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A PIL has been filed by BJP Leader Kapil Mishra seeking compensation for Rape accused Vishnu Tiwari who was acquitted by the Allahabad High Court after serving a sentence for two decades.
It is the case of the petitioner that strict action be taken to initiate prosecution of those who make fake complaints and in order to do this, there is a prayer sought for formulation of guidelines which stipulated payment of compensation to the victims of wrongful prosecution.
It has been averred that the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) is being misused by miscreants.
Tiwari was imprisoned in 2001 after being booked under the SC/ST Act by a Trial Court. In January 2021, Allahabad High Court in January 2021 set aside the conviction expressing anguish over the sorry state of affairs that contributed to the man's prolonged imprisonment, including the government's failure to recommend his case for remission of sentence or to commute the sentence under Sections 432-434 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Another PIL has been filed by Advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeking directions to the Centre for formulation of Guidelines for purposes of granting Compensation to Victims of Wrongful Prosecution and to implement the recommendations of Law Commission Report No-277 on Miscarriage of Justice ("Law Commission Report").
“There has been a spurt in false cases. Wrongful prosecution and incarceration of innocent persons with no effective statutory and legal mechanism available to the innocent persons to address the same, is causing “miscarriage of justice” and has created a Black-Hole in the criminal jurisprudence of our Country" the plea by Advocate and Activist Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay states.
Non awarding of compensation & ignorance of public law in the recent judgment of the Division Bench of Allahabad High Court, which declared Mr. Vishnu Tiwari arrested on 16.09.2000 after being booked for rape & atrocities under SC/ST Act innocent after being in jail for 20 years has given rise to the present PIL.
Grounds
The petitioner has placed reliance on the Delhi High Court judgment in Babloo Chauhan v. State Government of NCT of Delhi, [247 (2018) DLT 31] in which the Court was dealing with an appeal on the issue of fine, awarding default sentences without reasoning & suspension of sentences during the pendency of the appeal, the petitioner in the plea submits that on 30.11.2017, the High Court directed the Law Commission of India to undertake a comprehensive examination of the issue of relief and rehabilitation to victims of wrongful prosecution and incarceration and the Law Commission submitted its Report No.277 on 30.8.2018. Still, the Centre has not taken appropriate steps to implement the recommendations.
The plea also states that the need of the hour is to have a set of specific guidelines to be followed by the States & its agencies to prevent police & prosecutorial misconduct. It has also been stated that “Lives of innocents who are falsely implicated & then acquitted after years of turmoil in the guise of prosecution not being proved beyond doubt is rampantly destroyed as they are never served justice due to disdainful approach of State which is a factor for pendency of over 40 million cases.”
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