The Allahabad High Court granted substantial relief to a 90-year-old man convicted in a decades-old assault case arising from a land dispute, reducing his sentence to the period already undergone in jail and directing his immediate release.
The order was passed by a single-judge bench of Justice Tej Pratap Tiwari while deciding a criminal appeal arising from an incident that occurred in 1980. The case had remained pending for several decades before reaching its conclusion.
According to court records, the Fourth Additional Sessions Judge, Bijnor, convicted six persons under Sections 147 (rioting), 323/149 (voluntarily causing hurt with common object), and 307/149 (attempt to murder with common object) of the Indian Penal Code. The trial court awarded various sentences, with the highest punishment being one year of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹200.
The conviction was subsequently challenged before the Allahabad High Court. During the appeal’s pendency, five of the six appellants—Thakuri, Kesari, Lekha, Bhagwat Singh and Megha—died, leading to the abatement of proceedings against them. As a result, the appeal survived only for Mangu, the sole remaining appellant.
While considering the matter, the High Court observed that none of the prosecution witnesses specifically attributed any particular weapon or injury to Mangu. The Court noted that no clear evidence showed he inflicted a specific injury on the victim during the incident.
The bench also considered the appellant’s advanced age and deteriorating health. Mangu, now about 90 years old, was reported to be suffering from various age-related ailments.
Considering the prolonged passage of time since the incident, the circumstances of the case, the absence of specific allegations against the appellant, and his old age and health condition, the Court found it appropriate to modify the sentence. The High Court consequently reduced the jail term from one year to the period already undergone and ordered his immediate release, if not required in any other case.
The ruling brings to a close litigation that had remained pending for nearly 46 years, providing relief to the sole surviving appellant in one of the oldest criminal appeals before the Court.
