JUDGMENT :

Dr. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.

1. This appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 31.8.2004 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Appeal No. 167-DB of 1999, by which it has affirmed the judgment and order of the Trial Court in Sessions Case No. 5 of 1998 dated 22.2.1999 convicting the appellants for the offence punishable under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as `IPC') and awarding the sentence of life imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs.2,000/- each.

FACTS:

2. That on 9.10.1997, some labourers were working in the fields of Ishwar Singh (PW.2) and his son Amardeep was also with them. On that date at about 7.00 PM, Ishwar Singh (PW.2) started from his house for his fields in order to keep watch on the crop, relieving Amardeep from the fields. On his way, Ishwar Singh (PW.2) saw Kulvinder Singh and Jasvinder Singh/appellants at the tubewell of Singh Ram. Kulvinder Singh was sitting on a cot outside the tubewell while Jasvinder Singh was inside the tubewell. On being asked by Ishwar Singh (PW.2), Kulvinder Singh replied that they were there in a routine manner as it was the tubewell of Singh Ram, the father of Jasvinder Singh. Kulvinder Singh is the son of the maternal uncle of Jasvinder Singh. After reaching his fields, Ishwar Singh (PW.2) relieved his son Amardeep of his duties. The next morning i.e., on 10.10.1997, at about 6.00 AM, the labourers of Mange Ram, Sarpanch, (PW.11) of the same village came and told him that a dead body was lying near the paddy field in the water channel. Mange Ram (PW.11) reached the spot with his labourers. By that time several other villagers had also collected there and they identified the dead body as being that of Amardeep. They also found a large number of wounds caused by a sharp-edged weapon on the body. They immediately called Ishwar Singh (PW.2), father of the deceased to the spot.

3. Mange Ram (PW.11) then started for Police Station Radaur to make the report, however, he met Roop Chand SI/SHO, Police Station Radaur (PW.14) on the way and informed him that Amardeep had been murdered by some unknown person by assaulting him with sharp edged weapons. Roop Chand, SI, (PW.14) asked Mange Ram (PW.11) to go to the Police Station to lodge the complaint formally. Thus, the FIR was lodged. Roop Chand, SI, (PW.14) reached the place of occurrence and examined the dead body as well as the place where it was lying. He prepared the inquest report and sent the dead body of Amardeep for postmortem examination. Roop Chand, SI, (PW.14) also got the spot photographed, prepared a rough site plan of the place of occurrence and recorded the statements of the witnesses in which Ishwar Singh (PW.2) told him that about 8 to 10 days before the date of occurrence, he saw Jasvinder Singh/appellant grappling with his son Amardeep while they were playing kabaddi. He intervened and asked the reason for the same and Jasvinder Singh had disclosed that Amardeep was teasing his sister and wife. Ishwar Singh (PW.2) reprimanded his son Amardeep for the alleged misconduct, however, Amardeep protested and told him that the accusation was false.

4. During the course of the investigation, Roop Chand, SI, (PW.14) also came to know that on 9.10.1997 at about 7.30 PM, Ranbir Singh (PW.3) had started for his fields and when he was by the side of bund of the village, he heard shrieks from the place where the dead body of Amardeep was found lying the next morning. He also saw both the appellants running fast and they crossed him and on being asked as to why they were running, they did not give any reason but rather told him that they were running fast without any purpose. However, Ranbir Singh (PW.3) came to know only next morning that Amardeep had been murdered.

5. On 13.10.1997, Phool Singh (PW.10) produced the accused before Roop Chand, SI (PW.14) and told him that they had made extra-judicial confession before him about the killin