Judgment

D.P. Wadhwa, J.-These two appeals have been separately filed by two appellants against common judgment dated February 11, 1997 of the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) upholding the conviction of the appellants under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘IPC’) and sentence of imprisonment for life awarded to both of them. The appellant Matadin in Criminal Appeal No. 835 of 1997 and appellant Ramsingh in Criminal Appeal No. 171 of 1998 were respectively arrayed as accused Nos. 4 and 1 in the trial Court.

2. The appellants were tried along with four others for offences under Sections 147, 148, 149 and 302 IPC. During the trial one of the accused died and three of them were acquitted. The learned additional Sessions Judge held that prosecution had failed to prove that the accused were members of an unlawful assembly and in prosecution of common object of such assembly had committed the offence of rioting with deadly weapons. He, however, held that Ramsingh (in Criminal Appeal No. 474 of 1998) and Matadin (in Criminal Appeal No. 835 of 1997) committed offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and sentenced each of them to impris