Judgement

AHMADI, J.:- Does a petitioner-third party who is a total stranger to the prosecution culminating in the conviction of the accused have any locus standi to challenge the convict ion and the sentence awarded to the convicts in a petition brought under Art. 32 of the Constitution? If the answer to this poser is in the negative this petition must fail on that preliminary ground. Before we proceed to answer the same it would be advantageous to notice a few facts.

2. The assassins of General Vaidya were charge-sheeted under Ss. 120B, 302, 307, 465, 468, 471 and 212, I. P.C. read with Ss. 3 and 4 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act 1985, (hereinafter referred to as the TADA Act) and Section 10 of the Passport Act. Five persons besides the absconding accused were put up for trial before the Designated Court, Pune. The Designated Court acquitted all the accused of the charges levelled against them except accused No.1 Sukhdev Singh alias Sukha and accused No. 5 Harjinder Singh. alias Jinda who were convicted for the murder of General Vaidya and for causing bullet injury to his wife Bhanumati. Accused No. 1 was convicted under Sections 302 and 307, I.P.C. and accused No. 5