{"id":10580,"date":"1998-03-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1998-03-30T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/state-of-punjab-vs-bhola-singh-anr-on-31-march-1998"},"modified":"2015-04-09T03:06:59","modified_gmt":"2015-04-08T21:36:59","slug":"state-of-punjab-vs-bhola-singh-anr-on-31-march-1998","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/state-of-punjab-vs-bhola-singh-anr-on-31-march-1998","title":{"rendered":"State Of Punjab vs Bhola Singh &amp; Anr on 31 March, 1998"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">State Of Punjab vs Bhola Singh &amp; Anr on 31 March, 1998<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: Nanavati<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: G.T. Nanavati, V.N. Khare<\/div>\n<pre>           PETITIONER:\nSTATE OF PUNJAB\n\n\tVs.\n\nRESPONDENT:\nBHOLA SINGH &amp; ANR.\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT:\t31\/03\/1998\n\nBENCH:\nG.T. NANAVATI, V.N. KHARE\n\n\n\n\nACT:\n\n\n\nHEADNOTE:\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n<p>\t\t      J U D G M E N T<br \/>\nNANAVATI, J.\n<\/p>\n<p>     Both these\t appeals are  directed against the acquittal<br \/>\nof the\ttwo respondents.  They\twere  tried  for  committing<br \/>\nmurder of Jaggar Singh. The trial court convicted respondent<br \/>\nBhola Singh  but acquitted respondent Mithu Singh giving him<br \/>\nbenefit of  doubt. Bhola  singh appealed  to the  High Court<br \/>\nagainst\t his   conviction  and\t the  state  challenged\t the<br \/>\nacquittal of  Mithu Singh. The High Court allowed the appeal<br \/>\nof Bhola  Singh and  dismissed the  State&#8217;s  appeal  against<br \/>\nMithu Singh.\n<\/p>\n<p>     It was  the prosecution  case that\t after the murder of<br \/>\nKartar Singh,  father of  both the respondents, Jaggar Singh<br \/>\nthe deceased  had  developed  illicit  intimacy\t with  their<br \/>\nmother. This  was not  liked by the respondents. On 5.2.1987<br \/>\nat about  1.00 P.M.  the deceased,  who was la labourer, was<br \/>\ncollecting bricks  for\tone  Sukhwinder\t Kaur.\tHis  brother<br \/>\nGamdoor Singh  was working  at some distance and Bhola Singh<br \/>\nhad some  time earlier gone for taking tea. Seeing him alone<br \/>\nthe respondents\t attacked him.\tBhola Singh  gave two Kirpan<br \/>\nblows on  the back  of his  knee and  Mithu Singh  gave\t one<br \/>\ngandasa blow  on his right leg. After the deceased fell down<br \/>\nthey gave  two or  three more blows on the back of his neck.<br \/>\nSeeing Bhura Singh and Gamdoor Singh coming towards them the<br \/>\naccused ran  away from that place. On these allegations both<br \/>\nthe accused  were tried\t in the\t Court\tof  Sessions  Judge.<br \/>\nSangrur\t in   Sessions\tcase   No.  28\/87  for\tthe  offence<br \/>\npunishable under  Section 302  read with  sec. 34  IPC.\t The<br \/>\ntrial court believing the evidence of PW-3 Gamdoor Singh and<br \/>\nPW-4 Bhura  singh convicted  Bhola Singh  under section\t 302<br \/>\nIPC. Mithu Singh was given benefit of doubt as it was of the<br \/>\nopinion that  the evidence  of the  two eye  witnesses\twith<br \/>\nrespect to him was not corroborated by the medical evidence.<br \/>\nThe High  Court\t also  believed\t the  evidence\tof  the\t eye<br \/>\nwitnesses but  strangely acquitted  Bhola Singh also holding<br \/>\nthat it\t was not possible to say from the evidence as to who<br \/>\nout of\tthe two accused had caused the fatal injuries to the<br \/>\ndeceased and therefore neither of them could be held guilty.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The learned  counsel for  the appellant  Mr. R.S. Sodhi<br \/>\nsubmitted that\tthe High Court having come to the conclusion<br \/>\nthat the  evidence of  the two\teye witnesses  was worthy of<br \/>\nacceptance ought  to have  convicted them  under Section 302<br \/>\nread with  Section 34  IPC. This  contention deserves  to be<br \/>\naccepted.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The High Court in its judgment has observed as under:-<br \/>\n\t  &#8220;The question\t now is\t on  the<br \/>\n     evidence,\tit   can  be  said  with<br \/>\n     certainty that  it was  Bhola Singh<br \/>\n     who was  responsible for  the  head<br \/>\n     injuries. The  prosecution examined<br \/>\n     (PW3) and Bhura Singh (PW4) as eye-<\/p>\n<p>     witnesses to  the occurrence.  Both<br \/>\n     these\teye-witnesses\t    have<br \/>\n     consistently  stated   that   Bhola<br \/>\n     singh accused  gave two KIRPAN blow<br \/>\n     on the  back side\tof the\tknee  of<br \/>\n     Jagger  Singh   and   Mithu   Singh<br \/>\n     accused gave on GANDASA blow on the<br \/>\n     right lower  leg of  the\tdeceased<br \/>\n     with its  blunt side  and\tthat  on<br \/>\n     receipt  of   these  injuries  when<br \/>\n     Jaggar Singh fell down, each of the<br \/>\n     accused gave two on three more blow<br \/>\n     on the  back of  his neck. Br. H.L.\n<\/p>\n<p>     Garg who  conducted autopsy  on the<br \/>\n     body   of\t  the\t deceased    has<br \/>\n     categorically stated that the could<br \/>\n     not definitely  say that  if injury<br \/>\n     No.2 could be caused with a KIRPAN.\n<\/p>\n<p>     According\tto   the   evidence   on<br \/>\n     record, injuries  on the  neck  and<br \/>\n     the right\tleg of the deceased were<br \/>\n     stated to have been caused by Bhola<br \/>\n     Singh and\tMithu Singh  accused but<br \/>\n     then it  emerges from  the evidence<br \/>\n     that each of the accused caused him<br \/>\n     two or  three more injuries. On the<br \/>\n     question,\ttherefore,  whether  the<br \/>\n     fatal injuries were caused by Bhola<br \/>\n     Singh accused  only or  Mithu Singh<br \/>\n     accused only  or by both, we do not<br \/>\n     think we  can safely  come\t to  the<br \/>\n     conclusion that  it was Bhola singh<br \/>\n     who caused the fatal injuries n the<br \/>\n     head  and\tneck  resulting\t in  the<br \/>\n     death  of\t Jaggar\t singh.\t In  the<br \/>\n     circumstances, neither  of them can<br \/>\n     be held  responsible for  the fatal<br \/>\n     injuries caused  to the   deceased.\n<\/p>\n<p>     In this  view, we have  necessarily<br \/>\n     to acquit Bhola singh accused.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>     From these\t observations it appears that the High court<br \/>\nhad lost  sight of  the fact  that there  was also an appeal<br \/>\nagainst acquittal  of Mithu  Singh. Possibly,  that  is\t the<br \/>\nreason why  we find no discussion ins the judgment regarding<br \/>\ndismissal of  the state\t appeal against Mithu Singh. Only at<br \/>\nthe   fag  end\tof  the\t judgment  after  making  the  above<br \/>\nobservation the\t High Court  had  stated.  &#8220;As\ta  necessary<br \/>\nconsequence, criminal  appeal No. 43-DB of 1988 filed by the<br \/>\nState against  the acquittal   of  Mithu singh\tfails and is<br \/>\ndismissed.&#8221; The\t High court  treating the acquittal of Mithu<br \/>\nSingh as  final allowed\t the appeal  of Bhola Singh and then<br \/>\ndismissed the  appeal against  Mithu singh  as\ta  necessary<br \/>\nconsequence of acquittal of Bhola singh. Thus neither of the<br \/>\ntwo appeals was dealt with property by the High Court.\n<\/p>\n<p>     We have,  therefore, gone\tthrough the  evidence of the<br \/>\ntwo\teye  witnesses.\t We  find  that\t their\tevidence  is<br \/>\nconsistent and\tdoes not  suffer from  any  infirmity  which<br \/>\nwould create  any doubt\t regarding  their  having  seen\t the<br \/>\nincident. both\tthe courts below were also of the same view.<br \/>\nThey had  no reason  to falsely\t involve the  respondents if<br \/>\nthey were  really not the assailants. The eye witnesses have<br \/>\nstated that  Bhola Singh  have given two blows with a kirpan<br \/>\non back\t of the\t knee of  the deceased\tand Mithu  Singh had<br \/>\ngiven one  gandasa blow\t on his\t right\tleg  and  after\t the<br \/>\ndeceased had  fallen down  they had  given two or three more<br \/>\nblows on  the back of his leg. the trial court held that the<br \/>\ntwo injuries found on the head and neck of the deceased were<br \/>\ncaused by  bhola Singh\tand if\tMithu Singh had given two or<br \/>\nthree blows  to the  deceased after  he had fallen down then<br \/>\nthere should  have been\t two or\t three more  injuries on the<br \/>\nperson of  the deceased. As there were only five injuries on<br \/>\nthe person  of the  deceased the  trial court  held that the<br \/>\nevidence of the eye witnesses as regards the blows stated to<br \/>\nhave been given by Mithu Singh after the deceased had fallen<br \/>\ndown stood  contradicted by medical evidence had fallen down<br \/>\nstood contradicted  by medical\tevidence. It  also held that<br \/>\nthe injury  on the right leg of the deceased could have been<br \/>\ncaused by  a fall.  It, therefore,  gave benefit of doubt to<br \/>\nMithu singh  and acquitted  him. The  High court  was of the<br \/>\nview that  it was not proved beyond doubt by the prosecution<br \/>\nthat the  injuries on  the head and the neck of the deceased<br \/>\nwere caused  by Bhola singh alone or by Mithu Singh alone or<br \/>\nby both\t of them together. What the trial court and the High<br \/>\nCourt failed  to appreciate  was that  both Bhola  Singh and<br \/>\nMithu Singh  had  come\ttogether  to  the  place  where\t the<br \/>\ndeceased was  working along  with his  brother PW-3  Gamdoor<br \/>\nSingh and  PW-4 Bhura  singh. both of them had assaulted the<br \/>\ndeceased before\t he had\t fallen down. The injuries stated to<br \/>\nhave been  caused by  Mithu Singh  on  the  right  calf\t was<br \/>\ncorroborated by the medical evidence. It, was therefore, not<br \/>\nat all proper to reject the evidence of the eye witnesses as<br \/>\nregards the  said injury caused by Mithu singh on the ground<br \/>\nthat the  said injury  was also\t possible by  a\t fall.\tThus<br \/>\npresence and  participation by\tboth Bhola  Singh and  Mithu<br \/>\nSingh was proved by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt.<br \/>\nBoth of\t them had common animus against the deceased as they<br \/>\nhad not liked his illicit intimacy with their mother. It was<br \/>\nalso not  correct not  to accept  the evidence\tof  the\t eye<br \/>\nwitnesses on  the ground  that no  injury was  found on\t the<br \/>\nperson of  the deceased\t as a result of any blow having been<br \/>\ngiven to  him by Mithu Singh after he had fallen down on the<br \/>\nground. They  had not stated that the blows given by him had<br \/>\nin fact\t caused injuries  to  the  deceased.  It  was  quite<br \/>\nlikely, as  the deceased was till then to seriously injured,<br \/>\nthat the  deceased  had\t avoided  those\t blows.\t Even  while<br \/>\nproceeding on  the basis that no further blows were given by<br \/>\nMithu Singh after the deceased had fallen down on the ground<br \/>\nit ought to have been appreciated that the said circumstance<br \/>\ncould not  have made  any difference as regards his guilt as<br \/>\nboth of\t them were  acting in  furtherance of  their  common<br \/>\nintention. The words uttered when they saw the deceased near<br \/>\nthat place  were that\tthey would teach a lesson to him for<br \/>\nhaving illicit\trelations with their mother and they clearly<br \/>\nindicated their intention to finish him.\n<\/p>\n<p>     It was  however urged  by the  learned counsel  for the<br \/>\nrespondents that  the evidence of PW-4 Bhura Singh discloses<br \/>\nthat the  deceased was\tnot well   on that day as he had not<br \/>\ntaken tea  in the  morning and, therefore, it was not likely<br \/>\nthat he\t had gone for work on that day. The deceased and his<br \/>\nbrothers belonged  to village  Jakhepal while  the dead body<br \/>\nwas found  near Indira\tBasti  of  Sunam  Town.\t Unless\t the<br \/>\ndeceased had  gone there  his dead  body could not have been<br \/>\nfound from that place.\n<\/p>\n<p>     It was  also contended  by the  learned counsel for the<br \/>\nrespondents that  not a single independent  witness from the<br \/>\nlocality was  examined by the prosecution to prove its case.<br \/>\nWe do  not find\t any substance\tin this contention also. The<br \/>\nevidence of the Investigating Officer (P.W.7) discloses that<br \/>\nthe place where the incident took place was little away from<br \/>\nSunam Town  as one  had to  pass through the market and then<br \/>\nreach that place. He has also stated that when he along with<br \/>\nother police  personnel had  reached that   place  none\t was<br \/>\npresent there. P.W-10, the sub Inspector who had accompanied<br \/>\nhim has\t also stated  that he  could not record statement of<br \/>\nany person  residing nearby as the women folk had closed the<br \/>\ndoors of  their houses and they had refused to come out even<br \/>\nthough they  were called  for the purpose of recording their<br \/>\nstatements. It\tis, therefore,\tnot correct  to say  that no<br \/>\nattempt was  made by  the Investigating\t Officer to find out<br \/>\nwhether any  independent witnesses  had seen the incident or<br \/>\nnot.  As  none\thad  come  forward  as\tan  eye\t witness  no<br \/>\nindependent person  could  have\t been  examined\t as  an\t eye<br \/>\nwitness.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The evidence  of PWs.3  and 4 leaves no doubt that both<br \/>\nBhola Singh  and Mithu\tSingh were  acting in furtherance of<br \/>\ntheir common  intention when  they  had\t assaulted  deceased<br \/>\nJaggar Singh and caused his death. We, therefore, allow both<br \/>\nthese appeals  and set\taside the  common judgment and order<br \/>\npassed in  criminal Appeal  Nos. 438-DB\t of 19887and 43-DB f<br \/>\n1988. Both  the respondents  are convicted  for the  offence<br \/>\npunishable under  Section 302  read with  Section 34 IPC and<br \/>\nsentenced to  suffer imprisonment  for life. The respondents<br \/>\nwere  on   bail\t during\t  the  pendency\t of  these  appeals,<br \/>\ntherefore, they\t are ordered  to surrender  to\tcustody\t for<br \/>\nserving out the sentence  imposed upon them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India State Of Punjab vs Bhola Singh &amp; Anr on 31 March, 1998 Author: Nanavati Bench: G.T. Nanavati, V.N. Khare PETITIONER: STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. RESPONDENT: BHOLA SINGH &amp; ANR. DATE OF JUDGMENT: 31\/03\/1998 BENCH: G.T. NANAVATI, V.N. KHARE ACT: HEADNOTE: JUDGMENT: J U D G M E N T NANAVATI, J. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>State Of Punjab vs Bhola Singh &amp; Anr on 31 March, 1998 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/state-of-punjab-vs-bhola-singh-anr-on-31-march-1998\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State Of Punjab vs Bhola Singh &amp; 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