JUDGEMENT
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(1.)Four persons appeal against sentences of death passed upon them in convictions for a double murder, the victims being two brothers Rattan Singh and Bawa Singh. The learned Sessions Judge convicted three others also but sentenced all, including the four appellants, to transportation for life. The High Court acquitted three of the seven but sustained the convictions of the four appellants and enhanced their sentences in each case to death.
(2.)The prosecution story is simple. All seven accused belong to the same village and belong to the same faction, or "party", as Mst. Punnan (P. W. 2) calls it. Of the seven, the appellants Dalip Singh and Battan Singh are brothers. Jarnail Singh who was acquitted is a son of Battah Singh. The remaining four, including the appellants Sadhu Singh and Kundan Singh, are not related to the other three and, except for the evidence that they belong to the same party, are not known to have any common interest with the other three.
(3.)The appellants Dalip Singh and Battan Singh are said to have assaulted the two dead men Rattan and Bawa about twenty years before the occurrence. They were prosecuted and convicted and served short terms of imprisonment. Dalip Singh and Battan Singh are also said to be dacoits and it is said that they believed that the two dead men used to furnish information against them to the police. This is said to be the motive for the murders. Why the others should have joined it, except on the basis that they belong to the same "party", is not disclosed.