PRAYAGRAJ, Dec. 5 -- In a major relief to a 68-year-old man, the Allahabad high court acquitted him in a murder case 38 years after he was convicted and sentenced to life term by a trial court.

The bench comprising Justice JJ Munir and Justice Sanjiv Kumar allowed the criminal appeal filed by one Onkar, and set aside the judgment and order dated December 2, 1987, passed by the then sessions judge, Bulandshahr.

"The prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, and it has not been established that the appellant - Onkar, along with others entered into the informant's house and committed the murder... Thus, the trial court failed to appreciate the evidence in the correct perspective," the bench observed in its judgment ...