Patna HC turns down death penalty awarded by lower court to 9 men

Patna, July 14 The Patna High Court has rejected a death sentence to nine men pronounced by a special excise court in connection with a hooch tragedy, which left 20 people dead in Bihar's Gopalganj on March 15, 2016.

The special excise court cum ADJ Lav Kush Kumar in Gopalganj had held nine men and four women guilty in March, 2021. He had announced the death penalty to the nine men and life term to the four women.

Ajay Kumar Mishra, the defence lawyer, had challenged that decision in the Patna High Court.

"During the hearing for the last 15 months, we pointed out the loopholes in the decision of the lower court. The Patna high court was satisfied with our points and turned down lower court's death penalty decision," Mishra said.

"The double bench judges of Justice Ashwani Kumar Singh and Justice Harish Kumar gave the decision in favour of my clients. They are identified as Chathu Pasi, Kanhaiya Pasi, Nagina Pasi, Lal Babu Pasi, Rajesh Pasi, Sanoj Pasi, Sanjay Chaudhary and Munna. The court believes that the statements of the witnesses were contradictory and circumstantial evidence were not adequate," Mishra said.

The hooch tragedy that took place in Khajurbani locality under town police station in Gopalganj on March 15, 2016 claimed the lives of 20 people and six others lost their eyesight. The local police arrested 14 persons, including five women and one of them was released in the absence of proof.

The then Superintendent of Police Ravi Ranjan Kumar of Gopalganj had suspended 25 police personnel, including the SHO of Town police station.