ALLAHABAD: A murder accused in Uttar Pradesh had to spend 26 years behind the bars out of which 22 years in a mental hospital for treatment despite getting bail in the case in 1982.
Expressing deep anguish over the delay in disposal of the convict's appeal, the Allahabad high court has directed release of one Nageshwar Singh who is undergoing treatment and is in a critical condition.
The court while holding Nageshwar's conviction, confined his life imprisonment to 20 years which he has already served.
A division bench of the high court expressed anger over the conduct of the defense and the government laywer for not providing proper assistance in disposal of his old bail appeal.
The sessions judge at Sultanpur had convicted Nageshwar Singh on August 24, 1982, for murdering his five-year-old nephew on December 19, 1981, as the deceased's father Bindeshwari Singh was not ready to arrived at a compromise in a civil dispute with two villagers whom the accused was supporting.
The court had awarded him life imprisonment.
The accused filed an appeal in the high court against the judgement and on September 3, 1982, the HC admitted the appeal for final hearing and also allowed his bail plea.
However, the accused could not file sureties and bail bond for 11 years and when he managed to filed the same, even then he was not released from jail for the reasons not decipherable from record.
Nageshwar was sent from Central Prison in Allahabad to the Varanasi Mental Hospital after he showed signs of mental problems in 1986.
Nageshwar was then released on bail only on March 9, 2007 despite the bail order of September 3, 1982.
In the high court, as his lawyer did not appear to argue on his appeal finally, the bench issued non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him on December 2, 2015, following which the police arrested him on February 15, 2016, and put him in Sultanpur district jail.
Later, the appellant was again sent to a mental hospital in Varanasi on March 15, 2017, where he is in a critical condition.
(With inputs from agencies)
Read the story in Hindi
Expressing deep anguish over the delay in disposal of the convict's appeal, the Allahabad high court has directed release of one Nageshwar Singh who is undergoing treatment and is in a critical condition.
The court while holding Nageshwar's conviction, confined his life imprisonment to 20 years which he has already served.
A division bench of the high court expressed anger over the conduct of the defense and the government laywer for not providing proper assistance in disposal of his old bail appeal.
The sessions judge at Sultanpur had convicted Nageshwar Singh on August 24, 1982, for murdering his five-year-old nephew on December 19, 1981, as the deceased's father Bindeshwari Singh was not ready to arrived at a compromise in a civil dispute with two villagers whom the accused was supporting.
The court had awarded him life imprisonment.
The accused filed an appeal in the high court against the judgement and on September 3, 1982, the HC admitted the appeal for final hearing and also allowed his bail plea.
However, the accused could not file sureties and bail bond for 11 years and when he managed to filed the same, even then he was not released from jail for the reasons not decipherable from record.
Nageshwar was sent from Central Prison in Allahabad to the Varanasi Mental Hospital after he showed signs of mental problems in 1986.
Nageshwar was then released on bail only on March 9, 2007 despite the bail order of September 3, 1982.
In the high court, as his lawyer did not appear to argue on his appeal finally, the bench issued non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him on December 2, 2015, following which the police arrested him on February 15, 2016, and put him in Sultanpur district jail.
Later, the appellant was again sent to a mental hospital in Varanasi on March 15, 2017, where he is in a critical condition.
(With inputs from agencies)
Read the story in Hindi
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