The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for prompt lodging of FIR, corroboration of oral evidence, and naming of accused at the earliest possible opportunity to ensure the reliability of the prosecution case.

JUDGMENT :

HARPREET SINGH BRAR, J.

[1] The above-said two appeals have been preferred against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 11.10.2013 passed by the Ld. Addl. Sessions Judge, Tarn Taran, whereby the appellants were convicted under Section 460 of Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 10 years each and to pay a fine of Rs.20,000/- each. In default of payment of fine, the appellants were ordered to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year each. These appeals are being disposed of by this common judgment as they have arisen out of the same judgment.

[2] Criminal Appeal No.S-1063-SB-2014 was admitted by this Court on 11.03.2014 and Criminal Appeal No.S-333-SB-2014 was admitted by this Court on 07.05.2014 respectively. Recovery of fine was ordered to remain stayed during the pendency of the appeals. A perusal of the orders suspending the sentence of the appellants during pendency of the present appeal indicates that each of the appellants has undergone more than 04 years of incarceration.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

[3] The brief facts of the prosecution case are that during the intervening night of 17/18th January, 2010 the complainant, namely, Kulwant Kaur wife of Sohan Singh was sleeping in the courtyard of her house along with her husband and youngest son Arvinder and the electric bulb was on. At about 1.30/2.00 p.m., the complainant and her husband woke up on hearing some noise and they found two unidentified persons standing near their cots. The husband of the complainant-Sohan Singh confronted them and asked for what purpose they had come there. When these persons tried to run away, Sohan Singh, husband of the complainant tried to catch them when one of the intruders, armed with a pistol gave a blow with the edge of that pistol near the nose of Sohan Singh. Thereafter, one of the intruders fired a shot at Sohan Singh which hit him at his stomach and he died on the spot after receiving the bullet injury. The complainant Kulwant Kaur and his son Arvinder Singh, both had witnessed the entire occurrence. They raised alarm and both the intruders ran away towards the outer gate. On hearing the firing of a gun shot, brother-inlaw Surjit Singh and nephew Baldev Singh of the complainant along with one Swaran Singh came inside the house of the complainant. Both the intruders had entered the house of the complainant with an intention to commit robbery and in the process, they had killed her husband Sohan Singh.

[4] On the basis of complainant's statement Ex.PA, an FIR was registered. The dead body was sent for postmortem examination. On 15.02.2010, complainant-Kulwant Kaur suffered a supplementary statement to the effect that she could not narrate the real sequence of events as she was frightened. On 18.01.2010, in fact, she had noticed that two persons namely Surjit Singh alias Seeta armed with 12 bore pistol and Nishan Singh had entered her house. These two persons were their neighbours and they started scuffling with her husband Sohan Singh and in the meantime, Swinder Singh alias Ninder Singh armed with pistol, Harjit Singh armed with Gandasi, Karaj Singh alias Baba armed with pistol and Kabal Singh alias Dodhi armed with Kirpan came inside the house. Surjit Singh alias Seeta gave a blow with the edge of pistol on the nose of Sohan Singh and then he fired a shot with his pistol which hit Sohan Singh in his abdomen and then he fired another shot in the air. Sohan Singh, on receiving the gunshot injury, died at the spot and all the assailants fled away from the spot with their respective weapons.

[5] The statements of Jeon Singh and Surjit Singh son of Pritam Singh were also recorded on 15.02.2010 to the effect that on the date of occurrence they had seen the accused in the evening making some plans and around 1.30/2.00 a.m. they heard the noise of a shot being fired and also saw all the accused coming out of the house of Sohan Singh but due to fear they did not