JUDGMENT

1. In this case two women, Musammat Sukhia and Musammat Halki related to one another in this way, that Sukhia is the own sister of Halki's husband, Brahmins by caste, residents of a village, in the Mahoba sub-division of the Hamirpur District, were tried before the Court of Session on the charge of having murdered two little girls, the daughters of their own neighbour and caste-fellow, Madho. They have been found guilty and the case has been referred to us for confirmation of the sentence of death passed by the Sessions Court. The women have submitted to us petitions of appeal, in which they vehemently protest their innocence and we have had the advantage of hearing the case argued by Counsel on their behalf. We may say at once that we have come to the conclusion that the conviction cannot be sustained. The learned Sessions Judge has written a well-considered judgment, in many respects admirably thought out ; but having said this , we feel it incumbent upon us to comment at the very outset on the procedure which he adopted at the trial and on his attitude towards certain statement's by the accused women which constituted the principal (or we might rather say almost the sole