HC grants 25k compensation to prisoner

Panaji: In a stern move against the assault on a convict serving life imprisonment by central jail officials at Aguada, the high court of Bombay at Goa directed the state government to pay compensation of 25,000 to the victim.
The court has ordered the government to recover the amount from the delinquent after fixing the responsibility. The case may serve as an eye opener for jail officials in the state, who are facing accusations from prisoners of infraction of their human rights.
Rajendra Singh, a prisoner in Aguada central jail, had approached the high court as he was subjected to physical and mental torture apart from harassment and assault by the prison authority in October 2012. He had also sought compensation and legal action against authorities for the assault and violation of his human rights.
A division bench comprising justice F M Reis and Nutan D Sardessai observed, "from the material on record, it has been amply borne out that the petitioner was subjected to assault while suffering his term of life imprisonment in custody which is a clear reflection of violation of his right to life enshrined under the Constitution of India".
The high court awarded compensation of 25,000 to be paid by the state government to the petitioner for pain, suffering and torture caused to him at the hands of jail authorities. The government is granted liberty to recover the amount from the delinquent official.
While holding that the petitioner was not only entitled to just compensation for the injuries inflicted unduly on him, the court noted that "a message was also required to be sent to officials that such acts on their part would visit them with punitive/disciplinary action for violation of human rights of the prisoner for no justifiable reason".
The high court also considered a report by additional sessions judge (ASJ) following its directions. The ASJ had concluded that the victim was assaulted by jail authorities with sticks. The report could not establish who had assaulted the convict.
ASJ also opined that that higher jail authorities had tried to suppress the true facts of the incident and given a different colour as if the injuries were suffered in the course of a fight with another.
One of the jailers had submitted before the ASJ that the prisoner was escorted to the office of the superintendent on October 30, 2012, and "jailer V Gawas had ordered the jail guards to assault the petitioner".
An inquiry was also conducted by the government in which the prisoner had alleged that he was assaulted as per the directions of former superintendent of Aguada central jail with lathis. The prisoner had not mentioned the name of any jail guards who had assaulted him before the doctor examined him.
Advocate A V Pavithran appeared for the petitioner while advocate Ryan Menezes was the amicus curiae in the case.