Raj Pal And Another vs State Of Haryana

3. The prosecution case is that Raj Pal and Jai Pal appellants are brothers inter-se, being sons of Hari Chand. A panchayat was held in the village, in the month of February 1990, in connection with the theft of buffaloes of Yad Ram. Hira Lal complainant, Karan Singh, and Kure Ram had also attended the Panchayat, in which Sohan Lal (@ Melha) deceased, who was uncle of Yad Ram, had suspected the appellants to be the thieves. It is alleged that since then the appellants had been nourishing a grudge against Sohan Lal.

4. On 5.8.1990, Hira Lal complainant, PW 10 Zile Singh and one Diwan Singh were smoking "huqqa", in front of the baithak of Shadi Lal. At about 1.00 p.m. Sohan Lal was returning to his house after grazing buffaloes in his fields. When he reached in front of Parshadi's house, Jai Pal and Raj Pal appellants who were armed with pharsi and lathi respectively came near him and said that they would teach him a lesson for suspecting them as the thieves of buffaloes. Jai Pal then gave a pharsi blow and Raj Pal gave a lathi blow on Sohan Lal's head. He fell on the ground. Even in fallen condition, Raj Pal gave 2-3 more lathi blows which hit him on his back. Seeing this, Hira Lal (PW 9), Zile Singh (PW 10), and Diwan Singh reached the spot and rescued Sohan Lal from the clutches of appellants. In the rescuing process, Jai Pal also received injuries. The appellants, thereafter, fled away from the spot with their respective weapons. Zile Singh and Surender son of Hans Lal removed Sohan Lal (injured) from the spot, in a car, to the General Hospital, Gurgaon, where he succumbed to his injuries. On receipt of this information, in the form of medical ruqqa, Ex. PA, about the death of Sohan Lal, Sub-Inspector Suraj Bhan reached the hospital, where Hira Lal complainant and Bis Ram were found sitting near the dead- body of Sohan Lal. He recorded the statement of Hira Lal, Ex. PH, and sent it to the police station with his endorsement, Ex.PH/1, thereon, on which the case against the appellants was registered vide formal FIR, Ex PH/2. He prepared inquest report, Ex. PL, and sent the dead-body for post-mortem examination. He visited the place of occurrence, prepared rough site plan thereof, Ex. PM, and also called the photographer who took photographs, Exs. P3 and P4 (negatives Exs. P1 and P2) , of the scene of occurrence. He also took into possession blood-stained earth from there vide memo, Ex. PN, after making it into a sealed parcel. He searched for the appellants but could arrest them only on 10.8.1990, as earlier they remained absconding. On 12.8.1990, Raj Pal appellant got a lathi recovered in pursuance of his disclosure statement. Ex. PO, and the same was taken into possession vide memo, Ex.PO/1. Similarly, Jai Pal appellant also got recovered a 'pharsi' in pursuance of his disclosure statement, Ex. PP, and the same too, was taken into possession vide memo, Ex. PP/1.

5. After completion of investigation, challan was filed in court against the appellants by Inspector Jag Parvesh PW5.

15. Jai Pal accused further elaborated in his 313 Cr.PC statement that Ram Chander had forcibly opened a door towards his plot. He opposed it, and hence they quarreled on that issue also. Ram Chander, Sohan Lal, Karan Singh came there with lathis and opened attack on him. He ran away but they overpowered him near the house of Parshadi. He then picked up a three pronged jelly from that place and used it in self-defence. A blow of his jelly hit the back of Sohan Lal. He fell down. A brick was lying on the ground. The peg for tethering cattle (Khunta) was also in existence at that place. Since Sohan Lal fell down he got a chance and escaped therefrom. The police arrested him, his brother and his father on the evening of 5th of August 1990. He narrated the incident to the police. Despite that, the police implicated him falsely. He had sufficient injuries in this accident but the police did not arrange for his Medico Legal Report till 10th of August 1990. The police even did not produce them in the Court. Only on the application moved by his brother Shiv Raj, they were produced in the Court. The entire prosecution case is false and concocted. If one is sitting on the chabutra of Shadi Lal, then the house of Parshadi Lal was not visible and this proves that Raj Pal, and his brother were not present, at all, at the time of the aforesaid incident.

9. Against the said judgment the accused filed an appeal before the High Court which was dismissed by the impugned judgment, and hence this appeal.

23. While we are not in a position to say that the version of Jai Pal is necessarily correct, it certainly throws a reasonable doubt upon the entire prosecution version when it is coupled with other circumstances (such as major discrepancies between the ocular version and the medical evidence) which have already been referred to above.

24. In view of the above discussion, we are of the opinion that the benefit of doubt has to be given to the appellants. The appeal is allowed. The impugned judgments of the trial court and the High Court are set aside. The appellants shall be released forthwith unless required in some other case.