Bachhitar
Singh & Anr Vs. State of Punjab [2002] Insc
407 (26 September 2002)
Y.
K. Sabharwal & H. K. Sema. Sema, J.
Appeal (crl.) 1228 of 2001
A
bizarre tale of gruesome murder in which eight members of two families - Sukhwant
Singh, wife Piar Kaur, daughters Gurjit Kaur (12 years) & Gogi (9 years)
and Bhupinder Singh, wife Joginder Kaur, sons Harjinder Singh (6 years) & Bhupinder
Singh (13 years), were eliminated by the appellants due to greed to grab the
land of the deceased - Sukhwant Singh! The murder was engineered by the accused
Bachittar Singh, the younger brother of the deceased. The story of 'Pahom' in Shakespere's
play, "How much land does a man need?" is being repeated in these
proceedings.
Ultimately,
the land required is a 'place for funeral pyre and burial'.
Recapitulation
of brief facts is necessary. Accused Bachittar Singh had two brothers deceased Sukhwant
Singh and Bhupinder Singh, who were elder to him. All the three brothers were
residents of the Village Dholewala. Sukhwant Singh and Bhupinder Singh were
residing in the Haveli, whereas accused Bachittar Singh was residing separately
in the Village. On 19.4.1994, at about 6.30 A.M., daily diary report No. 35 was
got recorded by Bachittar Singh, stating therein that during the night time he
had gone to irrigate his land and when he came back at about 3 A.M., he
received information from his wife Rajbir Kaur, that during the night time, she
had heard firing in the Village. Bachittar Singh, however, ignored it. At about
6.00 AM, his cousin Pipal Singh, s/o Balkar
Singh came to his residence and reported to him that at about 1.00 AM two unknown persons had murdered Sukhwant Singh, Bhupinder
Singh and their families.
Thereafter,
Bachittar Singh accompanied by Pipal Singh went to the house of his brothers
and found his brothers Sukhwant Singh and Bhupinder Singh murdered alongwith
their wives and children. Pipal Singh was left there to guard the dead bodies
and Bachittar Singh had gone to the Police Station to lodge a report and as per
his statement daily diary report was recorded at 6.30 A.M.
As per
the prosecution story, when the police was investigating the case on the spot, Joginder
Singh (PW-3) son of Ajaib Singh, resident of village Mastewala came there and
his statement under Section 161 Cr.P.C.
was
recorded by the police. In his statement, Joginder Singh stated that his sister
- Piar Kaur was married to Sukhwant Singh about 15 years back.
Sukhwant
Singh was not keeping good health as he indulged in excessive drinking. Since
he was not keeping good health, he had given his land on Theka to his younger
brother Bachittar Singh, but Bachittar Singh was not paying reasonable Theka.
As the financial position of Sukhwant Singh was not sound and they were having
difficulties in maintaining the family, Sukhwant Singh and Piar Kaur consulted
PW-3 and other family members and decided that this time the land would not be
given to Bachittar Singh on Theka. When this fact was brought to the notice of Bachittar
Singh, he threatened to eliminate both his brothers along with their families
and he refused to vacate the land. It is further stated that on last Thursday
(before the incident) his sister Piar Kaur visited the Village Mastewala and
disclosed that the land was not to be given to Bachittar Singh. Joginder Singh
along with his father and some persons had gone to the Village Dholewala along
with Piar Kaur to have a talk with Bachittar Singh to vacate the land. It is
stated that Bachittar Singh along with Malook Singh Sarpanch, came to the house
of Sukhwant Singh and Bachittar Singh was requested to vacate the land as Sukhwant
Singh had minor children to support. Since Bachittar Singh was not giving
reasonable theka, they wanted to give the land to Bhupinder Singh to cultivate.
Bachittar Singh did not agree to this and replied that he would not vacate the
land at any cost.
Malook
Singh Sarpanch supported him stating that the land should remain with Bachittar
Singh and they should not create any problem for him.
Bhupinder
Singh also requested Bachittar Singh to vacate the land, but without any
result. Thereafter, Joginder Singh, his father and other members came back to
Village Mastewala with the idea of further consultation in the matter. On
18.4.1994, Joginder Singh had gone to the house of Sukhwant Singh to enquire
about the welfare of the family and to convene a Panchayat.
After
meals, Joginder Singh was sleeping on the roof, when at about 1.00 A.M. he
heard firing from the side of deory. Then, he saw Bachittar Singh empty handed,
Malook Singh Sarpanch armed with .12 bore gun and Amarjit Singh @ Fauji armed
with rifle. Malook Singh and Amarjit Singh were with muffled faces. He saw them
in the electric light, which was on in the courtyard. At the instance of Bachittar
Singh, Amarjit Singh @ Fauji had gone towards the room of Bhupinder Singh along
with Bachittar Singh and got opened the doors. In the meantime, Malook Singh Sarpanch
had gone towards the room of Sukhwant Singh where the inmates of families were
sleeping. The room was locked from inside. Malook Singh had managed to go
inside the room by removing the left plank of the door. At this time, Joginder
Singh heard firing from the rooms of Bhupinder Singh and Sukhwant Singh. He was
empty handed. Out of fear he came down from the roof from the western side of
the Haveli by jumping on the grass from the house of Sukhwant Singh. Joginder
Singh then came straight to his Village Mastewala and disclosed about the
incident to his family members.
Thereafter,
Joginder Singh alongwith his family members came back to Village Dholewala and
found the police on the spot. ASI Surinder Mohan prepared inquest report at 6.30 A.M. and also took into possession one piece of cloth, thatha,
turban, empty cartridges etc. vide recovery memos, attested by the witnesses.
The
accused Bachittar Singh, Amarjit Singh and Malook Singh were arrested on
24.4.1994 and a black thatha was taken in possession. They were interrogated
and suffered disclosure statements separately. A black turban and one DBBL gun
were recovered in pursuance of the disclosure statement of Bachittar Singh.
Right shoe was recovered in pursuance of disclosure statement of Amarjit Singh.
One kamij (shirt), pyjama and a pair of shoes were recovered in pursuance of
the disclosure statement of Malook Singh. Recovered articles were taken into
possession vide different recovery memos, attested by the witnesses. After
completing all the formalities, prima facie case was made out and the charges
were framed under Sections 460/302 read with Section 34 I.P.C. and Section 30
of the Arms Act. The accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. To
bring home the guilt of the accused, the prosecution examined as many as 24
witnesses, namely, Dr. Charanjit Singh PW1; Dr. Rachhpal Singh PW2; Joginder
Singh PW3;
Dr. Gian
Singh PW4; Piara Singh PW5; ASI Gurbhej Singh PW6; H.C. Gurdial Singh PW7; Ajaib
Singh PW8; Gurbinder Singh Patwari PW9; SI Surinder Pal PW10; A.S. Katari, JMIC
PW11; Constable Karnail Singh PW12; Constable Kishan Chand PW13; H.C. Karamjit
Singh PW14; SI Baldev Singh PW15; Surinder Singh,S.P.(H) PW16; Gursewak Singh
Draftsman PW17; MHC Surinder Singh PW18; Pardeep Kumar Ahlmad PW19; Jagtar
Singh PW20; Tarsem Singh, Arms Clerk PW21; ASI Surinder Mohan PW22; Inspector Balkar
Singh PW23; and Jagjit Singh, Sub Station Operator, PSEB PW24.
The
learned trial court, after thoroughly examining prosecution witnesses and the
documents available on record, has come to the conclusion that the guilt of the
accused has been established by the prosecution beyond the shadow of doubt. The
learned trial court also afforded an opportunity to the accused of hearing on
the quantum of sentence. While awarding Capital punishment, the following
reasons have been assigned:
"Admittedly,
all the accused are in custody with effect from 24.4.1994. Bachittar Singh
accused is real brother of Sukhwant Singh and Bhupinder Singh deceased. Sukhwant
Singh along with his wife and two minor children aged about 12 years and 9
years were eliminated. Bhupinder Singh along with his wife and two minor
children aged about 6 years and 13 years were also eliminated. Land of Sukhwant Singh
deceased was on Theka with Bachittar Singh. Bachittar Singh accused was not
paying normal theka to his brother, whose financial position was not sound.
Instead of helping his brother, Bachittar Singh was not agreeing to vacate the
land. To grab the property Bachittar Singh hired two persons and eliminated two
families.
Accused
had no respect for human life. Simply to grab the land of his brothers minor
children were not spared. So, I am of the opinion that no question of leniency.
In the first authority four persons were killed. Accused was convicted and
sentenced to death. In the second authority Victims were sister-in-law of
accused and her daughter of 8 years. In the case in hand during night time all
the accused, as per story, had gone to the house of the deceased and eight
persons were murdered, i.e. two complete families were eliminated. Present case
is one of the rarest of the rare cases." After hearing the parties on
quantum of sentence, the learned trial court awarded Capital punishment to all
the accused as under:
Name
of the accused U/S Sentenced to Bachittar Singh, Malook Singh and Amarjit Singh
460 IPC Undergo RI for Seven years each and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- each.
In default of payment of fine to further Undergo RI for one Year each.
Malook
Singh 302 IPC Awarded death Sentence for causing Murder of Sukhwant Singh, Piar
Kaur, Gurjit Kaur and Gogi Bachittar Singh & Amarjit Singh Amarjit Singh
302/34 IPC 302 IPC Awarded death sentence each Awarded death Sentence for
Causing murder of Bhupinder Singh, Harjinder Singh, Devinder and Joginder Kaur.
Bachittar
Singh and Malook Singh Bachittar Singh 302/34 IPC 30 Arms Act Awarded death
Sentence each To undergo RI for six Months.
On
appeal, the conviction and the sentence awarded to all the accused was affirmed
by the High Court and hence these appeals by special leave.
PW-3 Joginder
Singh is the sole eye witness. A perusal of the judgment of the trial court as
well as the High Court would clearly show that both the courts examined the
veracity of this witness and accepted his testimony as natural, truthful and
reliable. The conviction and sentence of the appellants was based on the
testimony of PW-3 corroborated by other lending and clinching circumstances
pointing the accusing finger to the appellants. In fact, the testimony of PW-3
has been carefully scrutinized, tested and accepted by the two courts.
We
have heard Mr. R S Cheema, learned senior counsel for appellants in Crl. Appeal
No. 1229 of 2001, Mr. K B Sinha, learned senior counsel for appellant in Crl.
Appeal No. 1228 of 2001 and Mr. Anoop G. Choudhary, learned senior counsel for
the State.
Learned
counsel for the appellants challenged the veracity of the testimony of PW-3 on
various grounds. According to learned counsel, PW-3 came to the village Dholewale
is not established as no one saw him in the village, including his aunt, who
was also married in the same village.
Learned
counsel further stated that the behaviour of Joginder Singh is quite unnatural
as after seeing the incident, instead of informing police or some villager,
including his relative, he went straight to his village Mastewala and came back
only the next morning. Learned counsel also contended that the statement of Joginder
Singh, that on the fateful night he slept on the roof of Sukhwant Singh, is
quite unnatural. According to the learned counsel taking all these
circumstances into consideration, the testimony of PW-3 is wholly unreliable.
We are unable to accept this contention of the appellants. On the other hand,
we are clearly of the view that the testimony of PW-3 is quite natural, turstworthy
and wholly reliable. He being the relation of Sukhwant Singh, husband of his
sister Piar Kaur, there is no reason why he would falsely depose against the
appellants and allow the real assailants escape unpunished. Converse would be
quite unnatural. The presence of PW-3 in the village Dholewala on the fateful
day is quite natural because in his statement it has come out clearly that
there was a dispute over the land of Sukhwant Singh being given to Bachittar Singh on theka.
Since it could not be resolved by persuasion, a Panchayat was to be convened
the next day and it was to the knowledge of Bachittar Singh. His not meeting
with any of the villagers would be no ground to throw away the testimony of
PW-3. It is in his statement that he arrived at the village Dholawale at about 7.30 P.M. and after having meals he went to retire at the roof
of Sukhwant Singh. The incident had happened on 19th April, 1994 and at that time the place where the incident had taken
place must have been quite warm and PW-3 sleeping on the roof of Sukhwant Singh
is quite natural as this is the practice in most of the Indian villages for
people to sleep on the roof during hot season. This witness further deposed
that he was empty handed and after seeing the accused equipped with arms and
hearing the firing sound he got frightened and ran to his village to inform his
father and other members of the family.
This
is also quite natural. Having seen the accused armed with weapons, he might
have suddenly realised that if he loiters in the village and that too at the
odd hours, at 1.00 A.M., his life would be in danger. He,
therefore, might have thought that to save himself from the clutches of the
accused, instead of informing anybody in the village risking his life, he
should inform his father and family. It appears from his statement that the
witness had intervened to settle the dispute on several occasions to which
accused Bachittar Singh objected and said that he would retain the field at any
cost.
Having
realised the character and antecedents of Bachittar Singh, it is quite natural
that after seeing the accused with formidable weapons, he decided not to risk
his life and ran to his village. Thus we see nothing unnatural in the behaviour
of PW-3.
There
are no hard and fast rules to test the veracity of the witnesses.
One
way of testing the veracity of the witness is the simplicity of the statement.
Simplicity of the statement is indicative of the naturalness and truthfulness.
Often the polished statement tendered by the witnesses is the product of coloured
version. In the instant case, the simplicity of the testimony of PW-3 reflects
the naturalness and the truthfulness of the maker.
As is
seen from the prosecution story, Bachittar Singh was the king player as the
dispute was between Bachittar Singh and Sukhwant Singh over the lease of the
land on Theka. If the witness wanted to introduce the coloured version, he
could have said that Bachittar Singh was armed with weapons. It is not disputed
that both the offensive weapons, namely .12 bore gun and .303 bore rifle belong
to Bachittar Singh. But this witness, both in his examination under Section 161
Cr.P.C. and testimony in the court, had consistently stated that Bachittar
Singh was not armed whereas he stated that Malook Singh was armed with .12 bore
DBBL gun and Amarjit Singh was armed with .303 rifle. This is clearly
indicative of the naturalness and truthfulness of the testimony of PW-3.
Ordinarily, interested witnesses tend to introduce coloured version and
improvised statements to secure doubly sure conviction of the accused. This is
not so in the present case.
Human behaviour
vary from man to man. Different people behave and react differently in
different situations. Human behaviour depends upon the facts and circumstances
of each given case. How a man would behave in a particular situation, can never
be predicted. In the given circumstances, the behaviour of Joginder Singh PW-3
sleeping on the roof of the house of Sukhwant Singh; after seeing the accused
armed with weapons and hearing of firing, jumping from the roof and running
towards his village Mastewala to inform his father and family members instead of
loitering around in the village Dholewala and informing somebody risking his
life, is quite natural.
One
should not forget that the incident had happened at 1.00 A.M. and that at that odd time, nobody would be readily
available to be informed without loss of time. In the process, the life of the
witness would be at great risk.
From
the prosecution evidence, it is clear that Amarjit Singh was helping Bachittar
Singh. But why should PW-3 depose falsely against Amarjit Singh with whom he or
his brother-in-law, deceased Sukhwant Singh had no dispute or enmity. The fact
that it has come in the evidence of the prosecution witness that the accused Amarjit
Singh was an army personnel and knew the handling of rifle would clearly
indicate that he was a hired killer. We are, therefore, clearly of the view
that the testimony of Joginder Singh, PW-3, is quite natural and trustworthy.
We have no reason to take a view contrary to the view taken by the trial court
and the High Court in this respect.
Dr. Charanjit
Singh, PW-1 conducted Post Mortem of the deceased Sukhwant Singh and his
family. Dr. Rachpal Singh, PW-2 conducted Post Mortem of the deceased Sukhwant
Singh and his family. The High Court, in its impugned judgment, noted the
injuries sustained by the deceased, as found in the Post Mortem reports by the
two doctors as under:
"P.W-1
Dr. Charanjit Singh, who had conducted the post mortem examination on the dead
bodies of Gurjit Kaur, daughter of Sukhwant Singh deceased, and had found four
gun shot injuries thereon (two of entry and two of exit). Gogi, Sukhwant
Singh's second daughter with two gun shot injuries thereon, Piar Kaur, his wife
with three gun shot injuries (two of entry and one of exit) and Sukhwant Singh
himself with two gun shot injuries (one of entry and the other of exit); PW-2
Dr.
Rachpal
Singh, who had conducted the post mortem examination on the dead bodies of Bhupinder
Singh and observed two gun shot injuries (one of entry and the other of exist),
his son, Harjinder Singh, with two gun shot injuries (one of entry and the
other of exit); another son, Devinder Singh, with two gun shot injuries (one of
entry and the other of exit); and his wife, Joginder Kaur, with three gun shot
injuries (two of entry and one of exit)." Learned counsel for the
appellants strenuously urged that the injuries sustained by the deceased, as
brought out in the evidence of PW-1 Dr. Charanjit Singh and PW-2 Dr. Rachhpal Singh,
would clearly show that such injuries in quick succession could not have been
caused by .303 bolt action rifle which require deliberate bolted action after
firing every shot.
Counsel
suggested that possibly it is the handiwork of some terrorists using high
velocity Rifle like AK 47 serials. This submission is mis-conceived. It is
nobody's case that the crime had been committed in a fixed particular time
frame. As it is apparent from the evidence of the witnesses on record, the
entire incident had taken place inside the room. Nobody had seen what had
happened inside the room. As to how the deceased were killed and in what manner
and fashion, nobody had seen, so also the time taken in the commission of the
crime. But from the evidence of PW-1 and PW-2, it is clear that the deceased
sustained gun shot injuries. At the same time, no evidence to show that the
deceased had threat perception from the terrorists. On the other hand Bachittar
Singh, due to threat perception from the terrorists, had been given .303 calibre
bolt action rifle No. 709467 for his personal security. This has been proved by
PW-23 Balkar Singh. It is also not disputed that .12 bore DBBL gun bearing No.
15354-88 belonged to accused Bachittar Singh.
Counsel
for the appellants also contended that the empty cartridges, proved by Forensic
Science Laboratory, said to have been fired from the said .303 rifle and .12
DBBL bore gun, are planted by the prosecution after the gun in question had
been seized by the police. This contention is belied by the inquest report
conducted by PW-22 ASI Surinder Mohan (Ex. P.J.).
From
the inquest report, prepared by PW-22, it clearly appeared that the report was
prepared on 19.4.1994 at 6.30
A.M. In clause 23 of
the report, it is apparent that two empties of 3x3 bore gun were found near the
dead body. In Ex. P.N./5 (inquest report), four empty cartridges of 3 x 3 pukki
gun were found near the dead body. The theory of planting of empty cartridges
by the prosecution is, therefore, belied by the inquest report.
The
eye-witness account of PW-3 Joginder Singh has been corroborated with material
particulars by the proved recovery and seizure memos. It is in the evidence of
the prosecution that on 19.4.1994, one Thatha of black colour was recovered
from the spot vide recovery memo Ex. PMM. The arrest of Bachittar Singh led to
the disclosure statement and recovery of black coloured turban was made. Both
the sides of turban were found cut. The recovered turban was taken into
possession vide memo Ex. PAAA/1 and his disclosure statement is Ex.PAAA/10.
Accused - Amarjit Singh was also arrested on 24.4.1994 and on his personal
search one thatha of black colour was recovered. The turban, thatha of black colour,
recovered from the spot was sent to the laboratory and as per the report Ex.
PNNN of the Forensic Science Laboratory, both thathas one recovered from the
spot and the other on the personal search of accused Amarjit Singh, were
similar to the cloth of the turban recovered in pursuance of the disclosure
statement of Bachittar Singh. One empty of .12 bore gun was recovered from the
spot on 19.4.1994 at 6.30
A.M. by ASI Surinder
Mohan. Three empties, three live cartridges and one DBBL gun No. 15354 were
recovered in pursuance of the disclosure statement of Bachittar Singh.
Recovered gun and the empties were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh.
Vide report Ex. PVVV, two cartridges were found to be fired from the right
barrel seized DBBL gun. The other two cartridges were found to be fired from
the left barrel. It is not disputed that Bachittar Singh is the owner of the licenced
gun. Licence of the gun had also been recovered vide memo Ex. PFF. Six empties
of .303 bore rifle, recovered on 19.4.1994, were sent along with rifle No.
709467 to Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh. Vide report Ex. PRRR of the
Forensic Science Laboratory, empties were found fired from .303 bore rifle No.
709467. As already noticed, this rifle was provided to the accused Bachittar
Singh for his personal safety because of threat perception from terrorists, as
proved by PW-23 Inspector Balkar Singh. The same rifle was used by the accused Amarjit
Singh.
One Jutti
(shoe) was recovered from the scene of crime on 19.4.1994 at 6.30 A.M. As per
the disclosure statement of accused Amarjit Singh, second Jutti was also
recovered. Both these Jutties were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory. Vide
report Ex. PQQQ, Forensic Science Laboratory opined that one Jutti is tallying
with the other.
'Man
proposes, God disposes', is exactly what has happened here.
What
the accused thought that they were committing hidden crime without realising
that they had left behind the clinching evidence against themselves.
Accused
Bachittar Singh in his report, as noticed above, had stated that on the fateful
day he went to irrigate his field at night and came back at 3 A.M. when he
received information from his wife that there was firing in the village but he
ignored the same. He also stated that his cousin Pipal Singh, who was residing
in the same Haveli, had come at 6 A.M. and informed him that at about 1 A.M.
two unidentified persons had murdered the families of Sukhwant Singh and Bhupinder
Singh. It is significantly enough to note that the accused Bachitter Singh
never examined any witness to show that he had gone to the field to irrigate
his land and came back at 3 A.M. He did not examine his wife, his mother
(according to the prosecution story mother is still alive), nor anybody to
prove his alibi.
Believing
the eye-witness account of Joginder Singh, coupled with other formidable
materials on record, as discussed above, we are clearly of the view that the
guilt of the accused has been established beyond the shadow of doubt, as held
by the trial court and confirmed by the High Court.
This
takes us to consider the death penalty awarded by the trial court and confirmed
by the High Court. It is contended by the learned counsel for the appellants
that the case does not fall within the category of "rarest of rare"
which would invite capital punishment. On a perusal of the evidence and
materials on record, we find that apart from the solitary incident in question,
there is no evidence on record either oral or documentary, which would suggest
about the mis-conduct of the appellants in the past. There is also no evidence
on record to suggest that the appellants would be a menace and threat to the
harmonious and peaceful co-existence of the society. In a case, what appears to
be similar with the present one, Prakash Dhawal Khairnar (Patil) vs. State of Maharashtra
(2002) 2 SCC 35 the accused had done to death his own brother, brother's wife
and children out of land dispute. This Court held that no doubt the crime was
heinous and brutal but at the same time it will be difficult to hold that it is
rarest of rare case. The Court was also of the view that it would be difficult
to hold that the appellant is a menace to the society and there is no reason to
believe that he cannot be reformed or rehabilitated and that he is likely to
continue the criminal acts of violence as would constitute a continued threat
to the society. The same principle has been followed by this Court in Ram Anup
Singh & Ors. v. State of Bihar JT 2002 (5) 621. In the case at hand also,
we are of the view that having regard to the absence of evidence to the
contrary that the appellants are a menace to the society threatening the
peaceful and harmonious co-existence of the society and they are likely to be a
continuous threat to the society if once they come out of incarceration, no
doubt the crime was committed in a heinous and brutal manner but viewed from
the facts and circumstances, as noticed above, it would be difficult to hold
that the case falls within the category of "rarest of rare". At the
same time, there is no reason to believe that they cannot be reformed or
rehabilitated.
Viewed
from the aforesaid perspective, we are of the opinion that the appellants must
be given a chance to repent that what they have done is neither approved by the
law or by the society and be reformed or rehabilitated and become good and law
abiding citizens.
In the
facts and circumstances of the case, as stated above, we would think that
sentencing them to rigorous imprisonment for life would meet the ends of
justice.
We,
therefore, set aside the death sentence awarded by the trial court and
confirmed by the High Court and instead award punishment of sentence to suffer
rigorous imprisonment for life.
In the
result, the conviction of the appellants is upheld but the sentence of death
awarded to the appellants is set aside. Instead, they are sentenced to undergo
imprisonment for life.
With
this modification in sentence, the appeals are disposed of.
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