“Why Should the Innocent Suffer?” asks Supreme Court in Landmark Observation on Wrongful Imprisonment
"Why Should the Innocent Suffer?" asks Supreme Court in Landmark Observation on Wrongful Imprisonment
Supreme Court stresses need for a legal framework in India to compensate those wrongfully jailed, citing violation of fundamental rights.
In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has questioned why a person who spends years in jail and is later found innocent should not be compensated for the loss of precious time and dignity. The court emphasized that unlike countries like the United States, India still lacks a legal framework to grant such compensation.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta made this powerful observation while acquitting a man who had spent years on death row before being found not guilty. The judgment, delivered on July 15, was authored by Justice Sanjay Karol.
The bench highlighted that in countries like the US, both federal and state laws allow victims of wrongful imprisonment to seek compensation. These are either based on statutory provisions or through tort claims, civil rights suits, or moral liability frameworks. But in India, no such statutory mechanism exists, even though the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.
Referring to the 277th report of the Law Commission of India, the court noted that the commission had considered “wrongful prosecution,” but its interpretation was narrow. It only covered malicious prosecution or prosecution without good faith—without addressing cases of actual wrongful imprisonment due to judicial error or systemic failure.
The court further pointed out that a prolonged detention of an innocent person is a direct violation of their fundamental rights and that such a person is indeed entitled to compensation. However, in the absence of a uniform law, decisions on granting compensation vary from court to court.
Interestingly, this isn’t an isolated concern. A different bench of the Supreme Court had also recently observed that acquittal after wrongful imprisonment could form the basis for a compensation claim.
The Supreme Court has left the ball in Parliament’s court, saying it is within the legislature’s domain to enact a law ensuring justice and dignity for those who suffer due to systemic failures. Until then, the fight for fair compensation continues, case by case, judgment by judgment.
