Reuben, J.

1. This judgment will govern Death Reference No. 37 of 1952 and Criminal Appeals 538 and 539 of 1952. The two appellants have been convicted under Section 302/34, I P. C. by the Sessions Judge of Patna and sentenced to death.

2. The case arises out of a murder which took place in the night of the 27th/28th February, 1951, in mahalla Mithapur in the Patna Municipality at a distance of one and a half miles south of Police Station Kotwali. The victims of the murder were one Anand Prakash Sahu and his wife. The murder was discovered in the morning by a Goala boy Bajendra Gope (P. W. 2), aged ten years, who went as usual to sell milk at the door. The residence occupied by the deceased couple consists of one room with a verandah, to the north of it and an angan to its south. Pushing open the verandah door the boy went to the door of the room and pushed that door open also. He called, but got no reply. A small child came out of the room and he asked her where her mother was. The child pointed and the boy noticed a lot of blood scattered about.

Feeling afraid he ran away and informed his father Chotan Gope (P. W. 3). By the time Chotan came, the news had got round and on his arrival Chotan found among others present Sahbir Sah (P. W. 1). who is married to the sister of Anand Prakash. In the room were the dead bodies of Anand Prakash and his wife, both with their throats cut. The Police were informed over the telephone and at 8-45 a.m, at the spot Sahbir Sah lodged a first information report of murder against "unknown" with a faint suggestion that one Mahabir Sahu might have something to do with the occurrence. "I also learnt from other persons that Anand Prakash had a servant named Mahabir Sao who had been at home since 8 days. I have heard that he came yesterday and is absent at present."

3. Sub-Inspector Krishna Bihari Karan (P. W. 25), officer-in-charge of the Kotwali Police Station, instituted the case and took up investigation. He found nothing for particular note in the verandah. In the room there were marks of blood on a chouki which was in the south-eastern corner of the room. There was blood also on the blanket which was on the chouki. On the floor immediately north of the chouki was the dead body of Anand Prakashs wife. Anand Prakash himself was found lying dead on a khatia in the northwest corner of the room. Glass bangles of Anand Prakashs wife were broken and the broken bits were scattered about near her dead body. An iron safe just near the northern door of the room was open and the keys of the safe were lying near it. Scattered on the floor were papers, several of them blood stained. Also lying on the floor was a hasua (a pasis knife), Ex. XVI. It was also blood stained. That day the Sub-Inspector seized only a few things from the room, among them the blood stained hasua (vide seizure list Ex. 13).

He seized more blood stained articles in a later visit on 8-3-1951, among them a piece of paper which bore on it a blood stained print of a bare right foot (vide seizure list Ex. 14). These two articles which I have particularly mentioned furnish the main evidence against one of the appellants Bhorik Gope. The evidence against the Other appellant Karu Gope is furnished by two blood-stained impressions discovered on the wall of the room by B. N. Sinha (P. W. 11), Senior Finger Print Expert to the Government of Bihar, on 4-4-1951. I shall come to these items of evidence presently.

4. The inquest on the dead bodies was held as usual & they were then examined by Dr. B. K. Prasad, who is one of the medical officers at the Police Hospital, Patna. The doctor found ante-mortem incised wounds on the throats of the two deceased persons and the correctness of his opinion that death was due to these injuries is not challenged. There is, therefore, no doubt that these two persons were murdered and the only question is whether there is sufficient evidence to connect the two appellants with the crime.

5. As a result of th