The convict's lawyer said the incident occurred about 43 years ago, and that all throughout the petitioner was on bail, except for three months as an under-trial. (File Photo)
The Supreme Court recently granted bail to a man whose appeal against a 1985 trial court order convicting and sentencing him to life imprisonment for killing his brother remained pending before the Allahabad High Court for over four decades before it was dismissed on February 9, 2026.
Issuing notice to the Uttar Pradesh Government on the Special Leave Petition by the convict Vijay Singh, a bench of Justices P K Mishra and A S Chandurkar said, “In the meanwhile, petitioner shall be released on bail in connection with FIR No. 251 dated 04.11.1983 registered at Police Station Beconganj, District Kanpur for the offence punishable under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, on such terms and conditions as may be imposed by the Trial Court.”
In its June 8 order, the bench also summoned the trial court records and directed that a digitised copy of the records be supplied to counsel for the parties upon request.
Appearing for Singh, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, said the incident occurred on November 4, 1983, about 43 years ago, and that all throughout the petitioner was on bail, except for three months as an under-trial. He urged the top court to grant him bail pending a final decision of the case.
In his petition, Singh said he “is now 72 years old” and “for over four decades, through youth, middle age, and now old age, he has lived under the shadow of that conviction.”
He said he was a grandfather, “beset by multiple ailments that attend a man of his years”. “His criminal appeal languished before the high court for 40 years before being finally heard and dismissed almost summarily. This Special Leave Petition is, in the truest sense, his last recourse and, as will be demonstrated, the conviction itself rests on deeply infirm foundations which, with the greatest respect, have been completely overlooked by the Hon’ble High Court.”
In its 18-page order, the Allahabad High Court said that “findings recorded by the trial court do not suffer from any perversity and are hereby confirmed”. “Prosecution succeeded in proving its case against the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court has rightly convicted and sentenced the appellant for committing an offence under Section 302 IPC of murder of his real brother,” the high court said.
Vijay Singh was accused of killing his brother, Ajay Singh, following an altercation between Ajay and a woman friend of Vijay. According to the prosecution, Vijay shot Ajay with his licensed pistol on November 4, 1983. An additional sessions judge in Kanpur convicted him of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment on December 3, 1985.
