Judgment

MITTER, J.-This is an appeal by special leave granted to the four appellants from the judgment and order of the High Court of Allahabad rejecting their appeals to that court and accepting the reference made by the Session Judge of Fatehpur. There is no question of law involved in this case and leave to appeal appears to have been given because of a difference of opinion between the two learned Judges of the High Court who heard the appeals in the first instance. On a reference being made to him a third Judge of the High Court held in favour of the acceptance of the reference by the Session Judge. Having heard learned counsel for the appellants at some length we find ourselves unable to come to any conclusion other than that arrived at by the majority Judges of the High Court.

2. Two ladies by the name of Smt. Roop Rani and his sister-in-law (husband s sister) Smt. Bhoori were murdered at about midnight on the night between 22nd and 23rd August, 1965, and Rameshwar Singh, husband of Smt. Boohri was attempted to be murdered in the house of Smt. Roop Rani in Jamoh, a hamlet of village Lamshta, situate within the Ghasipur police circle in the District of Fatehpur. There were five accused who were charged under Section 148, Section 302 read with Section 149 and Section 455 of the Indian Penal Code. The Sessions Judge gave the benefit of doubt to the accused Sher Bahadur Singh but convicted the other four under Section 302, read with Section 149, I. P. C. for the murder of the two ladies and further under Section 307, read with Section 149, Indian Penal Code for attempting to commit the murder of Rameshwar Singh. They were also convicted under Section 148, I. P. C. but no sentence was awarded on the charge under Section 455, Indian Penal Code.

3. The appellants before us are Raghunath Singh alias Manna Singh, Ram Kripal Singh, Yadunath Singh and Inderwa Rewat; the First three were residents of Jamoh mentioned above while the last appellant was a resident of Babhantara situate at a distance of 4 or 5 furlongs from Jamoh. The deceased, Roop Rani was the widow of one Sripal Singh, a first cousin of the appellant Raghunath Singh. Sripal Singh was murdered in July 1962 leaving Roop Rani as his sole heir. Sripal Singh and Raghunath Singh used to live in the same house which was later on partitioned by setting up a wall between the northern and the southern portions thereof. The appellant Raghunath Singh resided in the northern portion and Roop Rani in the southern portion of the house. Roop Rani was in fear of her life from Raghunath Singh and others and at her request, after the death of her husband, Rameshwar Singh and Smt. Bhoori came to live with her in the same house and look after her property in Jamoh. Sripal and Roop Rani had no issue and the case of the prosecution was that Raghunath Singh who had an eye on the property left by Sripal Singh consisting of 70 or 80 bighas of land did not like the idea of Rameshwar Singh looking after her property or his coming to live in village Jamoh with his wife to protect Roop Rani. This is borne out by an application in writing sent by Smt, Roop Rani to the District Magistrate Fatehpur on September 18, 1962 wherein it was stated that the four appellants wanted to kill her as well as her Nandoi (Rameshwar Singh) to grab her property. The Sessions Judge was of opinion that the appellant Raghunath Singh had a strong motive for committing the murders of Roop Rani, Bhoori and Rameshwar Singh and this was accepted by the majority Judges of the High Court. According to the differing Judge, the evidence of motive while accounting for the commission of the murders might equally well be relied upon in defence to show that the appellants had been falsely implicated. The plea that Smt. Ram Dulari the only other sister of Smt. Bhoori living at a distance of 3 miles from Jamoh had a motive for getting the murders committed was rejected by the Sessions Judge for reasons given by him and we are in full