Scuffle over Beedi price : HC upholds punishment

New Delhi: Three men, convicted for grievously injuring the father of a vendor for charging 50 paise extra for a bundle of 'beedi', leading to his death two decades ago, have got respite from the Delhi High Court, which has refused to interfere with their three-and-a-half-year jail term.

On March 28, 1998, the three men went to purchase a bundle of 'beedi' from the vendor, who demanded Rs 3 for it, while the accused claimed it cost Rs 2.50. 

This was followed by a verbal altercation that turned into a scuffle. Being assaulted by the men, the vendor raised an alarm, asking his father to save him. 

The accused beat up his father with sticks and the man died three days later, on March 31, 1998. Simple injuries were caused to his son. 

The three men were sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail by a trial court in 2001 for grievously injuring the victim and the police moved the Delhi High Court in 2003, seeking to hold them guilty for the offence of murder.