K.M. NATARAJAN, J.

The accused in S.C. No. 119 of 1986 on the file of the II Additional Sessions Judge, Tirunelveli, has preferred this appeal challenging the legality and correctness of the conviction under S. 302 read with S. 34 I.P.C. and sentence of life imprisonment and also under S. 324, I.P.C. and sentence of rigorous imprisonment for one year both the sentences to run concurrently.

2. The appellant was tried for the above two charges on the allegation that on 27-4-1985 at or about 9.15 a.m. at Meenakshipuram, he along with three others caused the death of the deceased Natarajan alias Subbiah-A1 stabbing him on the chest as well as the hip with aruval while A2 attacking him with tharangu on the right arm and during the course of the same transaction the appellant, who is A1, cut P.W. 1 Gurusami with aruval on his left hand above the wrist and caused a simple injury. To substantiate the above two charges the prosecution examined P.Ws. 1 to 7, filed Exs. P1 to P17 and marked M.Os. 1 to 8.

3. The case of the prosecution as disclosed from the oral and documentary evidence can be succinctly stated as follows :

A1 and A2 are brothers and sons of A3. A4 is the brothe