JUDGMENT

Dr. ANAND, J. :—On 9-3-1992, when this special leave petition, directed against the judgment and order dated 4th September, 1991, of the High Court of Kerala in Criminal Appeal No. 537 of 1988, came up for preliminary hearing, the following order was made:

"Issue notice limited to the question as to the nature of offence and the quantum of sentence. No orders on bail."

2. Heard learned Counsel for the parties. Leave is granted confined to the limited question on which notice was issued as referred to above.

3. For an occurrence which took place on 24th December 1986, in which one Suku succumbed to the injuries as a result of the assault during the occurrence, six accused persons were arrayed by the investigating agency for offences punishable under sections 302, 324, 323, 241, 148 read with Section 149, IPC. They were put on trial and the prosecution sought to establish its case by examining as many as six eye-witnesses besides other evidence, documentary and oral. At the trial, however, four eye-witnesses, PW 3 Devassykutty, PWs 6 and 7 salesman and his assistant in the arrack shop and PW 8 Unni alias Velayudhan turned hostile and did not support the prosecution case. The pr