Judgment

Thomas, J.-Out of six persons arraigned before a Sessions Court for the murder of one Natarajan, one alone was convicted and the rest were acquitted. The High Court of Madras confirmed the conviction and sentence (imprisonment for life). His plea of right of private defence was denounced by the trial Court as well as the High Court. The said sole convict, Vijayan, is the appellant before us.

2. The 5th of October, 1984 was an eventful day for the rival factions one of which the appellants belongs to. A series of events took place on that day which ended up with the death of Natarajan at about 2.30 p.m. It gave rise to the present case.

3. Prosecution and the defence were in substantial agreement regarding the narrative of the events till the penultimate stage. But they differed grossly with each other regarding the final stage in which fatal injury was inflicted on the deceased to which he succumbed in a few minutes.

4. The following part of the story is, by and large, undisputed. Natarajan and his brother P.W. 1-Kandaswamy were residents of a place called Edayankattuvalasu in Erode town (Tamil Nadu). Their neighbour was Periyanna. He and his children were residing in adjacent