1. Seven accused persons namely, Kartar Singh ( appellant No. 1), Amarjit Singh ( appellant No.2), Gurdeep Singh ( appellant No. 3), Bhola Singh ( appellant No.4), Surta Singh ( appellant No. 5) Kakka Singh ( appellant No. 6) and Lakkha Singh ( appellant No. 7), preferred this appeal challenging their conviction and sentence recorded vide judgment and order dated 25.10.1980 passed by Ist Additional Sessions Judge, Rampur, in Sessions Trial No. 41 of 1980-State Vs. Kartar Singh and six others, by which all the seven accused persons ( appellants herein) were convicted under Section 302 I.P.C. read with Section 149 I.P.C. and sentenced to imprisonment for life. They were further convicted under Section 323 I.P.C. read with Section 149 I.P.C. and sentenced to six months Rigorous Imprisonment. One appellant namely, Lakkha Singh was also convicted under Section 147 I.P.C. and sentenced to one year Rigour Imprisonment. Six appellants namely, Kartar Singh, Amarjit Singh, Gurdeep Singh, Bhola Singh, Surta Singh and Kakka Singh were also convicted under Section 148 I.P.C. and sentenced to two years Rigorous Imprisonment. All the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

2. The appellant No. 1 Kartar Singh, appellant No. 4 Bhola Singh and appellant No. 6 Kakka Singh have died pending consideration of their appeal and on account of their deaths, their appeal has been abated vide orders dated 3.9.2003 and 11.7.2012 respectively.

3. The prosecution case, as mentioned in the F.I.R. Ext. Ka-1 and as emerged in the evidence, in brief, is that the accused Kartar Singh was the first Pradhan of village Temra, which was within the circle of Police Station Bilaspur and was the resident of the said village. There was old animosity between the complainant Jagir Singh, also a resident of the said village Temra and the members of his family with accused Kartar Singh. About 25 or 26 days prior to 8.11.1979 accused Gurdeep Singh, who is son of accused Kartar Singh, along with his relative Trilok Singh came to the house of the complainant and hurled abuses. When they were asked not to abuse, Trilok Singh brought out his pistol, but he was caught hold by deceased Kartar Singh, ( a different person from accused incidentally of the same name Kartar Singh) the father of the complainant, along with his pistol with the help of Uttam Singh, Harnam Singh and Joginder Singh. Gurdeep Singh managed to run away. Trilok Singh along with the pistol was taken to police station Bilaspur by the deceased Kartar Singh, who got a case registered against him and got him shut in the lock-up of the police station. This was not liked by accused Kartar Singh and his companions. On the following day, accused Kartar Singh came at the house of the complainant and expressed that he would surely take revenge of the fact that Trilok Singh was got hauled up by the deceased Kartar Singh. On 8.11.1979 at about sun-set deceased Kartar Singh, his deceased son Kapoor Singh, his two other sons Jagir Singh and Santok Singh, his wife Smt. Jit Kaur and his daughter Bhajan Kaur were sitting on cots in their court-yard. The cot on which deceased Kartar Singh and his deceased son Kapoor Singh were sitting, was near the main-door of the house. All the accused, out of whom Kartar Singh, Amarjit Singh, Bhola Singh and Surta Singh were armed with swords, Gurdeep Singh armed with Gandasa, Kakka Singh armed with Tonki and Lakkha Singh armed with Lathi/Danda, arrived and entered into the house of the complainant. On entering into the house, accused Kartar Singh said that the deceased Kartar Singh and his sons be dragged out and killed. On this exhortation, the accused persons caught hold the two deceased, Kartar Singh and Kapoor Singh, and Santok Singh PW-2, dragged them out of the house and started carrying them on the way towards west. The complainant Jagir Singh, his mother Smt. Jit Kaur and his sister Bhajan Kaur followed them. When the accused persons along with both the deceased p