Important Point – Benefit of such doubt must go to appellants.

BADAR DURREZ AHMED, J.

1. This appeal is directed against the conviction order/judgment dated 12.05.2004 by the 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu in File No.59/Sessions whereby all the three appellants have been convicted under Sections 302/34 RPC for the murder of Jaspal Singh. The appeal is also directed against the order of sentence dated 18.05.2004 whereby all the appellants have been awarded sentence of life imprisonment plus fine of Rs.1000/-each, in default of which, they were directed to undergo three months simple imprisonment. Since the sentence of life imprisonment had been awarded to the appellants, the record of the case has been submitted to this Court in terms of Section 374 Cr.P.C for confirmation of the said sentence. Both the Criminal Appeal No.3/2004 and Confirmation No.3/2004 are being disposed of by this judgment.

2. The case for the prosecution is that on 20.08.1999 one Jasbir Singh (complainant) lodged a missing report in respect of his brother Jaspal Singh (deceased), who had reportedly left his house at Chatha Mill, Jammu for Government Medical College, Jammu in the evening of 17.08.1999, but had not returned home thereafter. The missing report No.3 in the daily diary of 20.08.1999 was recorded at Police Post Chatha. Thereafter, the search for the missing person (Jaspal Singh) lead to the recovery of his dead body stuffed in a gunny bag from the Canal on 22.08.1999. This lead to the registration of a case for an offence under Sections 302 RPC at Police Station Satwari on the basis of a docket dispatched by the Sub Inspector Davinder Parkash, who was posted as Officer Incharge of Police Post Chatha Farm at that time.

3. From the prosecution story it further emerges that while police officers and the relatives of the deceased were trying to trace out the deceased Jaspal Singh, a bicycle was recovered from the Canal at Jeevan Nagar which was identified as that of the deceased. The prosecution version further reveals that, this lead to an intensified search for the deceased which culminated in the recovery of the dead body of the deceased from the canal at Babliana near Engineering College. The body was found tied and stuffed in a gunny bag and the wearing apparel of the deceased were found tied to the body of the deceased in the form of 'Gathri'. Consequently, as indicated above, the offence under section 302 RPC was registered under FIR No.89/1999 dated 22.08.1999 at Police Station, Satwari. Thereafter, investigation ensued and it culminated in the filing of the challan in Court. In the meanwhile, as per the prosecution version, material collected during investigation had established the complicity of the appellants in the commission of the murder of the deceased. They were arrested and subjected to interrogation. It was the case of the prosecution that the motive for the crime was that the deceased had illicit relations with appellant Jagdish Kaur, but of late the deceased was attempting to establish illicit relations with the young daughter of Jagdish Kaur which was resented to by the appellants prompting them to engage in a conspiracy to commit the murder of the deceased. Apparently, as per the prosecution, disclosure statements were made by two of the accused/appellants in respect of their alleged blood stained clothes which allegedly were recovered at the instance of the said appellants (Ajeet Singh and Prem Singh). As per the prosecution, the clothes were sealed and sent for chemical examination to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Jammu. The prosecution version indicates that after meticulous planning, the appellants called the deceased (Jaspal Singh) to the house of the appellant Jagdish Kaur in the evening of 17.08.1999 and that Jaspal Singh went to her house on the pretext that he was going to see an ailing friend admitted in the Hospital at Bakshi Nagar. It is the prosecution version that the deceased Jaspal Singh was confined by the appellants at Jagdish Kaur’s house and was strangul