FACTS : - On 26-5-1949, in the city of Ahmedabad, a sum of rupees five lakhs belonging to the Central Bank of India, Ltd., was being carried in a motor van from its head office to a branch office in the city. Lachman, Pherumal (accused 1 and 2) and a third person forcibly took possession of the motor van after injuring, by gunshot, the driver and a peon of the bank. The motor van was abandoned at some distance of the scene of the outrage. The accused tried to escape, firing shots in the course of their flight and injuring several people. They were however eventually arrested by the police. The driver and the peon of the bank who were injured succumbed to their injuries.The accused were charge-sheeted in respect of the several offences committed by them on 26-5-1949. The Government of Bombay by a notification issued under Ss.10 and 11, Bombay Public Security Measures Act, 1947, constituted a Special Court of criminal jurisdiction for the Ahmedabad District and under S.12 of the Act directed the Special Judge so appointed to try the accused.The Special Judge convicted the accused of the offences and inter alia sentenced them to death under Ss.302/34, Penal Code. On appeal to