The man who killed Henry Nowak should have been given a longer prison sentence after “abusing the privilege” allowing Sikhs to carry knives in public for religious reasons, the Court of Appeal has heard.
Vickrum Digwa, 23, “repeatedly used” an eight-inch ceremonial knife against Mr Nowak, 18, an “unarmed and defenceless stranger”, stabbing him several times in Southampton on December 3.
As Mr Nowak lay dying, Digwa falsely told police that the teenager had racially abused and attacked him. As a result, the university student was handcuffed and arrested before receiving medical attention.
The case later triggered unrest after police body-worn video was released showing officers restraining Mr Nowak, who was from Chafford Hundred in Essex.
In the footage, which led to widespread protests, Mr Nowak can be heard repeatedly saying, “I’ve been stabbed”. An officer responds: “Don’t think you have, mate.”
Digwa was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years in June. He is now appealing against the sentence, describing it as “manifestly excessive”.
Attorney General Ellie Reeves has separately referred the case to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the sentence was “unduly lenient”. Three senior judges heard both applications to alter the minimum term on Thursday.
Digwa is also seeking to overturn his conviction, although a decision has not yet been made on whether that appeal can proceed.
In written submissions for the Attorney General, Jonathan Polnay KC said Digwa had “abused the privilege” granted to Sikhs to carry a knife in public for religious purposes.
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 added: “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.”
Henry Nowak was stabbed in Southampton last December before being handcuffed as he lay dying
Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed for at least 21 years for murdering Henry Nowak
“The minimum term imposed failed adequately to reflect the combined weight of those features.”
The hearing was briefly halted after about 15 minutes when a fire alarm sounded at the Royal Courts of Justice, forcing the building to be evacuated.
Digwa followed the proceedings from HMP Frankland in County Durham, wearing a dark suit, shirt and tie.
Members of Mr Nowak’s family attended the hearing. Beforehand, they told ITV that allowing Digwa to challenge his sentence “doesn’t feel fair”.
Mr Nowak’s stepmother, Katie Nowak, said: “It just doesn’t feel fair to us at all.
“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 Digwa had been carrying a small knife concealed from view. The weapon, known as a kirpan, is a strict requirement for Sikhs to carry at all times.
Digwa was also carrying a “large dagger in a sheath” because he belonged to the Nihang order of Sikhs, whose members traditionally carry a second knife.
Judge Mousley said: “The privilege extended to practising Sikhs of being allowed to be in public with a bladed article and, particularly in respect of the large dagger, a highly dangerous weapon, easily accessible to the wearer, brings with it huge responsibility.”
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Mr Polnay told the court that the application to increase the sentence “is not about the lawful possession of a kirpan” or the laws permitting Sikhs to carry blades. He said: “It is about what followed.”
He argued 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, representing Digwa, accepted that the law allowing his client to carry the knife “plainly did not” permit him to use it to murder Mr Nowak. However, he argued that Judge Mousley had “already expressly aggravated (the sentence) for both the dangerous weapon and the abuse of religious privilege”, along with other factors.
He said: “There must be vigilance for using the same underlying facts repeatedly.”
He added: “Simply repeating the points and putting them into sub-headings does not make the argument any better.”
Mr Khan also argued that carrying a knife for religious reasons “should not of itself” result in Sikh offenders receiving longer sentences.
Challenging the sentence’s length, Mr Khan said Digwa’s lies to first responders had “unquestionably affected the dignity with which Mr Nowak was treated”, but that the injuries were unsurvivable.
“The false account therefore did not worsen the fatal injury or deprive Mr Nowak of the prospect of survival,” he said.
When Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said the incident “must have been terrifying for Henry”, Mr Khan replied: “I accept that.”
The hearing before Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Nicklin and Mr Justice Wall is expected to finish on Thursday.
Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, was sentenced to three years in prison in July for assisting an offender after hiding the blade used to kill Mr Nowak.
Kaur, 53, is expected to be released next month after serving only one year of her sentence under the Government’s early-release scheme.
Mr Nowak’s mother, Lucy Ross, told ITV: “Mother to mother – she is no mother. We all protect our children, but we also protect our children from right and wrong. But she never did the right thing. She hid the knife, which had Henry’s blood on it.”
The family said the timing of Kaur’s release felt “particularly cruel” because it is expected to fall around the first anniversary of Mr Nowak’s death.
Ms Ross added: “As soon as she gets out, she could arrange a visiting order to go see [Digwa]. She’s lucky enough that she could go and see her boy. I have to go to Henry’s grave to see Henry.”
Mr Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, said: “It’s an absolute disgrace. Let’s be honest. She was convicted in May of this year. She’ll be out in December of this year having received a three-year sentence.
“How on earth can that be right? She’ll be out for Christmas, and I won’t have Christmas with Henry.”
The family has urged the Government to reconsider Kaur’s early release, as well as the scheme more broadly.
Mrs Nowak said: “I’d say that victims need to have far more weight and thought given to how they feel. Because throughout this whole process, it doesn’t feel like anyone’s on your side.”
Under the Sentencing Act 2026, most prisoners serving standard fixed-term sentences are now automatically released on licence after completing one-third of their term, rather than 40 per cent or half.
Kaur may serve the remainder of her sentence in the community under licence.
When her sentence was handed down, the 221 days she had already spent on remand were credited towards it.
