Court stays conviction of constable who shot thief

The incident occurred in April 2005 when Pandey was posted at a railway scrap yard in Sewri. On April 25,Pandey noticed two men —Deonath Yadav and Faizal Kunda — climbing the wall of the scrap yard with a rope. According to Pandey’s application,he asked them to come with him to his office. But the two men assaulted him. In order to protect himself,Pandey opened fire and a bullet hit Yadav,who died on the spot.

In April 2010,a lower court judge held Pandey guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced him to seven years of rigorous imprisonment. Following the conviction,Pandey was dismissed from service in October. He then approached the High Court,which subsequently granted him bail.

During the hearing,Justice Kanade noted,“It is very important to allow policemen to do their duty. They cannot be expected to seek permission at every step.”

The petition had said,“The service rifle was fired by the applicant in self-defence. In such a case,the applicant’s services cannot be terminated abruptly… the bullet was fired with an intention to deter the men from further assault.”