IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision: 30.01.2025 Shankar @ Rinku ……Appellant Versus State of Haryana …...Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GURVINDER SINGH GILL HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE JASJIT SINGH BEDI Present: Mr. Arshdeep Singh Brar, Advocate (Amicus Curiae), for the appellant.

Mr. Ranvir Singh Arya, Addl. AG, Haryana.

GURVINDER SINGH GILL, J.

1. Appellant – Shankar assails judgment dated 29.04.2004 and order of sentence dated 30.04.2004, whereby the learned Sessions Judge, Hisar, while holding him guilty of having committed offence under Section 302 IPC sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.2000/-.

2. The matter arises out of FIR No.299 dated 01.07.2001 registered at Police Station City Hansi, under Section 302 IPC. The prosecution was set in motion pursuant to receipt of information from the General Hospital, Hansi regarding Balwant Singh having been brought dead to the hospital at 9.30 AM. On receipt of said information, Inspector/SHO Desh Bandhu reached at General Hospital, Hansi and recorded the statement of Ashutosh (Ex.P8) on the basis of which FIR (Ex.P9) was lodged. Ashutosh stated that on 30.06.2001 at about 10.00 PM, when he was playing in Daddal Park, he saw that Naresh and Rajinder Kumar were consuming liquor and they were accompanied by complainant’s uncle Balwant and Sohan Lal. The said persons were, however, quarreling with Balwant and were hurling abuses. Upon seeing them quarreling, the complainant asked his uncle to accompany him home, but his uncle replied that Naresh had consumed a pouch of liquor and was quarreling with him and that he will return home after settling the matter. The complainant consequently left from the said place. On the next morning, the complainant apprised another of his uncle Daya Nand about the aforesaid incident and thereafter he and his uncle (Daya Nand) went to Daddal Park at about 6.00 AM where they found his uncle (Balwant) lying naked while his clothes were lying nearby and he was gasping for breath in an unconscious state. Injuries were noticed on his head and forehead from which blood was oozing. The complainant and his uncle (Daya Nand) immediately shifted Balwant to General Hospital, but his uncle could not survive.

3. Pursuant to lodging of FIR, the matter was investigated by the police during the course of which inquest report was prepared. The post-mortem examination was got conducted on the dead body of Balwant. The police visited the place of occurrence and prepared a rough site plan. Blood stained soil and a black coloured shoe were lifted from the place of occurrence. Statements of the witnesses including that of one Mahender were recorded in terms of Section 161 Cr.P.C. Mahender in his statement stated that he had seen Balwant (deceased) in the company of Shankar on the night intervening 30.06.2001 and 01.07.2001.

4. It is further the case of prosecution that the accused had made extra judicial confession before Prem Singh, Ex-Sarpanch, Gram Panchayat Saini Pura Hansi. It is also the case of prosecution that upon interrogation after his arrest on 03.07.2001, the accused suffered a disclosure statement (Ex.P12) to the effect that he had given a blow with cement ‘rora’ (a stone like piece of concrete) to the deceased on his head and had thrown the same in the bushes in Daddal Park, Hansi and could get the same recovered. Pursuant to the said disclosure statement, accused got a stone like object made of cement recovered from the disclosed place. It is further the case of the prosecution that the accused also got recovered his one shoe and clothes i.e. one vest of blue colour, one blood stained pant, from his house.

5. Upon conclusion of investigation, challan was presented against the accused in the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Hansi on 18.08.2001, who committed the case to the Court of Sessions vide order dated 11.09.2001. Learned Sessions Judge, Hisar, framed charges against the