NATESAN, J. :- One Krishnaswami Naicker of Muthalapuram Kottur, Tirunelveli Dr., who has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life under S. 302, I.P.C. for the murder of Kanda swami Naicker of the same place is the appellant.

2. At the Sessions along with the appellant, his elder brother, one Perumal alias Perumalswami Naicker, was also charged under S. 323, I.P.C. But he was found not guilty and acquitted. From the evidence let in by the prosecution, the following facts emerge.

3. The sister of the accused was the second wife of one Sangava Naicker, brother of the deceased, and by reason of the refusal by the said Sangava Naicker and the deceased to give the daughter of the former by his first wife in marriage to the second accused, the relationship between the two families was somewhat strained. On the day prior to the occurrence, when the deceased, P.W. 8 and others were chatting near a shop, the second accused was walking into the shop and the deceased appears to have given him a push saying that he was too close. This appears to have hit a boil of the second accused on his leg. On the day of the occurrence, at about 8 p.m. or so, the deceased and P.Ws. 1 to