JUDGMENT

BHAGWATI, J. :— This is an appeal by special leave from a judgment of a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court rejecting an application made by the appellant under Section 401 of the Criminal P. C., 1973 for leave to appeal against an order of acquittal passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Nadia in sessions case No. 20 of 1977 filed against respondents Nos. 1 to 9. The facts giving rise to this appeal are few and may be briefly stated as follows.

2. The appellants younger brother, Nishith Pal (hereinafter referred to as the deceased) was murdered in the evening of 29th August 1975 near the entrance of his village Sondanga situate in district Nadia. First Information Report in regard to the murder of the deceased was lodged with the Kotwali Police Station, Krishna Nagar at 8.05 A.M. on 30th Aug. 1975 by Topan Kumar Pal, a distant nephew of the deceased. The allegation of the appellant is that the investigation into the murder of the deceased was carried on by the Police in a perfunctory and unfair manner despite repeated representations to various authorities made by the appellant as well as the witnesses to the murder. The reason for which, according to the appellant