Jaipur, October 29
In a bizarre tale of delayed justice and police incompetence, a resident of Muktsar district in Punjab had to wait for nearly five decades to get absolved by the court of “unknown” charges filed against him.

Major Singh of Husnar village in Muktsar was booked on a fraud charge way back in 1962. He was a 14-year-old teenager at that time. However, no action was taken against him for nearly 38 years.

In 2000, Major Singh was taken aback when the local police, carrying an arrest warrant, came knocking on his door. The warrant was issued by a subordinate court in Sikar. It was alleged that he had cheated someone in 1962 and had been at large since then.

It was a rude shock to Major, as he had never been to Sikar. However, he regained his composure and after securing bail from a sessions court in Sikar set out on a journey to uncover the truth.

Inquiries revealed that he was wanted in a case filed against him and five others by one Nisar Ahmed in 1962. The trial of four accused had already taken place, while Major and another accused, Jogendra Singh, were declared absconders.

The story didn’t end here. When Major tried to find out more about the complainant and nature of the crime registered against him, he was surprised to know that the authorities had no details except for an FIR number (73/62) and sections under which he was booked.

He then moved the Rajasthan High Court in 2001, claiming that he was falsely implicated in the case. The trial lasted in the HC for almost eight years and in every hearing the police failed to produce the records pertaining to the case. The court even sought the papers from the subordinate court in Sikar, the police department and also the DGP. But it just received one reply: “Records awaited.” Finally, Major’s counsel Anoop Dhand contended in the court: “How long will a person be made to wait for records that don’t exist at all?” He further argued that the police were mistaking Major for a person with an identical name and address.

Striking down the 47-year-old trial last week, the High Court bench of Justice KS Rathore ruled that Major’s fundamental right to life and liberty was being grossly violated by delaying the trial of the case, records pertaining to which could not be found even in almost a decade.