Chhattisgarh HC Awards ₹1 Lakh Compensation for Wrongful Detention in Case of Mistaken Identity

The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently directed the State government to provide a compensation of ₹1 lakh to an individual who endured nearly 8 months of imprisonment due to a wrongful arrest resulting from a case of mistaken identity with the actual accused person who shared the same name.

A Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Rajani Dubey passed the direction in response to a plea by Podiyaami Bhima.

The petitioner, Bhima, approached the High Court seeking reparation for his unjust incarceration. The Court was informed that he had been confined in jail for a duration of 7 months and 26 days as a consequence of his arrest.

The counsel for the petitioner highlighted that a verdict from the previous year by an additional sessions judge in Dantewada had determined Bhima’s detention as unlawful since he had no connection to the criminal case at hand. Interestingly, the criminal case had been registered against an individual who bore the same name as the petitioner.

The additional sessions judge also explicitly ordered the commencement of an inquiry against the responsible police officer, emphasizing the lack of prudence exercised by the officer who apprehended the petitioner.

The State’s legal counsel conceded to the wrongful nature of the petitioner’s detention. This representative further informed the Court that the relevant authority had conducted an internal investigation against the officer who had erroneously taken Bhima into custody. However, it was later discovered that the said police officer had passed away.

After careful consideration of these arguments, the Court ultimately mandated the State to provide a compensation amounting to ₹1 lakh to the petitioner within a span of two months.

“We hold the view that the State is obligated to disburse ₹1,00,000 as compensation to the petitioner for the unlawful detention within the stipulated period of two months,” the order reads.