New Delhi: The Gujarat High Court has issued a directive for the state government to compensate a man with ₹1 lakh. This decision comes after he was wrongfully detained in jail for an additional three years, despite being granted bail, as reported by Bar and Bench.
The jail authorities informed the high court that they faced difficulties opening an attachment in the bail order, which had been emailed to them by the registry in 2020. Consequently, they were unable to facilitate the man’s release.
The court clarified, ‘It is not the case that such an email was not received by the jail authorities. It is the case of the jail authorities that necessary action could not be taken in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, and though they have received the email, they were unable to open the attachment.’
The man, now 27, had been serving a life sentence in a murder case when the court suspended his sentence and granted him bail. Chandanji Takor, however, continued to remain incarcerated for three years due to the prison authorities’ failure to act upon his granted bail.
“The applicant, though released and entitled to enjoy his freedom, was forced to remain in jail solely because the jail authorities did not attend to contacting the Registry or Sessions Court regarding the court order,” the court pointed out.
Calling the case an ‘eye-opener,’ the bench held the jail authorities responsible for the negligence and instructed the Gujarat government to provide ₹1 lakh in compensation within 14 days.
“The man is approximately 27 years old and has already served more than 5 years, as per the jail records. Therefore, in the interest of justice and to ensure appropriate compensation for the negligence of the jail authorities, which compelled him to endure unnecessary imprisonment,” the order stated.
