7 May 2022
Madhya Pradesh High Court awards ₹42 lakh compensation to ST medical student who spent 13 years in jail
[Malicious prosecution by police]
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday; acquitted and granted ₹42 lakh compensation to a former medical student from; a Scheduled Tribe community who wrongly convicted for murder [Chandresh Marskole v State of Madhya Pradesh].
A Bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Sunita Yadav passed the order on finding that; the police carried out the investigation to falsely implicate the appellant accused, and the prosecution been malicious.
The Court said,
“The case reveals a sordid saga of manipulative and preconceived investigation followed; by a malicious prosecution, where the police have investigated the case with; the sole purpose of falsely implicating the Appellant and perhaps, deliberately protecting a prosecution witness who may the actual culprit,”.
In a nutshell
– The appeal against an order convicting the; appellant of murder and sentencing him to life imprisonment;
– The appellant claimed that; he falsely implicated by a witness in connivance with the police;
– The Court found that; the conviction based on a preconceived investigation followed by a malicious prosecution and thus, acquitted him;
– Taking into account that; the appellant spent over 13 years in jail and lost his future as a doctor, the court awarded compensation;
– The State directed to pay ₹42 lakh within ninety days, and the appellant not precluded from pursuing civil remedies.
The appellant convicted of murdering a girl that; appellant allegedly in a relationship. He spent over 13 years in prison after; he arrested at the age of 23. As of today, he is 36.
The fundamental right; to a fair and unbiased trial discussed, and in relation to this several cases examined. A recent order of the; Supreme Court in Nambinarayanan v Siby Mathew considered, where compensation of ₹50 lakh granted; to former ISRO scientist Nambinarayanan, indicted by the; Kerala Police and exonerated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The Court took into account the fact that; at the time of arrest, the appellant was a fourth-year medical student and the case wasted “thirteen precious years of his life.”
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