JUDGMENT

M.K. Mukherjee, J.- These two appeals have been heard together as they stem from related incidents and this judgment will dispose of both of them. Facts leading to these appeals and relevant for their disposal are as under.

2. Teja Singh (since deceased) was a resident of village Manakpur under Fetehabad Police Station where, he used to live with his family which included his brother Harnek Singh (P.W.7) and his (P.W.7's) son Hardev Singh (P.W.8). In front of their house lived appellants Jaswant Singh and Bikar Singh, who are the sons of Inder Singh. About a year before the incidents with which we are concerned in these appeals, an unrelenting quarrel started between Harnek Singh on the one hand and Jaswant Singh and Bikar Singh on the other regarding the use of the public passage in between their houses which compelled the local police to initiate security proceedings under Section 107 Cr. P.C. against both the parties.

3. On October 27, 1986, Harnek Singh, Teja Singh and Hardev Singh had gone to Fetehabad to attend Court as, the security proceeding instituted against them was fixed for hearing on that day. After attending Court they came to the bus stand to catch the bus which was to leave for their village at 2.45 P.M. On boarding the bus they found the appellants Jaswant Singh and Bikar Singh sitting inside. On the way when the bus stopped at Banwalli, appellants Darshan Singh, son of Jaswant Singh, and Dilbag Singh, son of Bikar Singh, also boarded it. When the bus reached their destination at Manakpur bus stand at 3.45 P.M. Teja Singh alighted therefrom through the front door and so did Jaswant Singh, Darshan Singh, Bikar Singh and Dilbag Singh. Harnek Singh and Hardev Singh however alighted through the rear door. On coming out of the bus Harnek Singh and Hardev Singh found appellant Dara Singh, another son of Jaswant Singh, standing there. They however along with: Teja Singh proceeded towards their village abadi. At that time Darshan Singh, who was about two paces behind them, took out a pistol from the pocket of his trousers and fired a shot on the back of the shoulder of Teja Singh. On being so hit Teja Singh started running. Darshan Singh, Bikar Singh and Jaswant Singh chased him and ultimately succeeded in surrounding him. Darshan Singh then fired another shot which hit on the right side of the chest of Teja Singh. Teja Singh fell down by the side of the road near a pond. While he was so lying Dara Singh and Dilbag Singh hacked him with gandhalas. Thereafter ail the five appellants ran away towards their fields. Harnek Singh and Hardev Singh then came near Teja Singh and found him dead. Leaving Hardev Singh near the dead body Harnek Singh left for Fetehabad Police Station to lodge a report. On the way Harnek Singh met S.I. Shiv Dayal (P.W.9) at the bus stand where he was on patrol duty, and reported the incident to him. After recording his statement (Ext. PP), S.I. Shiv Dayal sent it to the Police Station for registration of a case and took up investigation.

4. S.I. Shiv Dayal then went to the spot, held an-inquest over the dead body of Teja Singh and forwarded it for post-mortem examination. Later in the night Inspector Jai Narain (P.W.15) Station House Officer of Fatehabad Police Siation went to the spot and took over investigation of the case from S.I. Shiv Dayal. He however could not make a proper spot inspection as it was late in the night and therefore went in search of the appellants. On the following morning he went to the spot again, prepared a site plan and seized some blood stained earth from the place where he had found the dead body of Teja Singh. He also recovered a 12 bore empty cartridge which he packeted and sealed.

In course of the investigation he received one sealed parcel containing pellets and wads from the doctor who had extracted them from inside the body of Teja Singh at the time of post-mortem. He arrested Dara Singh and Dilbag Singh and pursuant to the disclosure statements made