JUDGMENT

SARKARIA, J. :— This appeal by special leave is directed against a judgment of the High Court of Rajasthan, by which the order of the Sessions Judge, Ganganagar, convicting the appellant under S. 302, Penal Code and sentencing him to death for the double murder of two persons in village Takhat Hazara, was confirmed.

2. The facts of the prosecution case are as follows :- A First Information Report was lodged on September 9, 1973 at about 7.30 a.m. by one Shyam Singh in Police Station Sadul Sahar, to the effect, that when he in the morning went to the Gurdwara of his village at about 7 a.m. for brooming and burning incense, as usual, he found three persons, one of whom, Mada Singh, lay groaning on a cot. The informant went back to the village, contacted Jagar Singh, Hari Singh, Sukhdarshan Singh, Amar Singh and others, and in their company returned to the Gurdwara. It was then detected that Kartar Singh son of Hari Singh lay dead on a cot with injuries on his head. The other two persons, Mada Singh and Wazir Singh, were lying injured. The locks of the rooms were found broken and the goods lay scattered. After registering the case, the station House Officer, Bhagwan Singh, reached the scene of occurrence. He prepared the site plan (Ex. P-8) and a connected explanatory note in which he recorded the physical facts noticed by him at the spot. Among other things, he found one blood-stained Kassi (Art. 1) and a Dabbi (small tin-box) (Art. 2). Some coins were also lying scattered there. He noticed some finger-prints on the Dabbi (Art. 2). He therefore in the presence of witnesses including Sukhdarshan Singh (P. W. 6), Jagger Singh (P. W. 8), prepared the seizure memo (Ex P-14) in respect of the Dabbi and sealed it into a parcel. He also sealed the blood-stained Kassi into a parcel, vide ex. P-12. He also took into possession blood-stained earth, clothes and broken locks from the scene. He also prepared the inquest report (Ex. P-12) in respect of the dead body of Kartar Singh deceased and sent it for post-mortem examination. Bhagwan Singh continued the investigation till September 12, 1973 when it was taken over by Bhanwar Singh.

3. A large number of crimes of this pattern involving murders or attempted murders were committed in Rajasthan and in the neighbouring States of Haryana and Punjab. Fifteen cases of crimes of a similar nature were registered in Ganganagar District, alone, from February 1973 to May 1974. Naturally, the Police machinery of Ganganagar District came into motion. Bhanwar Singh, Station House Officer, Sadar Police Station, Ganganagar started investigation of some of those crimes. He took over the investigation of this case also on September 12, 1973. Shri Shyam Pratap Singh Rathore, District Superintendent of Police supervised the investigation. Suspicion fell on the appellant who was found absent from his native village Karanpur, District Ganganagar.

4. On June 3, 1974, Shri Rathore accompanied by Bhanwar Singh, S. H. O. and one Subhash (P. W. 23) went to Bhatinda and arrested the appellant, Shankaria who had assumed the alias Rattan Lal. A Rickshaw driving licence issued by the Municipal Committee Bhatinda, dated April 4, 1974, for the period 1-4-1974 to 31-3-1975, in the name of Ratan Lal son of Jetha Ram, one watch and a golden chain were seized from his person. Bhanwar Singh prepared the memo (Ex. P-56A) in respect of the arrest of the appellant and his personal search. Immediately after his arrest, the appellant was told to keep his face muffled up, which he did. The appellant was then taken by the police to Ganganagar and lodged in the lock-up of the Police Station on June 4, 1974. Under orders of the Inspector-General of Police, the investigation was taken over by Shri Kashi Prasad Srivastava, Superintendent of C. I. D. on June 5, 1974.

5. On June 12, 1974 the appellant was taken by the police to Raisingh Nagar, and under the orders of the Magistrate lodged in the judicial lock-up there.

6. On June 13,