Calcutta, March 11: Two men acquitted in a murder case 10 years ago were sentenced to life today, the first time Calcutta High Court is ordering such a sweeping reversal.

“The trial court had not paid enough attention to the case…prosecution was successful in proving their guilt,” a division bench of Justices G.C. Gupta and K.K. Prasad said.

Earlier, acquittals had been converted into imprisonments in Calcutta but not life terms.

Trader Paritosh Saha, 35, was abducted on May 19, 1995, on his way home from work in Balagarh, Hooghly, and killed.

His family suspected Shyamal Saha, 32, and Prasanta Kaviraj, 34, two known criminals of the same locality, 40km from Calcutta. Paritosh had apparently threatened to tell police about their activities.

The duo were granted bail by a Hooghly court within seven days of arrest and later acquitted for want of evidence.

Nine years after the state appealed the verdict, the case came up for hearing.