IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Puneet Bharti …Appellant Versus State of Punjab …Respondent Reserved on: 01.10.2025 Pronounced on: 20.11.2025 Uploaded on: 21.11.2025 Whether full judgment is pronounced or operative part thereof: Full Judgment CORAM: HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE LISA GILL HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE MEENAKSHI I. MEHTA Argued by:- Ms. Sharmila Sharma, Advocate for the appellant.

Mr. R.S. Pandher, Addl. AG, Punjab for the respondent-State.

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Meenakshi I. Mehta, J.

By way of instant criminal appeal, the above-named appellant has laid challenge to the judgment dated 26.03.2014 and order on sentence dated 27.03.2014, as handed down by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana (for short ‘the trial Court’), in the criminal case arising out of FIR No.350 dated 25.10.2011 registered at Police Station Payal, Ludhiana, under Sections 302, 376 and 201 IPC, whereby he (appellant) has been held guilty for committing the afore-described offences and has been awarded the sentences as under:-

All the sentences have been ordered to run concurrently.

2. Bereft of unnecessary details, the facts, culminating in the filing of present appeal, are that on 25.10.2011, SI/SHO Sukhdev Singh, along-with some other police officials, was present at Railway Crossing, Doraha, in connection with patrolling duty. Complainant-Sanjay Khan and his employer Jagpal Singh met him there and the above-named complainant made a statement before him (SI/SHO), which was reduced into writing accordingly. He (complainant) stated that he had been working with Jagpal Singh for the last two months. His brother Aslam had married Sabina and they had four daughters and after the death of his brother, he had married Sabina and two sons had born out of their wedlock. He and his family had been residing in the cattle-house of his employer. His wife had gone to her parental home due to the death of his brother-in-law. On 17.10.2011, he found his daughter Asmi (here-in-after to be referred as ‘the victim’), aged about 10 years, missing from her bed and he informed his wife in this regard who returned on the next day and they searched for their missing daughter (victim) but in vain. On that day, he came to know that a dead-body was found buried in the field of Ex-Sarpanch Albel Singh and the same had been yanked by the dogs. He, accompanied by his wife and employer, went there and noticed that the torn clothes on the dead-body, belonged to the victim (Asmi). Punta (appellant) and his brother named Punnma had been working as labourers with Kala and the appellant used to visit his (complainant’s) home and he (appellant) had come to his house on 16.10.2011, in his absence and the victim had told him about his (appellant’s) wrong doings. On that day, i.e 25.10.2011, the appellant and his afore-said brother had left/ fled the Village without getting their accounts settled and informing anyone and he had every reason to believe that they had taken away the victim from his house and had raped her and had buried her dead-body in the fields after killing her. This statement was forwarded to the Police Station, where a formal FIR was registered. The police party reached at the spot. The dead- body of the victim, her ‘Salwar’ (a lower apparel) and one iron bracelet, having