The Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday expressed “shock, agony and anguish” over a HIV patient from Dindigul district dying before he could receive in full a compensation of Rs.6 lakh awarded by the court for undergoing imprisonment for six years, nine months and 14 days in an unconnected criminal case.
Justice S. Nagamuthu said it was highly disturbing that the victim who was present before the court, although in a physically weak and frail condition, when the award was passed on June 9 and also on June 16 to receive the first instalment of Rs.1.5 lakh was no more at a crucial time when the State government was ready to pay him the rest of Rs.4.5 lakh.
Feeling bad that the victim who succeeded in proving his innocence after waging a long standing legal battle could not survive to reap the benefits, the judge directed the victim’s counsel R. Alagumani to file an appropriate application for replacing the legal heirs of the deceased as the petitioners in the case so that the State could be directed to handover the money at least to them.
The judge pointed out that the HIV patient had been arrested by the Dindigul West Town police in 2005 in connection with a criminal case. Immediately, the victim disputed the allegation and sent several petitions to higher police officials as well as the Legal Services Authority asserting that he was not the one involved in the case. But his plea fell on deaf ears.
It was only in 2012 that Sessions Judge K. Venkataswamy acted on a petition filed by the victim and found out through an elaborate inquiry that the HIV patient had no connection whatsoever with the case. After release from prison, the victim approached the High Court seeking a direction to the State to compensate him monetarily for wrong incarceration.
He died before collecting compensation in full for being falsely implicated in a criminal case
