Judgment

SEN, J. :- This petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution raises a question of some nicety. The question is whether the right to be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice under Art. 22 (1) of the Constitution comprehends the right of an accused to be supplied with a lawyer by the State.

2. The petitioner is an advocate-on-record practising in this Court and has been arraigned along with four others to stand his trial for the commission of an alleged offence of murder in furtherance of criminal conspiracy punishable under S. 302 read with S. 120-B of the Indian Penal Code in what is known as the Samastipur Bomb Blast case in the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi. Bawa Gurcharan Singh engaged by the main accused Santoshanand and Sudevanand as senior counsel was also appearing for the petitioner as a matter of professional courtesy to a fellow member of the Bar. The evidence of the first approver P. W. 1 Madan Mohan Srivastava alias Visheshwaranand was concluded on March 25, 1981 and he was cross-examined by Bawa Gurcharan Singh on behalf of the main accused as well as the petitioner, and by P. P. Grover appearing on behalf of the other two accused Arteshan