PALWINDER SINGH versus BALWINDER SINGH & ORS.

Citation: [2008] 14 S.C.R. 883 · Decided: 20-10-2008 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: S.B. SINHA, CYRIAC JOSEPH · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

[2008] 14 S.C.R. 883 
._ T 
PALWINDER SINGH 
A 
v. 
BALWINDER SINGH & ORS. 
(Criminal Appeal No. 1681 of 2008) 
OCTOBER 20, 2008 
B 
[S.B. SINHA AND CYRIAC JOSEPH, JJ] 
) 
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: 
s. 227 - Application for discharge of persons accused of c 
murder - Rejected by trial Court - Allowed by High Court in 
revision petition - HELD: High Court committed a serious er-
ror insofar as it entered into the realm of appreciation of evi-
dence at the stage of framing of charges - Jurisdiction of the 
Sessions Judge while exercising power _uls 227 is limited -
Charges can be framed also on the basis of strong suspicion D 
- Marshalling and appreciation of evidence is not in the do-
-~ 
main of the Court at that point of time - Furthermore, it was not 
the stage where the High Court would prefer one dying dee/a-
ration to the other - Indisputably, the deceased in her first dy-
ing declaration had identified the accused - Judgment of High E 
Court set aside - Penal Code, 1860 - s. 302 - Dying declara-
tion. [para 12 and 15-16] 
State of Orissa Vs. Debendra Nath Padhi 2004 (6) Suppl. 
SCR 460 = (2005) 1 sec 568 - relied on. 
F 
f 
CRIMINALAPPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal 
No. 1681 of 2008 
From the final Judgment/Order dated 14.12.2005 of the 
High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in Crl. Revi-
sion No. 2250 of 2003 
G 
-1 
Satinder S. Gulati, Kamaldeep Gulati, Dr. Kailash Chand, 
/ 
Kuldip Singh, R.K. Pandey, T.P. Mishra and H.S. Sandhu for the 
Appellant. 
883 
H 
884 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2008) 14 S.C.R. 
A 
R.P. Gupta, Kamakshi S. Mehlwal and Prabhat Pachauri f 
• 
for the Res;pondents. 
The following Order of the Court was delivered by 
B 
Leave granted. 
1. These appeals are directed against the judgment and 
order dated 14.12.2005 passed in Criminal Revision No.2250 · \ 
of 2003 by a learned Single Judge of the High Court of Punjab 
and Haryana at Chandigarh whereby and whereunder the revi-
C 
sio'n application filed by respondents-accused herein question-
ing the correctness of the order dated 30.10..2003 passed by 
the learned Sessions Judge refusing to discharge them in ex-
ercise of its jurisdiction under Section 227 of the Code of Crimi-. 
D 
E 
nal Procedure was allowed. 
2. Husband of the deceased - Darshan Kaur is before us 
questioning the legality or validity of the said order. 
3. Indisputably, the parties are neighbourers. It is, further-
more, not in dispute that the deceased was a dumb lady. 
4. First Information Report proceeded on the basis that as 
they have no other place in their house for easing themselves, 
the deceased used to use the land of the respondents for that 
purpose. On 6.4.2001 early in the morning when she went to 
F 
the land of the respondents, she was caught and set on fire 
after pouring kerosene on her. 
5. Appellant before us was attracted by fire and brought her 
to the hospital. On the same day i.e.6.4.2001 itself, her dying 
G declaration was recorded by the Executive Magistrate, Chamkaur 
Sahib. She identified respondents herein. The questions put to 
her and answers given thereto with sign are as under: 
"Q. 
Whether you set on fire before rising the sun? 
H 
Ans. Yes, with sign of head. 
'· 
t 
PALWINDER SINGH v. BALWIN.DER SINGH 
885 
& ORS. 
t 
Q. 
Who set on fire you? 
A 
. 
Ans. Two persons set on fire me one of them was open 
beard and one was with cutting beard. 
Q. Whether you can identify the person who set on 
fire you? 
8 
Ans. Yes, with signs. And then she identify Daljit Singh 
) 
and Balwinder Singh sons of Faqir Singh resident of 
Dholran with sign of head. 
Q. 
In which place and how you put on fire? 
c 
Ans. With signs these two persons forcibly set me on the 
fire in their cattle shed. 
Q. 
Whether they set on fire you after pouring 
Kerosene? 
D 
Ans. No" 
~ 
6. It, however, appears that another dying declaration was 
recorded by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate,Ropar on 11.4.2001. 
The material portion whereof reads as under: 
E 
"Aged 45-50 years. I have two sons and one daughter. 
Today morning at 5 a.m. I had gone out. Two persons 
came. Both were sikhs and were wearing turban tied and 
both were 6 Ft. in height. One of them was 40 years old 
and one of them is less aged whose name is not known. 
F 
They are from my village. I don't know that, if there is any 
",f 
enmity with me or not. There is no toilet in the house to go 
out. They have caught hold me from the arms taken inside 
by opening the door. I was shouted at
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