104-Year-Old Walks Free After 48-Year Legal Battle, Allahabad High Court Overturns Mu1rder Conviction
In a poignant moment that captured the weight of decades, 104-year-old Lakhan Pasi emerged slowly and unsteadily from Kaushambi District Jail on Tuesday, May 20.
With trembling hands folded in gratitude and a frail voice, Lakhan kept repeating, “Judge saheb log humka chhodd diye. Bahut bahut meherbani kiye.” (The judges have released me. I’m deeply grateful.)
His release marks the end of a nearly 50-year-long legal ordeal that began in 1977, when he and three others were arrested for allegedly murdering a fellow villager in Kaushambi district, then part of Allahabad.
A Long-Awaited Verdict After Decades in Court
The breakthrough came with a May 2, 2025, verdict by a division bench of the Allahabad High Court, comprising Justice Vivek Kumar Birla and Justice Nand Prabha Shukla, which overturned the 1982 conviction by a sessions court.
The high court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, granting Lakhan and co-accused Deshraj the benefit of the doubt.
Their criminal appeal had been pending for over four decades, during which two co-accused—Kaleshwar and Kallu—died, and Deshraj, now bedridden, was already out on bail due to ill health.
Despite the high court clearing Lakhan on May 2, bureaucratic delays in dispatching the release order from Prayagraj meant he remained in jail for 18 more days, until the legal paperwork finally reached Kaushambi.
From Youth to Old Age Behind Bars
Lakhan, son of Mangali Pasi, hails from Gourey village in the Sarai Akhil police station area of Kaushambi. He was arrested along with three others after the alleged murder of a villager named Prabhu on August 6, 1977, reportedly following a long-standing feud.
Initially booked under Sections 323 and 308 of the Indian Penal Code, the charges escalated, and by 1982, all four were sentenced to life imprisonment. Lakhan spent several years in jail before being granted bail.
In a cruel twist of fate, he was sent back to jail in December 2024—just months before his exoneration.
His Aadhaar card lists his date of birth as January 4, 1921, making him 104 years old.
High Court Questions Prosecution’s Narrative
In its ruling, the high court expressed serious doubts about the prosecution’s version of events. It noted inconsistencies in the case, including the failure to explain the genesis of the incident and the suspicious nature of witness testimonies, especially in light of acknowledged previous enmity between the accused and the deceased.
“Where a history of enmity exists,” the court stated, “the possibility of false implication cannot be ruled out. The lower court failed to examine the case from this perspective.”
The court further observed that the sequence of events, the origin of the conflict, and the role of each accused remained unclear, undermining the prosecution’s claim of establishing guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Family Devastated by Generational Struggles
Back home, Lakhan’s family is still grappling with the cost of the decades-long fight for justice. His daughter, Asha Devi, who now cares for him, says Lakhan is often confused and has trouble remembering relatives.
“My mother, Pyaari, passed away around 20 years ago while he was still in jail,” Asha said. “She used to sell whatever little we had to pay lawyers. We are five sisters and one brother. We lost our land, our livelihood—everything—trying to get our father released.”
Suraj Bali, Lakhan’s only son and a daily wage laborer in Manjhanpur, remembers a childhood without his father. “I never saw my father growing up. My mother spent her life visiting lawyers and courts, trying to get him justice. She passed away without seeing him free.”
Now free, Lakhan remains a shadow of the man who was first imprisoned. His memory is fading, and his eyesight is weak. The years behind bars have taken a permanent toll.
Legal Aid Stepped In After Decades of Delay
It was only recently that the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Kaushambi, intervened in the case. Advocate Ankit Maurya, appointed by DLSA, represented Lakhan after it emerged that he no longer had legal representation.
“Lakhan had been in and out of jail over the years. After his last incarceration in December 2024, we moved to expedite his appeal,” Maurya said.
“The high court has now set him free under the benefit of doubt, as the prosecution failed to prove its case. The appeal had been pending for over 40 years.”
After the high court took note of the long-pending case, warrants were reissued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM). Police attempted to arrest Deshraj, but due to his condition, a photograph was presented in court to confirm his incapacitation. Lakhan, however, was re-arrested and placed in Kaushambi jail.
Jail Officials Took Special Care
Kaushambi Jail Superintendent Ajitesh Kumar confirmed that due to Lakhan’s age, he was kept under medical supervision in the jail hospital and provided with appropriate food and care.
Additional District Judge Poornima Pranjal, who also serves as DLSA secretary, acknowledged the delay in transferring the high court’s release order.
“Though the high court issued the order on May 2, Lakhan’s release was delayed until May 20 due to administrative lag,” she said. “With the support of jail authorities, he was finally released.”
A Life Lost in Legal Limbo
Lakhan Pasi’s case is a stark reminder of the tragic consequences of delayed justice in India’s overburdened legal system. He lost nearly five decades of his life waiting for a verdict that finally proved his innocence.
His wife died without seeing him free. His children grew up in hardship and isolation. And today, while he breathes free air, his body and memory bear the scars of a lifetime spent behind bars.
For Lakhan and his family, justice has finally arrived—but perhaps too late to repair what was lost.
