Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered an inquiry into a case where a convicted man was released from jail nearly four years after the completion of his modified sentence in a criminal matter. The HC has directed the Registrar (Vigilance) to complete the inquiry and submit a report within two months after the man, Inder Singh, moved the court against his “illegal detention”. The court gave the direction on July 21, but the order was made available on July 26.
Singh, a resident of village Pathari in district Chhindwara, had filed a petition in the high court seeking a direction to respondents (state government officials) to pay him compensation of three lakhs for illegal detention that lasted for almost four years, his counsel Arun Vishwakarma said. The petitioner was released after spending an additional 3 years, 11 months and 5 days in jail, he said.
As per a HC order of September 25, 2006, the man’s sentence was modified and reduced to five years from life imprisonment earlier, but despite that he spent nearly four more years behind bars, the petitioner counsel said. In the HC order of July 21, Justice SA Dharmadhikari observed “This Court directs the Registrar (Vigilance), Madhya Pradesh High Court, Jabalpur to immediately hold an inquiry and submit a report within a period of two months to the Registrar General as to why the modified warrant was not issued from the Court of First Additional Sessions Judge, Chhindwara, after passing of the judgment.”
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The HC further said “If any person is found responsible for the lapse, suitable action permissible in the law may also be taken against him”. The court of First Additional Sessions Judge, Chhindwara, issued the release warrant only after the petitioner on May 26, 2012, wrote a letter, with a copy of the court order to the Superintendent, District Jail, Chhindwara, for his release, Vishwakarma said.
The petitioner was released from jail on June 2, 2012, though he had already completed the sentence of five years of rigorous imprisonment in a criminal case as per the modified order, the counsel said. On March 14, 2005, the trial court had sentenced the petitioner to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The petitioner filed an appeal against his conviction.
On September 25, 2006, the HC held the case was of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and set aside the conviction under IPC section 302 and reduced the sentence to 5 years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 under section 304 Part-II of IPC, the counsel said. PTI
