This is a revision petition preferred against the acquittal of the accused in S.C. No. 136 of 1959 on the file of the learned Additional Sessions Judge of Tirunelveli. That prosecution related to the murder of a man named Ramaswami Naicker who undoubtedly received gunshot injuries at the spot of offence (Nadu street in Varaganur Village) at about sunrise on 17th April, 1959, and succumbed to those injuries. The revision proceeding is preferred before us by Seeni Ammal (P.W. 1), the wife of the victim, under section 439, Criminal Procedure Code. In view of the importance of clarifying the procedure with respect to petitions of this character, particularly in the context of the restriction of our powers under section 439 (4), Criminal Procedure Code, we have directed the issue of notice to the learned Public Prosecutor for the State, and heard both the learned Public Prosecutor and learned counsel for the revision petitioner extensively, even at the present stage of admission of this petition.

Before proceeding into the facts of the case to any extent it is necessary to make clear certain implications of the situation itself. The growth of criminal jurisprudence has been a pro