrated from Pakistan and was allotted land in village Kuliawal. Kirpal Singh father of the deceased, (P.W.2) had also migrated from Pakistan and was allotted land in the village Kuliawal. Both Iqbal Singh and Kirpal Singh originally were residents of village Narangwal and they had good relations. Iqbal Singh constructed godowns in the land belonging to the Panchayat in the village Kuliawal. Kirpal Singh made a complaint in the office of Municipal Corporation against Iqbal Singh for such encroachment and also filed a suit against him. In view of such complaint the relation between Iqbal Singh and Kirpal Singh became strained. On July 13, 1978, at about 5.15 p.m. P.W. 2, Kirpal Singh, and his son Jaswant Singh, deceased, were standing at the crossing of roads in front of their house. The Appellant, Pupinder Pal Singh, accused No. 2 and his father Iqbal Singh came on a tractor from the side of their house having guns with them. The said Pupinder Pal Singh and Iqbal Singh held out a threat to Kirpal Singh and his son Jaswant Singh by saying that it was not proper on their part to make complaint against them for the construction of the said godowns. Kirpal Singh replied that he had made such applications in public interest and advised them to go away. Iqbal Singh and the Appellant Pupinder Pal Singh replied that they were very much aggrieved against Kirpal Singh since he was very close to them and thereafter they left in their tractor towards the house of Mistry, Piara Singh. Kirpal Singh and his son Jaswant Singh remained standing there. After 10-15 minutes, both the said accused returned on their tractor. Iqbal Singh enquired from Kirpal Singh and the deceased, Jaswant Singh, as to why they had been still standing there. Kirpal Singh replied that they were standing in front of their house and Iqbal Singh had no cause to question them. Both the accused thereafter started hurling abuses to Kirpal Singh and Jaswant Singh. The deceased, Jaswant Singh, thereafter abused the accused in return and Kirpal Singh also asked the accused to behave properly. Bachittar Singh, Amar Singh and Balwinder Singh also came there. It is the if prosecution case that being enraged, the accused No. 1 Iqbal Singh, fired a shot towards Kirpal Singh but nobody was injured by the said shot. Then the Appellant Pupinder Pal Singh fired a shot which hit the chest of Jaswant Singh and Jaswant Singh fell down on the ground. Both the accused left towards their house with the tractor. P.W. 2, Kirpal Singh, arranged for a car and took his son Jaswant Singh to the C.M.C. Hospital at Ludhiana and they reached the hospital at about 6.15 p.m. The doctor on examining Jaswant Singh declared him to be dead. On learning about the death of Jaswant Singh, Kirpal Singh became nervous as he was a heart patient and also a patient of Asthama. He was made to lie for about an hour. Thereafter, he removed the dead body of Jaswant Singh in a car to the village. They reached the village at about 8.30 p.m. Thereafter, Kirpal Singh in the company of Bachittar Singh who had accompanied Kirpal Singh to the hospital, left for the police station at about 9.00 p.m. and lodged the first information report at police station at Ludhiana being Ext.P.E. The Sub-Inspector, Mohinder Singh, accompanied Kirpal Singh to the spot and they reached there at about 10.45 p.m. The dead body of Jaswant Singh was lying in the courtyard in the house of Kirpal Singh and was being guarded by Balwinder Singh, son of Kirpal Singh. The Sub-Inspector prepared the inquest report and entrusted the dead body to the two Constables for taking the same for post mortem examination. The Sub-Inspector then lifted the blood stained earth from the crossing in front of the house of Kirpal Singh and put the same in a sealed parcel. The statement of Bachittar Singh, Amar Singh and Balwinder Singh were also recorded by the Sub-Inspector. It was stated by Kirpal Singh that the house of Amar Singh was adjacent to his house and the house of Bachittar Singh was 14-15 Karams from the place of occurrence. On July 14, 1978, post mortem was conducted at civil hospital, Ludhiana by Dr. Ved Prakash who noted gun shot injuries and the doctor also noted the direction of the wound towards right and downwards. In the opinion of the doctor, the death was due to shock and hemorrhage as a result of injuries which were sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. On July 15, 1978, Pupinder Pal Singh was arrested and on July 16, 1978, Amrik Singh produced a. 12 bore gun Ext.P.l along with licence Ext.P.2 before the Sub-Inspector, Bihari Lal. The gun was kept in a sealed parcel. The licence of the said gun was in the name of Iqbal Singh. Iqbal Singh was arrested on July 28, 1978 by the Sub-Inspector Bihari Lal and the rifle belonging to him was produced being Ext.P.3 which was also kept in a sealed parcel. The tractor of Iqbal Singh was taken into possession on July 20, 1978 but the same was given on superdari to Iqbal Singh.. In a statement under Section 313 Code of Civil Procedure Iqbal Singh denied the allegations made against him and he set up a plea of alibi by contending that he had gone to village Rupalon from where he had been to village Talwandi and he was not present at the time of occurrence. The accused No. 2 Pupinder Pal Singh also denied the allegations of murder and in a statement under Section 313 Code of Civil Procedure he stated that on the date of occurrence at 5.30 p.m. he was returning on his tractor after having a round of his field. He was armed with a gun belonging to his father and the father was not present in the village on that day. It was stated by him that he had taken his gun with him because there was enmity between his family and some other residents of village. When he reached in front of the house of Jaswant Singh and tried to take a turn towards his house, Jaswant Singh boarded the tractor and caught hold of the barrel of the gun. Pupinder Pal Singh told him that it was loaded and asked him to leave the gun but Jaswant Singh did not do so. The tussle took place between them and during the tussle, the gun accidentally went off injuring Jaswant Singh and he fell down from the tractor. Pupinder Pal Singh then left the place on his tractor towards his house. Thereafter, he came to Ludhiana where he reached at about 6.15 p.m. He drafted the application Ext.P.M. and brought the said application to Ludhiana. Dhanraj Singh and Bharpur Singh met Pupinder Pal Singh at Dholewal Chawk, Ludhiana. All the three persons went to the house of the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana but the Deputy Commissioner was not available. They thereafter went to the house of the Additional Deputy Commissioner who was also not available. Pupinder Pal Singh thereafter presented the application to Sub-Divisional Magistrate at his house at about 9.00 p.m. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate made an endorsement on the application and handed over the application to Pupinder Pal Singh for taking it to the senior Superintendent of Police. They thereafter went to the residence of S.S.P. but he was also not available. Pupinder Pal Singh and his two companions thereafter went to the house of the Superintendent of Police, City, and handed over the application being Ext.P.M. to him. The Superintendent of Police, City, gave a telephonic call to the police station and Mohinder Singh, S.I., arrived. The S.P. City handed over the application of Pupinder Pal Singh to S.I. and Pupinder Pal Singh was taken to the police station, Sadar, Ludhiana3. It may be stated here that 7 witnesses were examined by the accused persons in their defense. D.W. 1, Balbir Kumar, stated that he prepared a movie-film showing that Kirpal Singh had been driving a car. D.W.2, Shri A.R. Darshi, S.D.M., Ludhiana, had deposed that on July 13, 1978, at 9.00 p.m., the application Ext P.M. was produced at his residence by Dhanraj Singh, MLA who was accompanied by a youngman. He, however, could not identify Pupinder Pal Singh as the young man accompanied by Dhanraj Singh. The said S.D.M stated that the note Ext.P.M./l on the application was written in his presence by the young man who had accompanied Dhanraj Singh. D.W.3, Major Gurdip Singh Grewal, was an Arms Dealer of Ludhiana, who stated that the rifle, Ex.P.3 was a semi-automatic weapon. According to him, if such a weapon was in correct working condition, then as soon as a cartridge would be fired, the empty shell would be ejected automatically. D.W.4, Dr. Suresh Kumar, stated that on July 16, 1978, at 2.20 p,m., he examined Pupinder Pal Singh and he noted that there was an abrasion 5/8 x 1/8 below the supra sternal notch which was partially healed and scabbed. According to the doctor, such injury was simple in nature and was caused with a blunt weapon. According to his opinion, such injury could have been inflicted if the injured was holding a gun and was Struggling with somebody and the butt of the gun had struck against the chest. D.W.5, S. Mehtab Singh, deposed that he had visited the village Kuliawal on July 14, 1978 and in the report under Section 173 Code of Civil Procedure the police requested that the Iqbal Singh might be discharged. D.W.6, Pritu Mal, brought the summoned file and stated that Ex.DC was the copy of case records under Section 107150 Code of Civil Procedure EX.DD to DH were the copies of the interim Order. Ex.DJ was the copy of the statement of Bachittar Singh and Ex.DK was the copy of notice under Section 112 Code of Civil Procedure served in the case. DW.7, Rajinder Singh, stated that the residence of Mr. Sharma, S.P. Police is at a distance of less than a furlong from the Police Station, Ludhiana. Accused No. 1, Iqbal Singh, tendered into evidence copy of an order under Section 107/150 Code of Civil Procedure Ex.DM and a copy of another order dated November 26, 1968 Ex.DN and the copy of the first information report Ex.DC. It may be stated here that the incident had taken place in the village Kuliawal which was about 11 kilometers from the police station, Sadar, Ludhiana.4. In the first information report lodged by Kirpal Singh at 9.30 p.m. it was stated that after the incident, they had removed Jaswant Singh to CMC. hospital where he was examined by the doctor and was declared dead. The father of Jaswant Singh became nervous and being a heart-patient and a patient of Asthania, he was asked to lie for about an hour and then left for the village with the dead body of his son.5. The learned Sessions Judge relied on the evidences of eye witnesses of the incident, namely, Kirpal Singh, father of the deceased, Bachittar Singh an ex-sarpanch of the village and Amar Singh, uncle of Kirpal Singh. The house of Bachittar Singh was at a distance of 16-17 karams and that of Amar Singh 12 karams only from the place of occurrence. The learned Sessions Judge was of the view that the presence of Bachittar Singh and Amar Singh at the time of occurrence was quite natural. He also held that simply because Ama Singh was the uncle of Kirpal Singh, his evidence was not to be discarded. The learned Sessions Judge was of the view that Bachittar Singh had a strained relation with Iqbal Singh and on the complaint of Iqbal Singh, a criminal case was instituted against Bachittar Singh and others. The learned Sessions Judge was therefore of the view that the evidence of Bachittar Singh should not be readily accepted and only such part of his statement which stood corroborated by other evidence should be accepted. The learned Sessions Judge was of the view that although Kirpal Singh, Bachittar Singh and Amar Singh deposed that the first shot did not hit anybody but the same could not be established by other evidences because no empty cartridge was recovered from the place of occurrence by the police. The learned Sessions Judge was of the view that the case against the accused No. 1 Iqbal Singh, that he fired a shot but the same did not hit anybody did not stand proved. Accordingly, the benefit of doubt was given to the accused No. 1 and he was acquitted. So far as accused No. 2 Pupinder Pal Singh was concerned, the learned Sessions Judge was of the view that it was an admitted position that Pupinder Pal Singh fired a shot which hit the chest of Jaswant Singh and such shot had been fired from a close range. The learned Sessions Judge relied on the deposition of the doctor who had stated that the victim was at a distance of about three feet from the end of the barrel of the gun when the shot was fired and according to the learned Sessions Judge such statement of the doctor appeared to be correct because there was no mark of blackening or charring of the skin at the place where the shot hit when the post mortem was performed on the dead body of Jaswant Singh. The learned Sessions Judge was also of the view that the case of accidental fire as stated by Pupinder Pal Singh because of the scuffle between him and the deceased could not be accepted for various reasons indicated in the judgment of the learned Sessions Judge. The learned Sessions Judge, therefore, convicted the accused No. 2, Pupinder Pal Singh, under Section 302 I.P.C. for committing the murder of Jaswant Singh and also under Section 27 of the Arms Act for keeping a gun in his possession for unlawful purpose and passed the sentence against Pupinder Pal Singh as already indicated.6. In the appeal before the High Court being Criminal Appeal No. 1577 of 1978 against the conviction and sentence of Pupinder Pal Singh, it was contended that the first information report was lodged after a considerable delay. Although, according to the prosecution, the doctor declared Jaswant Singh dead at about 6.15 p.m. at Ludhiana Hospital, no first information report was lodged at Ludhiana immediately thereafter. The dead body was brought to the village and thereafter Kirpal Singh, Bachittar Singh left for the police station and lodged the report at about 9.00 p.m. It was contended on behalf of the Appellant that such course of action was not natural and a belated first information report was lodged because Kirpal Singh was not definite as to how the occurrence had taken place and after making consultations, a false first information report was lodged at a belated stage. It was also contended that according to the prosecution stage. It was also contended that according to the prosecution case there was a strained relation between Kirpal Singh and Iqbal Singh because Kirpal Singh had lodged a complaint against Iqbal Singh for constructing godowns. Since there, was no grievance against the deceased Jaswant Singh, there could not have been any motive for Pupinder Pal Singh, a young boy, to deliberately shot the deceased dead. The case of scuffle between the deceased and the Appellant with the loaded gun and the accidental fire, in view of such scuffle as stated by the Appellant, Pupinder Pal Singh, was convincing and reliable and the learned Sessions Judge ought to have accepted the same. It was also contended that from the forensic report it transpired that Jaswant Singh had consumed alcohol and was drunk. It was, therefore, quite likely that under the influence of liquor, he boarded the tractor driven by Pupinder Pal Singh and wanted to snatch away the loaded gun for which scuffle between the Appellant and the deceased ensued and the gun went off accidentally hitting the deceased. The High Court, however, has not accepted the contentions made on behalf of the Appellant and it has been held by the High Court that as Jaswant Singh was declared dead by the doctor, Kirpal Singh being a heart patient must have suffered a great shock and he was well advised to take rest for some time. The conduct of Kirpal Singh in bringing back the dead body of his son to his house also cannot be held, to be unnatural. It was not at all unnatural on the part of Kirpal Singh in not immediately rushing to the police station to lodge the first information report. Such report was lodged at about 9.30 p.m. and it could not be. stated that the first information report was lodged at a very belated stage and the story was cocked up. The High Court was also of the view that the delay in lodging the first information report would loose its significance if the account of the eye witnesses appear to be convincing. The High Court has also concurred with the learned Sessions Judge that the presence of the eye witnesses at the place of occurrence was quite natural and since one of the eye witnesses had strained relation with Iqbal Singh, there was no reason to discard his evidence against the Appellant. The High Court has also observed that in view of strained relations between Iqbal Singh and Bachittar Singh, Iqbal Singh was given benefit of doubt by the learned Sessions Judge by holding that the case against him was not proved and he was acquitted. The High Court did not accept the contention made on behalf of the Appellant that if the part attributed to Iqbal Singh was not accepted, the evidence against the Appellant. Pupinder Pal Singh, should not. also have been accepted by the learned Sessions Judge. The High Court has considered the post mortem report and the evidence given by Dr. Ved Prakash, P.W.I, and lifter indicating the reasons elaborately came to the finding that the said gun shot injuries on the deceased had not been caused due to accidental fire on account of any scuffle between them Accordingly, the High Court has confirmed the conviction and sentence passed by the learned Sessions Judge and dismissed the appeal.

Reasoning:
10. After considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the contentions made by the Learned Counsel for the parties, it appears to us that the case of accidental firing as sought to be contended cannot be accepted. It has been rightly held by the courts below that the presence of the eye-witnesses at the place of occurrence was natural and their depositions were not liable to be discarded. It also appears to us that the depositions of the eye-witnesses stand amply corroborated from the evidence of the doctor and also the post mortem report. The delay in lodging the first information report has been explained by P.W. 2, the father of the deceased and such explanation has been rightly accepted by the High Court and we do not find and cogent reason to take a contrary view. In our view, the grounds indicated by the High Court in discarding the case of accidental fire on account of the alleged tussle between the deceased and the Appellant appear to be quite reasonable. There is also force in the submission of Mr. Bindra that simply because prosecution case against accused No. 1 was not accepted to be fully proved, the case against the Appellant should not be dismissed.