In a landmark verdict that underscores the perils of wrongful conviction, the Allahabad High Court has acquitted three men who had been serving life imprisonment for the last 38 years. The court declared the 1982 case a 'blind murder' committed by unknown assailants, stating that the original conviction was based on 'conjectures' and an improper appreciation of evidence.
A Conviction Overturned After Nearly Four Decades
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Kumar and J J Munir delivered the ruling on December 18, 2025, setting aside the 1987 conviction of the three appellants—Amrit Lal, Harish Chandra, and Kallu. They were among 11 individuals from Bhadri village in Prayagraj sentenced to life for the murder of one Ram Dulare. The legal proceedings against the other eight accused had abated due to their deaths during the long pendency of the case.
The court minced no words in its criticism of the trial judgment. "The prosecution has utterly failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and the learned Trial Judge has not appreciated the evidence on record in the right perspective and reached a wrong conclusion regarding the appellants’ guilt upon conjectures," the bench observed.
Gaping Holes in the Prosecution's Narrative
The case dates back to July 8, 1982, when Ram Dulare's body was found near a railway line. The prosecution alleged that the 11 accused assaulted him with lathis, kicks, and punches, with one even inserting a lathi into his rectum, leading to his death.
However, the High Court found the evidence shockingly inconsistent. A critical flaw was the complete contradiction between eyewitness accounts and medical evidence. The post-mortem report recorded no injury matching the alleged rectal assault; instead, death was attributed to a head injury. "In the present case, the medical evidence completely rules out the direct evidence of eye-witnesses," the court held, noting this struck at the very root of the prosecution's case.
The bench also highlighted several unnatural aspects in the prosecution's story:
- It questioned how 11 assailants beating a victim for nearly an hour would cause only 10 injuries.
- It deemed it "highly unnatural" that the assailants would continue the assault for so long that they could be identified.
- The conduct of the informant and his uncle, who claimed to have taken a longer route to the scene empty-handed despite knowing an assault was underway, was found inconsistent with ordinary human behavior.
Immediate Release Ordered
Concluding that it was a "blind murder" committed in the dark hours of the night away from the village by unknown persons, the court allowed the appeals. It acquitted all three surviving appellants and directed their immediate release from prison. The court ordered their release subject to the execution of personal bonds, in case the state decides to challenge the acquittal in a higher court.
This verdict brings a tragic yet just end to a 38-year-long legal ordeal for the three men, highlighting the judiciary's crucial role in rectifying miscarriages of justice, no matter how delayed.
