The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has reduced the sentence of 70-year-old Shameema Begum to the period already served, nearly five decades after the case began.

Begum was convicted in 2009 under Section 304-II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code for striking her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law with an axe during a domestic quarrel in Uri in 1979. The incident was deemed unplanned and “in the heat of the moment.”
Justice Sanjay Parihar, hearing a 16-year-old appeal, highlighted the systemic delay in criminal case disposal and noted Begum’s advanced age, frail health, and remote residence. The court emphasized the constitutional right to a speedy trial under Article 21 and stressed that sentencing must balance deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation.
Considering that Begum had already undergone imprisonment and lived under legal uncertainty for decades, the High Court declared her sentence served, while increasing the fine to Rs 5,000. In default of payment, she will serve three months of simple imprisonment.