Gujarat court acknowledges prisoner’s three extra years in jail, grants Rs 1 lakh compensation
The delay was due to jail authorities inability to open the bail order attached in an email sent by the High Court registry.
The Gujarat High Court has directed the state government to compensate a prisoner who spent an additional three years in jail despite receiving bail. The convict, identified as Chandanji Thakor, is to receive an amount of Rs 1 lakh from the government.
The 27-year-old Thakor found himself serving life imprisonment for a murder case, with his sentence suspended on September 29, 2020. But he was not released from jail till 2023. According to the jail authorities, the delay was due to their inability to open the bail order attached in an email sent by the High Court registry.
Court Order
This issue came to light when Thakor sought a fresh bail application. Following this, the High Court ordered the state government to disburse compensation to him.
“In the present case, the registry of this Court had categorically informed the jail authorities about the order passed by this Court releasing the applicant on regular bail. It is not the case that such E-mail 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 they were unable to open the attachment,” the court order cited.
The court also observed that the District Sessions Court, which was also forwarded the email, did not make any effort to implement the bail order properly.
Court commented it was a wake up call
The court commented that this was a significant wake-up call.
“The applicant, though was released and could have enjoyed his freedom, was forced to remain in jail only because no attention was paid by the jail authorities to contact the Registry or Sessions Court with regard to the order passed by this Court,” the court mentioned.
Judge AS Supehia and Justice MR Mengdey were sympathetic to the prisoner’s hardship, who had to spend almost three years in jail despite having secured bail. Reflecting on this, they favored granting compensation to him.
The jail authorities in their defense claimed that due to the Covid pandemic, they were unable to take necessary actions. They also mentioned that they struggled with opening the attachment. The Gujarat High Court, understanding the gravity of this issue, has issued directives to all District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to consolidate data concerning all prisoners who have been granted bail but have yet to be released.
