After 41 years of legal battle, man relieved from charges of stealing Rs 20

Gwalior: In a bizarre incident, a Gwalior man who was charged for stealing Rs 20 was relieved of the theft charges in a Lok Adalat after 41 years of a legal battle.

As per media reports, the Judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) Anil Kumar Namdeo ordered to release the accused, Ismail Khan a resident of Gwalior, after taking an undertaking from him not to indulge in any kind of illegal activities in future, the court official said.

The complainant Babulal, now 61, said Ismail Khan, 68, had stolen Rs 20 from his pocket in 1978 when he was standing in a queue to purchase a bus ticket.

“I lodged an FIR against Ismail Khan in the year 1978 and Khan was released on bail after a few months. He used to come for the court hearing but he stopped coming from 2004. A warrant was issued and he was arrested in April 2019. Khan was in jail for the past three months,” said the complainant.

He even doesn’t have any money to file an application for his bail. Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) called both of us for hearing in Lok Adalat, informed the complainant further.

He also mentioned that Khan doesn’t have any family and his financial condition is very poor.