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Journalism of Courage
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This is an archive article published on March 9, 2011
Ex-BSF constable acquitted after 14 yrs
Justice Ranjit Singh of the High Court acquitted Karnail Chand,ruling that he was denied the right to be represented by a counsel on state expenditure.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the immediate release of a former BSF constable in jail for the past 14 years for murdering a fellow constable on the grounds that his case went unrepresented before the court of General Security Force GSF.
Justice Ranjit Singh of the High Court acquitted Karnail Chand,ruling that he was denied the right to be represented by a counsel on state expenditure. The judge emphasised the fact that a fundamental right enshrined under the Constitution cannot be denied to an individual.
Karnail Chand was enrolled as a constable in BSF on April 1,1988. He along with lance naik V S Saraf and constable B P Roy were on naka duty on the intervening night of September 30/October 1,1996.
According to the prosecution,Saraf and Karnail Chand consumed liquor at the naka point. While doing his duty,Karnail Chand started singing to which Roy objected,leading to heated arguments between the two. Karnail Chand then fired three shots from his SLR at Roy,killing him.
Karnail Chand was tried from April 6,1998 to April 28,1998 and was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life by the court of GSF. Justice Singh took into consideration many handicaps that the accused possessed in the absence of the counsel,including effective cross-examination,before BSF officers.
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