A fatal scuffle over a ₹500 watch between neighbours led to a nearly 30-year-old criminal case, which finally drew to an end in the Supreme Court due to death, old age and exhaustion.

The top court Bench headed by Justice Ujjal Bhuyan closed criminal proceedings in the culpable homicide case after noting that two of the three accused persons have died during the pendency of the appeal, the remaining one was well over 60 years of age and it has been three weary decades of litigation since the deceased Padam Singh fell into a dry canal during the scuffle and died from his injuries.

The judgment was based on an appeal filed by the surviving accused, Mathu, against an Uttarakhand High Court judgment of July 2012, that is, 14 years ago.

HC upheld lower court’s view

The High Court had upheld a Dehradun court’s finding that the three accused persons, Mathu, Ramu and Manua were guilty of culpable homicide without intention of causing the death of Padam Singh. The trial court had in 2002 sentenced them to five years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹2,000.

The trio had challenged the decision in the Supreme Court, which allowed them to be released on bail in December 2012. Manua and Ramu died while awaiting the decision of the top court in their appeal.

Justice Bhuyan, in a judgment dated June 25, recounted the tragic turn of events that started with the friendly sale of a watch between two neighbours nearly 30 years ago.

Padam had sold the watch to Manua, his neighbour for ₹500 in February 1997.

“It appears that Manua did not like the watch. So, he went back to the house of Padam Singh to ask him to take his watch back,” Justice Bhuyan narrated in the short judgment.

For some reason, the judge said, Manua returned to his house, but Padam followed him back. The attempt to return and the to-and-fro over it escalated into a scuffle. Soon, Ramu and Mathu joined Manua to assault Padam, who fell into a dry canal nearby with a rock bed and sustained serious injuries. He was rushed to hospital, but died.

Justice Bhuyan said that attempts had been made over the years to accuse the trio of throwing stones at Padam, one of which hit him on the head with fatal consequences. However, the top court said the post-mortem report showed the injuries were sustained during the fall.

“Today, we are in 2026, almost three decades have gone by. The appellant [Mathu] is now well over 60 years of age... All the injuries clearly occurred because of the fall of the deceased into the dry canal which had a rock-bed,” Justice Bhuyan observed.

The court noted that Mathu had already undergone imprisonment for one-and-a-half years. “At this distant point of time, we are of the view that it would meet the ends of justice if we alter the sentence of imprisonment from five years to the period already undergone while maintaining the conviction,” the judgment said.