Tributes to Former Sub-Postmaster Parmod Kalia
Tributes are being paid to Parmod Kalia, a former sub-postmaster who passed away without receiving full compensation after being wrongly convicted during the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.
Kalia, aged 67, managed a branch in Orpington, south-east London, for 11 years before being accused of theft and serving six months in prison. His conviction was later overturned, but he described the experience as something that "broke him."
Between 1999 and 2015, over 700 Post Office branch managers were convicted of fraud and theft based on errors in the Horizon software system.
Kalia also worked as a foster carer and was remembered by his friend Tim Brentnall as "a man who brought calmness and warmth to whatever situation he was in." Brentnall, himself a former sub-postmaster, added:
"Everybody was always drawn to him. He was a really kind and wonderful man. He was just such a kind mind.
We all know what foster children are like - they've had a really difficult time - and he could see his role of just being able to give some love and stability and see these people grow and that's what was making him proud at that time."
'Dignified, Proud Man'
Kalia was sentenced to six months in prison after being advised by his union representative to plead guilty to theft in 2001. He kept his conviction secret for 15 years, even from those close to him.
His conviction was quashed at Southwark Crown Court in 2021, with the Post Office not opposing the appeals on the basis that pursuing a retrial was not in the public interest.
However, the Post Office maintained that if retrials had occurred, there was a reasonable prospect of conviction, and therefore Kalia was not entitled to full compensation for malicious prosecution.
On Friday, a group of MPs criticized Fujitsu for not contributing financially to the nearly £1.5 billion redress fund for victims of the Horizon scandal and called for urgent action to quash pre-Horizon convictions.
Brentnall reflected on Kalia's character and the ongoing fight for justice:
"He was such a dignified, proud man but you could see there was this undercurrent of anger. We all have this anger of 'why has it taken so long?'"
"I think of his family now who have to carry on this fight. As well as dealing with the death of a husband, a father, they've now got to deal with the Post Office scandal, to try and carry on that fight, to get him, his estate, the justice that he deserves."
A government spokesperson expressed condolences and acknowledged the urgency of compensation:
"We offer our sincere condolences to the family of Parmod Kalia.
We are acutely aware how pressing the issue of compensation is for so many of the postmasters which is why we are striving to deliver justice as swiftly as possible."
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