Lucknow. Keshav Prasad, 81, who has been in jail for 46 years in a murder case in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, awaits his release. Due to non-availability of records, his release is not being considered. Now this matter has reached the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court.
The High Court has ordered the state government to consider the premature release of the petitioner. The court has also called for a reply on the entire matter. The next hearing of the case will be on August 22. A division bench of Justice Rajan Rai and Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav has given this order on the petition of Keshav Prasad.
Keshav Prasad, a resident of Sitapur, is currently lodged in Bareilly Jail. He was an accused in a case of murder in the year 1974 in Kotwali police station area of Sitapur. The district court had convicted him in this case on 18 December 1976 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The petitioner challenged the order of conviction of the district court in the Lucknow Bench of the High Court. However, on 2 September 1988, the High Court rejected his appeal and upheld the life sentence. The counsel for the petitioner submitted before the court that the petitioner is in jail since the date of conviction.
The fact that the petitioner was transferred from Sitapur Jail to Bareilly Jail on 22 January 2001 came to light after the court intervened on the last hearing. Bareilly Jail Administration says that in a fire in the jail, along with all the records, the records of the petitioner were also destroyed.
On the other hand, even in the High Court, the letters related to the petitioner could not be traced. Because of this he is not able to be released. On this, the High Court has ordered the state government to consider the premature release of the petitioner. The court has also called for a reply on the entire matter.