The prosecution must prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. A conviction cannot be based on the testimony of a single unreliable witness.

1. - This is an appeal filed by Dholia against the judgment of the learned Sessions Judge, Alwar, dated September 11, 1975. by which the appellant was convicted under section 304 Part II, IPC and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years.

2. The prosecution case against Dholia appellant was as follows: One Bhonra son of Sukha Meena resident of Bahali lodged a written report with the police station, Malalcheda, that bis young brother Nand Lal who was a habitual drink card had died after taking in liquor. The Station House Officer, Malkheda, upon receipt of the report, deputed Head Constable Narendra Singh to make an inquiry into the matter under section 174, Cr. P.C. and report. Naiendra Singh, Head Constable, rushed of village Bahali, on March 31, 1975, and inspected the dead body of Nand Lal on the next day and prepared a Panchnama Ex. P.5. In the course of injury, the Head Constable came to know that the deceased Nand Lal was beaten to death by his son Oholia. Thereupon, Narendra Singh, Head Constable, sent a report Ex. P. 10 to the Station House Officer, police station, Malakheda, for registration o f a criminal case under section 302, IPC against Dhola. The Station House Officer registered a criminal case under section 302, IPC and informed the Head Constable to start investigation. Narendra Singh Head Constable, thereupon, went to the spot, inspected the site, prepared a site plan and a site inspection memo and took blood-stained earth into his possession along with one Gudari and blood-stained shirt which were produced before him by one Chiranji. Then Narendra Singh, Hand Constable, called for the Medical Officer for performing postmortem examination over the dead body of Nand Lal. The Head Constable then recorded the statements of Gar pat, Chiranj, Sita Ram and others in the course of investigation. The investigation was then banded over to Yadurvir Singh, Station House Officer, Malakheda, who arrested the appellant and recovered one blood-stained lathi and some blood-stained clothes on April 15, 1975, from the residential house of the appellant at the latters instance and in consequence of his information recorded under section 27 of the Evidence Act on April 13, 1975. These articles were duly sealed in the presence of Motbirs. The Station House Officer then collected other necessary evidence in the case and, eventually, tiled a charge-sheet against the appellant under section 302, IPC in the court of he Additional Munsiff Magistrate No. 2, Alwar, who, upon finding a prima facie case exclusively triable by the court of Session, committed the appellant for trial under section 302, IPC to the court of the Sessions Judge, Alwar. The learned Sessions Judge tried the appellant and found him guilty of an offence under section 304, Part 11, IPC He, accordingly, convicted and sentenced the appellant in the manner stated above. Aggrieved by his conviction and sentence, the appellant has preferred this appeal

3. I have carefully gone through the record and heard Mr. S.N. Bhargrv and Mr. N.K Maloo, learned counsel for the appellant, and Mr. Richpal Singh, Public Prosecutor for the State. It has been contended on behalf of the appellant that there is no positive evidence on the record to prove the connection of the appellant with the murder of his father Nand Lal, and, so the learned Sessions Judge committed a grave error of law in holding the appellant guilty of the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder punishable under section 304, Part II, IPC. It was further urged that Ganpat PW 11 and Chiranji PW 6 have turned hostile to the prosecution case, while Sita Ram PW 9, is not an eye-witness to the actual occurrence. The learned Sessions Judge, therefore, was not justified in holding (he appellant responsible for the death of his father merely on the basis of a solitary eye witness, namely. Sita Ram, PW 9, especially when his evidence was full of material contradictions and omissions and the lea