Bombay High Court directs Rs 4.2 lakh compensation for man wrongly jailed

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has imposed a fine on a businessman whose false complaint led to a labourer being wrongfully imprisoned for nearly six months.
The court noted that the labourer’s fundamental right to liberty had been violated due to the complainant’s incorrect identification, and ordered the complainant to pay Rs 4,20,000 to him for curtailing his freedom and for loss of his income.
In its observation, the bench, led by Justice SG Mehare, highlighted the overcrowded and miserable conditions of jails in India, stating, “It is most painful in our country to stay in overcrowded jails. The condition of jail and inmates is miserable. Due to overcrowding, the under trials or the accused often do not get a place to sleep and suffer from many contagious diseases.”
The labourer had been arrested in connection with a case registered in 2023, which alleged that he and nine others formed an unlawful assembly and assaulted the complainant with various weapons, including swords, axes, and firearms.
The complainant further alleged that the labourer had fired a country-made pistol at him near a playground. However, the labourer consistently maintained his innocence, claiming he was in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra at the time of the incident and that his call data records would prove this.
He also pointed out discrepancies in the complainant’s statement, noting that the person identified in CCTV footage was holding an axe, not a firearm, as alleged in the FIR.
Although the labourer had been involved in a separate case where a firearm was recovered from him, no such evidence was found in the current case.
The Newasa Sessions Judge initially denied bail, based on the CCTV footage identification. When the labourer approached the High Court in April, his bail plea was also at risk of being rejected, prompting him to withdraw the application.
Later, the labourer approached the High Court again, and this time, the complainant submitted an affidavit retracting his allegations, admitting that the person seen in the CCTV footage was not the labourer. As a result, the complainant withdrew his objections to the bail.
“It seems that the complainant wanted to put the police, the Court and many more at his finger as per his desire and will. Due to his allegations in the FIR, the entire government machinery was acted upon and the labourer was arrested. It is apparent that, without any substance, he has been sent to jail only due to the complaint and the identification of the labourer,” the bench observed.
The court questioned who would compensate the labourer for the six months he unjustly spent in jail, emphasising the need for accountability.
“No citizen has a right to put the machinery into action on such an irresponsible statement and curtail the fundamental rights of a single person. The labourer has lost six valuable months of his life without any reason,” the judge remarked.
The bench further stated that liberty cannot be measured in money terms. However, financial compensation is the general practice, it added. The court directed the businessman, Ramnath Dhanwate, to pay Rs 1,20,000 for the labourer’s lost income, along with an additional Rs 3,00,000 for the violation of his right to liberty, totalling Rs 4,20,000.
The amount is to be deposited with the trial court within two months, and failure to do so will result in recovery actions by the court.