HC suspends sentence of 94-yr-old murder convict

The court considered the case as urgent and heard the plea. It further directed the convict’s release on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 5,000.

Amid the closure of courts due to the lockdown over the coronavirus outbreak, the Allahabad high court on Monday suspended the sentence of a 94-year-old murder convict.

The bench, while suspending the sentence of the convict considering his old age. (Representative image)

The court considered the case as urgent and heard the plea. It further directed the convict’s release on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 5,000.

The high court bench, comprising chief justice Govind Mathur and justice Siddhartha Varma, passed the order on an appeal filed by convict Suryavansh (one name) of Gorakhpur.

The petitioner challenged his conviction and sentence passed by the sessions court of Gorakhpur in the murder case.

The bench, while suspending the sentence of the convict considering his old age, said, “The crime occurred on March 28, 1978. It has been brought to our notice that Suryavansh is now 94 years old.”

“Having considered this aspect of the matter, we are inclined to allow this application. The sentence awarded to Suryavansh is suspended till the disposal of appeal,” said the bench.

The court directed additional advocate general, who was representing the state government, to ensure compliance of the order at the earliest and to file a compliance report within a week.

The court order did not contain details of the crime and for how many years the convict has been in jail after sentencing.