( 1 ) THIS is an appeal by Ram Hazoor who has been convicted by the learned Sessions Judge of gorakhpur under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to death. Along with the appeal there is also a reference by the learned Judge for the confirmation of the sentence of death.

( 2 ) ACCORDING to the prosecution case, Ram Hazoor, a young man of 19 years, is alleged to have killed one of his collaterals, namely, Hardwar Pande, by attacking him with a gandasa on the night between the 6th and the 7th of November, 1957, when Hardwar Pande was sleeping in his osara along with his two grand-children, Markande, aged between 8 and 9, and Sadho alias Kripa shanker, aged between 7 and 8 years. The motive for the crime was said to have been a subsisting enmity between Ram Hazoor and Hardwar Pande: this enmity is said to have been accentuated by an incident that took place during the Panchayat elections when the accused is alleged to have beaten the deceased and in respect of which beating the deceased filed a complaint before the Panchayati Adalat. This complaint was pending at the date when Hardwar Pande was murdered. According to the prosecution case, the assault on H