Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Rajendra in an acid attack case and upheld the seven-year imprisonment awarded by the Sessions Court, Agra. The court held that the sentence imposed was appropriate and required no interference, noting that the prosecution had successfully proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Tej Pratap Tiwari while hearing the appeal challenging the conviction. The court observed that the testimonies of the three injured eyewitnesses, along with other corroborative evidence, were sufficient to establish guilt. It emphasized that the evidence on record clearly proved the involvement of the accused in the offence.

According to the case details, the incident occurred on October 2, 1984, in the Katra Gadariyan area of Agra. The victims—Subhash, Ashok, and Dinesh—were returning after installing a loudspeaker when the accused attacked them with acid with the intention of causing serious harm. A first information report was registered on October 3, 1984. The Sessions Court completed the trial within a year and delivered its judgment on October 20, 1985, sentencing the accused to seven years of imprisonment.

The High Court observed that if any of the victims had died due to the attack, the offence would have amounted to murder. However, the medical and eyewitness evidence clearly established that the victims sustained injuries due to the acid attack. Additional material evidence, including the recovery of a bicycle and a burnt garment, further strengthened the prosecution’s case.

Notably, the appeal remained pending for over four decades. The High Court’s decision has come 41 years after the original sentence was pronounced. Affirming the findings of the trial court, the court dismissed the appeal and maintained the sentence awarded earlier.