A 90-year-old Indian villager has been sentenced to life in prison for a murder committed 42 years ago in a caste-related crime. The incident took place in Sadhupur village, Uttar Pradesh, where a group of men entered a woman's house and opened fire, resulting in the death of 10 Dalit community members and injuries to two women. The families of the victims feel that the court's judgment has come too late to hold any meaningful value, leading to the notion of "justice delayed, justice denied." Despite the healing of physical wounds, the emotional scars remain for the survivors and families affected by the tragedy.

Ganga Dayal, the sole surviving accused in a four-decade-old caste-related crime, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Harvir Singh in Firozabad. The judgment comes after nine of the ten accused and several witnesses passed away during the lengthy trial. The case's details have become hazy over time, but it is believed that tensions arose between castes due to complaints from Dalits about a ration shop owned by a Yadav caste member. The crime received attention in the past, with promises of justice from political figures such as Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Chief Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh. However, doubts persist among the villagers about whether true justice has been achieved.

Maharaj Singh, a neighbor of Premvati who also suffered losses during the incident, expressed gratitude for finally receiving justice but lamented that it came far too late. He believed that an earlier conviction would have allowed their elders to find peace before passing away. The case's prolonged duration was attributed to administrative changes, as the village was initially part of Mainpuri district but later became part of Firozabad district. Consequently, the case files were forgotten until they were eventually transferred to the Firozabad court in 2001 following orders from the Allahabad High Court.

The hearings in the case were initiated in 2021 as part of a government effort to clear the backlog in courts and resolve old cases urgently. However, the delay of 40 years in delivering justice is seen as a classic example of justice being denied due to the slow pace of the Indian criminal justice system. The victims and their families, particularly Dalits who are among the most marginalized, have had to endure prolonged agony. This case reflects the broader issue of court cases in India taking years or even decades to reach a conclusion, leading to resentment among the public.

The Indian courts are burdened with a massive backlog of nearly 50 million pending cases, resulting in significant delays in delivering justice. The lack of an adequate number of judges and archaic procedures are cited as the main causes of the delay. The judge-to-people ratio is low, leading to an overwhelming workload for judges and lengthy trial proceedings. Outdated practices, such as manually transcribing testimonies, further contribute to the time-consuming nature of the legal process. Appeals in high courts can take several years to be listed for a final hearing, followed by a similar timeline in the Supreme Court. Consequently, cases where convicts are acquitted after decades at the appellate stage are not uncommon. These delays highlight the challenges and frustrations within the Indian legal system, exacerbating the backlog of unresolved cases.