15 yrs on, man freed of murder charge

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 16

Fifteen years after an Ambala man was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting his daughter-in-law and her paramour, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has converted the murder offence into culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The Division Bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu also directed his production in the court on July 24 to hear him on the quantum of the sentence for the offence under Section 304 (Part II) of the IPC. The Bench also acquitted another accused in the case.

Sahib Singh and another appellant had moved the High Court against the state of Haryana through senior advocate RS Cheema challenging the judgment and order pronounced in March 2004 by the Ambala Additional Sessions Judge.

The motive attributed to Sahib Singh was that he did not like his son taking liquor with victim Ram Karan. Speaking for the Bench, Justice Sharma asserted that the fact emerging from the case record was that victim Ram Karan had visited Sahib Singh’s house. He was found in his daughter-in-law Baljinder Kaur’s company. “Sahib Singh had seen them and killed Ram Karan and Baljinder Kaur in a sudden and grave provocation…. He could not tolerate seeing his daughter-in-law in the company of Ram Karan during night, that too in his house…. The fact of the matter is that appellant Sahib Singh had knowledge that firing would cause the death of Ram Karan and Baljinder Kaur,” Justice Sharma added.

Investigating officer Mange Ram, during the course of the trial, had deposed that it came to his notice during the probe that Baljinder Kaur was not of good character and was having relations with others, including Ram Karan.

It also came to his notice during the investigation that Sahib Singh was not happy with Ram Karan due to illicit relations.

Referring to his statement, Justice Sharma added that it had come out during the investigation that Baljinder Kaur was not carrying a good reputation. She had illicit relations with others, including Ram Karan. It also transpired that Sahib Singh did not like illicit relations between Ram Karan and Baljinder Kaur. “The dead bodies were found in the courtyard. These were lying in proximity to each other”.

  Referring to the evidence against the other accused, Justice Sharma added that the only role assigned to appellant Darshan Singh was that he had come to the house of the victim’s father and asked Ram Karan to accompany him to the house of Sahib Singh. He was seen sitting on a motorcycle by Chet Ram and another witness. “There is no evidence against appellant Darshan Singh”.