Henry Nowak’s killer has minimum term increased to 25 years by Court of Appeal

Published5 November 2026

A man jailed for life for murdering Henry Nowak has had his minimum prison term increased to 25 years by the Court of Appeal.

Vickrum Digwa was serving a minimum of 21 years for stabbing 18-year-old student Nowak with a large dagger in Belmont Road, Southampton, on 3 December 2025.

The Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal on the grounds it was "unduly lenient", while Digwa also challenged his jail term as "manifestly excessive".

The Lady Chief Justice quashed the sentence, ruling the original term "did not adequately reflect the overall seriousness of the murder".

Digwa, who was also refused permission to appeal, told police Henry had attacked and racially abused him, which led to Henry, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, being handcuffed as he lay dying.

The trial judge later found Digwa's accusations of racism to be a lie. Then 22, he was jailed for life at Southampton Crown Court in June.

Both appeals were heard on Thursday by Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Nicklin and Mr Justice Wall, with Digwa appearing via video link from HMP Frankland.

The Lady Chief Justice said the trial judge had been entitled to start at 15 years, as he found Digwa had not taken the knife to the scene intending to commit a crime.

But she said a "very significant uplift" was needed because of the use of the large kirpan.

A kirpan is a religious knife which baptised Sikhs are expected to carry at all times, and the law allows it to be carried in public for religious reasons.

Digwa wore a small kirpan around his neck, but was also carrying a larger one on a belt, in keeping with an order of Sikhs known as the Nihang.

The fact that initially carrying the knife may have been lawful "does not reduce the seriousness of its subsequent lethal use", she said.

She said the original sentence had understated the repeated use of a large dagger with intent to kill, and the "deliberate cruelty, additional suffering and obstruction" that followed.

"It was not only lenient, but unduly so," she said.

With time spent on remand deducted, Digwa must serve at least 24 years and 190 days before he can be considered for parole.

In a statement, Henry's family called the decision "an important step towards justice" but said "no sentence, however long, can ever give Henry his life back".

They continued: "We have been given a life sentence of grief. There is no appeal for us, no reduction in our suffering and no prospect of ever getting our son back."

They said their "fight for justice is far from over" and that they would support an independent rapid review being carried out by Alex Chalk.

Attorney General Ellie Reeves said: "The brutality and cruelty of this case horrified me, and I know that feeling is shared by the British public.

"My thoughts remain with Henry's family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.

"No sentence can ever fill the void left by his loss, and I hope this outcome goes some way towards bringing them the justice they deserve."

During the hearing, Jonathan Polnay KC, for the Attorney General, argued the 21-year term did not sufficiently reflect "the very high degree of seriousness of the offending".

He said Digwa had abused the legal exemption allowing Sikhs to carry religious blades, which permitted him to have the dagger, and that this was "on at least one level analogous to an abuse of trust".

Imran Khan KC, defending, argued the trial judge had counted overlapping aggravating factors more than once.

"To put it pithily, the Attorney General says 21 years was too little. We say it was too much," he said.

The judges agreed some factors should not have counted against Digwa, including the community impact of the case, which he had not anticipated or intended.

Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, was jailed for three years in July for assisting an offender by removing the knife from the scene. She abandoned an appeal against her sentence shortly before Thursday's hearing.

Digwa has also applied to appeal against his murder conviction, which will be decided separately.

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