Former RJD MP Prabhunath Singh sentenced to life imprisonment for 1995 shootings

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court has handed down a life imprisonment sentence to former RJD MP Prabhunath Singh for his involvement in the fatal shootings of two individuals who had reportedly voted against him in 1995. The apex court's decision comes as it deems this case an "exceptionally painful episode of our criminal justice system."

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S Oka, and Vikram Nath ruled in favour of convicting Singh for the crimes under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Earlier, the top court had expressed that it was dealing with a case which was an “exceptionally painful episode of our criminal justice system”. The court, overturning the judgments of both the trial court and the Patna High Court that acquitted Singh, convicted him in this case.

The incident in question pertained to the killing of two individuals on the day of polling for assembly elections in Chapra, located in the Saran district, in March 1995. At that time, Singh was a candidate for the Bihar People's Party in the election. Presently, Singh is incarcerated in the Hazaribagh jail situated in Jharkhand, subsequent to his conviction in the murder case of Janata Dal MLA Ashok Singh, which took place at the latter's official residence in the high-security zone in Patna in 1995.