Rs.1,000 Fine In Murder Case 'Extremely Minimal': Punjab & Haryana High Court Upholds Life Sentence, Enhances Compensation To 50K

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has upheld the conviction of seven accused persons in a 24 years old murder case and imposed a fine of Rs.50,000 on each of them, observing that fine of Rs.1000 imposed by the trial court is "extremely minimal."

The deceased was murdered due to a longstanding enmity related to a land dispute. The body of the deceased was found lying injured smeared with blood. The division bench refused to consider it as the "rare of the rarest case" to impose death penalty.

Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma said, "Court is constrained to not impose capital punishment, upon the convicts. However, the imposition of the fine amount of Rs. 1000/- upon each of the accused is extremely minimal, and, is required to be enhanced, as the fine amount is required to be on its realization disbursed to the family members of the deceased."

These observations were made while hearing the plea of the accused persons challenging the judgement of the trial court whereby all the accused were sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs.1000 was also imposed on each.

The case dates back to 2000, wherein the accused persons were charged under Sections 302 IPC and Section 120-B IPC. 

After hearing the submissions, the Court noted that the discourse statement were made by the two accused persons, "both the convicts-appellants...confessed their guilt in committing the crime event, by inflicting injuries on the deceased concerned, hence with the incriminatory weapons of offence."

The Court took note of the disclosure statement made by the accused persons, wherein the confessed their guilt in committing the crime event, by inflicting injuries on the deceased. The bench further noted that the incriminatory weapon was recovered from the location pointed out by the convicts and the same was not hit by Section 25 of the Evidence Act.

It also noted that the doctor who examined the body had submitted in his examination that "the cause of demise of the deceased was owing to shock and haemorrhage, as a result of injuries...which were stated to be ante mortem in nature, and, also sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature."

Justice Thakur said that, the examination-in- chief of the dictor was never challenged through any efficacious cross-examination by the defence counsels therefore that has attained a "formidable force."

The Court concluded that, "when there is evident inter se corroboration inter se the incriminatory report of the FSL concerned...the signatured disclosure statements of the accused-appellants concerned, and, the consequent thereto recoveries, as became made at their respective instance(s) to the investigating officer concerned. Resultantly therebys, this Court is firmly led to conclude that the prosecution has convincingly proven the charge drawn against the accused."

In the light of the above, the Court upheld the conviction and sentence of life imprisonment. The fine was enhanced from Rs.1000 to Rs. 50,000 to be paid by each accused to the family of the accused.

Title: Daljinder Singh and others v. State of Punjab [other connected matters]

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (PH) 219

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