Judgement

VENKATARAMA AYYAR J.: On 17-5-1952 Sri Nand Lal Kureel, the City Magistrate of Manipuri, returned home from court at about 5 p.m. and found his son, Sumer Singh, aged about 10 or 11 years, missing. After some fruitless search, he reported the matter to the police. On information given later that night by P. W. 26, Sri Kureel sent for Bhola, the first accused, who stated that he and the second accused, Ram Singh, had in the course of the day lured away the boy. The second accused was then sent for, and he also made similar statement. Thereupon, Sri Kureel handed them over to the police for further investigation.

At about 3 a.m. on the same night; Bhola and Ram Singh took the police, Sri Kureel & some others to any outlying garden, and at their instance, the dead body of Sumer Singh was discovered in a well in that garden. The post-mortem examination showed that death was due to asphyxia. Both the courts below have held that it was not a case of accidental drowning but of murder by strangulation; and that finding has not been disputed. The only question is, who perpetrated the crime?

2. Accused 1 and 2 were in the lock-up until 22nd May, when they were taken into jail custody.