TARLOCHAN SINGH @ RANA versus STATE OF PUNJAB

Citation: [2022] 2 S.C.R. 961 · Decided: 29-03-2022 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: N.V. RAMANA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

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[2022] 2 S.C.R. 961
961
TARLOCHAN SINGH @ RANA
v.
STATE OF PUNJAB
(Criminal Appeal No. 293 of 2018)
March 29, 2022
[N. V. RAMANA, CJI, KRISHNA MURARI AND
HIMA KOHLI, JJ]
Arms Act, 1959: ss. 29 and 30 –Punishment for knowingly
purchasing arms, etc., from unlicensed person or for delivering arms,
etc., to person not entitled to possess the same – Punishment for
contravention of licence or rule – Prosecution case that the appellant
was the licence holder of the double barrel 12 bore rifle, used in
the murder of the deceased and was part in the conspiracy hatched
by the other co-accused – Conviction of the appellant u/ss. 29 and
30, and u/s. 120-B IPC and sentenced accordingly –High Court
acquitted the appellant u/s. 120-B IPC, however, upheld the
conviction u/ss. 29 and 30 – On appeal, held: Appellant could have
been charged with s. 29(b) only after it was established by the
prosecution that he delivered the fire arm to the co-accused,
knowingly and deliberately–Thereis no evidence to establish that
the fire arm was handed over to the co-accused by the appellant–
On the contrary, it appears that the co-accused illegally took the
licensed fire arm of the appellant without his permission and
knowledge and used the said weapon to murder the deceased–Thus,
the appellant’s conviction u/s. 29 not sustainable – Furthermore,
no evidence to establish any willful violation by the appellant of
any of the conditions of the Act or conditions of a licence or any
provision of theAct or any rule, thus, exonerated from the offence
of s. 30 as well –Order of the High Court convicting the appellant
u/ss. 29 and 30 set aside.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No.
293 of 2018.
From the Judgment and Order dated 27.02.2017 of the High Court
of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Appeal No.CRA-D-
1033-DB of 2011.
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 2 S.C.R.
A. Sirajudeen, Sr. Adv., Ms. Kamakshi S. Mehlwal, Advs. for the
Appellant.
Ms. Jaspreet Gogia, Karanvir Gogia, Ms. Shivangi Singhal, Advs.
for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
KRISHNA MURARI, J.
This appeal is directed against the judgment and final order
dt.27.02.2017 passed by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at
Chandigarh (hereinafter referred to as ‘High Court’) in Criminal Appeal
No. CRA-D-1033-DB of 2011, whereby the High Court set-aside the
conviction and sentence of the Appellant under Section 120-B IPC,
however the High Court upheld the conviction and sentence of the
Appellant under Sections 29 & 30 Arms Act whereby the Appellant was
sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for 3 years under Section
29 of the Arms Act and Rigorous Imprisonment for 3 months under
Section 30 of the Arms Act.
2. In brief the case of the prosecution is that on 10.08.2007 on
receipt of a telephonic message regarding the death of one Gurdeep
Singh (hereinafter referred to as ‘deceased’), Inspector Pritam Singh,
PS Sadar Rupnagar (hereinafter ‘Investigating Officer/ IO’) reached
the spot and recorded the statement of one Smt. Sukhjit Kaur (A3), W/
o deceased Gurdeep Singh wherein she stated that she was married to
deceased on 13.12.2005, after the marriage the deceased returned to
Dubai where he worked as a Truck Driver, leaving her to live in her
matrimonial home with her mother-in-law. The deceased returned to
India on 01.08.2007 and on 03.08.2007 she along with deceased went to
her paternal home at Village Kishanpura, the next day both of them
went to Gurudwara Solkhian Sahib on her brother’s bullet motorcycle
bearing No. PB-12-F-3805, thereafter, while returning she asked the
deceased to stop near a bush on the outskirt of Village Bahman Majra
so she could relive herself, once she was back the deceased told her
that two men had come on a motorcycle from Village Singh, one of them
was carrying a long barrel rifle, they approached him but on seeing some
villagers coming they went back. Subsequently, on 10.08.2007 at around
11.30 AM Sukhjit Kaur and the deceased were returning after meeting
her maternal grandmother at Village Hafizabad, on the way Sukhjit Kaur’s
dupatta got entangled in the motorcycle’s wheel, to remove it the
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deceased stooped and bike and while Sukhjit Kaur was removing the
dupatta from the wheel a mosquito entered her eye, in that moment two
men approached the deceased and one of them shot the deceased dead.
By the time Sukhjit Kaur turned, the assailants had escaped.
3. Based on 

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