Father-son acquitted by Supreme Court in 28-year-old murder case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has recently set aside an order of Uttarakhand High Court and acquitted father-son in a murder case that took place in 1995 in Uttrakhand's Manglaur. A bench of justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal last week acquitted father-son Mohd Muslim and Shamshad as it set aside the order of the Roorkee court and Uttarakhand High Court. The court was hearing a father-son plea challenging the Uttarakhand HC order dated September 10 2010 which confirmed the Roorkee's Sessions Court order dated April 25, 1998. "In view of the above, the judgment and orders of the Courts below that is Additional Sessions Judge, Roorkee dated April 25, 1998, and High Court of Uttarakhand dated September 10, 2010, are accordingly set aside and the accused-appellant no 1 is acquitted by giving the benefit of the doubt," the top court said. Roorkee Court has convicted the father-son in a 1995 murder case and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The said conviction has been upheld by Uttrakhand High Court. The top court noted that the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the accused involved in the assault and death of the deceased Altaf Hussain. The incident took place on August 4, 1995, within the jurisdiction of Police Station Mangalore. (with ANI inputs)