Wrongful Imprisonment: Supreme Court Orders ₹6 Lakh From Uttar Pradesh

The Supreme Court on 26 October ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay ₹6 lakh within one month to a man who spent about six years in custody before being acquitted in an Agra kidnapping and murder case, and criticised the state police for a “slipshod” investigation. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran passed the order in Arun @ Deepak v. State of U.P., in a judgment written by Justice Chandran.

₹6 Lakh, With 18% Interest if Late

If the state misses the one-month deadline, the amount carries 18% interest a year. The court asked that a copy of the order go to the Director General of Police and the Home Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, and said the state police “would do well to educate their officers in the process of investigation.” It described the case as a “travesty of justice” and said six years had been “erased from the life of a man on the strength of a concocted story.”

An FIR That Did Not Name Him

The FIR was registered in October 2019 under Sections 364, 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, and the man was in custody from 14 November 2019. He was not named in the FIR or in the complainant’s statement under Section 161 of the CrPC. He was linked to the case later through CCTV footage and an alleged confession by a co-accused. The co-accused died during the trial, and another accused was absconding, so he was the only person tried.

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The court found the footage unclear and without the certificate required under Section 65B of the Evidence Act, and noted that the sub-inspector did not say the complainant identified the accused from it. The alleged ransom demand was never reported to the police. In March 2026, while hearing his bail plea, the court had directed the trial court to finish the trial within three months. The trial ended in his acquittal.

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Source: Supreme Court judgment, Arun @ Deepak v. State of U.P. (PDF). Also based on reporting by LiveLaw.

Image: Wikimedia Commons (Supreme Court of India, file photo).