GOVINDA MENON, J. :- The appellant has been convicted by the second Additional Sessions Judge of Trivandrum for the offence of murder punishable under Section 302, I.P.C. and has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. The case against him was that he stabbed to death Sukumara Kurup at about 12 noon on 24-8-63.

2. The accused and the deceased are relations and the deceased was for some time staying with the father of the accused. Close to the accused's house there lived a harijan family including P.Ws. 4, 5 and 6 examined in the case. The accused it is stated was having illicit intimacy with one of the girls P.W. 4. About two years before the occurrence he gave up the relationship, married and had a child. After the accused ceased to have any connection with P.W. 4 deceased Sukumara Kurup became intimate with her. It is the prosecution case that because of this the accused and deceased were on inimical terms. The prosecution also suggested another motive. It is stated that the accused used obscene words against P.W. 5 Kamalakshi who mentioned about it to P.W. 4 and P.W. 4 complained to the brother P.W. 6. The witnesses would have it that a few days before the occu