( 1 ) MANGE Ram appellant was charged with the commission of offence of committing murder on the night between August 2 and 3 1979 of Dewan Chand, punishable under Section 302 Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life by an Additional Sessions Judge (Shri R. D. Aggarwal) by means of judgment dated May 24, 1980. The preaent appeal is directed against the said conviction and sentence.

( 2 ) THE version of the prosecution, briefly stated, is as follows. Ram Nath (Public Witness 3) is the owner of shop No. 90 at Rajpura Quarters Gurmandi, Delhi. He purchased the said shop from Mansa Ram a year or so before the murder of Diwan Chand. Previously Mansa Ram used to do confectionary business in the said shop and after he had sold it off to Ram Nath the said shop was let out by Ram Nath to Diwan Chand, now deceased, who was carrying on business of confectionary.

( 3 ) MANGE Ram appellant is a notorious bad character of the locality. He had some dispute with Mansa Ram in respect of the aforesaid shop. After the sale of shop and taking possession by Diwan Chand, Mange Ram appellant told the former that the former should either vacate the shop or pay a sum of Rs. 1000. 00 otherwise latter would come to grief.

( 4 ) ON the night intervening August 2 and 3, 1979 Diwan Chand was sleeping on a cot in the open outside his shop. Mange Ram appellant came at about 1. 15 A. M. (August 3, 1979) and by pointing out an open knife directed Diwan Chand to accompany the former. Diwan Chand was wearing only a small Lungee upto the knees and was not wearing anything else on the body. Out of fear Diwan Chand started silently accompanying Mange Ram. Mange Ram in that manner took Diwan Chand towards Ganda Nala (drain) on the road side via Gurmandi All the time Mange Ram was holding Diwan Chand by the left hand of the latter and was showing knife held in right hand. When Mange Ram and Diwan Chand approached the road near a drain the former gave two successive knife blows on the abdomen of latter Diwan Chand cried bachao and could not utter more on account of pain and fear. He fell down be smeared with blood in a lane by the side of House No. A37 Gurmandi Delhi. In the front row of house No. A37 Gurmandi is house No. A31. That house No. A31 was in occupation of Dhirender Kumar (Public Witness 2) who on the relevant night between August 2 and 3, 1979 went to sleep in the courtyard of the said house at I A. M. His parents were already sleeping outside the room on cots. Dhirender Kumar had hardly slept when he heard some voices of conversation. He got up and went outside. He saw that the cots where his parents were sleeping were lying empty. He went slightly further and found in front of House No. 37 Gurmandi a person fallen on the ground in semi-naked condition in a pool of blood crying hai hai . Dhirender Kumar Public Witness 2 went to House No. A. 17, of Shri Chopra from where he gave a telephone call from telephone No. 712846 to the Police control room. The police control room transmitted that information to the Police Station Kingsway Camp. That information was received by Shri Krishan Kumar head constable (Public Witness 7) who was working as duty officer. The information was to the effect that one Dhirender Kumar had intimated the Police control room that near house No. A37 Gurmandi near Ganda Nala one person was lying in an injured condition having received injuries by knife. That information was recorded in daily diary at serial No. 21 and S. I. Rameshpal Singh (Public Witness 22) was entrusted with the investigation. Copy of daily diary entry is Public Witness 7/a.

( 5 ) ON receipt of information by the Police control room Delhi A. S. I. Shri Ram (Public Witness 13) who was posted in one of the control room vans, went to the spot and found Diwan Chand lying there in injured condition and bleeding. Diwan Chand was removed in that Police van to Hindu Rao Hospital where said A. S. I, reached at 2. 12 AM on Aug