The Supreme Court acquitted a death-row inmate on Friday, overturning the convictions handed down by both the trial court and the Allahabad High Court. The individual, named Irfan alias Naka, had been found guilty by the lower courts for the murder of his son and two brothers. The judges on the bench, namely Justices BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Prashant Kumar Mishra, ordered the immediate release of Irfan from Bareilly Central Prison. The charges against Irfan stemmed from allegations that he set fire to the victims in August 2014, purportedly due to their objections to his second marriage. In July 2017, a trial court sentenced him to death.
During the subsequent High Court proceedings, Irfan’s legal representative pointed out a critical detail: the room where the deceased individuals were found had been locked from the inside, making it implausible for Irfan to have poured any flammable substance on them. Nevertheless, in April 2018, the Allahabad High Court upheld Irfan’s death sentence and conviction. The High Court acknowledged minor inconsistencies in witness testimonies but deemed them inconsequential to the overall case. It also dismissed claims that the dying declarations of two of the victims were coerced, as their initial statements attributed the fire to a short circuit. This prompted Irfan’s appeal to the Supreme Court.
In June 2018, the highest court-initiated proceedings in response to the appeal challenging the High Court’s decision. The final judgment was reserved until July 19 of that year. In a previous instance, a bench led by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit (now retired) had suspended the execution in May 2022. This suspension allowed for a psychological evaluation of the convict to determine whether any mitigating factors warranted a commutation of the death penalty. The appeal before the Supreme Court was presented by advocate Adeeba Mujahid, and Irfan was represented by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who was engaged by the anti-death penalty advocacy organization Project 39A.
Name: – Ritesh palaur, University: – Sambalpur University, Semester: – 2 intern under legal vidhiya.
