Judgement

CHANDRASEKHARA AIYAR, J. : The four appellants and two others named Seshaya and Pitchi Reddy, who are all communists, were charged with the murder of one Venkatakrishna Shastry who was a congress worker or leader.

2. The appellants were convicted of the offence but the other two were acquitted by the Sessions Judge, Warrangal, Hyderabad State, on the astounding ground that no overt acts were proved against them. The appellants preferred appeals to the High Court at Hyderabad and there was the usual reference for confirmation of the death sentences imposed on them. The appeals were heard by a Bench consisting of Deshpande J. and Dr. Mir Siadat Ali Khan J. and they disagreed with each other. Deshpande J. held that the evidence did not establish the guilt of the appellants and he acquitted them.

On the other hand, Dr. Mir Siadat Ali Khan came to the conclusion that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt. He confirmed the convictions but reduced the sentences to imprisonment for life. Owing to this difference of opinion the matter was referred to a third Judge, Manohar Pershad J. and he agreed with the finding of guilty given by his learned brother Dr. Mir Siadat Ali Khan. We granted special leave to the appellants to come before this court.

3. The facts of the occurrence, as alleged by the prosecution, are these. On the evening of 19-1-1949, the deceased Venkatakrishan Shastry of the village of Maturpeta and five other persons, who were Congress workers like, him, were returning to the village from a tank. One of the communist leaders called Nagabhushan Rao had been arrested a month or two previously and the communist party believed that Venkatakrishna Shastry was responsible for the arrest. So a large group of communists, about 25 or 30 in number including the accused, armed with guns and swords, paid a visit to Maturpeta to wreak vengeance against the Congress group led by Venkatakrishbna Shastry.

They ran into the Congress group as they were getting back to the village after the evening stroll. P. W. 14, a dhobi boy named Gopai, was one of the camp followers of this communist group. Venkatakrishna Shastry and his co-workers were tied up with their own clothes and were led to the village chavadi over which a Congress flag was flying. A rope was brought from the house of P. W. 17 and the members of the Congress group were tied with this rope and led some distance away from the village to a red-gram field, and all of them were beaten by their enemies ; except Shastry, the rest were driven away from the place.

Shastry was tied with the rope and taken in the eastern direction by Mangapaty (the dalam or group leader) and the accused. P. W. 14 was following the group carrying a bundle of their clothes on his head. After a short halt at the village of Suknevedu, where some food was taken, the party went towards a mango-tope near a brook, four of five miles away leading Venkatakrishna Shastry as the captive.

The deceased, Gopai (P. W. 14) and some of the accused remained on the bank of the brooklet. The others went a little beyond and one of them came back with orders that Venkatakrishna Shastry should be fetched, Venkatakrishna Shastry was taken along and when the moon was at the meridian, the rope with which he was led was tied round the neck of the deceased into a noose.

Two of the accused pulled one end of the rope and two others at the other end in opposite directions. Venkatakrishan Shashtry was thus strangled to death. A pit was dug and the body of the Venkatakrishna Shastry was buried in the river-bed. P. W. 14 saw all this from a distance of twenty yards in clear moonlight.

4. Two or three days later after, some wanderings in the jungle and mountain -dens P. W. 14 left the company of his masters who were implored by the boy s father P. W. 7 to permit him to take the boy away.

5. Next morning a report was sent by P. W. 2 the police patel about the abduction of Venkatakrishna Shastry and investigatio