Allahabad High Court Acquits 68-Year-Old Man After 38 Years in Murder Case, Calls Conviction ‘Highly Doubtful’
By Rajesh Pandey
In a major relief granted nearly four decades after his conviction, the Allahabad High Court has acquitted a 68-year-old man, Onkar Singh, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case dating back to 1985.
The court observed that his involvement in the alleged offence was “highly doubtful” and that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
A division bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Sanjiv Kumar, while allowing the criminal appeal filed by Onkar, set aside the judgment of the Sessions Court, Bulandshahr, dated December 2, 1987, which had awarded him a life sentence under Sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the case records, the FIR was lodged by informant Ram Ji Lal on February 11, 1985, at Ahmad Garh police station in Bulandshahr district.
He alleged that three individuals—Virendra, Onkar, and Ajab Singh—forced their way into his house and killed his nephew Rajendra.
During the course of proceedings, two of the co-accused, Virendra and Ajab Singh, passed away, leading to the abatement of the appeals against them. Consequently, the appeal continued solely on behalf of the surviving accused, Onkar.
As submitted by counsel Krishna Kant Dubey, Onkar was arrested in 1987 and remained in prison until December 1990. He has been out on bail since then.
The High Court, in its judgment dated December 1, criticized the trial court for failing to evaluate the evidence properly and stated that there was no conclusive proof that Onkar participated in the alleged crime.
“It has not been established that the appellant Onkar, along with the others, entered the informant’s house and committed the murder of Rajendra.
The prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and the conviction by the trial court was illegal,” the bench remarked.
While acquitting him, the court clarified:
“The appellant, Onkar, is on bail. His bail bond stands cancelled, and the sureties are discharged. The appellant need not surrender.”
The judgment marks the end of a long legal battle spanning 38 years, offering closure to an appellant who has lived under the shadow of a conviction for most of his life.
#AllahabadHighCourt #AcquittalAfterDecades #JusticeDelayedJusticeDenied #LegalNews #UPJudiciary #IndianLaw #MurderCase #Bulandshahr #HighCourtJudgment
