After 29 years, an Indian postal worker is finally cleared of stealing $0.92

Indian court cases can drag on for years, or even decades in some cases. Official figures suggest that more than 30 million are pending in Indian courts, some from as far back as the 1950’s.

This is exactly what happened to Umakant Mishra, an Indian postal worker who was accused of stealing about $0.92 worth of Indian currency. It took Mishra 29 years, 348 court hearings, and enough legal fees to financially cripple his family before his name was cleared.

It all started in 1984 while Mishra was working at a post-office in the Harjinder Nagar area of Kanpur city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. He was given $11.19 worth of Indian currency in the form of money orders that he had to distribute. He distributed $4.92 worth of Indian currency and deposited the rest with a senior official.

However, when the refund was checked, it was found to be short by $0.92 worth of Indian currency. Mishra was then charged with fraud, suspended from his services, and had a complaint lodged against him with the police.

Although briefly jailed, Mishra was quickly released on bail at which point his 29-year-long legal battle began.

Mishra was summoned to court 348 times over the course of 29 years. In order to pay for his legal fees and keep his family fed, Mishra was forced to first sell his home in Kampur, and later sell his agricultural land in the Hardoi district.

He was forced into various odd jobs and had to live off of the kindness of his relatives. Finally though, Mishra was absolved of after the prosecution could not produce any witnesses in the case.

Though the whole ordeal has been hard on both Mishra and his family, he is confident that since he has now been absolved that the government will compensate him for the money that is due to him.

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