Judgment

SHINGHAL, J.:- This appeal by special leave is directed against the appellate judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated October 26, 1971, by which the conviction of respondent Digvijay Singh for an offence under Section 302 I.P.C. has been set aside and he has been acquitted.

2. The respondent used to live with his wife Smt. Tulsa Bai in village Mankapur, where he looked after the cultivation of his cousin Jaswant Singh (P.W. 13) who lived elsewhere and occasionally visited Mankapur to supervise the cultivation. Jaswant Singh came to Mankapur on January 8, 1968, in the evening. He found that his niece Smt. Tulsa Bai, wife of respondent Digvijay Singh, was unwell and was resting in a verandah. She was shifted to her room in the house. Respondent Digvijay Singh was also in the house. He said that he was also not feeling well. A cot was provided for him near the cot of his wife in the same room. Smt. Gomti Bai (P.W. 1), who was serving as maid servant in the house, took tea to the room in which Smt. Tulsa Bai and her husband respondent Digvijay Singh were resting. She found that the door of the room had been closed from inside. She knocked at the door and called twice tha