Life imprisonment after being proven guilty after 30 years
Updated: Dec 10th, 2023
Have you ever heard someone get punished after three long decades? The Gujarat High Court stayed the release of an accused murder case as void after the state government’s appeal to revisit the case.
Life imprisonment alias Piddu Mulani, along with one more accused, was proven not guilty in a murder case in Kutch by a trial court on Apr 8, 1996.
Being dissatisfied with the old judgment, the state government filed a criminal appeal in the Gujarat HC to review the case.
Additional public prosecutor Krina Calla said, “The lower court’s decision to release the accused in the murder case was flawed and defective. There is a flaw in analysing the dying declaration of the deceased in this case.”
“Though the proof and testimonies of witnesses were on the complainant’s side, the trial court had proved the accused innocent, which was illegal, inappropriate, and faulty. Hence, it is necessary to punish the criminal,” Calla added.
Advocate Hardik Raval, the lawyer from Mulani’s side, said in defence that “The trial court took the decision based on proofs, statements, and records.”
After hearing both sides, the high court sentenced Mulani to surrender for life imprisonment after 30 years of the case.
Another accused in the case had been dead during the hearing of the case.
What was the murder case?
In a murder case filed with the Adipur police station in Kutch, Prakash Mulani allegedly killed Tarachand in a fight.
As per reports, Mulani harassed Tarachand’s sister, after which he went to reprimand Mulani. After a heated argument, Mulani stabbed Tarachand in the neck and killed him.
