Ghaziabad: A sessions court has dropped a criminal miscellaneous case linked to a 45-year-old murder after the convicts were acquitted by the Allahabad High Court in 2024. The case was linked to the recovery of a fine of Rs 500 from the convicts. The fine had been imposed on them by a special court in 1984.On Dec 2, 1981, an FIR wasregistered against eight people — Omkar Singh, Rakam Singh, Iqbal Singh, Madan Singh, Prakash Singh, Sansar Singh, Krishnapal and Ishwar — for attacking Ram Saran and Jagvir Singh. Ram Saran died on the spot but Jagvir survived with grievous injuries. A special court sentenced Omkar Singh to life imprisonment under Section 302 of IPC and one year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500 under Section 324/149 IPC. The remaining accused were sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500 each under Section 324/149 of the IPC.The convicts filed an appeal challenging the sessions court order in the high court in March 1984. During the pendency of the appeal, six of the eight convicts died and the remaining two were unrepresented. So, the court appointed Saurabh Sachan as an amicus curiae to assist them in the case.Sachan was able to bring to the notice of the court that the eyewitness account, based on which the eight men were convicted, was absolutely unbelievable and the case, therefore, was doubtful. He stressed that the conviction of the accused persons could not be based on the testimony of an eyewitness who was not believable. He relied upon judgments of the Supreme Court passed in Maniram and Others vs. State of U.P. reported in 1994, Solanki Chimanbhai Ukabhai vs. State of Gujarat reported in AIR 1983 and Krishnegowda and others vs. State of Karnataka reported in AIR 2017 SC 1657.The case continued in the high court for 40 years until a division bench comprising Justices Siddhartha Varma and Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi held that the testimony of the injured witness became fairly doubtful because he had not been able to give a correct description of the place where the incident had occurred. On Nov 25, 2024, the court acquitted them of the charges.This miscellaneous petition was filed in 2004 for the recovery of the said fine imposed against them by the Ghaziabad sessions court in 1984 and proceedings were initiated against the accused and the heirs of the deceased accused for the recovery of the fine.Ghaziabad sessions court special judge Nitendra Kumar dropped the case after being apprised that those convicted and penalised by the Ghaziabad sessions court have been acquitted by the high court. “Since the honorable high court has set aside the decision of the trial court, there is no justification for continuing this miscellaneous proceeding for the recovery of fines against the accused, and the miscellaneous case deserves to be dismissed as inapplicable,” the court ruled.
