AMARJIT SINGH versus STATE OF HARYANA

Citation: [2010] 1 S.C.R. 572 · Decided: 18-11-2009 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: H.S. BEDI, B.S. CHAUHAN · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
B 
[201 OJ 1 S.C.R. 572 
AMARJIT SINGH 
V. 
STATE OF HARYANA 
(Criminal Appeal No.739 of 2007) 
NOVEMBER 18, 2009* 
[HARJIT SINGH BEDI AND DR. 8.5. CHAUHAN, JJ.] 
Penal Code, 1860: 
c 
s.302 - Murder- Conviction - Serious injuries to one of 
the accused - Not explained by prosecution - Held: Though 
every injury is not liable to be explained when the accused 
pleads a defence, but an obligation does lie on the 
prosecution to explain the presence of a serious injury - In 
0 
the instant case, as the prosecution has not been able to 
present an explanation as to how injuries were suffered by the 
accused and on the contrary his very presence has been 
denied, the courts below were in error in brushing aside this 
serious infirmity in the prosecution case - Conviction and 
E sentence of accused set aside - Accused acquitted -
Evidence -
Injuries on accused -
Not explained by 
prosecution - Effect. 
F 
G 
H 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal 
No. 739 of 2007. 
From the Judgment & Order dated 20.7.2006 of the High 
Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Appeal 
No. 46-DB of 2004. 
WITH 
Criminal Appeal No. 740 of 2007. 
R.S. Cheema, K.B. Sinha, Kanwaljit Kochhar, Kusum 
• Judgment Received on 6.2.2010. 
572 
AMARJIT SINGH v. STATE OF HARYANA 
573 
Chaudhary, D.P. Singh, Tanu, Roopansh Purohit, Rajeev Gaur, 
A 
'Naseem', Kamal Mohan Gupta for the Appearing parties. 
The following Order of the Court was delivered 
ORDER 
1. These appeals by way of special leave arise out of the 
following facts:-
B 
1.1. Avatar Singh, accused, since acquitted, had taken an 
unauthorised connection from the electricity main line for the 
C 
purpose of energising his tube well situated in village Bassi 
about 12 kms. away from Police Station Assandh. On 2nd .July 
1998, the officials of the Electricity Department accompanied 
by some police officers came to the tube well and removed the 
unauthorised line and took the wire away. Avatar Singh 
D 
suspected that Joginder Singh P.W.1, who had a Dera at a very 
short distance away, had made the complaint to the Department 
which had brought the officers of the Department to his Dera. 
Due to this grudge, Amarjit Singh armed with a shot gun, Amrik 
Singh and Kashmir Singh all sons of Jarnail Singh attempted 
to stop the tractor trolley belonging to Joginder Singh P. W .1, 
E 
while it was being driven to the fields with fertilizer. Nishan Singh 
- P.W. 3 son of Mohinder Singh was driving the tractor trolley 
of Joginder Singh was also accompanied by Palaram - P.W. 
2 son of Fakiria one of Joginder Singh's Siris (crop-sharers). 
It appears that as a fall out of this incident two applications were 
F 
filed in Police Station, Assandh by both the groups accusing 
each other of having misbehaved in the morning. The same 
evening at about 4:00p.m. Joginder Singh - P.W. and his 
brother Gurnam Singh deceased who were present at their 
Dera in their fields. In the meanwhile Avatar Singh armed with 
G 
a sota, Sher Singh and Amarjit Singh armed with a DBBL gun 
each and Avatar Singh with gandasa came to the place in a 
tractor. On reaching the Dera, Sher Singh fired a shot with a 
DBBL gun on Joginder Singh hitting him on the finger of his 
right hand and a second shot hit him on his right thigh. Amarjit 
H 
574 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
(2010] 1 S.C.R. 
A Singh also fired a shot at Gumam Singh which hit him on his 
chest instantly resulting in his immediate death. Although 
Joginder Singh thereafter attempted to snatch the gun from the 
hands of Sher Singh as a result of which, it broke into two 
pieces. This incident was witnessed by P.W. 2 Pala Ram and 
B Nishan Singh - P.W. 3. Joginder Singh was removed in a 
tractor-trolley to the Sant Hospital at Assandh and on ar.count 
of his serious condition was referred to the General Hospital, 
Kamal and was admitted therein. The dead body of Gumam 
Singh was, however, left at the place of incident. Joginder 
c Singh's statement, Exhibit PA was recorded in the General 
Hospital, Kamal at about 9:15a.m. on the 4th July, 1998 and 
on its basis, the formal FIR was registered at Police Station, 
Assandh, at 10:30a.m. by Sube Singh - P.W. 5, Inspector of 
Police. The police after investigation did not file a charge sheet 
0 
against the accused on the plea that the case that had been 
foisted on them was false. Joginder Singh thereupon filed a 
complaint Exhibit PC in the court of the Judicial Magistrate, 
Kamal, against Avtar Singh, S

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