( 1. ) THIS is an appeal from a judgment of the Sessions Judge of Indore acquitting the respondents Babulal Shukla and Lal Shukla of charges under Section 307, I. P. C. and Sections 19 (e) and (f) and Section 20 of the Indian Arms Act and Babulal Tiwari of a charge under Section 307, I. P. C. , read with Section 34, I. P. C. At the conclusion of the hearing of the appeal, we announced our decision of dismissing the appeal saying that the reasons for our decision would be given later on. Accordingly, we now proceed to give our reasons.

( 2. ) THE general nature of the case alleged by the prosecution was that Babulal Shukla was on terms of enmity with one Bhagwati for the last eight or ten years; that on the evening of 22nd November 1955, between 8-30 and 8-45 p. m. , when Bhagwati was at the shop of one Kanhaiyalal inflating the tyre of a cycle, the three accused persons and one Sahdev, who is said to be absconding, came in a car suddenly and stopped the car just behind Bhagwati; that Babulal shouted: and immediately afterwards all the four occupants of the car got down and Lal Shukla fired a revolver shot at Bhagwati, which missed him passing close to his ear; and that Bha