The Court of Appeal has heard that Vickrum Digwa, who murdered 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton, should have received a longer sentence because he repeatedly used a knife against an unarmed and defenceless stranger. Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years in June and is now appealing against the sentence as manifestly excessive. The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves, has also referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient, with three senior judges hearing both bids on Thursday.
Religious exemption abused
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 stated that Digwa was carrying a substantial bladed weapon in public, immediately available for use, which he repeatedly deployed against an unarmed and defenceless stranger, abusing a statutory religious exemption permitting him to carry that weapon.
Mr Polnay highlighted significant additional aggravating factors, including sustained attempts to pervert the course of justice, a false allegation of racism against the deceased, procuring his mother's assistance in concealing evidence, degrading the dying victim by filming him, and misleading responders. He argued that the minimum term imposed failed adequately to reflect the combined weight of those features.
Court proceedings and background
The hearing was temporarily paused after about 15 minutes because a fire alarm sounded at the Royal Courts of Justice, prompting the building's evacuation. Digwa watched proceedings from HMP Frankland in Co Durham, wearing a dark suit, shirt and tie. Members of Mr Nowak's family attended the hearing in person, telling ITV before the hearing that Digwa being allowed to challenge his sentence doesn't feel fair to them at all.
At Digwa's sentencing hearing at Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley KC said that on the night of the murder, Digwa had a small knife hidden from view called a kirpan, which is a strict requirement for Sikhs to have at all times. Digwa also had a large dagger in a sheath, due to his membership of an order of Sikhs called the Nihang, who have a tradition of having a second knife.
Legal arguments and next steps
Judge Mousley said the privilege extended to practising Sikhs of being allowed to be in public with a bladed article, particularly the large dagger, a highly dangerous weapon easily accessible to the wearer, brings with it huge responsibility. Mr Polnay told the court that the bid to increase the sentence is not about the lawful possession of a kirpan, adding that it is about what followed. He said Digwa's use of the dagger was on at least one level analogous to an abuse of trust, and that when a person with the benefit of that accommodation uses the article protected by law for repeated lethal violence, that is an aggravating factor of particular weight.
The killing later sparked unrest when police body-worn video was released showing officers handcuffing Mr Nowak, from Chafford Hundred, Essex, as he lay dying after Digwa falsely told officers the teenager had racially abused him. Imran Khan KC, for Digwa, will make submissions on why the sentence should be reduced later in the hearing before the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Nicklin and Mr Justice Wall, which is due to conclude on Thursday.
