Vickrum Digwa, 23, who murdered 18-year-old student Henry Nowak in Southampton, has had his minimum term increased from 21 to 25 years after the Attorney General successfully challenged the sentence at the Court of Appeal. Digwa's own bid to reduce the term was rejected.
Digwa was jailed for life in June after fatally stabbing Nowak on December 3 last year with a ceremonial knife with a 21cm blade. He was originally given a minimum term of 21 years.
False Accusation and Police Response
Digwa falsely accused Henry of racially abusing him, leading police to handcuff the student as he lay dying from his injuries. There was widespread anger following the release of police body-worn footage showing Henry, from Chafford Hundred, Essex, being placed in handcuffs.
Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Nicklin and Mr Justice Wall at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Thursday, heard Digwa's barrister argue that the length of his sentence was "manifestly excessive", alongside Attorney General Ellie Reeves's argument that it is "unduly lenient".
Attorney General's Submissions
In written submissions on behalf of the Attorney General, Jonathan Polnay KC said Digwa "abused the privilege" afforded to Sikhs to carry a knife in a public place for religious reasons.
He said: "The offender was carrying a substantial bladed weapon in public, immediately available for use, which he repeatedly deployed against an unarmed and defenceless stranger. He abused a statutory religious exemption permitting him to carry that weapon."
Mr Polnay continued: "There were significant additional aggravating factors: the offender’s sustained attempts to pervert the course of justice, his false allegation of racism against the deceased, his procurement of his mother’s assistance in concealing evidence, his degradation of the dying victim by filming him, and his conduct in misleading responders." He added that the minimum term imposed failed to "reflect the combined weight of those features".
Family Reaction and Legal Arguments
Digwa watched proceedings from HMP Frankland in County Durham, wearing a dark suit, shirt and tie. Members of Henry's family attended in person.
Speaking to ITV before the hearing, Henry's stepmum, Katie Nowak, said: "It’s another process that we’ve got to go through. It’s another fight that we have to have. It was a very clear verdict. It’s not right that he’s allowed to do this."
At Digwa's sentencing hearing at Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley KC said he had been carrying two knives on the night of the murder. One was a small knife hidden from view, known as a kirpan, which Sikhs are required to carry at all times. The other was a "large dagger in a sheath", which he carried because of his membership of the Nihang order of Sikhs, who have a tradition of having a second knife.
Mr Polnay told the court on Thursday that the bid to increase the sentence "is not about the lawful possession of a kirpan" or the laws allowing Sikhs to carry blades, but "about what followed". He said that Digwa’s use of the dagger was "on at least one level, analogous to an abuse of trust". He continued: "When a person who has the benefit of that accommodation uses the article protected by law for repeated lethal violence, that is an aggravating factor of particular weight."
Imran Khan KC, for Digwa, said the sentence could only be increased in "exceptional, rather than borderline cases, and directed to gross error by the sentencing judge". He added: "Where is the gross error?" He acknowledged the law allowing Digwa to carry the knife "plainly did not" allow him to use it to murder Mr Nowak, but also said Judge Mousley had "already expressly aggravated [the sentence] for both the dangerous weapon and the abuse of religious privilege", as well as other factors. He said: "There must be vigilance for using the same underlying facts repeatedly."
Mr Khan also said carrying a knife for religious reasons "should not of itself" cause Sikh offenders to be given longer sentences. Challenging the length of the sentence, Mr Khan said while Digwa's lies to first responders "unquestionably affected the dignity with which Mr Nowak was treated", his wounds were unsurvivable. "The false account therefore did not worsen the fatal injury or deprive Mr Nowak of the prospect of survival," he said.
Digwa is also separately seeking to overturn his conviction, but a decision has yet to be made on whether that challenge will be allowed to proceed.
