Prem
Singh Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh [2003] Insc 450 (16 September 2003)
N.Santosh
Hegde & B.P.Singh. Santosh Hegde,J.
The
appellant was convicted under Section 302 IPC for having committed the murder
of his nephew Hoshiar Singh on 3.11.1995 at 7 a.m. in the common courtyard of
the house belonging to the appellant and his brothers in Dodhwan village within
the jurisdiction of Sundernagar Police Station, Mandi District, by the Sessions
Judge, Mandi, who sentenced him to imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of
Rs.4,000/- in default to undergo imprisonment for one year. The High Court has
confirmed the said sentence, hence, the appellant is before us in this appeal.
The
fact that there was a fight in the morning of 3.11.1995 in regard to collecting
the water from the tap between the deceased and PW-2 Harinder Singh on one side
and the appellant on the other is an admitted fact. Pursuant to the said fight,
it is also admitted by the appellant that he went to his house and brought his licenced
gun and started walking towards the house of the Pradhan of the Village.
Then
the prosecution contends, the appellant after getting the gun, went to the
house of the deceased where he was locked in a room of his house by his family
members to prevent any further fight, there the appellant shot the deceased
through the window, consequent to which he died. The appellant contends that
when he was walking to the house of Pradhan, PW-2 confronted him and tried to
snatch his gun, consequent to which there was a scuffle and the gun discharged
accidentally, and in that process, the bullet went through the window and hit
the deceased which caused his death, therefore, he was not responsible for his
death.
In
view of the above defence taken by the appellant the scope of enquiry in this
appeal is very narrow and the questions for our consideration are :- (a) Did
the firing take place as alleged by the prosecution or as alleged by the appellant
? (b) If it had taken place as alleged by the prosecution, did the appellant
intend to cause the death of Hoshiar Singh so as to attract the provisions of
Section 302 ? The learned counsel appearing for the appellant contended that
the appellant had no reason or motive to cause the death of Hoshiar Singh, inspite
of the fact that there was some minor difference between them and the incident
in the early morning of 3rd
November, 1995 could
never have been the reason for causing the murder. He also contended that the
appellant was in a room which was locked and the window had wiremesh, hence,
was dark inside, therefore, the appellant could never have aimed deliberately
at the deceased and caused his death.
Alternatively,
it is pleaded that assuming the prosecution case is true, it is not a case
which attracts Section 302 IPC.
The
two courts below have accepted the prosecution case that the appellant
deliberately shot the deceased and the so called scuffle between the appellant
and PW-2 Harinder Singh is not true.
In
this regard, the courts below have placed reliance on the evidence of PW-5 the
mother of the appellant himself and PWs. 2, 3 and 6 who were eye-witnesses to
the incident. As far as the defence taken by the appellant is concerned, no
evidence has been lead by him to establish the same. We have carefully perused
the evidence of the witnesses and find absolutely no reason to disagree with
the findings of the two courts below. We agree with the courts below that the defence
set up by the appellant as to the scuffle between him and PW-2 on his way to Pradhan's
house is only an afterthought. Even the argument that the appellant could not
have shot through the window which had the wiremesh and which was dark inside
cannot be acceded to in view of the direct evidence of the eye-witnesses who
have stated that the appellant aimed the gun at the victim through the window
and shot him. Therefore, we are of the opinion that the courts below are
justified in coming to the conclusion that the appellant committed the murder
of Hoshiar Singh.
In the
light of the above evidence, if we consider the conduct of the appellant, it is
not possible to accept the argument of the appellant that the offence allegedly
committed by him does not attract the provisions of Section 302. We have
accepted the evidence of prosecution that the appellant after the first fight
went to his house, brought his gun and walked up to the window of the room in
which deceased was confined by his family members, aimed at the deceased and
shot him dead which attributes not only motive and knowledge but also intention
of the appellant to cause the death of the deceased, therefore, this action of
the appellant amounts to murder punishable under Section 302 IPC.
For
the reasons stated above, this appeal fails and the same is dismissed.
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