1. The appellant has been convicted by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge of Quilon for three distinct offences of murder under S.302 I.P.C. and for attempting to commit suicide, punishable under S.309 I.P.C. For each offence of murder she has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and for that under S.309 to undergo simple imprisonment for one year with the direction that all the four sentences shall run concurrently. The case against the appellant was that she caused the death of three of her children one aged 7, the second aged 5 and the third aged one by throwing them into a well and that afterwards she herself jumped into it with a view to commit suicide. She was, however, rescued by passers-by who heard her cries from the well, but by the time the bodies of the children were recovered the children were all dead. The learned Additional Sessions Judge found her guilty on all the four counts in the charge, convicted and sentenced her as stated above. The appeal is against these convictions and sentences.

2. The occurrence took place on 14.4.1956 in Kulasekharapuram Shencottah now part of the Madras State. The lower court pronounced its judgment on 7.6.1956 and