JUDGMENT

A. VARADARAJAN, J. — The petitioner Sushil Kumar Mehrotra seeks special leave under Art. 136 of the Constitution to file an appeal against the judgment of the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) in Criminal Appeal No. 24 of 1977, confirming his conviction by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Lucknow for offences punishable under S. 302 read with S. 34 and S. 394 I.P.C. and the sentence of life imprisonment awarded for each of the offences. The murder alleged was of the petitioners mothers sister Urmila wife of Bhalla, P. W. 4 in the house of the deceased and P. W. 4 at about 7.30 p. m. on 22-3-1975. The case of the prosecution was that at about 3.00 pm. on that day the petitioner and his two friends Sushil Kumar Tandon and Shyam Shukla went to the residence of the deceased and P. W. 4, who was employed at that time as Assistant Station Master at Charbagh Railway Station, Lucknow, and those three persons stayed in the house of the deceased and P. W. 4, when P. W. 4 left the house for going to his duty at the Railway Station. Later, a about 7.30 p. m. Bansi Lal, P. W. 1, a RPF Inspector and neighbour of P. W. 4 came near the main gate of his house on a cycle and heard