The main legal point established in the judgment is that motive, false statements, and the discovery of incriminating articles can be sufficient evidence to establish guilt in a murder case.

Sangam Lal has preferred this appeal against the judgment and order dated 31-1-1977 of IIIrd Additional Sessions Judge, Allahabad in S. T. No. A-1 of 1976 by which he was convicted under Section 302 I. P. C. and was sentenced for imprisonment for life. Ghanshyam accused who was tried alongwith the appellant in the same sessions trial was, however, given benefit of doubt and was acquitted.

2. Before adverting to the merits of the case, it is necessary to place on record certain disturbing features of the present appeal. The appellant was convicted and sentenced on 31-1-1977 and soon thereafter he preferred the appeal and was granted bail. All the criminal appeals of the year 1977 have been heard and disposed of by this Court several years back but the present appeal was not listed for hearing at its turn. Trijugi Narain, brother of the deceased Smt. Manorama Devi filed an application for hearing of the appeal on which an, order was passed on 30-11-2000 for listing it alongwith the record of the appeal. It was thereafter that the office submitted a report that for a long time the record of the criminal appeal was not traceable in the High Court office. However on a further order being passed, the record of the trial Court was summoned. When the trial Court record was received, it was found to be partly burnt and some documents which had been marked as Exhibits in the trial Court were totally missing. Fortunately, the statement of the witnesses were intact. The appeal has been heard on the material as it stands today on the record. It is not necessary for us to guess as to who was to gain by the disappearance of the record of the appeal from the High Court office and also from the delay in the hearing of the appeal as the appellant is enjoying bail for over 24 years.

3. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the deceased Smt. Manorama Devi was resident of village Madhoganjmohli. P. S. Kotwali, district Pratapgarh. She was married to the appellant Sangam Lal, resident of Ismailganj, P. S. Tharwai district Allahabad about 8 years before the occurrence. Sangam Lal suspected the fidelity of his wife that she had illicit connection with Hari Shankar Jaiswal of Madhoganjmohli. He used to ill-treat her and used to beat her occasionally. She had sent some letters to her parents complaining about the false accusations made by her husband and also about the beating given to her. The appellant had a flour mill in the front portion of his house. Inside the house there is a room and then there are two rooms on the first floor. Co-accused Ghanshyam, who has been acquitted by the trail Court, had been employed by the appellant Sangam Lal for the purpose of running the flour mill and he was working as a servant. The incident took place in the midnight of 24/25-10-1975. A few incidents of theft and dacoity had occurred in the village in the past few months and as a precautionary measure, the villagers had formed some guard-parties which used to do patrolling in the night from around 10. 00 p. m. P. W. 4 Girja Shankar had gone to the flour mill at about 12. 00 in the afternoon of 24- 10-1975 for the purpose of grinding his wheat. On the said day, it was his turn to do patrolling alongwith others. While he was at the flour mill, the appellant told him that he should be vigilant and alert as the miscreants may make an attempt in the night. At about 12. 00 in the night, the appellant Sangam Lal raised an alarm that some miscreants had entered his house. P. W. 4 Girja Shankar and members of the guard-party then rushed towards his house and an alarm was raised in the whole village which attracted many other people. P. W. 1 Ram Chandra, who was the Sarpanch and P. W. 3 Sangam Lal (another person having the same name as the appellant), who was the Pradhan of the Gaon Sabha also reached there. The appellant Sangam Lal told all those persons who had collected there that the miscreants were inside his house and they had committed th