JUDGMENT

Subramonian Poti, Ag. C. J. - This petition to enlarge the petitioners on bail pending disposal of the appeal before this court has been referred by a Division Bench of this Court for hearing by Full Bench as the Division Bench doubted the correctness of the decision in Rajan v. State of Kerala1. The petitioners have been convicted by the Sessions Judge, Trichur in Sessions Case No. 77 of 1981. The petitioners 1 and 2 have been sentenced to undergo life imprisonment for an offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and the 3rd petitioner has been convicted under Section 448 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for 3 months. The 3rd petitioner has been granted bail by order dated 4-3-1982, and therefore we are concerned only with the motion for bail by petitioners 1 and 2. The petitioners were on bail during-the trial. It is the case of the petitioners that the right to be enlarged on bail should not be adjudicated on the basis of the approach made in the decision in Rajan v. State of Kerala (supra).

2. Counsel for the petitioners Sri P. V. Aiyappan drew our attention to certain observations made in p