Judgment

S. JAFER IMAM J. : The appellant and one Prem were tried for the murder of Nirmala Devi, wife of Banwari Lal, a practising lawyer at Rupar. The appellant was sentenced to death while Prem was sentenced to imprisonment for life. The appellant and Prem appealed against their conviction and sentence to the High Court of Punjab. Their appeals were dismissed and their conviction and sentence were affirmed by the High Court. The appellant obtained from this Court special leave to appeal and in the present appeal the only question for consideration is whether the appellant was rightly convicted and sentenced for the murder of Nirmala Devi. The case of Prem is not before us.

2. At Rupar, Banwari Lal practised as a lawyer. His wife, the deceased Nirmala Devi lived with him there with their child, eight months old. With them also lived Banwari Lal s sister Vina, a girl of about 16 to 17 years of age. Banwari Lal had employed Prem as a servant about four months before the murder of Nirmala Devi on February 12, 1957. This Prem was a youngster of about fourteen years of age at that time. According to the prosecution, he was an associate of the appellant who was posted at Rupar in the cap