In a significant judgment, a division bench of the Gujarat High Court, comprising Justice AS Supehia and Justice MR Mengdey, issued an order on September 27, directing the state government to provide ₹1 lakh as compensation to a 27-year-old convict, Chandanji Thakor. Thakor had secured bail in 2020 but was wrongfully detained in jail for an additional three years.
According to a report by Bar and Bench, despite Chandanji Thakor obtaining bail in 2020, he remained incarcerated for an extended period as prison authorities claimed they were unable to open the bail order, which was sent to them as an attachment in an email.
The Court’s order stated, “In the present case, the registry of this Court had categorically informed the jail authorities about the order passed by this Court releasing the applicant on regular bail. It is not the case that such E-mail was not received by the jail authorities. It is the case of the jail authorities that necessary action could not be taken given the COVID-19 pandemic and though they have received the E-mail, they were unable to open the attachment.”
The Court pointed out that, despite the email being sent to the District Sessions Court, there were no efforts made by the Court to ensure that the bail order was correctly implemented, stating, “The present case is an eye-opener.”
Taking note of the injustice suffered by the wrongfully detained prisoner, the Court expressed its inclination to grant compensation to Chandanji Thakor.
Chandanji Thakor had been serving a life sentence in a murder case until his sentence was suspended on September 29, 2020. The jail authorities cited the COVID-19 pandemic as their reason for failing to act on the court’s order and not noticing the attached email. Consequently, Thakor remained in prison.
In its latest order, the Court also pointed out that the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) had not notified the jail authorities about the suspension of Thakor’s sentence, contributing to his prolonged detention. The Court emphasized that Thakor continued to languish in jail solely due to the negligence of the prison authorities.
“The applicant, though was released and could have enjoyed his freedom, was forced to remain in jail only because no attention was paid by the jail authorities to contact the Registry or Sessions Court about the order passed by this Court,” noted the Court.
Consequently, the bench held the prison authorities accountable for their negligence and ordered the state government to pay ₹1 lakh in compensation to Chandanji Thakor within 14 days.
Additionally, the Court directed all District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) to compile data on all prisoners who have been granted bail but may not have been released yet. This move aims to rectify and prevent similar cases of wrongful detention in the future.
