PIL in SC seeks compensation for wrongful prosecution

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking compensation for victims of wrongful prosecution. The compensation could be in cash or by way of a job, the PIL filed by BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay said.

This would also act as a deterrent against false prosecution, the petition said, adding that in the absence of such a mechanism, there has been a surge in filing of false and vexatious cases against innocent people.

In many cases, the innocent are acquitted only after a protracted trial and have to live with ignominy for the rest of their lives, jeopardising their chances of rehabilitation in society, it said.


The PIL, which has made the central and all state governments parties in the case, cited several instances in which innocent citizens had been framed in criminal conspiracies and have had to spend almost all their life behind bars, only to be let off by the courts later.

The petition said that citizens’ rights are being eroded in a careless manner without any concomitant pressure on the state, or the erring officials, to make up for the legal wrong. It pointed out that the Delhi High Court had lamented the lack of a legislative scheme to provide relief to those wrongfully prosecuted and asked the Law Commission to examine this. According to the petition, although the Law Commission had submitted a report in 2018 recommending compensation, the central government has done nothing so far to implement it.