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Supreme Court Of India
Mohinder Singh
Versus
State
Decided On : October 17, 1950
CRIMINAL LAW - Murder - Conviction based on insufficient evidence - Standard of proof in alibi plea - Duty of prosecution to prove injuries caused by weapon alleged - Expert evidence necessary to determine nature of injuries and possibility of causing them with weapon alleged - Conviction set aside due to lack of adequate evidence.
Fact of the Case:
Mohinder Singh was convicted of murdering Dalip Singh and injuring Jita Singh. The prosecution alleged that Mohinder Singh and Gurnam Singh attacked Jita and Dalip Singh near a Gurdwara. Jita was shot in the neck, and Dalip was shot in the chest and head. Dalip died on the spot. Mohinder Singh claimed alibi, stating he was at the Naib Tehsildar's Court on the day of the incident.
Finding of the Court:
The High Court upheld the conviction, but the Supreme Court found the evidence insufficient to prove the charges against Mohinder Singh. The Court noted that the nature of the injuries on Dalip Singh was not adequately explained by expert evidence, and it was unclear whether the injuries were caused by a gun or a rifle. The Court also found that the alibi plea was not properly considered, as the standard of proof for alibi should be the same as for the prosecution evidence.
Issues: 1. Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mohinder Singh caused the injuries to Dalip Singh and Jita Singh? 2. Whether the alibi plea of Mohinder Singh was properly considered by the Courts below?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The prosecution has the burden of proving the entire case beyond reasonable doubt. In this case, the prosecution failed to prove that the injuries were caused by the weapon alleged, as there was no expert evidence to determine the nature of the injuries and the possibility of causing them with the weapon alleged. 2. The standard of proof for alibi plea should be the same as for the prosecution evidence. In this case, the alibi plea was not properly considered, as the Courts below did not give due weight to the evidence supporting the alibi.
Final Decision: The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction of Mohinder Singh, and directed his release.
Judgment
FAZL ALI, J.
( 1 ) THIS is an appeal by special leave from the judgment of the High Court of Punjab upholding the conviction of the appellant, Mohinder Singh, under Ss. 302 and 307 read with S. 34, Penal Code, and confirming the sentence of death passed against him by the Sessions Judge of Ferozepore.
( 2 ) THE case for the prosecution which has been substantially accepted by the trial Judge and the High Court is briefly as follows. Sometime in January, 1949, one Bachittar Singh brother of Dalip Singh who is said to have been murdered, lodged a complaint before the Naib Tehsildar at Zira to the effect that a tree belonging to him had been cut by 7 persons, including Mohinder Singh, the appellant. On 28-3-1940 which was the date fixed for hearing of the case before the Naib Tehsildar, Jita Singh and Dalip Singh, the two brothers of Bachittar Singh, were attacked by the appellant and one Gurnam Singh, a lad of 17, near a Gurdwara at about mid-day, when they were returning from their field. Jita Singh was then carrying a load of fodder on his head while Dalip Singh had sickles in his hand. Jita Singh was the first to be attacked near a tailors shop by Mohinder Singh who fired at him from behind hitting him on the neck whereupon he fell down together with the bundle of fodder. Dalip Singh, who was following Jita Singh, then ran backwards and he was chased by Gurnam Singh round the outer boundary of a tank which was close-by. Mohinder Singh ran on the other side of the tank in the opposite direction and confronted him and shot him with a gun on the chest whereupon he fell down. Meanwhile Gurnam Singh had also reached the spot and he fired with his rifle from a distance of about 4 or 5 feet near about Dalip Singhs ear while he was lying sideways. The injuries proved fatal and Dalip Singh died on the spot.
( 3 ) THE same day at 3 p. m. Jita Singh went to the police station at Dharamkot, which is at a distance of 3 miles from village Augur, where the occurrence had taken place, and lodged a first information report, charging Mohindar Singh with having caused injury to him, and Mohindar Singh and Gurnam Singh with the murder of Dalip Singh and the police after investigating the case sent up a charge-sheet against the two accused persons. Thereafter they were tried by the Sessions Judge of Ferozepore under Ss. 302 and 307 read with S. 34, Penal Code. The appellant was sentenced to death under S. 302 and Gurnam Singh was sentenced to transportation for life under that section in view of his youth. They were also sentenced to 3 years rigorous imprisonment each under S. 307 read with S. 34, Penal Code.
( 4 ) IT appears that Dalip Singh had 6 injuries altogether which are described by the doctor who performed the post-mortem on his body in these words :"1. An irregularly round gun shot wound on the left temporal region, 1" diameter. The wound is 2 3/4 " behind outer canthus of left eye, its upper potion is at a level with the top of the pinna of the left ear, behind it commences at the cartilages of the ear which are broken. Brain is visible in the gap of the wound. An area 4" x 4" is blackened, the wound being situated in the middle of this area. 2. A gun shot wound 3/4" x 1/8" on the back of right mastoid region, upper end of the wound is 1" behind the root of the right ear. Direction is vertically oblique. On dissection the left temporal bone under injury No 1 is hole and its petrous portion shattered A linear fracture extends upwards and backwards, from the hole into the left parietal and occipital bones. After piercing through the left temporal lobe of the brain the projectile has pierced through the brain-stem, and emerged out as injury No. 2, holding the mastoid region of the skull on the right side. 3. A gun shot wound 3/4" x 5/8" on the left side of chest 2 1/2" above and behind the left nipple and 1/2" behind the anterior axillary fold as area 1" below the wound is bruised4. A gun shot wound 1/2" x 3/4" on the right side of
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