IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Reserved on: 30.04.2025 Date of Pronouncement:09.05.2025 Sufeda and ors. .... appellants V/s State of Haryana ...Respondent CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE GURVINDER SINGH GILL HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE JASJIT SINGH BEDI Present: Proceedings qua appellant No.1-Sufeda stands abated vide order dated 04.04.2025.

Mr. Arnav Sood, Advocate as Amicus Curiae, for appellants No.2 to 4.

Mr. Ranvir Singh Arya, Addl.A.G., Haryana.

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JASJIT SINGH BEDI, J.

The present appeal has been filed against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 12.08.2003 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, Gurgaon.

2. The instant FIR came to be registered on 08.10.1999. The accused-appellants came to be convicted vide judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 12/16.08.2003. The present appeal against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence was filed on 06.01.2004. The matter has come up for final hearing now after almost 26 years of the registration of the FIR.

3. Briefly stated the case of the prosecution as set out on the statement of the complainant-Nasru is that on 07.10.1999 at about 7:00 PM.

Salma daughter of Nasru was present in the field to keep a watch on the crop of Bajra whereas Nasru, her father, had gone to the Masjid to offer Namaz. On return of the complainant, Salma told him (complainant) that Yakub son of Sufeda had come there and had made some obscene jokes on her. Yakub had told Salma that she was to lose nothing if she was of some use to him. Then, Nasru as per his statement before the police took his grand father Dhotali to lodge a protest at the house of Yakub but Yakub was called at the 'thari' of the village chowk. Dhotali and protested to him as to why he had made obscene jokes upon Salma. Yakub got annoyed and spoke loudly. Then Akhtar armed with a farsa and others viz. Fajru, Sufeda, Sukarbi, Asmina and Farida armed with lathis and stones came there in prosecution of the common object of all to commit offences. Akhtar gave a farsa blow on the head of Dhotali and Yakub gave a lathi blow on the wrist of the right hand of Dhotali. Fajru gave a lathi blow on his right hand palm. Sufeda gave a lathi blow on the elbow of his left hand. Sukarbi gave a stone (rora) blow on the wrist of his left hand. Asmina struck him by throwing a brick on the knee of his left leg. Farida also threw a stone (rora) on the wrist of his right hand. Fajru gave another lathi blow on the palm of his right hand. He (Fajru) also gave a lathi blow on the wrist of his left arm. Yakub gave a lathi blow on the thumb of the right hand of Issa. Moosa and Issa had come to the spot as soon as the occurrence took place to save the complainant party. But they received injuries, too. Akhtar gave a farsa blow from the reverse side just above the left eye of Moossa and another farsa blow on the lower side of the left eye of Moosa. A third blow was given on the left arm of Moosa. Yakub too gave a lathi blow on the right arm of Moosa. On the basis of the statement of Nasru, the FIR was registered.

4. The injured were taken to hospital and were got medico-legally examined. Dhotali injured was taken to General Hospital, Gurgaon, and then to Safdarjang Hospital, where he died on 10.10.1999. Head constable Fajruddin went to the spot and prepared the rough site plan and recorded the statements of the witnesses. After this, the investigation was taken up by ASI Ishwar Singh. On 10.10.1999 Fajru and Sufeda were arrested from a jungle near the abadi of village Nasirbas. Akhtar was also arrested there. These accused persons were brought to the police station and they were interrogated by ASI Ishwar Singh. Akhtar made a disclosure statement regarding the farsa kept concealed by him in his residential chappar. After this, Sufeda made a disclosure statement regarding lathi used by him and kept concealed in his residential house. Fajru too disclosed regarding lathi kept concealed in his house. Their di