KRISHNA BALLABH SINHA, J.

1. The sole appellant has been convicted u/s. 302 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the Penal Code) and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life. The charges u/s. 307 of the Indian Penal Code and S.27 of the Arms Act were also framed against him and he was acquitted of the same. Besides the appellant, two other accused were also put on trial to face the charges under Secs. 302, read with 34 and 225 of the Indian Penal Code and they were acquitted.

2. The incident, giving rise to this appeal, took place on the 20th of May, 1983, at about 9 p.m. at village Kritpura within Buxar police station in the district of Bhojpur. The case of the prosecution, as disclosed in the fardbeyan lodged by P.W. 11, Markandey Rai, is that at the time of occurrence, the Tilak ceremony of the sons of Chandrika Rai was to be held at his residence. Many villagers, including Shakuntala Devi the first cousin of the informant, had gone to the residence of Chandrika Rai to see the function. While arrangement was being made for performing the Tilak ceremony, appellant Haridwar Rai went near Shankuntala and fired a country-made pistol from close range causing injury on her head. Having sustained the injury, Shakuntala fell down. One Reshmi Devi, who was sitting by the side of Shakuntala, also sustained some pellets injuries. Rabindra Rai, Jay Prakash Rai, Vijay Bahadur Rai, Ram Narain Rai and others, who were also present there to participate in the Tilak Ceremony, caught the appellant. Accused Ramshray Rai and Vijay Kumar appeared there and held out threat and got the appellant released from the clutches of the said persons. The accused, including the appellant, were identified in the light of petromax. Injured Shakuntala was taken to the Buxar Hospital, where she succumbed to the injury.

It is stated in the fardbeyan that Gomati Devi, the elder sister of Shakuntala, was married with the appellant about 6 or 7 years before the occurrence. Gomati Devi died about two and half years prior to the occurrence. After her death, the appellant wanted to marry Shakuntala, which was not approved by her parents. On their refusal, the appellant held out threat that he would not allow the marriage of Shakuntala to be performed with any one else and would kill her whenever he would get a chance. The Fardbeyan of Markandey Rai was recorded on 20-5-1983 at 11 p.m. in the out door of the Hospital at Buxar, on the basis of which a formal FIR (Ext. 6) was drawn up. The Police registered a case and after investigation submitted charge-sheet.

3. Out of the eleven witnesses, examined by the prosecution in the trial court P.W. 2 Ram Narayan Rai, P.W. 3 Vijay Bahadur Rai, P.W. 4 Madeshwar Rai and P.W. 6 Tileshwari Devi deposed as eye-witnesses of the occurrence. P.W. 9 Dr. Daya Nand Singh conducted autopsy over the dead body of Shakuntala. P.W. 10 Ram Bichar Singh, the Sub-Inspector of Police, conducted investigation into the Case. P.W. 5 Sachida Nand Rai gave hearsay version of the occurrence. P.W. 8 Rabindra Nath Rai was tendered by the prosecution for cross-examination. P.W. 1 Chandrika Rai, P.W. 7 Jai Prakash Rai and P.W. 11 Markandey Rai were declared hostile.

4. No witness was examined on behalf of the appellant. It appears that he took the plea of innocence and set up the defence that the guests who had come to offer Tilak, fired gun to celebrate the occasion and accidentally one of the shots hit Shakuntala. Further defence of the appellant was that after the death of Gomati Devi, he demanded her ornaments from his father-in-law and mother-in-law, which annoyed them and, thus, he was falsely implicated in the case.

5. As mentioned above, P.W. 1 Chandrika Rai, in whose house the Tilak ceremony was arranged and the informant, P.W. 11 Markandey Rai were declared hostile by the prosecution. Their attention was drawn to their statements recorded by the Police in which they had narrated the occurrence as eye witnesses