Shahdol man jailed under NSA for over a year due to typo error, MP High Court asks district collector to pay Rs 2 lakh fine

A young man from Shahdol district, Madhya Pradesh, spent more than a year in jail under the National Security Act (NSA) after a bureaucratic mistake listed him as a detainee in a private dispute case. The Madhya Pradesh high court intervened in September, ordering his release and holding officials accountable for the error.

Collector fined for mixing up names

Shahdol district collector Kedar Singh, responsible for the mistake, was fined Rs 2 lakh by the court. The court said there was a "non-application of mind" as Singh admitted to "mixing up" names while checking and signing separate orders. The fine will be paid to Sushant Bais, the newly married man who was wrongfully jailed.

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Singh had signed a document listing Sushant as an NSA detainee instead of Nirajkant Dwivedi, who was actually charged in the case. Sushant, a resident of Budwa village, was sent to judicial custody even though he had already reached a settlement in his minor dispute.

Court issues contempt notice

The division bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and A K Singh issued a notice to the collector for contempt of court over his initial "fake" affidavit. The action followed a petition from Sushant’s father, Hiramani Bais, stating that his son was unfairly jailed on September 9, 2024.

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The bench also directed the chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh to take action against the additional chief secretary of home for endorsing the collector’s order.

Court criticises state government

"There is absolutely no application of mind by the state govt as well, otherwise it would have bothered to read the order of detention," the court said in its order. The additional chief secretary of home told the court that the error occurred due to a clerk's "typographical mistake" and that the employee received a show-cause notice.