JUDGMENT

Arijit Pasayat, J.-Questioning acquittal of the respondents by the impugned judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Jabalpur Bench at Indore, by which the conviction and sentence imposed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ratlam, were set aside, this appeal has been filed by the State of Madhya Pradesh.

2. Four persons i.e. respondents herein faced trial for allegedly causing homicidal death of Dharamchand (hereinafter referred to as the deceased ) on 6-8-1984.

3. Background facts as highlighted by the prosecution version sans unnecessary details are as follows:

4. On the fateful day at about 9.30 a.m. deceased accompanied by Mansingh (PW 4) and Gulabsingh (PW 7) was going from his village Talod to Alote. The accused persons were hiding behind bushes on the road near village Gharola. They were armed with lathies and farsies. When the deceased and the aforesaid two persons reached near the Khakhra, the respondents surrounded them and started attacking the deceased with weapons with which they were armed. His nose was cut, PW. 4 and 7 tried to intervene, but they were also attacked by the accused persons as a result of which they also received injuries. The two witnes