( 1 ) THIS Death Reference under Section 374 Criminal P. C. has been submitted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, 7th Court at Alipore, Shri P. K. Banerjee and arises out of the Trial No. 1 of May, 1867, in which Raj Kishore Rabidas was tried for an offence of murder punishable under Section 302, I. P. C. , and tne trial Court has sentenced him to death under that section. From that order of conviction the condemned prisoner has preferred an appeal from jail which is Criminal Appeal No. 308 of 1967. The Death Reference and that appeal were heard together. The learned Deputy Legal Remembrancer Mr. S. N. Banerjee appeared for the State. The learned Advocate Mr. Chittaranjan Das has appeared on behalf of the defence before us.

( 2 ) THE prosecution case is that on Amrani Bera Road, Barrackpore, Nepal Chandra Dey had a tea shop. The accused Raj Kishora Rabidas is a cobbler and used to carry on his trade at a street junction which is the junction of Amrani Bera Road and S. N. Banerjee Road. That place is near Nepal's tea shop. In that shop Subhas Chandra Bose was an employee. On the other side of the road there was another tea shop owned by one Banamali Adhikari