Prayagraj (UP), February 19 The Allahabad High Court has acquitted a man serving a life sentence, convicted in 1989 for a murder in Farrukhabad in 1987.
A division bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Prashant Mishra on Wednesday held that the sentence and conviction recorded by the trial court on May 17, 1989, under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, were flawed and should be set aside.
"In this case before the trial court, there are three accused, one of whom is convicted, and the other two were acquitted based on the same evidence," it said.
In its judgment, the high court directed that Khunni Lal, the appellant who is currently in jail, should be released if he is not wanted in any other case.
In 1987, the trial court, after considering the evidence, acquitted Bhagwan Din and Jagdish and convicted Khunni Lal.
Khunni Lal, Bhagwan Din, and Jagdish are all related to the complainant, Ram Singh, and shared half of Ram Singh's house and land.
The three were accused of building their house on Ram Singh's land by encroaching upon it.
On May 9, 1987, at around 6 pm, a fight broke out between them when the accused were cutting a "chabutra" (small platform) on Ram Singh's property.
Khunni Lal, allegedly armed with a large knife, Bhagwan Din, armed with a pistol, and Jagdish, with a spear, joined the fight, which resulted in the killing of Mauji Lal, Ram Singh's brother.