Horizon: Son’s conviction quashed after faulty Post Office software exposed

Ravinder Naga confessed to the theft in 2009 to protect his mother, Gurbash Kaur Naga, from facing prison.

• Pramod Thomas
• 29 August, 2024

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By: Pramod Thomas

THE wrongful conviction of an Asian man was overturned last week after it was revealed he had falsely confessed to stealing £35,000 from his mother’s Post Office branch.

Ravinder Naga had admitted to the theft after auditors found a deficit at the Belville Street Post Office in Greenock, Scotland. He confessed to protect his mother from potential legal consequences.

Naga, who was 34 at the time, confessed to the theft in 2009 to protect his mother, Gurbash Kaur Naga, from facing prison.

Despite his plea, Naga was sentenced to repay the money and complete 300 hours of community service. He initially persuaded his mother to delay the investigation, hoping to find the missing funds, but eventually had to accept guilt when the money was not located.

In 2022, Naga sought a review of his case, which led the Scottish Cases Review Commission to conclude that his guilty plea was made under unfair conditions.

The review found that the discrepancy in the accounts was due to faults in the Post Office’s Horizon IT system, which had caused numerous wrongful prosecutions between 1999 and 2015.

“It brought tears to me. I did break down for a second, and then it was relief. There have been times where it has been hard to carry on,” he told the BBC.

Although he contracted tuberculosis while completing community service, Naga stated he has no regrets about taking the blame.

“I feel if I hadn’t done what I’d done 15 years ago, I wouldn’t be sitting here now getting my conviction overturned,” he was quoted as saying.

“I’d have been sitting here now getting a letter saying that my dead mum was being exonerated, because that’s the effect it would have had on the family.”

A Post Office spokesman said: “We are truly sorry for the suffering caused by Post Office’s past actions. We are doing all we can to help victims get answers and to put things right, as far as that can ever be possible.”

The Horizon scandal has led to a public inquiry and approximately £261 million in compensation for affected individuals.

In an earlier interview, Naga recounted how his parents built their business portfolio, including the Post Office, from scratch after moving to Scotland. His confession preserved his mother’s reputation. Naga’s father passed away before the alleged shortfall was discovered.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission found that Horizon evidence was crucial in proving the accounting shortfall leading to his prosecution and that Naga might have pled guilty under prejudicial circumstances.