1. The accused in this case, a man of 45, has been sentenced to death for the murder of his wife, Kotha by name, a woman of 22. He has appealed, and the learned Sessions Judge has submitted the proceedings for confirmation of the sentence.

2. The accused and the deceased were married about four months before the occurrence which took place at about mid-night on the night of the 12th Nov. 1956. They lived together in the accused's house for only two months and then the deceased ran away to the house of her parents, P.ws.1 and 3, some distance away, and was living there till the time of the occurrence. Whether she did this as a result of ill-treatment as alleged by the prosecution or for no reason whatsoever as stated by the accused is a matter of no consequence. But although it is sup ported by no other evidence, the accused's statement in the confession, Ext. P-11, he made before a magistrate, that his repeated demands that his wife should go back to him went unheeded, is relevant as disclosing the motive.

3. On the night in question, Pws.1 and 3 and two of their children were sleeping in the southern room of their house which consists of two rooms, each opening into a ve