Supreme Court slams Allahabad HC for freeing 2003 attack convicts

The Supreme Court has set aside the Allahabad High Court order releasing two convicts in a 2003 knife and gun attack in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, on probation. The bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran said the High Court showed "misplaced sympathy" and that the men had "gone scot-free without suffering a single day of imprisonment" despite the brutality of the crime. The apex court directed the accused to surrender within two weeks, failing which the Additional Sessions Court, Bahraich, will take steps to apprehend them.

The case stems from a business rivalry in which the complainant opened a shop near that of the accused. On the day of the incident, one accused used a cutting weapon and the other a gun to attack the victim, leaving him unconscious. The top court faulted the High Court for invoking Section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, solely on the ground that the accused were first-time offenders, without considering the grievous nature of the injuries. The court also criticised the trial court for framing a charge under Section 308 of the IPC instead of Section 307. The criminal appeals stand restored before the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow bench, which will hear them only after the accused are in custody.