Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to 32 individuals who were convicted earlier this year in a decades-old caste violence case in Agra. The incident dates back to 1990 in the Kagaraul police station area of Agra district and had resurfaced after a local court on May 28 sentenced the accused to five years of imprisonment. The convicts, including several elderly individuals, had challenged the verdict, citing contradictions in witness statements and misinterpretation of evidence by the trial court.

The bench of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, while hearing the criminal appeal filed by Jaidev and 31 others, considered arguments that the appellants had been on bail throughout the trial without any misuse of their liberty. Their counsel stressed that most of the convicts are above 65 years of age, with many suffering from serious health issues, and that the appeal would take considerable time for final disposal. The high court was also informed that 95-year-old Devi Singh, one of the convicts, had already been released on short-term bail earlier in August, adding weight to the plea for broader relief.

Granting the bail, the court clarified that the decision was made without delving into the merits of the case but keeping in view the prolonged nature of judicial proceedings and humanitarian considerations. The appellants, who had been in jail since their conviction in May, will now remain free on bail until the appeal is decided. The ruling has brought relief to the families of the elderly convicts, who had been battling both legal uncertainties and health challenges in the backdrop of one of Agra’s longest-pending communal violence cases.