Judgment

P. Venkatarama Reddi, J.—In the morning hours of 9th April, 1996, in the precincts of a police camp stationed near a village in Bihar, a macabre incident similar to a ­terrorist operation happened. The accused-a policeman deployed in the police picket to contain the terrorist activities, unleashed terror by indulging in a firing spree killing three of his colleagues instantaneously. After trial, he has been condemned to death. He is now before this Court contesting the conviction and sentence.­

2. The prosecution case is as follows:

The appellant was one among the police personnel deployed at Narhi police camp, close the Chakardah village, Bhojpur district of Bihar. He was a Constable who was also trained as Black Commando. He was aggrieved by the action of Hawaldar Ram Pandey reprimanding him on one occasion for his carelessness in leaving the rifle on the ground floor while sleeping on the terrace and on another occasion for listening to radio while on duty and for making adverse entries in the Guards’ register for these lapses. At about 8 a.m. on 9th April, 1996 when Shri Ram Pandey was ­sitting on a cot and meditating, the appellant suddenly took the sten-gun of Ram Pa