Mumbai: Bombay High Court on Tuesday compensated a
man admitting that he had to spend seven years in jail despite
he was acquitted in a rape and murder case.
Saying that Bapu Mali (40) had to spend seven years in
the prison even after his acquittal due to the lapse committed
by sessions court, division bench of Justice Bilal Nazki and A
R Joshi awarded him the compensation of Rs one lakh.
In future, the court said, if the norms laid down by
High Court in such cases were not followed, the lower court
judges would face action for contempt of court.
Mali was arrested for allegedly raping and murdering a
5-year-old girl at Aaghat village in Malegaon, Nashik on March
1999. But the prosecution case fell through in the sessions
court, which observed that there was no witness, barring one
who had only hearsay knowledge of the incident.
He was acquitted in June 2002, but state filed an appeal
in High Court. As per the criminal procedure code, High
Court issued a warrant for his re-arrest.
In such cases, person is rearrested, and produced
before sessions court. Sessions court releases him on bail, on
the condition that he would appear before the court whenever
required. But Mali did not get bail, because he could not
produce sureties.
High Court today upheld the acquittal, dismissing the
state's appeal. But the judges were shocked to hear that Mali
had been in jail even after his acquittal, only because he
could not produce surety.
Justice Nazki said, "It is the fault of the state
agencies, including the courts. Lower court should have
informed the High Court about his case."
Public Prosecutor P A Pol pointed out that in 2003,
dealing with a similar case, bench headed by Justice H L
Gokhale had awarded compensation to the acquitted person, and
laid down certain rules for lower courts in such cases.
Accordingly, whenever acquitted person is rearrested
following the filing of appeal by state, sessions court must
inform him about his right to bail, and release him on
personal bond, in case he cannot produce sureties.
Justice Nazki observed that "this is a sorry state of
affairs...A person should not remain in jail after he is
acquitted. It was our own fault. If he could not afford bail,
it should have been reported to the High Court.
Mali will get compensation in the form of fixed deposit.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 01, 2009, 22:03