13 years on, Supreme Court acquits family sentenced to life

The case is a shocking reminder of police docility to political influences, lack of proper legal representation: Bench

The Supreme Court has acquitted three members of a family, framed by the police acting under political pressure and sentenced to life imprisonment by the courts, after they complained about their relative’s murder over a ₹250 debt, 13 years ago. A Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and V. Ramasubramanian, in a judgment, said the police, instead of proceeding in pursuit of the truth, tried to bury it many fathoms deep in a case which is a shocking reminder of police docility to political influences, and lack of proper legal representation in courts and judicial oversight. In May 2008, a grievously injured Nand Kishore was rushed to the hospital by Madhav. Kishore was the brother of Raju Yadav. Yadav was married to Madhav’s sister, Sahodara Bai. But Kishore was declared dead on arrival. He had suffered a brutal beating with sticks and lathis. Bai informed the police. The three of them named two men, Ruia and Kailash, in the FIR as the culprits.