The importance of reliable evidence and the need to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases.

JUDGMENT :

MEHTA, J.

The appellants herein have been convicted and sentenced as below vide judgment dated 08.06.2018 passed by learned Addl. Sessions Judge No.2, Nohar District Hanumangarh in Sessions Case No.04/2016:-

2. Briefly stated facts relevant and essential for disposal of the appeal are noted herein below:-

3. Shri Bablu S/o Shri Sant Lal and his wife Smt. Roshni were assaulted in their house on 12.09.2015 between 08:45 to 09:15 PM. The house of Bablu and the house of his father Shri Sant Lal are having common back-wall. On hearing, a hue and cry being raised, Shri Sant Lal rushed to the house of Bablu where he claims to have seen that Subhash S/o Shri Jaikaran, Prem S/o Sohanlal, Mahendra S/o Devilal, Jagdish S/o Devilal, Sunil S/o Banwari and four-five others, had assaulted Bablu and his wife by sharp weapons. While Bablu’s wife Smt. Roshni expired as a result of the injuries suffered by her in the incident, Bablu received injuries and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. As per the prosecution, the SHO, Police Station Nohar, Shri Dinesh Kumar reached the place of incident on 13.09.2015 at 7.00 AM where Shri Sant Lal submitted a written report (Ex.P/5) to him. The SHO recorded an endorsement of case being made out for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 450, 323 and 143 IPC and thereafter, the report was forwarded from the crime scene to the Police Station Nohar with Foot Constable Chandrabhan. Consequently, an FIR No.466/2015 was registered at the Police Station, Nohar for the above offences and investigation commenced. The SHO claims to have prepared the spot documents etc.

4. One Shri Kedar Lal, ASI had been sent to the hospital where Bablu had been admitted and he recorded a Parchabayan (Ex.P/1) of Bablu on 13.09.2015 at Bombay Neuro Hospital, Sirsa wherein, Bablu alleged that on 12.09.2015, he and his wife Roshni were sleeping in the angan of their house. At about 9 O’ Clock, Hanuman Tandi, Jagdish S/o Shri Devilal, Mahendra S/o Shri Devilal, Subhash S/o Shri Jaikaran, Prem S/o Shri Sohan Lal and Sunil Nayak, all scaled the boundary wall and committed trespass into his house. Hanuman Tandi and Jagdish were armed with axes whereas others were having lathis in their hands. Jagdish gave an axe blow on his head with the intention to kill him. His wife Roshni tried to save him, upon which, Hanuman inflicted an axe blow on her head as a result whereof, she fell down at the spot. He raised a hue and cry on which, his father Sant Lal, neighbours Mada Nayak, Jaisingh, Raja, Rohtash etc. came around and challenged the assailants who ran away. His wife died at the spot as a result of the injuries caused on the head whereas, he himself was brought to the Nohar Hospital for treatment by Shrawan Mehra. From there, he was referred to Hanumangarh Hospital and further on to Hisar. The ASI Kedar Lal treated this Parchabayan to be an FIR and made an endorsement of offences punishable under Sections 450, 323, 147, 148 and 149 IPC being made out and presented the report to the SHO on 13.09.2015 at 01.30 P.M. The SHO made an endorsement thereupon that as FIR No.466/2015 had already been registered and investigation was being undertaken, this report be treated as a statement and attached in the file. It is noteworthy to mention here that the formal FIR No.466/2015, which was allegedly received at the police station on 13.09.2015 at 9.00 A.M., reached the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, Nohar