Judgement

MITTER, J. :- Accepting the appeal of the State from the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge, Betul acquitting all the thirteen accused before him in Sessions Trial No. 92 of 1965, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh convicted the appellant before us under S. 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for life. According to the Sessions Judge, the prosecution had not produced any witness who could be relied on but the High Court took a different view and held that although three of the eye witnesses, namely, Gopal Singh (P. W. 1). Gurnam Singh (P. W. 3) and Motisingh (P. W. 4) might be termed interested witnesses whose evidence had to be viewed with caution, there were at least two police witnesses, sub-Inspector, Shyamrao (P. W. 7) and constable Laxmanrao (P. W. 6) who could not be placed in the same category and whose testimony could be relied on as corroborating that of interested witnesses in convicting Sadaram.

2. The relevant facts about which there can be no dispute are as follows. The appellant had once been in the employment of Gopalsingh, P. W. 1 and used to assist him in running his liquor shop. Subsequently he started running a li