Raghubar Dayal, J.

[1] This is a Government appeal against the acquittal of Munnoo, Budhoo, Arjun and Bam Narain of the offence under Section 302, I.P.C., and of Ram Autar Chaudhari Kanurnan Prasad, Gopi Lal Sharma and Madan Lal Singhania of the offence under Section 302, read with Section 109, I. P. C. Arjun, opposite party No. 7, has not been served of the notice of this appeal and his case is, therefore, not before us at the moment.

[2] One Radha Krishna, elder brother of Ram Autar Chaudhari respondent, was murdered at about 11-30 p. m. on the 30-7-1343 on the Mall in front of the District Intelligence Staff office, Kanpur, when he, accompanied by his wife and two infants and driver Sen Gupta, was returning from the dinner at the house of Nandan Prasad Saxeria. Ha and his wife received injuries when attacked by three or four persons with knives and hockey stick.

[3] The prosecution case is that the assailants had followed the jeep car in which Radha Krishna and his party were returning from near the house of Sexeria and could reach the victims because the jeep car stopped suddenly. It is alleged that the stoppage of the car was not accidental but was due to the tampering with the car by one shital, driver of the respondent Hanuman, at the suggestion of Hanuman and Ram Autar respondents. The tampering was done by pouring of about three quarters of a gallon of water inside the tank of the jeep when Sen Gupta, driver of Radha Krishna, and Ram Adhar, the cleaner of Ram Autar respondent, had been sent away on the ostensible pretext of fetching Ram. Autar'a and Madan's wives from their houses to the dinner. The actual assailants, who were following in an ekka, were, therefore, sure that the car would stop after going some distance and therefore could reach them.

[4] There is no direct allegation as to who procured the actual assailants and arranged with them the carrying out of the plan. The suggestion seems to be that Hanuman had arranged them because two of these alleged assailants, namely Mannoo and Arjun were employed in the Juggi Lal Kamlapat cotton Mills at Kanpur of which Hanuman was the General Manager and also from the fact that it was Hanuman who is alleged to have enquired from Shital as to whether any ekka had followed the car.

[5] The actual conspirators who hatched the conspiracy for the murder of Radha Krishna are said to be Ram Autar, Hanuman, Gopi Lal Sharma and Madan Lal. Of them Ram Autar and Hanuman are said to have had reasons for planning the murder of Radha Krishna. Ram Autar had differences with his brother Radha Krishna on account of Radha Krishna and his wife not approving of the conduct of Ram Autar's wife going out in the company of Hanuman and Madan Lal and also on account of Radha Krishna's taking over the charge of the Ganga Oil Mills at Kanpur from Ram Autar, who though a student of the degree class had been looking after that mill on behalf of his father and one Bhagwan Das, the two proprietors of the mill. It is also alleged that Radha Krishna did not approve of Ram Autar's mixing with Kanuman and Madan Lal and his ways of life, specially his visits to prostitutes in their company. Evidence has been led about these causes of the ill-will between Radha Krishna and Ram Autar respondent.

[6] Hanuman is said to have had a grudge against Radha Krishna on account of the alleged complaining of Radha Krishna to Sri. Padampat Singhania, the proprietor of the J. K. Cotton Mills, against Hanuman, and on account of which complaint Hanuman is said to have been rebuked by the managing director Sohan Lal.

[7] Gopi Lal Sharma and Madan Lal had no grievance against Radha Krishna Chaudhari.

[8] There is no direct evidence about Madan Lal's conspiring with the others about this murder. The other three are said to have been seen together shortly before the dinner on the 30-7-1948. At that meeting Shital approver, driver of Hanuman, was present. Ram Adhar, cleaner of Ram Auter, is also said to have been near about,