Lucknow, The Allahabad High Court has set aside the sentences of two men convicted in a murder case 46 years ago after finding that both were minors at the time of the crime.
However, the Lucknow bench of the court upheld their conviction and referred the matter to the Juvenile Justice Board to determine the appropriate punishment. Four people – Shamshad, Abdul Rafiq, Dilsher and Hamidullah – were killed in the incident, while several others sustained injuries. During the pendency of their appeal in the high court, appellants Siraj Ahmad and Abdul Wahid claimed that they were minors when the incident occurred. Following the high court’s directions, the Juvenile Justice Board conducted an inquiry to ascertain their age.
A division bench of Justices Abdul Moin and Pramod Kumar Srivastava on Thursday passed the order on an appeal arising from the incident that took place in Sultanpur on September 28, 1980. The sessions court had convicted all eight accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment on December 14, 1981. Based on the board’s report and educational records, the court found that Ahmad was 17 years and 10 months old, while Wahid was 17 years and 11 months old at the time of the crime.
