Punjab-Haryana High Court
Jai Bhagwan & Ors vs State Of Haryana on 4 August, 2010
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH
Crl. Appeal No. 2136-SB of 2005
Date of Decision: 4.8.2010
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Jai Bhagwan & Ors.
.. Appellants
Vs.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
with Crl. Appeal No. 2265-SB of 2005
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Shri Bhagwan & Anr.
.. Appellants
Vs.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
and Crl. Appeal No. 2206-SB of 2006
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Jagdish & Ors.
.. Appellants
Vs.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARVIND KUMAR
Present:- Mr. B.S. Chahar, Advocate
Mr. Amit Arora, Advocate and
Mr. Pritam Saini, Advocate
Mr. Sunil Saharan, Advocate for
Mr. Jitender Dhanda, Advocate.
Mr. Rajeev Malhotra, Addl. A.G. Haryana.
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ARVIND KUMAR, J.
The above referred appeals are filed against one and the same 2 judgment rendered by the learned Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Court), Bhiwani by dint of which all the appellants have been convicted and sentenced under various heads and have been substantively awarded sentence of rigorous imprisonment for five years with fine under different heads with default punishment.
The case of the prosecution is that on 17.11.2003 the police party headed by EHC Sukhbir Singh had to produce the accused Dalsher, Pardeep son of Jora Singh and Pardeep son of Om Parkash, in a Court at Hansi, who at that time were confined in District Jail, Bhiwani in relation to some other case. After their hearing at Hansi, when the police party was taking them back to Bhiwani in a Haryana Roadways Bus No. HR39-4620, on the way, the appellants Jagdish, Kuldeep Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Subhash, Manoj, Shamsher and Shri Bhagwan attacked the police party and tried to rescue Dalsher, Pardeep son of Jora Singh and Pardeep son of Om Parkash and in that attempt Shri Bhagwan and Jagdish, who were armed with country made pistols, fired upon the police party with intention to kill them. It is also the case of the prosecution that the assailants succeeded in getting Pardeep son of Om Parkash freed from the police party and took him away, but failed to get Dalsher and Pardeep son of Jora Singh released.
After the registration of the case pursuant to complaint made by EHC Sukhbir Singh, case FIR No. 170 dated 17.11.2003, under Sections 148, 224, 225, 332, 353, 307, 149 IPC and 25/54/59 of Arms Act was registered at Police Station Bawani Khera and during investigation, the appellants were arrested on different dates and put to trial.
Charge under Sections 148, 332, 353, 307 read with Section 149 IPC was framed against the appellants while appellants Pardeep son of Jora Singh, Pardeep son of Om Parkash and Dalsher were charge sheeted under Sections 224 IPC while the remaining appellants namely Shri Bhagwan, Jai Bhagwan, Jagdish, Subhash, Manoj, Kuldeep and Shamsher were charged for an offence under Section 225 IPC as well. Appellants Shri Bhagwan and Jagdish were also charge sheeted for an offence under Section 25 of the Arms Act. The appellants pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed trial. Consequently, the prosecution produced as many as 20 witnesses in all. When examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C. the appellants pleaded false implication. They got examined EHC Shyam Sunder as DW.1.
3On conclusion of the trial, the appellants were held guilty for the offence under which they were charged. Under Section 148 IPC they were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year with a fine of Rs.500/- each and in default further rigorous imprisonment for two months; for committing offence under Section 332 IPC they were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years with fine of Rs.500/- each and in default, further sentence of two months rigorous imprisonment was provided; under Section 353 read with Section 149 IPC rigorous imprisonment for one year was imposed while under Section 307 read with Section 149 IPC they were awarded rigorous imprisonment for five years with a fine of Rs.2000/- each and in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for four months.
Appellants Pardeep son of Jora Singh, Dalsher and Pardeep son of Om Parkash were also convicted and sentenced under Section 224 IPC with rigorous imprisonment for two years.
Appellants Shri Bhagwan, Jai Bhagwan, Jagdish, Subhash, Manoj, Shamsher and Kuldeep Singh were further convicted under Section 225 IPC and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years.
Appellants Shri Bhagwan and Jagdish were also convicted under Section 25 of Arms Act and rigorous imprisonment for two years with fine of Rs.500/- each was imposed and in default of payment of fine further rigorous imprisonment for two months was provided.
The sentences were ordered to run concurrently except the sentence imposed upon the appellants Pardeep son of Jora Singh, Pardeep son of Om Parkash and Dalsher under Section 224 IPC.
Dis-satisfied with the same appellants Jagdish, Dalsher, Kuldeep Singh and Pardeep son of Jora Singh have filed Crl. Appeal No. 2206-SB of 2006, appellants namely Jai Bhagwan, Subhash, Manoj and Shamsher have filed Crl. Appeal No. 2136-SB of 2005 while appellants Shri Bhagwan and Pardeep son of Om Parkash have filed Crl. Appeal No. 2265- SB of 2005 and has laid challenge to the impugned judgment of their conviction dated 20.8.2005 and and order of sentence dated 24.8.2005.
All the appeals have been taken up for hearing today. During the course of arguments, learned counsel appearing for the appellants have not touched the merits of the case and has confined the 4 prayer to the limited extent that some of the appellants have undergone about three years of sentence in this case while the sentence of some of the appellants is going to touch three years and for some two years and thus, it is prayed that their sentence be reduced to one as already undergone by them.
The record shows that some of the appellants have to their credit many other criminal cases as well. They have taken a daring step of attacking the police party in order to get their group members released from the police custody. As noticed above, some of the appellants have undergone merely about one and a half year and the reduction in sentence to the period undergone will be too lenient. However, keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case that there was no major/severe injury on the person of the police personnel, the sentence of the appellants imposed under Section 307 IPC is reduced to three years.
Thus, the conviction and sentence of the appellants under the aforesaid Sections is maintained, except under Section 307 IPC which is reduced to three years from five years. The sentence of fine is also maintained. The appellants, who have not completed the aforesaid sentence of three years and are on bail, shall surrender before the CJM concerned forthwith, failing which their warrants of arrest be issued by the CJM concerned. Copy of this order be sent to the Court of CJM concerned forthwith.
The appeals are disposed of in aforesaid terms.
Copy of this order be placed in the connected appeals.
(ARVIND KUMAR) JUDGE August 4,2010 Jiten