In a significant legal turnaround, the Allahabad High Court overturned the life sentence of former soldier Murari Lal, who spent 42 years in prison for a 1982 murder conviction.
The court’s decision marks a dramatic shift in the long-standing case, effectively erasing the stain on Lal’s record.
The division bench, led by Justice Siddharth Verma and Justice RMN Mishra, ruled that the evidence against Lal was insufficient to sustain his conviction.
The court found that the prosecution’s case was fraught with inconsistencies and gaps, rendering the conviction unreliable.
The case dates back to 6 July 1982, when someone found Phool Singh murdered while he was traveling to his village, Wazirganj.
Singh’s brother, Shivdan Singh, had alleged that Lal was responsible for the killing due to a personal dispute.
Subsequently, Lal was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sessions Court in Badaun.
However, the High Court’s recent judgment highlighted multiple flaws in the prosecution’s case.
The court identified discrepancies in the site plan, including uncertainty about Singh’s exact location at the time of the murder.
Additionally, the court found the only eyewitness’s testimony unreliable and discovered conflicting statements from other witnesses about the handling of the deceased’s body.
The court noted that several procedural errors, such as issues with the Panchayatnama and inconsistent accounts regarding the evidence, contributed to the doubts surrounding the conviction.
Consequently, the bench concluded that the evidence could not substantiate the charges against Lal beyond a reasonable doubt.
With this acquittal, Murari Lal, who had been on bail, will no longer need to surrender.
The court’s ruling not only overturns the life sentence but also clears Lal’s name of the long-standing accusations that have marred his life for over four decades.
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