Judgement

SHELAT, J.:- The appellants are Chamars by caste, three of whom appellants Ghurphekan, Mahangu and Musafir, are related to each other. The other two, Sarju and Raj Kumar, though not related to Ghurphekan have in the past been involved with him in one litigation or the other.

2. Upnet Rai and his brother, the deceased Hirday Rai, bhumidhars. There was a long standing enmity between Upnet Rai and Hirday Rai on the one hand, and Ghurphekan and his adherents, on the other, fed intermittently by litigation, both civil and criminal. On December 14, 1962, a judgment was to be delivered in a civil appeal to hear which Upnet. Rai had gone to the court as his son, Sarab Chand was a party. A case under Section 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against Ghurphekan was also fixed for hearing on that day. It was said that Ghurphekan assaulted Upnet Rai as he was returning from the Court on that day, causing him as many as 27 injuries. For that assault, Ghurphekan was convicted under Section 325 of the Penal Code. He had, however, filed an appeal against the said conviction, pending the hearing of which he was enlarged on bail. Such was the state of relations between the appellants on