Patna: The Patna high court has acquitted all 13 people serving life imprisonment in the 1996 Karpi murder case, in which four people were killed, allegedly by members of the Mazdoor Kisan Sangram Parishad (MKSP).A division bench of justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Kumar Manish, while allowing a batch of criminal appeals, criticised the police investigation and said the prosecution had failed to establish the identity and involvement of the culprits beyond reasonable doubt, despite the murders being established.The judges noted the absence of blood-soaked soil seized from the crime scene, empty bullet cartridges, a test identification parade, forensic evidence and post-mortem reports examined during the trial. They said these lapses reflected negligent investigation.Observing that the criminal justice system must protect the innocent, the bench cited English jurist William Blackstone’s principle that it was better for guilty persons to escape than for an innocent person to suffer.Expressing anguish over repeated acquittals caused by basic investigative lapses, the court directed the Bihar DGP to form a three-member committee of senior officers to review the negligence and take administrative action within three months. It also directed the state home department to inform the court within a month about its policy for reviewing failed prosecutions and holding erring officers accountable. The court ordered the immediate release of all appellants serving life terms unless wanted in another criminal case.On Aug 8, 1996, armed extremists allegedly belonging to MKSP raided a hut near Keyal Aahar in Karpi, then in Jehanabad district and now in Arwal, killing Bharat Singh, Manger Singh, Ram Niwas Singh and Nawlesh Singh. Others were seriously injured during a dispute over cutting irrigation channels.On April 3, 2023, a Jehanabad court convicted the 13 accused under various IPC provisions and the Arms Act, sentencing them to life imprisonment. The high court overturned the verdict on Tuesday, citing investigative lapses, lack of corroborative medical evidence and flawed identification procedures.
