JUDGMENT

Dr. ARIJIT PASAYAT, J.

1. Challenge in these appeals is to the judgment of a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court disposing of two separate appeals by a common order. The two appeals were filed by the present appellants who faced trial for commission of offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the `IPC'). They were found guilty and convicted by learned Sessions Judge Kasaragod.

2. Background facts in a nutshell are as follows:

Babu (PW 1) on 3.9.1996 at about 9.30 pm closed his Bakery shop and proceeded towards his house in his scooter. When he reached near B.Ed Centre, Nellikkunnu, he saw a person lying on the road and three persons were standing near him and among the three persons, two persons, namely Ashraf (A1) & Afras (A2), stabbed the person lying on the road with knife. He saw the incident with the help of the Head Light of his scooter. He was able to identify that the persons were Ashraf (Al) & Afras (A2). When they saw PW 1, they ran away from the place of occurrence. Immediately he went to the shop of Ganghadharan, PW3, a local councillor and informed this to him. Both of them came to the scene of occurren