HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

AT JAMMU

Cr. Appeal No. 13/2012

Cr.MA no. 49/2013

c/w

Confirm No. 08/2012

Date of order: 27/01/2014

Simon and ors.

v.

State and anr.

Coram:

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Hasnain Massodi, Judge

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Bansi Lal Bhat, Judge

Appearing Counsel:

For the appellant(s) :

Mr. P. N. Goja, Advocate

Mr. Munish Chopra, Advocate.

For the respondent(s):

Mr. Sunil Sethi, Sr. Advocate with

Mr. Ravi Dogra, Advocate.

1. Whether to be reported in

:

Yes

Press/Journal/Media

2. Whether to be reported in

:

Yes

Digest/Journal

Per Massodi, J

1.

Station House Officer, Police Station, Pir Mitha,

Jammu on 23.03.2002, presented a charge-sheet against

the appellants before learned Chief Judicial Magistrate,

Jammu, alleging therein that appellants on 04.02.2002,

at 6.45 P.M. came to the grocery shop of one Shakti

Kumar Gupta son of Janak Raj Gupta at Bawe Wali Gali,

Jammu, demanded money from him and on his refusal,

appellant Simon alias Sonu stabbed Shakti Kumar

Gupta, while two other appellants, namely, Darshan Gill

and Suram Chand alias Surma caught hold of his arms

2

and that the victim of the murderous assault breathed

his last on way to a local hospital.

2.

The case being one exclusively triable by the Court

of Sessions, learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu,

committed the case to Sessions Court, Jammu on

23.03.2002. Appellants were on 27.05.2012 formally

charged of the offences punishable under Sections

302/34 Ranbir Penal Code (hereinafter for short, RPC)

and 4/25 Arms Act. They denied the charge and asked

for regular trial. The prosecution, therefore, was left with

no option but to examine the witnesses listed in the

charge sheet to substantiate the charges against each of

them.

3.

The prosecution of the 18 witnesses, listed in the

charge-sheet, examined as many as 12 witnesses. The

witnesses appearing in the witness box to substantiate

the prosecution case, were PWs-Janak Raj Gupta father

of victim, who reported the occurrence to the Police

Station, Pir Mitha, Parvesh Gupta widow of deceased,

Suraj Parkash, his brother in law, PW-Chuni Lal, a local

shopkeeper – all witnesses to the occurrence and

Constable- Mohd. Aslam, HC-Daljit Singh, Manohar

Singh-Naib

Tehsildar,

Baldev

Raj-Patwari,

were

associated with the investigation, Dr. Manju Tickoo,

3

Medical Officer – who conducted the post mortem

examination on the dead body and Dr. K. K. Raina, and

Dr. S. C. Bhagat, Scientific Officers, FSL-who gave their

expert

opinion

touching

some

aspects

of

the

investigation. PW-Munir Bhat, Investigating Officer, was

also examined by the prosecution to substantiate its

case. The prosecution witnesses who for one or other

reason stayed away from the witness box were Gandharb

Singh, ASI, Rajesh Kumar, SPO, Gopal Krishan, Kamal

Kishore, Kuldeep Kumar, and Pushpa Devi.

4.

The incriminatory material come across in the

prosecution evidence, was put to each of the appellants

on 03.01.2011. Appellants denied veracity of the

prosecution evidence and insisted that they were not

falsely implicated and that testimony rendered by the

prosecution witnesses was false and fabricated. The

appellants, however, did not examine any witness in

their defence.

5.

Trial Court, on going through the charge-sheet,

evidence and record, stand taken by the appellants in

their statements recorded under Section 342 Cr.PC and

upon hearing learned counsel for the parties, held the

prosecution to have proved its case against the

appellants beyond reasonable doubt. Appellants, were

4

held guilty of offences punishable under Sections 302/34

RPC. The trial Court found that the appellants with

criminal attention came to the shop of deceased at Bawe

Wali Gali on 04.02.2002 at 6.45 P.M to extort money

from deceased and on his refusal to pay, they dragged

the deceased from