41-Year Delay & Advanced Age: Allahabad High Court Reduces Sentence Of Police Constable Convicted In 1985 For 11 Knife Wounds, Enhances Compensation

Balancing the gravity of the injuries against the fact that the appeal remained pending for 41 years through no fault of the appellant who is now over 60 years old, the Court modified the sentence. The Bench reduced the rigorous imprisonment from six years to four years, enhanced the fine to Rs 40,000, directed Rs 35,000 of the fine to be paid as compensation to the victim or his legal heirs under Section 357 CrPC, and ordered the appellant to surrender within two weeks to serve out the remaining sentence.

A Single Judge Bench comprising Justice Santosh Rai observed, “Now, coming to the question of quantum of sentence. It has been brought to our notice, and is not disputed by the State, that the appellant is presently more than sixty years of age. It has further been brought to our notice that this appeal, arising out of a judgment of conviction rendered as far back as in the year 1985, has remained pending before this Court for a period of approximately forty-one years, and that no part of this inordinate delay is attributable to any default, dilatory conduct, or fault on the part of the appellant”.

“Having regard to the appellant's present age of over sixty years, the fact that the appeal has remained pending for about fortyone years through no fault of the appellant, and balancing the same against the gravity of the offence and the serious and lifethreatening nature of the injuries inflicted upon the injured, we are of the considered view that, while the conviction must be maintained, the sentence awarded by the Trial Court requires to be suitably modified in the interest of justice”, the Bench further noted.

Advocate Mohd. Shiraz appeared for the appellant and Purshottam Maurya, AGA appeared for the respondent.

The case dates back to August 21, 1984, when the appellant, Bux Ullah alias Burey Ali, a serving police constable posted at Bareilly, left his headquarters without permission and confronted the victim, Sayeed Ayub Ali, a religious preceptor (Peer) commandingly active in Bisalpur. Carrying a knife while dressed in his official police uniform, the appellant accused the victim of defaming him over an alleged tape-recorder theft. He launched an immediate knife assault in front of a medical clinic and subsequently chased the fleeing victim onto a main thoroughfare, inflicting further stab wounds that resulted in intestinal protrusion before escaping toward his residence.

Following the investigation, the Special Judge/Additional Sessions Judge, Pilibhit, convicted the appellant under Section 307 IPC on September 18, 1985, sentencing him to six years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 600. The appellant challenged this conviction and sentence before the Allahabad High Court in 1985.

The Bench observed that the ocular testimony of the injured victim and two eye-witnesses stood firmly corroborated by the prompt lodging of the FIR within 25 minutes, the seizure of the appellant's blood-stained uniform and weapon, and the medical report detailing 10 incised wounds and one linear scratch. Rejection of minor discrepancies regarding blood marks on a busy thoroughfare and the unsubstantiated plea of unsoundness of mind further fortified the prosecution's case. On sentencing, the Bench reiterated Supreme Court precedents holding that undue sympathy solely on account of the passage of time must not compromise public confidence or the rights of victims.

Cause Title: Bux Ullah Alias Burey Ali v. State of U.P. (Neutral Citation: 2026:AHC:154435)

Appearances:

Appellant: Mohd. Shiraz (holding brief of Syed Wajid Ali) and Sudhir Agarwal, Advocates.

Respondent: Purshottam Maurya, AGA, and V.C. Tewari, Advocate.

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