Chowdhry, J.

[1] Lajjaram, aged 26, of village Jagannathpur, P.S. Ajitmal, District Etawah, has been convicted and sentenced to death under Section 302, I.P.C., for the murder of Pragu of village Kakraiya within the same police station by the learned Additional Sessions Judge of Etawah. Lajjaram has appealed against his conviction and sentence. The record is also before us for confirmation of the death sentence. Three men, Ramdas, Kanhai and Lakhan, who were charged with the abetment of the offence, have been acquitted.

[2] Kakraiya is about a mile from Jagannathpur, wad the offence is said to have been committed after, sunset on 8-3-1954. It is said that the deceased was sitting in front of his door when the aforesaid three persons who have been acquitted came up from the east and engaged him in talk in a low tone. Suddenly one of them addressed him in a loud tone. This is said to have served as a signal whereupon two other men, clad in Khaki and armed with guns, came up from the east.

One of them was the appellant and the other a person whose identity has remained untraced. From a distance of about 10 paces the latter flashed a torch at Pragu and the former shot at him hit