Judgement

MAHAJAN J. : The appellant was tried for the murder of two boys, Tek Chand and Rup Chand, aged 7 and 5 years respectively, by administering poison to them on 18-2-1950 at Ballabgarh. He was acquitted by the Sessions Judge of Hissar but on appeal by the State Government was convicted by the High Court of Punjab and sentenced to death. Hence this appeal by him under Article 134 (1) (a) of the Constitution.

2. On the afternoon of 18-5-1952 these two unfortunate boys went to witness a snake charmer s show in front of the house of one Shambu Dayal. It is alleged that there Puran, the appellant, made them eat some Churan which contained poison. When the boys returned home the elder one started having convulsions and his mother, Ram Kali, sent her daughter, Bimla, to call her father, Mulchand, from the post office, where he is employed as a telegraph peon. Her cries attracted Tribeni Pershad, Mulchand s brother, also to the place; as soon as Mulchand arrived, he went to fetch medical aid. The first person to arrive at the scene was homeopath, Dr. Gian Chand. He diagnosed that the boy was suffering from epileptic fits and went to his shop to fetch medicines. On his return he found one Sohanlal, Vaid, at the house. Both of them gave some medicines to the boy.

The younger boy Rup Chand also began to show signs of having convulsions. Gian Chand then asked Mulchand to send for other doctors, and Dr. Ram Parshad and a vaid, Uma Datt, came. Tek Chand was dead by then. The doctor treated Rup Chand with salt water and gave him enema but the treatment had no effect. Then he asked Chamanlal compounder, who was standing there, to bring a tube for washing the stomach as he suspected the case to be one of poisoning. Chamanlal left the place but did not return soon. The doctor himself went to get the tube and on reaching the Civil Hospital, he wrote out a report to the police and returned with the tube but by then Rupchand had expired.

3. The report from the doctor was received by the head constable Rameshwar Das and he registered a case at 5. 45 P. M. and proceeded to the spot and prepared the inquest report which was finished by 9-30 P. M. Puran was arrested at 10 O clock that night, and after investigation, was challenged for the offence of murdering the boys.

4. At the trial Rameshwar (P. W. 7) a priest of Ballabgarh and Kishan Chand, P. W. 8, a boy of 10 or 11 years of age, gave evidence that churan was administer by Puran to the two unfortunate boys in their presence. Their evidence did not impress the Sessions Judge and he declined to place any reliance on it. The High court accepted it and remarked that the Sessions Judge unnecessarily viewed it with suspicion by being unduly impressed by the fact that in the inquest report the name of Puran was a subsequent interpolation. We have been taken through the evidence of these two witnesses and have no hesitation in endorsing the opinion of the trial Judge that they are not witnesses of truth. Rameshwar stated as follows:

"About 5 months ago one afternoon at about 3 P. M., I was going to my house from the bazar and in the way I saw a snake charmer displaying his show in front of Shambu Dayal s house and when I was there I heard someone uttering m a loud voice Abe-kha le churan . I turned round and I saw Puran accused giving churan to Tek Chand & Rup Chand, sons of Mulchand. Two or three other little boys were also there. Puran placed his churan on the palms of these boys and they raised palms of their hands and took it near their mouth and then I passed on. I saw all this when passing my way and I did not stay there."

In cross-examination he admitted that there was a dispute between him and the accused s father about a wall built by him on a site claimed by the father of the accused. The witness thus cannot be considered to be quite a disinterested person. He said that he voluntarily went to the police and made his statement there at about 6-15 or 6-30 P. M. His name, however, is no