18 Mar : Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to give a compensation of Rs three lakh to a convict who was lodged for more than his sentence period in Narsinghpur jail.Also, a division bench of the MP High Court comprising Chief Justice A K Patnaik and Justice Ajeet Singh on Monday directed the HC Registrar to conduct an inquiry into the case for prosecuting the authorities concerned.
Pooran Singh was arrested on charge of possessing 150 gram of Ganja in Narsinghpur in 2000.In 2002, a lower court awarded him ten years imprisonment and a fine of Rs one lakh.
He challenged the verdict in the High Court in 2003, which shortened his imprisonment and fine to three years and Rs 1,000 respectively.The High Court had furnished this order to Narsinghpur court and the authorities concerned. Despite the order, he was set free from Narsinghpur jail on August 2008, he said.
Singh, after his release from the jail had written a letter to the Chief Justice Patnaik demanding justice.Treating the letter as PIL, the Chief Justice took a serious note of the issue and after hearing it, passed directives.