In an unusual legal spectacle, an 11-year-old boy from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, appeared before the Supreme Court to challenge his own murder trial, affirming that the case against him was baseless. Identified as Abhai Kumar, the boy revealed that his father had falsely accused his grandfather and uncles in a fabricated murder case. The Supreme Court responded by accepting the petition and issuing notices to the state government, Pilibhit SP, and the Neuria police station’s station house officer, decreeing “No coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioners till further orders.”
According to the boy’s counsel, Kuldeep Jauhari, Abhai had been living with his maternal grandfather, a farmer, since 2013 after his father allegedly subjected his mother to severe abuse over dowry. Abhai’s mother, who married in February 2010, succumbed to her injuries in March 2013. Following her death, the grandfather filed a Dowry death FIR against his son-in-law under IPC Section 304-B.
The legal saga intensified as the boy’s father sought custody, triggering a contentious legal battle with reciprocal cases filed by both parties. Abhai’s father accused the boy’s grandfather and maternal uncles of murder, invoking IPC Sections 302, 504, and 506.
Despite approaching the Allahabad High Court to quash the FIR, the petition was dismissed, prompting the family to present Abhai in the Supreme Court as living evidence. The case is scheduled for a hearing in January 2024, adding a bizarre chapter to the complex legal tangle.
Sources By Agencies
