JUDGMENT

FAZAL ALI, J. :— In this appeal under S. 2 (a) of the SC (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act the appellant has been convicted under S. 302, I.P. C. and has been sentenced to imprisonment for life by the High Court of Kerala. The accused was tried by the Sessions Judge who after considering the evidence, acquitted the accused of the charges framed against him. Thereafter the State of Kerala filed an appeal to the High Court and the High Court reversed the order of acquittal and sentenced the appellant as indicated above. The facts of the case have been fully detailed in the judgment of the Sessions Court and the High Court and it is not necessary for us to repeat the same all over again. The trial Court appears to have acquitted the appellant on the ground that there were certain infirmities in the investigation conducted by the Police Officer. The manner in which the F. I. R. was lodged, the delay in despatch of the F. I. R. and the delay on the part of P.W. 1 in getting the injuries examined by the Doctor, were features which according to the Sessions Judge were so gravely suspicious that they went to the root of the matter. The High Court on the other ha