Judgment

M.K. Mukherjee, J.-George @ Vakkachan, Rajeev and Joshy, the three appellants before us (arrayed as A1 to A3, respectively in the trial Court and hereinafter so referred to) along with four others, (A4 to A7) were put up for trial before an Additional Sessions Judge, Kotta­yam to answer charges under Sections 143, 147, 148, 449, and 302 read with Section 149 I.P.C. The gravamina of the charges were that on May 28, 1990 at or about 11 P.M. they formed themselves into an unlawful assembly with the common object of committing the murder of Sasidharan Nair and in prosecution thereof they trespassed into his house and hacked him to death. The trial ended in acquittal of all of them; and aggrieved thereby the respondent-State of Kerala filed an appeal and Smt. Sarojini Amma (mother of the deceased) filed a rivision petition before the High Court. The High Court also issued a suo motu Rule calling upon the seven acquitted persons to show cause why their acquittal should not be set aside. All the matters were heard togeth­er by the High Court; and by a common judgment it set aside the ac­quittal of the three appellants and convicted them under Sections 302, read with Section 3