After staying out on bail for 22 years a man accused of murder will finally serve a sentence — rigorous imprisonment for three years.
Shaikh Umar Hyder Phuleri, 67, was accused of murdering an acquaintance way back in April 1988. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court in 1992.
The HC has now reduced his punishment on the grounds of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. A division bench of Justice PB Majmudar and Justice RG Ketkar on March 11 observed that Phuleri had no intention of killing the deceased.
The court was hearing an appeal filed by Phuleri in 1992, challenging the Sessions Court’s verdict.
Phuleri was granted bail by the HC after his appeal was admitted for hearing.
This is how the story unfolded: Complainant Shahbuddin, deceased Taimur, his wife Shabira and son Nabilal all lived at the Manubhai Company Chawl in Chandivali. Taimur and Phuleri were both lorry owners and fell out over some issue though they belonged to the same union. The two had been involved in an assault case and in 1984 the police had initiated chapter proceedings (externment) against both.
On April, 30, 1988, at around 8 pm, Nabilal came to Shahbuddin and told him that Phuleri and Taimur were fighting. When Shahbuddin rushed to the spot, he saw Phuleri holding a 12-inch knife in his hand and Taimur lying in a pool of blood. The victim was rushed to Rajawadi Hospital where he was declared dead on admission.
The police registered a case against Phuleri on a complaint filed by Shahbuddin and he was arrested the same day. During the trial, the prosecution examined six eyewitnesses and several panch witnesses and based on the evidence Phuleri was convicted to life imprisonment.
When the appeal came up for hearing, defence lawyer Divesh Chamboowala pointed out that there were serious discrepancies in the FIR and the evidence given by the witnesses. Pointing out that none of the eyewitnesses actually saw Phuleri killing Taimur, Chamboowala argued that the crime happened on the spur of the moment and that his client did not have any prior intention of killing Taimur. Chamboowala also pointed out that Phuleri is now 67 and deserved the court’s compassion.
Additional public prosecutor Prajakta Shinde, on the other hand, argued that Phuleri was rightly convicted on murder charges and that the sessions court judgment should not be overturned. Justice Ketkar who penned the 72-pages judgment agreed with the arguments of the defence counsel. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs10,000 on Phuleri. He will have to suffer one more year of imprisonment if he fails to pay up the fine. The court has granted the accused four weeks to surrender.
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