Kulwinder Singh vs State Of Punjab

According to PW-7, on 18.10.1997, Accused Nos. 1,2 and 3 stated that they had hired Baldev Singh and Kulwinder Singh alia Kala to kill Rajbir Singh and they got him murdered. They had requested him to produce them before the police as the police was after them. They came to him as PW-7 was said to have some influence with the police authorities. He asked them to bring Baldev Singh and the appellant with them on the next day. On 19.10.1997, he went to the police station and made a statement there before the Investigating officer.

Appellant, the said Baldev Singh and Pargat Singh came to the house of PW-7 on 26.10.1997. They made a statement that owing to greed of money, they had murdered Rajbir Singh and they may be taken to the police. When they were going to the police station, they met the police party at the crossing of village Behman Diwana. They were taken in custody. The appellant on being interrogated by Davinder Singh SI in presence of Ajaib Singh ASI disclosed that he had concealed by burying a .32 bore pistol in the pits near the bank of canal at a distance of 1 = furlong from the bridge of canal. He made an offer to get the same recovered. The statement to that effect was reduced into writing. His thumb impression was also obtained. Similarly, Baldev Singh on interrogation disclosed that he had kept concealed and buried a .12 bore pistol wrapped in a glazed paper at a distance of about 1 furlong from the bridge of the canal in the said area. His statement was recorded, reduced to writing and marked as Ex. PQ/1. It was also signed by him and attested by PW-7. Indisputably, recoveries were made pursuant to the informations furnished by the appellant and the said Baldev Singh. The said country-made pistols were sent for examination before the Forensic Science Laboratory, Punjab. No definite opinion could be given regarding firing of the vital shot from the said weapons due to lack of sufficient individual characteristic obtaining marks therein.

The appellant and the said Baldev Singh might not have been named by the first informant in his First Information Report, but what, however, is clear and explicit in his statement made therein, was that they were the persons who could be identified by the informant. The occurrence took place at 7.45 a.m. In the same night, the investigating officer PW-9 came to the spot and recorded the statement inter alia of PW-3 Gurbax Singh. It is not in dispute that in his statement, he named the appellant and the said Baldev Singh as the persons who had fired on the deceased. Their names specifically found mention in the site plan prepared by the investigating officer on the same day. It is, therefore, not a case where the appellant and the said Baldev Singh could be falsely implicated. Appellant may be a resident of village Jodhpur Pakhar, but from the statements made by Gurbax Singh, in his cross-examination, it appears that before the lands were allotted by Chand Kaur to them, Nirpal Singh and others had been residing in the said village. All the accused, thus, used to reside at village Jodhpur Pakhar. They were, therefore, known to each other. The appellant and Baldev Singh had been seen visiting the house of Nirpal Singh and Nardev Singh many times.

Appeals thereagainst were preferred by all the four convicted accused before the High Court. A criminal revision application was also filed by Harinder Singh against the order of acquittal of Pargat Singh. By reason of the impugned judgment, the Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed both the appeals and revision.

Motive of the accused to eliminate Rajbir Singh also cannot be said to be wholly non-existent.

Whether the money was paid by them to the appellant and Baldev Singh was not necessary to be proved. It was within their special knowledge.

For the reasons aforementioned, we are of the opinion that the impugned judgment does not suffer from any infirmity. The appeal is accordingly dismissed.