Sanjiv Khanna JUDGMENT
Sanjiv Khanna, J.
1. The Appellant Ombir Singh has challenged the judgment dated 27.10.2009, by the Allahabad High Court, confirming his conviction Under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ('Indian Penal Code, for short) and Section 27 of the Arms Act, 1959, for the murder of Abhaiveer Singh Bhadoria @ Munna on 15.07.1999 at about 9 am. The Appellant has also challenged the sentence of life imprisonment and fine of Rs. 11,000/- imposed by the Trial Court and confirmed by the High Court.
2. Homicidal death of Abhaiveer Singh Bhadoria @ Munna on 15.07.1999 at about 9 am near the house of one Shivraj Singh Sengar is not challenged and disputed before us. The said factum has been proved, without any doubt, by documentary and ocular evidence which we would notice below and also by the post mortem report Ex. A/2 proved by Dr. Balbeer Singh (PW-3), who was then working as a surgeon in the District Hospital Itawa. He has deposed that Abhaiveer Singh Bhadoria @ Munna had died as a result of as many as 5 firearm injuries that he had identified by referring to five entry and five exit wounds. We shall subsequently refer to Dr. Balbeer Singh's (PW-3) testimony as to the time when he had received the dead body of Abhaiveer Singh Bhadoria @Munna and the details and documents made available to him by the Investigation Officer.
3. The prime arguments on behalf of the Appellant are that the alleged eye-witnesses Dinesh Singh, the original complainant and brother of the deceased Abhaiveer Singh Bhadoria @ Munna, who has deposed as PW-1, and Mukesh Singh (PW-2) are unreliable, and they had been set-up and planted by the prosecution. In support, reliance is placed upon Dinesh Singh's (PW-1) and Mukesh Singh's (PW-2) version that they had not seen anyone from the field unit, though 14 photographs (Ex-13/C-1 to Ex-13/C-13) were taken by the field unit, as proved and deposed to by Rakesh Babu and Omkar Singh who had testified as Court Witnesses, CW-2 and CW-3. It was highlighted that the First Information Report ('FIR', for short), purportedly recorded on the details and information furnished by Dinesh Singh (PW-1), contrary to the mandate of Section 157 of the Code of Criminal Procedure ('Code', for short) was belatedly sent and received by the ilaka magistrate (Chief Judicial Magistrate in this case) after 11 days, and that the FIR was not sent to Dr. Balbeer Singh (PW-3) along with the inquest papers. Thus, it was submitted that the FIR was ante-timed and in the background of personal and political rivalry between the parties, the Appellant had been framed by the two purported eye witnesses Dinesh Singh (PW-1) and Mukesh Singh (PW-2), who were not present at the spot and therefore, were not injured. The Trial Court had not accepted their testimonies against Pramod Singh, who as per said witnesses was present with the Appellant and an equal participant in the occurrence, and was acquitted. These contentions have been contested by the counsel for the State, who has relied on the findings of the Trial Court which were affirmed by the High Court.
4. There was undoubtedly a delay in compliance of Section