JUDGMENT

Bhargava, J. - Lokpal Singh is a zamindar of village Lohari Khera; and for sometime he was the assistant secretary of the Chhatri Sabha in the District of Etah. One of the objects 'of the Sabha was to reclaim those Thakurs who had been converted to Islam. Five or six years before the occurrence Lokpal Singh took a prominent part in the conversion of a large number of nauMuslims of Nagla Aman Singh; and a year before the incident, which led to the prosecution of the appellants, namely, Earn Bharose and Fiddad Khan alias Fida Husain, a panchayat was convened at the house of Thakur Dhara Singh of Bijaura to arrange for the conversion of one Karan to Hinduism. The case for the prosecution was that while the panchayat was being held Sher Khan arrived there and prevented the conversion of Karan, who was his relation, and took him away with him: that this led to an exchange of hot words be. tween Sher Khan and Lokpal Singh, and in consequence thereof the nau-Muslims of Nagla Gohatia, who were related to Sher Khan, held a panchayat against Lokpal Singh; that in view of these strained relations on 27th November 1945, between 9 and 10 p. M., -while Lokpal Singh was returning with has