Daulat v. The State (Govt of NCT Delhi)

PRADEEP NANDRAJOG, J.

ARUNA SURESH, J.

FEBRUARY 11, 2009 mm

i.14 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + CRL.A. 453/2006 % Date of Order : February 11, 2009 DAULAT ..... Appellant Through: Ms. Latika Chaudhary, Advocate for Ms. Poornima Sethi, Advocate versus THE STATE (GOVT OF NCT DELHI) ..... Respondent Through: Mr. Pawan Sharma, Advocate CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRADEEP NANDRAJOG HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE ARUNA SURESH 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? 3. Whether judgment should be reported in Digest? : PRADEEP NANDRAJOG, J. (Oral) 1. Heard learned counsel for the parties. 2. Whereas co-accused Sonu, against whom the prosecution alleged the role of exhorting the appellant who thereupon inflicted two stab wounds on the person of the deceased Ram Singh, has been acquitted on account of insufficient evidence to prove the alleged exhortation, vide impugned judgment dated 18.11.2005, the appellant has been convicted for the offence of murdering Ram Singh. The appellant has been directed to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/-. 3. The case of the prosecution is that in the intervening night of 25/26.11.2003 Ram Singh, a resident of Block B-3, Raghubir Nagar was outside his house No.925. He was in the company of his wife Pushpa Devi. They were unloading goods from a cart. The appellant and Sonu were passing by and told them to get out of the site. Without any provocation, Sonu instigated Daulat saying "ye sala dada banta hai, aaj iska kaam tamam hi kar dete hain", upon which, appellant took out a knife from his pant and stabbed Ram Singh twice in the abdomen. 4. Somebody rang up the police and informed about the incident which was recorded at PS Rajouri Garden vide DD No.54, Ex.PW-4/A, by Const.Raghunath Prasad PW-4. ASI Om Prakash PW-14, accompanied by Const.Satish PW-6, left for the spot and on learning that the injured had been removed to DDU Hospital went to the hospital. They found Ram Singh admitted in the hospital and in an injured condition. Pushpa Devi PW-11, the wife of Ram Singh who was present in the hospital made a statement Ex.PW-11/A, based whereon, the FIR was registered at 2:20 AM on 26.1.2003 by HC Jagdish Prasad PW-1. It may be noted that in her statement, Pushpa Devi told the police that on the exhortation of Sonu, the appellant had stabbed her husband. 5. It may be noted that when ASI Om Prakash and Const.Satish reached the spot, the appellant and the co-accused were already apprehended and were being held on to by Prabhu Dayal PW-12 and Yaad Ram PW-13. The police formally arrested both from the spot. 6. The weapon of offence, a knife, was seized at the spot. We note that there is a slight diversion in the testimony of the witnesses, whether the knife was recovered from a drain next to the spot where Ram Singh was injured or it was recovered from the possession of the appellant. 7. We shall be dealing with this aspect a little later. 8. After the FIR was registered, the investigation at the spot was completed by calling a photographer who took photographs of the site. Control earth, earth stained with blood and the knife recovered were kept inside a parcel and the same were sealed. The shirt which was worn by the appellant was seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-6/A, for the reason ASI Om Prakash and Const.Satish Kumar saw that the same was stained with blood. 9. At the hospital, injured Ram Singh was examined by Dr.Romit Gupta PW-7, who recorded the MLC Ex.PW-7/A, noting thereon, that the injured had a stab injury on the right abdomen and another stab injury on the left abdomen. The patient was referred for surgery. 10. Ram Singh was given medical treatment in the form of a surgical intervention for the reason, the internal wounds had to be sutured. 11. Ram Singh died on 30.11.2003. The body was sent for post-mortem, where on 2.12.2003, Dr.B.N.Mishra PW-19, conducted the post-mortem and gave his report Ex.PW-18/C, in which he recorded that there were four external injur