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SC waters down cop’s sentence
The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a retired Delhi Police assistant commissioner of police (ACP) in a 22-year-old custodial death case.
The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a retired Delhi Police assistant commissioner of police (ACP) in a 22-year-old custodial death case.
A bench headed by Justice H.S. Bedi, however, reduced the punishment imposed on R.P. Tyagi by three years.
The retired police officer was the station house officer of Vivek Vihar police station where the incident took place.
The court sentenced Tyagi to five years of imprisonment and also directed him to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family.
The bench made it clear that if the compensation weren’t paid within the time period prescribed in the judgment, Tyagi’s appeal, challenging the Delhi High Court judgment, would stand dismissed.
Since Tyagi has already spent three years in jail, he will now remain incarcerated for two years only. In accordance with the high court order he had also given Rs 2 lakh to the victim’s family as compensation amount.
Tyagi had approached the supreme court, challenging his conviction by the high court, that had set aside a trial court judgment sending the police officer to the gallows.
The high court had come to Tyagi’s rescue by holding him guilty of lesser offence and not murder for which he was tried by a sessions court.
The high court had, however, sentenced Tyagi to eight years and asked him to pay Rs 2 lakh to the victim’s family.
Tyagi was held guilty for the custodial death of an alleged bad character in Vivek Vihar where the police officer was posted as the SHO.
The victim along with an associate had allegedly stabbed Tyagi while the latter was patrolling the area on August 16, 1987.
Though the two had escaped from the spot, they later surrendered on August 24, 1987 after the police refused to let go their family members until the duo were apprehended.
The Vivek Vihar police had registered an attempt to murder case against them.
The police allegedly beat up the two during their custody.
One of them, Mahinder, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital the next day.
A criminal case was registered on a court direction following the victim’s father appeal before a trial court.
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