The Allahabad High Court has upheld the life imprisonment sentences of six men convicted of a 1982 murder in Saharanpur, dismissing their appeals more than four decades after their original conviction.
A division bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinay Kumar Dwivedi ruled on June 8 that the six surviving convicts, who are currently in custody, will remain in prison to serve out their remaining terms.
Details Of The Incident
The case originated from an incident on August 10, 1982, when a group of men armed with knives attacked and killed Satish Kumar in Saharanpur, reportedly due to prior enmity. Following an investigation, the police filed a charge sheet, and a criminal case was registered at the Haridwar police station under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including murder and attempt to murder.
Trial And Subsequent Appeals
On November 17, 1983, a Saharanpur district court found the accused guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment. After the trial court’s verdict, the convicts filed appeals in the High Court and were subsequently released on bail.
However, during the appeal process, the appellants and their defense counsel failed to appear for scheduled High Court hearings. This prompted the court to issue non-bailable warrants, leading to the arrest of the convicts, who have since remained in jail.
Court Findings And Abated Case
In its ruling, the High Court observed that the evidence presented by the prosecution clearly demonstrated that the appellants had surrounded Satish Kumar and assaulted him with deadly weapons to execute a shared objective. Finding no merit in the appeals, the bench affirmed the 1983 conviction and sentencing.
The legal challenge originally involved seven appellants, but the case against one of the accused, Rakesh, was closed following his death during the decades-long appeal process. The court’s final order applies to the six surviving convicts: Satish, Shiv Kumar, Ashok, Bhupat, Vijay, and Vikram.
