SC upholds conviction of man 26 years after committing murder

Twenty-six years after a person was killed over a petty dispute relating to plucking of fruits from a tree, the supreme court has upheld the conviction of the accused for the crime.

Considering the fact that the murder took place 26 years ago and the accused, Umapada Kayal, was "not keeping good health," a Bench of Justices V S Sirpurkar and Deepak Verma reduced the sentence to five years as against the 10 years of rigorous imprisonment awarded by the Calcutta high court.

Kayal had appealed in the apex court challenging the high court's decision to sentence him to 10 years' RI under Section 304-Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of IPC, reversing the acquittal by a Kolkata Sessions Court.

The prosecution said on June 5, 1983 Umapada Kayal along with eight others attacked the victim, Shaktipada Kayal, after he objected to their plucking of fruits from his palm tree.

The sessions court in a judgement dated September 20, 1988 acquitted all nine accused holding that the offence under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) was not proved against any of them.

However, on an appeal from the state, the high court on August 23, 2002 reversed the acquittal of Umapada Kayal and convicted him for offence under Section 304 Part II. It, however, dismissed the appeal against the other eight accused.  

Aggrieved by the HC verdict, Kayal appealed in the apex court.