Omission to warn some of the accused making a confession.

Panchapakesa Ayyar, J.-These are two appeals by Venkata Reddi and Vebulu, the 3rd and 4th accused in S.C. No. 42 of 1949 on the file of the Sessions Judge, Cuddapah. They have been convicted under Sections 302 and 34, Indian Penal Code and sentenced to transportation for life, and also under Section 201, Indian Penal Code and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years to run concurrently with the sentences under section 302, Indian Penal Code. The facts are briefly these. One Redanna was living in Ponnellavandlapalli in Rayachoti Taluk in Cuddapah District. Though he was married he was not on good terms with his wife for some time before this murder and he was carrying on with a woman called Chinna Ammani of Ragatiguntapalli, an adjoining village. Accused two was also carrying on with the same Chinna Ammani. Redanna wanted to have this Chinna Ammani exclusively for himself, by marrying her, and accused 1 and 2 went and told him on 8th April, 1949, that they would get him married to Ammani that midnight. So, taking some jewels of his and borrowing some jewels as a loan from a barber P.W.1, Redanna set out with accused 1 and accused 2 on the night of 8th April, 1949 with intent to get the marriage performed that midnight. Accused 1 and 2 who are closely related, took the help of accused 3 and 4, two persons alleged to be hired assassins, and all the four are said to have murdered Reddanna that night while sleeping and waiting for the girl Ammani who was said to be on her way by accused 2 pressing his throat with terrific force and the remaining accused holding his arms and legs, near Marrimani Bhavi in a jungle and buried his corpse there. Thereafter, fearing that the corpse might give out a stink which would be noticed by people in the neighbourhood frequenting that place, they are said to have removed the corpse to Yedullagunta Valley in the jungle and buried in in a pit there. There also they seemed to have feared later on that the body would be discovered by its stink and so removed it and put it in a gunny bag in order to transport it to a more unfrequented place. But small portions of the decomposed corpse, like the skin of the palm of the left hand and the sole of the right foot got left behind in the Yeddullagunta Valley. The rest of the corpse was put in a gunny bag and taken to Devarathi Bhavi, a disused well, a mile away, and shoved into it. P.W.5 the elder brother of Redanna got suspicious about the disappearance of Redanna and he went and gave a complaint to the police on 14th April, 1949 about his disappearance and his suspicions that he might have been murdered. The Police began vigorous investigation. Owing to the great stink in the Yedullagunta valley people came to know that some corpse might have been buried there and P.W.15 the Circle Inspector of Police went on the 17th with P.W.10, the Sub-Magistrate, and big men and dug up the spot and recovered the skin of the palm and sole of the foot of a decomposed corpse, and not the other portions. The scar of a cut wound on the skin of the thumb corresponded to such a wound on the thumb of Redanna. Accused 4 was arrested on suspicion on the night of 21st April, 1949 and he offered to show the main corpse of Redanna. He took the Circle Inspector of Police and the Sub-Magistrate and the big men to Devarathi Bhavi and pointed out the gunny bag containing the remaining portion of Redanna’s corpse. According to the medical evidence of P.W.9, that corpse could be identified by the hair, teeth etc., by persons who knew the man and witnesses who were related to Redanna or knew him well identified the corpse, by the curly hair, coated teeth, jutting forehead bone and other signs and features and also a key of Redanna (M.O.1)found with the remains. The lower court believed the evidence of the prosecution witnesses that the remnants found in the gunny bag represented the corpse of the murdered Redanna. P.W.9, the doctor swore that the murder should have taken pla