Judgment

DUA, J. : The State of U. P., the appellant in this appeal by special leave, assails the judgment of the Allahabad High Court dated May 18, 1970 acquitting on appeal the six respondents in this Court who were convicted by the Court of the first temporary Civil & Sessions Judge, Pratapgarh on September 1, 1969, of various offences under the Indian Penal Code. The accused Paras Nath Singh, Ramendra Pratap Singh, Hari Saran Singh and Lal Pratap Singh were sentenced to death under S. 302 read with S. 149, I.P.C. The accused Surendra Pratap Singh and Shiva Pratap Singh were also convicted under the said sections but sentenced to life imprisonment. Leniency was shown to them by the trial court because Surendra Pratap Singh was stated to be a budding lawyer and Shiv Pratap Singh, being of tender age (15 or 16 years old), was considered to have apparently been misled by his relations. Excepting Surendra Pratap Singh and Hari Saran Singh, the remaining accused were also sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year each under S. 147, I.P.C. They were further convicted under S. 148, I.P.C. and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years each. Accused Paras Nath Singh was in addition, sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six months under S. 379, I.P.C.

2. The relevant facts necessary for our purpose may now be stated. The six respondents (hereinafter called the accused) were charged with the murder of Suresh Singh on July 9, 1968 and with the theft of his gun and cartridges along with the container. The deceased and the accused are all Thakurs by caste residing in village Isanpur. Accused Surendra Pratap Singh and Ramendra Pratap Singh are brothers residing in a house adjoining that of the deceased, being thus his next door neighbours. Shiva Pratap Singh and Lal Pratap Singh are cousins and the other accused persons are said to be their associates. There was long standing enmity between the deceased on the one hand and Ramendra Pratap Singh and his family members on the other. About six or seven months prior to the present occurrence, Ramendra Pratap Singh is said to have tried to fire at the deceased on Diwali day, and a case under Section 307, I.P.C. arising out of the said incident was pending at the time of the murder of the deceased. About five or six days prior to the murder Ramendra Pratap Singh, Surendra Pratap Singh and one Vijai Bahadur Singh are stated to have beaten the deceased inside his house giving rise to another case under S. 107/117, Cr. P.C. which was also pending at the time of the murder in question. This enmity is stated to be the motive for the murder of the deceased. Now turning to the occurrence in question on July 9, 1968, Suresh Singh deceased had gone to Pratapgarh on cycle for some work carrying with him his gun and cartridges. On his way back from Pratapgarh the same evening at about sunset when he reached Rakhaha Bazar and was on the Rakhaha Bazar-Khandhi kachha road, all the accused persons emerged from the nearby Nala. They surrounded their victim Suresh Singh, shouting that he should be killed because he posed to be a great leader. The accused who were armed with lathis, spears and farsha, assaulted the deceased with their respective weapons. Smt. Sheela Devi, P. W. 1, daughter of the deceased and Sachendra Pratap Singh, (P.W. 2) son of the deceased also happened to be returning to their village from Rakhaha Bazar where they had gone to purchase parwal (a vegetable) for their mother who was not well. On hearing the alarm they went towards the nala where they saw the accused assaulting their father with lathis, spears and farsha. Several other persons, including Shiva Pratap Singh, Mahabir Singh, Ranmast Singh and Jagdish Bahadur Singh were also attracted by the alarm to the place of occurrence. The deceased fell down on receipt of injuries and the accused ran away carrying with them the gun and container of cartridges along with its contents belonging to the deceased. The cycle and a jho