Taking issue with the manner in which the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued an order upholding a man's conviction and life sentence, the Supreme Court ruled that any first appeal in a murder case cannot be handled in this manner. The Supreme Court noted that in the high court's March 2020 order, the conclusion was recorded in a paragraph in "four lines in general terms" to dismiss the appellant's appeal, who is said to be over the age of 80. A bench of justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh, which allowed the man's appeal against the high court order, remanded the case back to the high court for further consideration. "The appeal before the high court was against the conviction under section 302 (murder) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code), and by the impugned order dated March 2, 2020, the conclusion is recorded in para 15 in four lines in general terms to dismiss the appeal," the bench wrote in its January 6 order. "We do believe that a first appeal in a murder case cannot be dealt with in this manner," the Supreme Court said, overturning the lower court's decision. The Supreme Court stated unequivocally that because it had previously exempted the appellant from surrendering and he is "stated to be more than 80 years of age and has been on bail in the proceedings before the high court," he would remain on bail, subject to the terms set out in the April 22, 2020 order. It stated that the earlier terms would be modified so that the appellant would report to the local police station in the forenoon on the first Monday of each month.
The man had previously petitioned the high court to overturn an October 2005 order of a session's court in Bhiwani, which had convicted and sentenced him to life in prison in the case.