JUDGMENT

Santosh Hegde, J.-The appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 388/2000 was charged along with four other accused persons for having committed murder of one Ram Briksha on 18.6.1979 at about at about 9.30 p.m. The learned Sessions Judge who tried the said accused persons in S.T.No. 31/1980 found all the accused persons including the appellant herein guilty of the offences charged and convicted them for offences punishable under Section 302 IPC read with Section 149 IPC and imposed the sentence of imprisonment for life. While doing so, the learned Sessions Judge relied upon evidence of PWs. 2 to 5 who were produced by the prosecution as eye witnesses.

2. The aggrieved accused persons preferred an appeal before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Appeal No. 1622/1980. The High Court rejected the evidence of PWs.3 and 4 as not believable but relied on the evidence of PW-2, the mother-in-law of the deceased and PW-5, the wife of the deceased and based on their evidence while acquitting the other accused persons convicted the appellant alone by confirming the judgment of the learned Sessions Judge and awarded to the appellant punishment under Section 302 read with Se