Court of Appeal raises killer’s minimum term for Henry Nowak murder

The Court of Appeal has increased the minimum term for Vickrum Digwa, who was jailed for life for murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton, ruling that the original 21-year term was unduly lenient. The revised minimum term is 25 years. After deducting 175 days spent in custody on remand, Digwa must serve at least 24 years and 190 days before he can be considered for parole.

The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves, referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. Digwa also challenged his punishment as excessive, but the court refused permission for that appeal. Nowak was fatally stabbed on Belmont Road on 3 December 2025.

The appeal court said the original sentence did not adequately reflect the repeated use of a large dagger against an unarmed man or the deliberate cruelty, additional suffering and obstruction that followed. Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said the trial judge had been entitled to begin with a 15-year term because he had found that Digwa did not take the knife to the scene intending to commit a crime. But she said a substantial increase was required to reflect how the weapon was used.

Digwa carried a small kirpan, which baptised Sikhs are expected to carry, and a larger dagger associated with his membership of the Nihang order. The court stressed that its decision did not challenge the lawful carrying of a religious blade. Carr said the legal permission to possess the knife did not reduce the seriousness of its later use in a killing.

The appeal court also considered what happened after the stabbing. Digwa falsely told police that Nowak had attacked and racially abused him, and he filmed the dying victim, according to the reports. The judges said these actions formed part of the seriousness of the offending, although Carr said the court did not need to determine whether the racism allegation was false in order to set the minimum term.

Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, was sentenced to three years in prison for assisting an offender by removing the knife from the scene. The Guardian reported that the prosecution also cited her involvement when arguing that Digwa had obstructed justice. Digwa’s barrister, Imran Khan KC, argued that the sentencing judge had counted overlapping aggravating factors more than once.

He also said the false account had not worsened Nowak’s fatal injuries or deprived him of a chance of survival. Nowak’s family described the judgment as an important step toward justice but said no sentence could restore their son’s life. They said they had been given a “life sentence of grief”.

Digwa has separately applied to appeal against his murder conviction; that application will be considered at another stage.