Cuttack: A 65-year-old man, who was convicted in a murder case and granted bail 32 years back, has been ordered by the Orissa High Court to return to jail and serve a sentence of five years.
Gulia Majhi had allegedly committed the murder at Kadua under Bisoi police limits in Mayurbhanj district. The Sessions Court, Baripada convicted him under Section 304 (II) of IPC and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years on October 3, 1988.
Majhi’s criminal appeal challenging the conviction and sentence was admitted on November 15, 1988 and on that day, he was granted bail.
However, the High Court on Wednesday modified the sentence and ordered for his surrender within two weeks to serve the remaining five-year jail term, according to a TNIE report.
Before announcing the judgment, Justice SK Sahoo inquired about the present condition of the appellant. In his report on August 22, 2020, the officer in-charge of Bisoi Police Station indicated that the appellant is now aged about 65 years and he is not involved in any other case under the police station.
His wife is residing with him and he has two sons. While the 36-year-old elder son is a farmer who maintains the family, the 22-year-old younger son is serving as a constable in the Army.
Taking note of it, Justice Sahoo observed, “There is no dispute that more than 33 years have already passed since the date of occurrence but in my humble view, looking at the nature and gravity of the accusation proved, the same cannot be the sole ground to reduce the sentence to period already undergone.”
