SHILLONG, Dec 13: The High Court of Meghalaya on Tuesday sought the retrial of Nidamon Chullet, who was convicted of murder in 2008.
Hearing Chullet’s appeal on the impugned judgement of conviction and the consequent sentence by the Sessions Court of West Jaintia Hills district on January 19, the division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh said a retrial was called for.
The bench asked the prosecution to provide all relevant documents from the stage of framing of charges to the appellant within a fortnight from the date of the order.
“Accordingly, the impugned judgment of conviction and the consequent sentence dated January 19, 2022, stand set aside to the extent they concern the appellant herein. So that neither the prosecution nor the appellant herein is prejudiced, the greater details of the matter have not been gone into,” the court stated in its verdict.
The court further said that the charges be framed afresh against the appellant within a week of the receipt of such papers, adding that the trial will commence within a week thereafter and the oral evidence of the two original plaintiff witnesses should be completed within two weeks of the commencement of the trial.
“Upon the completion of recording of the evidence of such witnesses, the appellant herein will be entitled to be released on bail on such conditions as the trial court may deem appropriate,” the court said.
According to the court, the trial should be completed within eight weeks of the completion of the recording of the evidence of the two witnesses.
The court further said the appellant will not be entitled to seek any adjournment and the prosecution should make every endeavour to be represented on the dates set by the trial court, which may take up the matter on a daily basis so as to adhere to the schedule indicated herein.
“The observations here, which were necessary for the purpose of remanding the matter for a fresh trial, will not prejudice either the prosecution or the appellant herein in course of the fresh trial,” the court said.
It further said the lower court records available with the high court should be returned to the trial court by December 15, 2022, adding that this order should immediately be brought to the notice of the trial court concerned.
B Khriam, the West Jaintia Hills sessions judge had on January 19 convicted Chullet for his involvement in a murder case committed 15 years ago. Chullet had to undergo imprisonment for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
Chullet had allegedly murdered one Ewanmi Lhuid in Jowai in February 2008 after a brawl between the two for trivial reasons.
At the time of his conviction, Chullet was the working president of the National People’s Party’s Jaintia Hills unit. He is also the president of the Jaintia Hills Truck Owners’ Association and is the prime accused in the assault case of social activists Agnes Kharshiing and Amita Sangma on November 8, 2018.
