JUDGMENT

A.K. Sikri, J.

The eleven appellants herein, out of the fifteen persons who faced trial, are variously convicted under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for committing offences punishable under Sections 364A, 34, 395 and 412 of the IPC, hereby call into question the confirmation of their conviction by the High Court by the common impugned judgment and order dated March 30, 2010, which was rendered in a batch of appeals. Ensuing from their conviction on the above-mentioned charges, the appellants and others similarly situated have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for 20 years.

2. The Sessions Court, finding them guilty of aforesaid offences, had sentenced two appellants, Krishna Bihari Singh @ Krishna Singh and Jawahar Koiry @ Jawahar Singh @ Neta Jee, to suffer death penalty. However, the sentence has been truncated by the High Court on appeal/reference, awarding them the punishment of imprisonment for 20 years. The High Court, having opined that the actions of all the appellants were driven by common intention, the conviction of life imprisonment of the