Allahabad High Court canceled life imprisonment sentence after 41 years, know the whole case

Allahabad High Court has cancelled the decision of a local court 41 years after it sentenced a former soldier to life imprisonment in a murder case. A bench of Justice Siddharth Verma and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra has given its verdict on the petition of Murari Lal, who was proved guilty, citing contradictions in the statements of witnesses. Murari Lal is currently out on bail.

According to the news agency, in the FIR lodged on July 6, 1982, Siodan Singh had alleged that Murari Lal had shot his brother Pool Singh with his licensed gun when Pool Singh was going from his village to Wazirganj. In this case, on May 3, 1983, a sessions court in Badaun convicted Murari of murder under section 302 of the IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

There was contradiction in the statements of witnesses: HC

In its order last month, the High Court had said that there were glaring contradictions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses as well. While the first witness said that the body was taken from the scene to the police station, the fourth witness said that the body was never brought to the police station.

Second witness is the only eyewitness, statements not confirmed: HC

The court said, “The court is of the view that when prosecution witness 2 was the only eyewitness and his statements were not corroborated by other witnesses, the evidence of the only eyewitness should be properly scrutinised with due care, which has not been done in the present case.” The High Court said in its judgment of August 14 that the contradictions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses are very clear.