Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court acquitted a former soldier who was serving a life sentence in the murder case that took place 41 years ago in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. In this 1982 murder case, the Badaun Sessions Court had found the former soldier guilty in 1983 and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Since then, after spending a few days in prison, the former soldier who was out on bail has now got justice from the High Court. The case was heard in the High Court in the division bench of Justice Siddharth Verma and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra.
During this hearing, contradictions were found in the statements of the prosecution witnesses. Due to different witness statements and discrepancies in these statements, the High Court overturned the decision of the Lower Court. The Superior Court said that not much reliance can be placed on the testimony of the government witness. There were many inconsistencies in the statements of the prosecution witnesses. This incident is from July 6, 1982. On that day, a person named Phool Singh, a resident of Wazirganj, was murdered in Badayu.
Error in the statement of an eyewitness
Phool Singh’s brother Shyodan Singh had lodged a complaint with the police in this regard, suspecting the murder of former soldier Murari Lal. Later, while hearing the case, the Lower Court found Murarilal guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Then, when the matter reached the High Court, the testimony of the witnesses was called into question. In reality, there was only one witness to this incident, but his testimony did not match the statements of other witnesses.
The person who signed the Panchayatnama changed his declaration
In such a situation, the court did not find his statement credible. Not only this, the person who signed the Panchayatnama also changed his statements. Likewise, when a witness said that the body was taken to the police station, many witnesses testified against it. During the hearing of the case, the High Court clearly said that the site plan of the incident itself is defective. The court said that since the ex-serviceman is already out on bail, there is no need for him to surrender for further action.
