Fact of the case :

At about 9.00 p.m., Puran Singh was in a drunken condition in front of the house of the complainant Gurdial Singh. Gurjant Singh and Plant Singh, the two brothers, were standing outside their house, prevented Puran Singh to keep himself under control and not to make a noise, Puran Singh grappled with Gurjant Singh and took away the turban of aforesaid Gurjant Singh. 

A little later, Gurjant Singh along with his two brothers Gurdial Singh and Bant Singh proceeded to the house of Puran Singh far making remonstrance and for collecting his turban back. Puran Singh came out of his house and gave a lathi blow on the head of Gurjant Singh and as a consequence of this injury, Gurjant Singh fell on the ground and became unconscious. Gurdial Singh and Bant Singh witnesses raised an alarm ‘Marta Marta’ upon which, the accused ran away and thereafter, the (Gurdial Singh and Bart Singh) carried their brother Gurjant Singh to Civil Hospital, Joga where he was found unconscious by Dr. R. K. Garg (PW-5), who was the In- charge of the Primary Health Centre, Joga. 

Puran Singh-accused was arrested on 8.2.1991 and as a consequence of his disclosure statement, the turban Exhibit P-1 of the deceased was recovered vide memo Exhibit PK and the lathi Exhibit P-2 was also recovered at his instance the same day vide memo Exhibit PL. 

“The court laid down the following criteria as to the nature of possession which may entitle a trespasser to exercise the right of private defence of the property and person:-

1. The trespasser must be in actual physical possession of the property over a sufficiently long period.

2. The possession must be in the knowledge, either express or implied, of the owner or without any concealment and which contains an element of animus possidendi.

3. The process of dispossession of the true owner by the trespasser must be complete and final.

4. One of the usual tests to determine settled possession of the true owner by the trespasser in the case of cultivable land, would be whether any crop has been grown on the land. If the crop has been grown, even the true owner has no right to destroy the crop grown by the trespasser.”

Held : Puran Singh, son of Kartar Singh of village Joga, has been convicted under Section 302 of the IPC (103(1) of BNS) and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life and also required to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000.