Honble Sudhir Agarwal, J.—This is an appeal against acquittal of all accused by the Special/Additional Sessions Judge, Meerut vide judgment dated 12th of June 1990, in Sessions Trial No. 418 of 1987. Accused were ten in number, namely, Babu, Wasiyat, Chaman, Shahzama, Zafar, Kalwa, Saida alias Sayeed Hasan, Anwar, Mohd. Ilyas and Riyasat who were prosecuted for offences under Sections 147, 148, 149 and 302, IPC. Earlier, the accused were fortunate enough since their appeal was dismissed by an Honble Single Judge (it was cognizable at that time by Single Judge) at the threshold vide order dated 10th July, 1992 but the destiny did not allow the matter to rest here and the State preferred Criminal Appeal No. 118 of 1996 before the Apex Court. It was allowed by the judgment dated 29th January, 1996 and setting aside the order of the Honble Single Judge, the Apex Court remitted the matter back with the direction to grant leave, admit appeal, issue notice to the respondents and then decide the matter on its own merits. Accordingly, the Division Bench vide order dated 14.5.1996 granted leave to appeal and issued notices to the respondents and trial Courts record was summoned. After service of notice on the accused respondents, vide order dated 20.5.2005, this Court admitted the appeal. That is how this appeal has come up before this Bench for hearing afresh. It is to be noticed at this stage that during pendency of the matter, accused respondent No. 7 Saida alias Sayeed Hasan son of Hamid and accused respondent No. 9 Mohd. Ilyas have died and, therefore, the appeal stood abated against them and presently, it is concerned with only 8 accused respondents, namely, Shahjama, Chaman, Zafar, Kalwa, Anwar, Riyasad, Babu and Wasiyat.

2. We have heard Sri Karunanand Bajpayee, learned A.G.A. for the State-appellant, Sri P.N. Mishra, Senior Advocate assisted by Sri V.M. Zaidi Advocate for the accused respondents and have perused the material on record.

3. Broad essentials of the prosecution case as surfacing from the First Information Report and evidence may be put forth. As per the First Information Report made on 19.4.1983 by informant Jamshed Ali, PW 5 to the S.S.P. Meerut, registered as case crime No. 111A/83 under Section 302, IPC, P.S. Kharkhoda, District Meerut, the incident took place on 18.4.1983, in the evening at the residence of accused respondent Sakhawat in village Ajrara, P.S. Kharkhoda of Meerut District. It recites that on 18.4.1983 accused Sakhawat, Babu and Wasiyat all residents of village Ajrara went to Radhana--village of the informant and told Shamsher (son of the informant Jamshed Ali, PW 5) that a Panchayat (compromise meeting) was scheduled to be held in their (accuseds) village to conciliate the enmity that had cropped in between the accused and the informant side on account of murder of one Phurkan. They said that several other persons and relatives would participate in Panchayat and requested Shamsher to accompany them as a Panch. They also told Shamsher that Intzar, Ishtiyaq, Master Abbas, Munkad, Liyakat Ali and Kalwa all residents of village Radhna were also going to village Ajrara to participate in Panchayat by the tractor of Kalwa alias Habib, PW 3. Shamsher said that the aforesaid persons may go by tractor and he alongwith Zahid would be reaching at the place of compromise meeting by motor-cycle. All the abovenamed persons left for village Ajrara (accuseds village) at 5.30 p.m., the same day by the aforementioned conveyance, which had been witnessed by the informant PW 5, Abbas, Abbass son Nanhe and several others. The next morning (19.4.1983), Wasi, Zahid etc. told the complainant that under a planned conspiracy, the accused Sakhawat, Wasiyat, Wasim, Babu etc. had committed murder of Shmsher, Intezar, Ishtiyaq and Ramzani and threatened all other persons present in Panchayat of dire consequences in case they dared to tender evidence against them as a result whereof all of them fled away.

4. The inciden