( 1 ) THE accused was convicted by the trial court under Section 302 IPC and sentenced to imprisonment for life and also to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- with default sentence. He had challenged this judgment of conviction in this appeal.

( 2 ) THE facts are brief and simple. It was P. W. 13 who set the law in motion by filing a complaint at the mahadevapura police station at 11. 15 p. m. on 27-9-1991 that on the night of 27-9-1991 when he was sleeping in his house, his acquaintances ramachandra and muniraju approached him at 10. 45 p. m. and told that the deceased basavaradhya employed in the telephone factory was lying in a pool of blood near a certain hotel shameer in mahadevapura and having gone there he saw the injured basavaradhya struggling for life. Even before he could be shifted for treatment, he breathed his last. He complained that some unknown persons had stabbed him and escaped. This was received by P. W. 21 the a. s. i. incharge of the police station at 11 p. m. on which he registered a case under Section 302 IPC. Cpi P. W. 22 took over investigation, held inquest over the dead body, examined some of the witnesses, arrested the accused on 10-10-1991, s