Back
High Court Of Delhi
RAM SHARMA - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF DELHI - Respondent
CRIMINAL APPEAL 120 of 1988
Decided On : 11/22/1994
Held: The case of the prosecution is based on the sole testimony of P.W. 1, Mohinder Kaur, the unfortunate widow who lost her three young sons in this macabre killings. We are unable to know from the evidence led before the trial court as to how and in what manner the investigating officers had identified the appellants as the culprits with the names of the culprits appearing in the said writing of Mohinder Kaur. The said writing given by Mohinder Kaur contained five culprits who were not fully described and it was incumbent upon the prosecution to have collected sufficient evidence to link the appellants to the particulars of the culprits given in that statement of Mohinder Kaur. We agree with the reasoning of the Additional Sessions Judge that delay occurring in disclosing the names of culprits by P.W.-l is quite explainable inasmuch as she must be in a trauma and she had no one to look forward for any help so that she could give her version of the events and on the first-opportunity becoming available to her, she gave out her side of the story in the said particular writing.
P.W.-8, Mahinder Singh, the investigating officer, in examination-in-chief, is silent as to how he came to arrest the appellants as the culprits of this case linking with the murder of the said three young sons of Mohinder Kaur and murder of Sohan Singh Pradhan. In such a serious case of murder, keeping in view the exceptional circumstances, it was incumbent upon the prosecution at least to have conducted the case properly before the trial court in eliciting all material facts from the investigator who apart from saying that he recorded the statements of the witnesses and arrested the accused did not disclose either in examination-in-chief or in cross-examination as to how he came to identify the appellants as the culprits in this case when there were no descriptions and full names of the culprits available to the police in the said writing of Mohinder Kaur.
No efforts have been made by the investigating officer to take resort to test identification parades in order to pin point the identity of the appellants as the culprits of whom some vague description were there in the writing of Mohinder Kaur. The test identification parade might not have been necessary if full particulars of the culprits had been given into the said writing of Mohinder Kaur but when there were no such particulars available and only vague details had been given about the culprits, it was absolutely necessary in this case that the investigating officer ought to have resorted to test identification parades of the appellants so that Mohinder Kaur could pin point the appellants if they were the same culprits whom she mentioned in her writing. (Paras 13 to 15)
Result: Appeals allowed. Appellant Lekh Raj has died and hence his appeal dismissed as abated. .
( 1 ) S/shi Sin Ram Sharma. Dharam Raj, Lekh Raj, Rajpal Singh. Suresh and Man Singh Rawat have been convicted. of offences punishable under Sections 436 and 302 read with Section 149 L P. C. and for offence punishable under Section 147 read with Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code vide judgment dated October 25, 1988 and by an order of the even date. they have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and pay a fine of Rs. 2,000. 00 each and in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months more under Section 302 read with Section 149 and to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and a fine of Rs. 2,0001- and in default rigorous imprinsonment for three months each for the offence punishable under Section 436 read with Section 149 I. P. C. and to undergo rigorous imprisonment of two years for offence punishable under Section 147 read with Section 148 I. P. C. each with the direction that substantive sentences shall run concurrently and fine, if realised, shall be paid to the heirs of the deceased. These four appeals have been filed by the said convicts challenging their convictions and the sentences.
( 2 ) COUNSEL for the appellant had informed during the course of the arguments that Lekh Raj. appellant. has since died. We required the State to verify this fact. After the judgment was reserved, the State has now filed the affidavit of Head Constable Rajinder Singh who had made the enquiries and had confirmed that Lekh Raj, appellant, has since died and he has also attached copy of the Death Certificate.
( 3 ) SOON after the assassination of Smt. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, on October 31. 1984. there had taken place herrendeous and shocking wid. e spread incidents of killing of innocent persons belonging to Sikh religion in Delhi and also at some other places in India. Not only the demons. in the torn" of human beings, had killed and burnt the Sikhs but had also burnt and looted the houses and the shops of the Sikh persons in some areas of Delhi
( 4 ) THE gruesome murders of innocent persons, which took place in three days, required to be investigated seriously and with some sense of urgency so that the culprits, who had committed such heinous crimes could be brought to took. The present case pertains to murder of three young sons of Smt. Mohinder Kaur. Public Witness -1. W/o Late Sh. Raghbir Singh and one Sohari Singh Pradhan. Mohinder Kaur alongwith her three sons namely Jasbir Singh. Sukhbir Singh and Kulvir Singh had token up residence in House No. R7.-84. Mahavir Enclave Part-II, New Delhi in about March 1984. Sohan Singh was in process of constructing a house in the vicinity of the house of mohinder Kaur and "was present in the said premises on the fateful day. Cr. A. 120/88, 122188 Cr. A. 148/88 and 163188 342
( 5 ) IT is the case of the prosecution that on November 1. 1984, at about 5. 30 P. M. or so, a crowd of hooligans comprising about 500 to 600 persons having lathis and sarias had raided the locality of Mahavir Enclave and they were carrying lighted torches and they burnt houses of Sikhs. . then- vehicies and they not only dragged the unarmed Sikh males but brutally battered them and killed them and put them to fire and their houses were also burnt and the belongings of the Sikhs lying in the houses and the shops were looted and such a crowd is stated to have forced Sohan Singh. Jasbir Singh and Kulvir Singh to come out from the house of Sohan Singh Pradhan and had killed them and burnt them and the other son Sukhvir Singh of Mohinder Kaur, who was stated to be hiding himself in the adjacent house of a neighbour named Bhardwaj was also forced to come out and was brutally killed and burnt by the said horde of hooligans.
( 6 ) LATER on Mohinder Kaur deposed in Court that one Harnam Singh. who was also present in the house of Sohan Singh Pradhan. was also killed and burnt in that very occurrence and besides that. one more unknown person was killed in th
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
