Image source, Police handout
Vickrum Digwa indispensable service astatine slightest 24 years and 190 days earlier helium tin beryllium considered for parole
ByStuart Rust
South of England
A antheral jailed for beingness for murdering Henry Nowak has had his minimum situation word accrued to 25 years by the Court of Appeal.
Vickrum Digwa was serving a minimum of 21 years for stabbing 18-year-old student Nowak with a ample dagger successful Belmont Road, Southampton, connected 3 December 2025.
The Attorney General referred the lawsuit to the Court of Appeal connected the grounds it was "unduly lenient", portion Digwa besides challenged his jailhouse word arsenic "manifestly excessive".
The Lady Chief Justice quashed the sentence, ruling the archetypal word "did not adequately bespeak the wide seriousness of the murder".
Digwa, who was besides refused support to appeal, told constabulary Henry had attacked and racially abused him, which led to Henry, from Chafford Hundred successful Essex, being handcuffed arsenic helium laic dying.
The proceedings justice aboriginal recovered Digwa's accusations of racism to beryllium a lie. Then 22, helium was jailed for beingness astatine Southampton Crown Court successful June.
Image source, Family photo
Henry Nowak, 18, was fatally stabbed successful Southampton successful December 2025
Both appeals were heard connected Thursday by Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Nicklin and Mr Justice Wall, with Digwa appearing via video nexus from HMP Frankland.
The Lady Chief Justice said the proceedings justice had been entitled to commencement astatine 15 years, arsenic helium recovered Digwa had not taken the weapon to the country intending to perpetrate a crime.
But she said a "very important uplift" was needed due to the fact that of the usage of the ample kirpan.
Henry Nowak’s slayer has minimum word accrued to 25 years
A kirpan is simply a spiritual weapon which baptised Sikhs are expected to transportation astatine each times, and the instrumentality allows it to beryllium carried successful nationalist for spiritual reasons.
Digwa wore a tiny kirpan astir his neck, but was besides carrying a larger 1 connected a belt, successful keeping with an bid of Sikhs known arsenic the Nihang.
The information that initially carrying the weapon whitethorn person been lawful "does not trim the seriousness of its consequent lethal use", she said.
She said the archetypal condemnation had understated the repeated usage of a ample dagger with intent to kill, and the "deliberate cruelty, further suffering and obstruction" that followed.
"It was not lone lenient, but unduly so," she said.
With clip spent connected remand deducted, Digwa indispensable service astatine slightest 24 years and 190 days earlier helium tin beryllium considered for parole.
Image source, ITV News
Henry's father, Mark Nowak and the remainder of his household said they had been fixed "a beingness condemnation of grief"
In a statement, Henry's household called the determination "an important measurement towards justice" but said "no sentence, nevertheless long, tin ever springiness Henry his beingness back".
They continued: "We person been fixed a beingness condemnation of grief. There is nary entreaty for us, nary simplification successful our suffering and nary imaginable of ever getting our lad back."
They said their "fight for justness is acold from over" and that they would enactment an autarkic accelerated reappraisal being carried retired by Alex Chalk.
Attorney General Ellie Reeves said: "The brutality and cruelty of this lawsuit horrified me, and I cognize that feeling is shared by the British public.
"My thoughts stay with Henry's household and loved ones astatine this incredibly hard time.
"No condemnation tin ever capable the void near by his loss, and I anticipation this result goes immoderate mode towards bringing them the justness they deserve."
Image source, Getty Images
Attorney General Ellie Reeves referred the condemnation to the Court of Appeal nether the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme
During the hearing, Jonathan Polnay KC, for the Attorney General, argued the 21-year word did not sufficiently bespeak "the precise precocious grade of seriousness of the offending".
He said Digwa had abused the ineligible exemption allowing Sikhs to transportation spiritual blades, which permitted him to person the dagger, and that this was "on astatine slightest 1 level analogous to an maltreatment of trust".
Imran Khan KC, defending, argued the proceedings justice had counted overlapping aggravating factors much than once.
"To enactment it pithily, the Attorney General says 21 years was excessively little. We accidental it was excessively much," helium said.
The judges agreed immoderate factors should not person counted against Digwa, including the assemblage interaction of the case, which helium had not anticipated oregon intended.
Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, was jailed for 3 years successful July for assisting an offender by removing the weapon from the scene. She abandoned an entreaty against her condemnation soon earlier Thursday's hearing.
Digwa has besides applied to entreaty against his execution conviction, which volition beryllium decided separately.
English (US)·