Man sentenced to death as minor released after 23 years in jail

The Supreme Court of India has released a man who was sentenced to death 23 years ago, correcting a significant error in his case. The man, convicted of a 1994 triple murder in Uttarakhand, was just 14 years old at the time of the crime. However, the courts had failed to recognize his minor status under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act during his trial.

Error in Identifying Age

The man was first sentenced to death in 2001. His claim of being a minor was rejected by the trial court, which relied on his bank records suggesting he was 20 years old. Both the High Court and Supreme Court upheld this decision in 2002, ignoring school documents that proved he was born on January 4, 1980. Even during a review petition in 2003 and a curative petition in 2006, his claims were dismissed despite the government admitting his age was 14 at the time of the crime.

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In 2005, the man appealed to the President of India. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, but a condition was imposed that he would remain in jail until age 60. He continued his legal battle, highlighting that the mandatory provisions of the JJ Act were not applied in his case.