occurrence-indeed, the first one to the doctor, was made within half an hour; as also upon the evidence of two persons Inayatullah, P.W. 1 and Sadashiv, P.W. 3, who figure as eye-witnesses, and Trimbak, P.W. 2 and Ramgopal, P.W. 4, who claimed to have turned up in the nick of time, to witness the last stages of the occurrence. Though the trial Judge did not disbelieve the oral testimony of the witnesses aforesaid, and only insisted upon corroboration, the High Court was more pronounced in its view that the testimony of those four witnesses was not trustworthy. The High Court has discussed their evidence in great detail, and was not prepared to accept any part of their testimony on the ground that they were strongly partisan witnesses and that they did not come to the rescue of the victim of the murderous assault if they were really in the neighbourhood of the place of the occurrence, as claimed by them: If we had to assess the value of that body of oral evidence, we may not have come to the same conclusion, but we proceed on the assumption that the High Court is right in its estimate of the oral testimony adduced on behalf of the prosecution. After discussing all that evidence, the High Court took the view that it could not pl(\ce any reliance on the oral testimony of what Baboolal had spoken to P.Ws. 2 and 19 when they deposed that Baboolal had named two of his assailants, namely, the appellant and Tukaram. The High Court relied upon the three dying declarations recorded at the .hospital-first, by the attending doctor, second, by the Sub-Inspector of police and the third, by the magistrate, first class, between 9.25 and 11.35 p.m. As regards authenticity of the record of those three statements of the deceased, the High Court had no doubt, nor has any doubt been cast upon them by counsel for the appellant. The High Court then considered the question whether the conviction of the accused could be based on those dying declarations alone. It pointed out that in that High Court as also in other High Courts, convictions on dying declarations alone had been rested if the Court was satisfied that the dying declaration was true and, therefore, could be acted upon. But the decision o
