{"id":226707,"date":"2003-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2003-02-23T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/kikar-singh-so-jarnail-singh-so-vs-the-state-of-punjab-on-24-february-2003"},"modified":"2016-05-13T06:17:52","modified_gmt":"2016-05-13T00:47:52","slug":"kikar-singh-so-jarnail-singh-so-vs-the-state-of-punjab-on-24-february-2003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/kikar-singh-so-jarnail-singh-so-vs-the-state-of-punjab-on-24-february-2003","title":{"rendered":"Kikar Singh S\/O Jarnail Singh S\/O … vs The State Of Punjab on 24 February, 2003"},"content":{"rendered":"
Punjab-Haryana High Court<\/div>\n
Kikar Singh S\/O Jarnail Singh S\/O … vs The State Of Punjab on 24 February, 2003<\/div>\n
Bench: R Anand, V Singh<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
JUDGMENT<\/p>\n
 1. Kikkar Singh son of Jarnail Singh son of Sohan
\nSingh, a young boy of 25 years, at the time of trial,
\nresident of village Katianwall, has filed the present
\ncriminal appeal and it has been directed against the
\njudgment and order dated 13.10.1995 passed by the Court of
\nAdditional Sessions Judge, Faridkot, who convicted the
\nappellant under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and
\nsentenced him to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of
\nRs. 2, 000\/-. In default of payment of fine, the appellant
\nwas directed to undergo R.I. for three months for
\nallegedly committing the murder of Gurcharan Singh alias
\nChanna who was also a young boy of 22 years at the time of
\nthe occurrence which took place on 30.12.1990 i the
\nrevenue limits of village Dabwali Dhab.\n<\/p>\n
 2. Appellant Kikkar Singh was chargesheeted under
\nSection 302\/34 IPC on the allegations that on 30.12.1990
\n(in the chargesheet wrong date has been mentioned as
\n25.12.1990) in the area of village Dabwali Dhab, in
\nfurtherance of the common intention with his co-companion
\nParkash Singh alias Pasha ( proclaimed offender)
\nintentionally caused murder of Gurcharan Singh alias
\nChanna son of Makhan Singh.\n<\/p>\n
 3. The FIR in this case was lodged by Makhan
\nSingh, who is none-else, but the father of the deceased,
\nbefore SHO Raghbir Singh, Police-Station, Sadar Malout and
\nthe complainant made a statement to the effect that he is
\na resident of village Dabwali Dhab and has put up his
\nDhani in the fields in which he is residing along with his
\nfamily members. Last night of 30.12.1990, he along with
\nhis brother Lakha Singh son of Teja Singh and his son
\nGurcharan Singh alias Channa, was sleeping in a separate
\nroom as usual. At about 8.30 P.M. two persons came at
\nthe Dhani and those persons had wrapped themselves with
\nLohies. One of them was clean shaven. He was of a medium
\nstructure and moderately built and was having small size
\ngun in his hand. The other person was tall having a beard
\nand long hairs. He was moderately built and he was armed
\nwith a big size gun. At that time, the kerosene oil lamp
\nwas burning in the Dhani. Those two persons called the
\nname of the complainant and enquired from him as to where
\nhis son Gurcharan Singh was. Upon this the complainant
\nreplied that he along with his family is sleeping in the
\nother room. Thereafter, the complainant got his son woke
\nup, as a result of which Gurcharan Singh came out of the
\nroom. One of the persons who was a Sikh gentleman them
\nsaid that Gurcharan Singh had violated the sanctity of the
\nAmrit. Thereafter, the other man (clean shaven) fired
\nshots hitting on the right side of the ear, neck, jaw and
\nback side of the shoulder of Gurcharan Singh. As a result
\nof those fire arm shots, the deceased fallen down on the
\nground and thereafter, both those assailants went away
\nfrom the Dhani by raising threats that in case the
\ncomplainant party informed the police, the entire family
\nwould be liquidated. After the departure of the
\nassailants from the spot, the complainant verified and
\nfound that his son Gurcharan Singh alias Chhana has since
\nexpired. It is the case of the complainant that out of
\nthe fear during the night, they did not go to the
\npolice-station in order to lodge the report. In the
\nmorning of 31.12.1990. he after leaving his other\/son
\nHakam Singh by the side of the dead body in order to guard
\nit, he along with his brother Lakha Singh had come to the
\npolice-station in order to lodge the first information
\nreport. Giving the motive for the murder, it has been
\nalleged by the complainant that unidentified persons had
\nmurdered his son Gurcharan Singh as the latter violated
\nthe sanctity of the Amrti. FIR was recorded over and
\nexplained to the complainant Shri Makhan Singh who
\nthumb-marked the same in token of its correctness and was
\nattested by S.I. Raghbir Singh. The Thanedar made
\nendorsement underneath the said statement and thereafter,
\nhe along with the police-party and the complainant went to
\nthe place of occurrence. Investigation was taken up by
\nInspector Raghbir Singh who prepared the rough sit plain
\nof the place of occurrence. He also prepared the inquest
\nreport and the dead body was handed over to the constable
\nfor post-mortem examination. During the course of
\ninvestigation, it was found that Hakam Singh brother of
\nthe deceased had recognised and identified the assailant
\nas Kikkar Singh. Resultantly, he was arrested on
\n28.1.1991. On interrogation of Kikkar Singh, it was
\nrevealed that companion of Kikkar Singh was one Parkash
\nSingh alias Pasha but he could not be arrested and was
\ndeclared proclaimed offender.\n<\/p>\n
 4. It may be mentioned here that when the spot was
\ninspected by the Investigation Officer, he took into
\npossession the blood stained earth vide recovery memo
\nEx. PG and he further found six empty cartridges of A.K.47
\nassault rifle. He made a sealed parcel o the empty
\ncartridges by using his own seal and those were taken into
\npossession vide memo Ex.PH. After the post-mortem
\nexamination, the clothes of the deceased were also taken
\ninto possession.\n<\/p>\n
 5. The investigation Officer sent the dead body of
\nGurcharan Singh alias Channa to the hospital for
\npost-mortem examination vide separate request Ex. PC and
\nDr. Lakhbir Singh PW-1 conducted the post-mortem
\nexamination on the dead body of the deceased and found the
\nfollowing injuries on his person:\n<\/p>\n
 1. Penetrating lacerated wound was present with
\ninverted margins 1\/2 cm in diameter
\nblackening of skin around the wound was
\npresent on face. It was 4 cm left to the
\nouter canthes of left eye.\n<\/p>\n
 On dissection underlying bone and major
\nblood vessels were lacerated, clotted blood
\nwas present. Brain matter was lacerated. ON
\nits exit the occipital bond was fractured
\nforming a wound 6 cm x 5 cm with everted
\nmargins on right side of scalp just behind
\nthe right year.\n<\/p>\n
 2. Penetrating lacerated wound 1\/2 cm in
\ndiameter was present just below the lobule of
\nleft ear with inverted margins with
\nblackening of skin around the wound. Clotted
\nblood was present.\n<\/p>\n
 On dissection underlying tissues and major
\nblood vessel were lacerated and had made a
\nexit forming a wound 5×4 cm on the right side
\nof the face with everted margins just below
\nthe right ear fracturing the right mandible.\n<\/p>\n
 3. Lacerated penetrating wound 1\/2 cm in
\ndiameter with inverted margin and blocking
\nof skin around it,  (SIC) cm above the left
\nelbow on the front of the left arm. On
\ndissection underlying muscles and blood
\nvessels were lacerated. Clooted blood was
\npresent. Resulting wound 3×4 cm on the
\nback of left arm,  6 cm above left elbow
\njoint with everted margin.\n<\/p>\n
 4. Lacerated wound 1\/2 cm in diameter on
\nfront of right side of chest, 17 cm below
\nright nipple. Blackening around the wound
\nwas present. Underlying muscles and blood
\nvessel and liver was lacerated. Clotted
\nblood was present. It had made a wound of
\nexit 3 x 2 cm on back of right chest, 4 cm
\nright to the midline with everted margins.
\nAll other organs were healthy”.\n<\/p>\n
 6. The stomach contained 200mls of semi-digested
\nfood, death in the opinion of the doctor was due to shock
\nand haemorrhage resulting from the above injuries caused
\nby fire arms. It has also been opined by the doctor that
\nall the injuries wee ante mortem in nature and were
\nsufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of
\nnature. The probable time that elapsed between the
\ninjuries and death was immediate and between death and
\npost mortem it was within 24 hours. Ex. PB is the correct
\ncarbon copy of the post-mortem report and bears the
\nsignatures of this doctor, Ex. PD was inquest report
\nrunning into 18 pages which was sent along with the dead
\nbody for the purpose of post-mortem examination. It may
\nalso be mentioned here that from the arrest of the
\nappellant, no weapon was recovered by the Investigating
\nOfficer, finally, on the completion of the investigation
\nof the case, accuses was challenged in the court of Area
\nMagistrate under Section 302\/34 of the Indian Penal Code
\nby showing Parkash Singh as a proclaimed offender,
\nlearned Magistrate Muktsar supplied the copies of the
\ndocuments to the accused as relied upon by the prosecution
\nunder the law and vide commitment order dated 25.9.1991
\ncommitted the accused to the Court of Session to face the
\ntrial under Section 302\/34 of the Indian Penal Code.\n<\/p>\n
 7. On 11.10.1991, the learned trial Court framed a
\ncharge under Section 302\/34 of the Indian Penal Code
\nagainst Shri Kikkar Singh appellant. It was read over and
\nexplained to him and the appellant pleaded not guilty to
\nthe charge and claimed a trial.\n<\/p>\n
 8. In order to prove the charge, the prosecution
\nexamined Dr. Lakhbir Singh PW-1 who conducted the
\npost-mortem examination on the dead body of the deceased.
\nThe observations of the doctor have already been
\nreproduced by us in the earlier portion of this judgment.\n<\/p>\n
 9. PW-2 is Shri Makhan Singh complainant, and PW-3
\nis Hakam Singh son of Makhan Singh and PW-4 is Lakha Singh
\nthe brother of the complainant. PW-4 is Shri Surrender’
\nSingh D.S.P. who simply deposed that on the completion of
\nthe investigation of the case, he submitted the final
\nreport under Section 173 Cr.P.C. and PW-6 is the
\nInvestigating Officer. This witness also deposed that
\nHakam Singh had not named the accused in the First
\nInformation Report. The Investigation Officer also did
\nnot make a mention of the name of the accused in the rough
\nsite plan Ex. PJ as he was not named by the witnesses
\nFurther, the accused was not named in the statement of
\nLakha Singh and Makhan Singh under Section 175 Cr.P.C. A
\ncategorical suggestion was put to this witness that
\nsupplementary statement of Hakam Singh was recorded on
\n6.1.1991 just to work out the crime. PW-7 is Head
\nConstable Bhajan Singh who simply took the dead body of
\nthe deceased for the purpose of post-mortem examination.
\nFinally the prosecution tendered in evidence the affidavit
\nEx. Pa and Ex. PM of the formal witnesses and closed the
\ncase.\n<\/p>\n
 10. The statement of the accused was recorded under
\nSection 313 Cr.P.C. and all the incriminating
\ncircumstances appearing in the prosecution evidence were
\nput to the accused. Accused denied those circumstances
\nand stated that he has been falsely implicated at the
\ninstance of Bagicha Singh Sar panch of village Katian Wali
\nwho is the relative of PW Makhan Singh and Hakam Singh
\nbecause he had some money dispute with Bagicha Singh
\nSarpanch.\n<\/p>\n
 11. When called upon to enter into his defence, the
\naccused did not lead any evidence.\n<\/p>\n
 12. Learned Additional Sessions Judge.
\nFaridkot, virtually in one para judgment, came to the
\nconclusion that appellant was responsible for the murder
\nof Gurcharan Singh and he sentenced the appellant in the
\nmanner as stated above and aggrieved by his conviction and
\nsentence, the present appeal.\n<\/p>\n
 13. We have heard Shri T.P.S. Mann, learned counsel
\nappearing on behalf of the appellants and Shri G.S. Gill,
\nSr. DAG, Punjab, appearing on behalf of the respondent and
\nwith their assistance have gone through the record of the
\ncase.\n<\/p>\n
 14. Before we deal with the submissions raised by
\nthe counsel for the parties, we want to reproduce the
\nreasons given by the learned trial Court in para No.16 of
\nthe judgment, as in our opinion the cryptic judgment
\nwritten by the learned Additional sessions Judge and
\nconfining his discussion in one para, was not only unjust,
\nimproper but it shows that the proper law on the point of
\nidentification has not been appreciated by the learned
\ntrial Court. Para No. 16 of the judgment of the trial
\nCourt is reproduced as under:-\n<\/p>\n
  “16. The learned defence counsel has argued
\nthat in F.I.R. there is no mention of the name
\nof the accused and it is at a later stage that
\nthe accused has been falsely implicated in the
\npresent case at the instance of one Bagicha
\nSingh Sarpanch of village Katianwali. This
\nargument is devoid any force. The accused has
\nbeen duly identified by the eye witnesses and
\nit is in evidence that at that time there was
\nlight of the lamp min the house when the
\naccused entered the house of the complainant
\nand shot Gurcharan Singh dead by firing at him.
\nThose days when the present occurrence took
\nplace, were the days of terrorism and fear was
\nwrit at large in the hearts and minds of the
\npeople in general. No body wanted to open the
\nmouth against the terrorists who indulged in
\nindiscriminate firing and shooting whosoever
\ncame before them. So, it is not surprise that
\nthe FIR was lodged by the complainant as blind
\nFIR without naming any accused. Accused Kikar
\nSingh was later on arrested and he has been
\nfully identified by the sufferers who appeared
\nin the witness box as witness. No enmity
\nagainst the complainant or any PWs has been
\nattributed by the accused. Therefore, I am not
\ninclined to disbelieve the statements of the
\neye witnesses against the accused which are
\nfully corroborated by the medical evidence and
\ncircumstantial evidence, as such the arguments
\nof the learned defence counsel are rejected”.\n<\/p>\n
 15. It is blind murder. The occurrence has taken
\nplace in the house of Makhan Singh, we are not doubting
\nthe presence of Makhan Singh, his son or brother but we
\nare doubting the veracity of these witnesses whether they
\nwere in a position to identify the assailants or not.\n<\/p>\n
 16. Let us can through the case of the prosecution
\nand the evidence led by it from the very beginning, the
\ncase set up by the complainant before the police was that
\non the night of occurrence, he along with his brother
\nLakha Singh and his son of Gurcharan Singh was sleeping in
\na separate room as usual and at about 8.30 P.M. two persons
\ncame at the Dhani wrapped in Lohis. Out of them one was a
\nclean shaven and the other was having a beard and long
\nhairs. It is the case of the complainant that in his
\npresence and in the presence of Lakha Singh Shri Gurcharan
\nSingh was murdered and after the occurrence he left behind
\nhis other son Hakam Singh bear the dead body and he along
\nwith lakhs Singh came to the police-station in order to
\nlodge the report. Even the trio would agree that this
\nmurder was committed during the days when terrorism was at
\npeak in the State of Punjab and this is even admitted  by
\nthe learned trial Court in para No. 16 of the Judgment. In
\nthe FIR which is also exhibited as PA, the name of the
\nKikar Singh or his companions Parkash Singh, have not been
\nmentioned. Rather the case set up by the complaint is
\nthat the assailants when came in the Dhani had wrapped
\nthemselves with Lohies suggesting that the assailants
\nwanted to conceal their identity lest they may not be
\nidentified by the inmates of the house. It is also the
\nadmitted case of the prosecution that Shri Kikkar Singh
\nappellant when arrested by the police has not been got
\nidentified by the complainant Shri Makhan Singh or his
\nbrother Lakha Singh. The supplementary statement which
\nhas been recorded is dated 6.1.1991. Makhan Singh
\nappeared as PW-2 for the first time in the trial Court.
\nHe started saying that Kikar Singh appellant fired a shot
\nupon his son which hit on the neck of Shri Gurcharan Singh
\nand he fired more shots upon Shri Gurcharan Singh hitting
\non his jaw, shoulders and others parts of the body and
\nthereafter, Kikar Singh accused and his companion went
\naway by giving threats that in case the matter was
\nreported to the police the entire family would be
\nfinished. In the cross-examination, it has been admitted
\nby Shri Makhan Singh that he knew Kikar Singh before this
\noccurrence and he did not name the accused to anybody.
\nHowever, he told the name of the accused to the police in
\nthe FIR the name of the accused is not mentioned. The
\ncase set up by the witness at the trial is that he knew
\nthe accused before this occurrence. It is also the case
\nset up by the prosecution that ear then lamp was burning in
\nthe house. Under these circumstances, what was the
\ndifficultly on the part of the witness Shri Makhan Singh
\nnot to disclose the name of the appellant or his companion
\nbefore the police on 31.12.1990 when the FIR was recorded
\nin the police-station. He further admits that Kikkar Singh
\nwas not got identified from him. He was successfully
\nconfronted with the contents of the FIR because in the FIR
\nthere is no mention that his other son Hakam Singh was
\npresent in the house.\n<\/p>\n
 17. Be that as it may even we believe the presence
\nof Hakam Singh at the house being family member still the
\npoint for identification will be a predominant factor for
\nour consideration. The reading of the FIR would show that
\nit was lodged in the police-station vide DDR No. 6 at 10.00
\nA.M. but this registration of the FIR is also falsified
\nfrom the statement of Makhan Singh. As per the statement
\nof Shri Makhan Singh, the police came to his house at
\nabout 7\/7.30 A.M. It is also the case of the prosecution
\nthat the inquest proceedings were prepared at the spot.
\nBut again it does not appear to be correct but as per the
\nstatement of Shri Makhan Singh the police took the dead
\nbody of his son Gurcharan Singh to the police-station and
\nthen to the hospital. Even at the time of the preparation
\nof the inquest report on 31.12.1990, the name oft he
\naccused were not disclosed. Thoughshir Makhan Singh has
\ntried to show that police had obtained his
\nthumb-impression on some document but he is not  in a
\nposition to tell the description\/detail of that document.
\nA very vital fact has been admitted by Shri Makhan Singh
\nin his cross-examination when he deposed that police had
\narrested the appellant on the next day of the occurrence
\ni.e. on 31.12.1990. Meaning thereby that the police
\nwanted to fix this appellant by one way or the other in
\norder to solve the crime. If the police had taken the
\naccused into custody on 31.12.1990, what was the
\ndifficulty on the part of the Investigating Officer in not
\nasking the appellant to conceal his face as his
\nidentification was to be got conducted from the witnesses
\nnamely Makhan Singh, Lakha Singh or Hakam Singh. On the
\ncontrary, the case set up by the Investigating Officer is
\nthat accused was arrested on 28.1.1991. The supplementary
\nstatement which was recorded by the Investigating Officer
\nof the witnesses is dated 6.1.1991. If the identity of
\nthe accused was known to the witnesses on the night of the
\noccurrence, their names should have firstly come in the
\nFIR; secondly in  the inquest report, thirdly in the
\nsummary of inquest report and fourthly in the document
\nprepared by the Investigating Officer at the spot or so
\nmuch so even on 31.12.1990, if entire allowance is given
\nto the prosecution witnesses that on account of fear they
\ndid not tell the names of the assailants to the
\nInvestigating Officer at the time of the lodging of the
\nFIR. After discussing the statement of PW now, we switch
\nover to the statement of Hakam Singh who is the real
\nbrother of the deceased. Though this witness tries to
\nimplicate the appellant in his substantive statement\/yet
\nwe are not in a position to accept his statement because
\nin the earlier statement recorded by the Thanedar on
\n31.12.1990 the witness has stated that some unknown
\npersons fired upon his brother. The witness had the
\ncheeks to deny that his statement on 31.12.19990 has not
\nbeen recorded. The fact is that his statement was
\nrecorded and his supplementary statement was also recorded
\non 6.1.1990. In the cross-examination, the witness also
\nadmits that he knew the accused earlier as he used to sell
\nillicit liquor prior to the occurrence. If this was the
\nsituation there was no bar on this witness to depose about
\nthe name of the culprit before the police on 31.12.1990.
\nHe could pass on that vital information about the identity
\nof the accused to his father or to his uncle. The very
\nfact that appellant was not named in the FIR or subsequent
\nto the FIR, would show that the identity of the
\nappellant is a doubtful affair.\n<\/p>\n
 18. The things do not rest here. Makhan Singh
\nadmits in the cross-examination that accused was
\nidentified at the spot. If this was the correct state of
\naffairs then the only inference which can be drawn is that
\nby not mentioning the name of the appellant or his
\ncompanion in the FIR, is vital and big blow to the case of
\nthe prosecution, Makhan Singh’s statement to the effect
\nthat accused was named before the police by his father
\nalso appears to be incorrect because Makhan Singh in his
\npolice FIR does not name any of the culprits. It is not
\nthe case of the prosecution nor it has been so projected
\neither before us or at the trial Court that the
\ninvestigation in this case was partial. It could not be
\npossibly partial because the accused was not known to
\nanybody and it is the case of the prosecution that Shri
\nKikkar Singh was apprehended somewhere on 28.1.1991. In
\nthe statement Ex. PA the name of Kikkar Singh is not
\nmentioned. The substantive statement of the witness that
\nKikkar Singh fired many shots upon his brother has been
\nsuccessfully confronted by the defence in the trial Court.\n<\/p>\n
 19. The next witness is Shri Lakha Singh, the
\nbrother of the complainant. This witness too deposed that
\nhe knew the accused earlier and that he did not give the
\ndescription of the accused as he was not known to him but the
\nthings are otherwise. This witness too has
\nsuccessfully been confronted with his police statement
\nEx. DB. There can be honest mistake with regard to the
\nidentity at the hands of one person. This mistake cannot
\nbe repeated by another person and again repeated by the
\nthird person. The endeavour on the part of t he
\nprosecution witness at the trial to make out a case of
\nknown eye witness is totally false. It is also the  case
\nof the prosecution that at the time of the arrest of he
\nappellant he was not found in possession of any fire arm.
\nIf we eliminate the presence of Makhan Singh\/Hakam
\nSingh and Lakha Singh from the spot we are only left with
\nthe medical evidence, we all know that medical evidence
\nis a corroborative piece of evidence. This aspect alone
\nis not enough to record a conviction. At the cost of
\nrepetition we may say that the question of identification
\nis predominant and sole point in this case. The
\nidentification of a culprit for the first time in Court is
\nvalueless.\n<\/p>\n
 20. In AIR 1979 SC 1127   Kanan and Ors. v. State
\nof Kerala,<\/a>  it was held as follows:-\n<\/p>\n
  “Where a witness identifies an accused who is
\nnot known to him in the Court for the first
\ntime, his evidence is absolutely valueless
\nunless there has been a previous T.I. parade
\nto test his powers of observations. The idea
\nof holding T.I. parade under Section 9 is to
\ntest the veracity of the witness on the
\nquestion of capability to identify an unknown
\nperson whom the witness may have seen only
\nonce. If No. T.I. parade is held then it will
\nbe wholly unsafe to rely on his bare testimony
\nregarding the identification of an accused for
\nthe first time in Court, Decision of Kerala
\nHigh Court reversed”\n<\/p>\n
 21. This Court in 1998 (3) RCR (Criminal) 680
\n  Balwan v. State of Haryana<\/a>  held that when material point
\nfor determination in a trial is about identification of
\nthe accused and it is established on the record that no
\nidentification parade was got conducted by the
\nInvestigating Officer then in such a situation the
\nidentity of the accused for the first time in Court is no
\nidentification in the eyes of law and in such a situation
\nthe benefit of doubt should go to the accused. Similar
\nview was adopted by the High Court in 1999(3) RCR
\n(Criminal) 326   Devinder Singh v. State of Haryana.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n
 22. The learned trial Court in the quoted para has
\nrecorded the conviction by relying upon the sole factor
\nthat the appellant Kikar Singh was identified in the Court
\nand that the prosecution witness has no axe to grind. Both
\nthe reasons are shallow and not legally tenable. The
\nlearned trial Court has forgotten a very vital fact that
\nthis occurrence had taken place during the days when
\nterrorism was at peak in the State of Punjab which was
\nburning due to the activities of the terrorists and
\nextremists. Such like offences used to be committed at
\nrandom and with impunity with no motive but to create
\nterror in the mind of innocent persons’ hundreds of
\ninnocent men or women and children became the target at
\nthe hands of terrorists whose main object was to break the
\nlaw and order situation in the present State but there was
\nno immediate motive on the part of such assailants. The
\nlaw Courts are subsurvient to the law of evidence. On
\nmere allegations howsoever strong may be, conviction
\ncannot be recorded. Those allegations have to be
\ntranslated into proof as per the law of evidence. In
\n  Shaik Umar Ahmad Shaikh and Anr. v. State of
\nMaharashtra  JT<\/a> 1998 (3) SC 535, the Honble Supreme Court
\nhas ruled that no doubt, the evidence of identification
\nparade is not a substantive evidence, but its utility is
\nfor purposes of corroboration. In other words, it is
\nutilised for corroboration of the sworn testimony of
\nwitnesses in Court as to the identity of the accused who
\nare strangers to them. The real and substantive evidence
\nof the identity of the accused comes when witnesses give
\nstatement in the Court, identifying the accused. When
\nthe accused were already shown to the witnesses their
\nidentification in the Court by the witnesses was
\nmeaningless. The statement of witnesses in the Court
\nidentifying the accused in the Court lost all its value
\nand could not be made basis for recording conviction
\nagainst the accused. The reliance of evidence of
\nidentification of the accused in the Court by the
\nDesignated Court, was an erroneous way of dealing with the
\nevidence of identification of the accused in the court by
\nthe two eye witnesses and had caused failure of justice.\n<\/p>\n
 23. In the present case, it has come from the
\nstatement of Makhan Singh that accused was in the custody
\nof the police on 31.12.1990 However, the Investigating
\nOfficer says that accused was apprehended on 28.1.1991
\nmeaning thereby that the appellant remained in custody of
\nthe police. In such a situation, a reasonable inference
\ncan always be drawn that the appellant was shown to the
\nwitnesses who could tell a lie for the purpose of taking
\nrevenge.\n<\/p>\n
 24. From above discussion, we have tried to show
\nthat the finding of conviction recorded by the learned
\ntrial Court in para No. 16 of the judgment is not
\nsustainable in the eyes of law. Therefore, we allow this
\nappeal, set aside the judgment and order of conviction and
\nsentence and acquit the appellant of the charge framed
\nagainst him. He shall be set at liberty forthwith if not
\nwanted to convicted in any other case. The case property
\nshall stand confiscated to the state and shall be
\ndestroyed according to rules. Let intimation about this
\nacceptance of this appeal be sent to the jail authorities
\nand Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot so that the
\nappellant may be set at liberty if he is in custody.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Punjab-Haryana High Court Kikar Singh S\/O Jarnail Singh S\/O … vs The State Of Punjab on 24 February, 2003 Bench: R Anand, V Singh JUDGMENT 1. Kikkar Singh son of Jarnail Singh son of Sohan Singh, a young boy of 25 years, at the time of trial, resident of village Katianwall, has filed the present […]<\/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":[8,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-court","category-punjab-haryana-high-court"],"yoast_head":"\nKikar Singh S\/O Jarnail Singh S\/O ... vs The State Of Punjab on 24 February, 2003 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court & 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\/kikar-singh-so-jarnail-singh-so-vs-the-state-of-punjab-on-24-february-2003\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kikar Singh S\/O Jarnail Singh S\/O ... vs The State Of Punjab on 24 February, 2003 - 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