ORDER

1. The appellant and seven others were placed on trial before an Additional Sessions Judge of Chandrapur on the allegations that on 2-1-1990 at or about 8.00 a.m. they committed rioting on Chandrapur Tadoba Road and, in course thereof, the murder of Alakh Niranjan. On conclusion of the trial the learned Judge convicted the appellant under Section 302 IPC (simpliciter), while acquitting the other seven. As the appeal preferred by the appellant in the High Court proved abortive he has filed the instant appeal after obtaining special leave.

2. To bring home the charges levelled against the appellant and, for that matter, the other accused persons, the prosecution rested its case upon the testimonies of, besides the doctor who held the post-mortem examination and other formal witnesses, Brijendra Pande (PW 3), brother of the deceased, who gave an ocular version of the incident and upon the dying declaration of Alakh Niranjan (Ex. 62) recorded by the Investigating Officer in the hospital in presence of a doctor. In describing the role played by the appellant, PW 3 specifically stated that he gave two knife blows on the left side of the chest of Alakh Niranjan which resulted in his