These Letters Patent Appeals, seven in number, and three writ petitions, have come up for hearing before this Court pursuant to order dated 5th October, 2001 passed by a Division Bench of this Court.

2. It so happened that, LPA Nos. 72/87 and 68/95, titled Rais Ahmad Gazi v State of J&K and Syedan Shafi v State of J&K, arising out of two distinct set of facts, were heard, decided and allowed by a Division Bench of this Court by a common judgment delivered on 7th April, 1997. That decision was followed in several writ petitions. Letters Patent Appeals were filed by the State which later came up for hearing before another Division Bench of this Court. The subsequent, Division Bench differed with the view taken by the earlier Division Bench. Being a Co-ordinate Bench, the latter Division Bench, in terms of order dated 5th October, 2001, ordered reference of all these matter to a larger Bench. That is how these matters have come to be listed before us. The three writ petitions, indicated above in the list of cases, arise from the same factual background as the Letters Patent Appeals. Same points of law are involved therein. Therefore, in term of order dated 18th Ma