JUDGMENT

Mallik, J. - The appellants Nagendra Bhakta and Kamala Kanta Bala were put on their trial with three other persons, Jamini Bhakta, Rajani Bhakta and Kanchi Bewa, Under Sections 201 and 302/120-B I. PC. The trial was held with the aid of a jury consisting of 9 jurors. The jury unanimously found all the five persons not guilty u/s 302/120-B. They also unanimously found Jamini, Rajani and Kanchi not guilty u/s 201 either. But they found the other two accused persons, the two appellants before us, guilty u/s 201, I. PC, by a majority of 7 to 2 in the case of Nagendra and 6 to 3 in the case of Kamala.

2. The allegations of the prosecution, so far as the charge u/s 201 was concerned were that one Provat Chandra Sarkar was murdered in the house of one Sarat Bhakta, and the appellants Nagendra and Kamala with some other persons removed the dead body of Provat from Sarat's house to the verandah of a mosque with the intention of screening the offenderspersons who had committed the murder. It was the removal of the corpse from Sarat's house to the mosque which, according to the prosecution, constituted an offence u/s 201, I.PC. Now to constitute an offence u/s 201 there must be disappe