Kala Singh vs State of Punjab

J.B. Garg, J.

Kala Singh son of Jarnail Singh, aged 22 of village Jodhpur Pakhar, District Bathinda, has been convicted by Shri R.L. Anand, Sessions Judge,

Bathinda on 10.8.1992 for an offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and

also required to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/ and in default of payment of fine to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year.

Aggrieved against it, the present appeal has been attempted.

Briefly, the story of the prosecution is that at 4 p.m. on 28.11.1990, Kala Singh came to the residential house of Jaswant Singh, who had been

working as a cleaner on a truck and there was an altercation between the two as to why Jaswant Singh, his own cousin, objected to his entry into

the premises. Kala Singh who was armed with a tamba (stick) gave a blow on the forehead of his cousin Jaswant Singh. This occurrence was seen

by Rajinder Singh, the elder brother and also by Hans Raj, the father, who raised an alarm ""Dont'' kill Don''t kill"". The aforesaid two witnesses

tried to follow Kala Singh, the assailant, but he succeeded in making good his escape along with the tamba. Jaswant Singh became unconscious

after having received the aforesaid injury and some arrangement of conveyance was made and Rajinder Singh (PW2), the elder brother, took him

to the Civil Hospital, Maur Mandi. The cause of altercation and this occurrence was that Jaswant Singh disliked the entry of Kala Singh in drunken

condition into the premises. At Civil Hospital, Maur Mandi, Shri Tara Singh, Assistant SubInspector, recorded the statement of the complainant

and originally a case under Section 308 of the Indian Penal Code was registered. However, Jaswant Singh died at 8.15 a.m. on 29.11.1990 and a

''special report'' for offence under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code was delivered to the Ilaqa Magistrate at 1.00 p.m. on 29.11.1990. Shri

Tara Singh, Assistant Sub Inspector (PW4) conducted the inquest proceedings and also inspected the place of occurrence and had earlier

recorded the statements of witnesses including Hans Raj (PW3), the second eyewitness, who is father of the deceased. Shri Joginder Singh, Sub

Inspector (PW5), arrested Kala Singh on 14.2.1990 from Village Bhagi Bardar and as a consequence of his interrogation, the tamba, Exhibit P1,

was recovered at the instance of Kala Singh and recovery memo Exhibit PN was prepared in this regard.

Dr. Raj Kumar Garg (PW1), medically examined Jaswant Singhinjured at 10.30 p.m. on 28.11.1990. He had one injury over the front part of

his head. After dispatching a ruqa regarding death of Jaswant Singh at 8.30 a.m. on 29.11.1990, the aforesaid Medical Officer conducted the

postmortem examination and the injury on the person of the deceased was as under :

Lacerated wound 41/2 cms in length, stitched and dressed over the front of the head in the middle, obliquely place, 7 cms above the bridge of

the nose with swelling on right upper eyelid, 4 cms. x 21/2 cms and on left upper eyelid 3 cms x 2 cms, reddish blue in colour. On dissection

clotted blood was found present in subcutaneous muscles tissues underneath the wound in the surrounding area and frontal bone was fractured into

multiple pieces. On opening the skull clotted blood was present in frontal area in epidural & subdural space of brain. The menings & brain were

conquested.

The Medical Officer opined that the shock and haemorrhage as a result of aforesaid injury was sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of

nature. The Medical Officer opined that the injury on the person of the deceased could be caused with tamba Exhibit P1.

PW2 Rajinder Singh, the complainant eyewitness, a brother of the deceased and a cousin of the appellant, described the occurrence in the trial

Court and the relevant part from his statement is reproduced as under :

About one year and 17 days ago I along with my father Hans Raj, my brother Jaswant Singh were standing and were talking with each other

regarding domestic affairs in front of our house. In the meanwhile accused Kala Singh came there and he was holding a tamba in his hand at that

time. He raised a lalkara challenging my brother Jaswant Singh that the latter had insulted the former and that the former would not spare my

brother on that day. Thereafter, the accused Kala Singh gave a tamba blow with force by catching it with both hands on the forehead of my

brother Jaswant Singh. Myself and my father Hans Raj raised raula Na Mar Na Mar. On receipt of the injury, my brother fell on the pacca drain

with his face downwards. Myself and Hans Raj tried to apprehend the accused but he ran away from the place of occurrence along with the

tamba. We arranged a Petarrehra in order to remove the injured to Civil Hospital Maur Mandi. Then we took the injured to the hospital.

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This evidence of the complainant eyewitness is fully corroborated by PW3 Hans Raj, father of the deceased. The presence of the complainant

and his father at their residential house on the afternoon in question was natural together with the fact that they carried the injured to the nearest

Civil Hospital and their presence also finds mention in the inquest proceedings.

The statement of the accused Kala Singh, now appellant, was recorded under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the trial Court and

the version put for ward by the appellant was as under :

I am innocent. Jaswant Singh deceased was characterless man and I used to ask not to pass in front of my house. On that account Rajinder Singh

and Hans Raj PWs have falsely implicated me. I never took liquor being follower of Baba Chet Singh of V. Tajo. On the day of occurrence PW

Rajinder Singh and his father Hans Raj were not present rather they were picking cotton in the fields at the time of the alleged occurrence.

The learned counsel for the appellant could not assail the consistent version given by the complainantbrother and Hans Raj, father of the injured,

nor there was any reason to implicate the present appellant falsely. Recording of the First Information Report and its despatch was without delay

for the original offence under Section 308 of the Indian Penal Code and also for the subsequent conversion under section 302 of the Indian Penal

Code. Here, the learned counsel for the appellant has put forward a contention that the offence did not fall under section 302 of the Indian Penal

Code and it was only for the offence under section 304 PartI of the Indian Penal Code. Inasmuch as the altercation was sudden and it was a case

of single injury on the forehead of Jaswant Singh by his own cousin Kala Singh.

The learned counsel for the appellant has specifically pointed out that there was no dispute regarding property etc. and the complainant was

unhappy because Kala Singh visited the premises while smelling of alcohol. On behalf of the appellant, attention has been invited to Guljar Hussain

v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 1993(1) Recent Criminal Reports 198, where, in a case of single injury with knife in the abdomen, the conviction was

converted into one under section 304 PartI of the Indian Penal Code. Here also, it is not a case that Kala Singh tried to report the blow much less

a necessity arose to stop him from doing so. The conclusion is that we partly accept the appeal and the conviction of the appellant is converted into

one under section 304 PartI of the Indian Penal Code and the appellant shall undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years. The

quantum of fine and the sentence in default of its payment shall remain the same. With this modification, the appeal stands disposed of.