SC notice to Centre on pleas seeking guidelines for compensation to victims of wrongful prosecution

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the central government on plea seeking guidelines that would govern payment of compensation to those wrongfully prosecuted but eventually cleared by the courts.

A petition filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay had sought a policy on awarding compensation in cash or kind to all those who suffer due to the miscarriage of justice. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria and Arijit Prasad appeared for Upadhyay in this case. In his plea, Upadhyay argued that there were too many instances of people facing wrongful prosecution who get acquitted after a life-time behind the bars and that there was no mandatory compensation scheme for them.

Notices were issued by a bench led by Justice UU Lalit to the home and law ministries at the Centre. The bench though did not issue any notice to states for now.