Calcutta High Court Orders Compensation & Release Of Nepali Man Detained For 41 Years

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A Nepali man now a 70 years old man was imprisoned for more than 40 years as an under trial prisoner.
• A Petition was filed by a lawyer for the release and repatriation of the Nepali citizen.
• This petition was heard by Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Aniruddha Roy.
• The bench ordered the release of the detenue and shall decide further on the issue, whether the state shall be held liable for paying compensation or damages.

BACKGROUND DETAILS

• A Nepali citizen named Depak Joshi was arrested from Darjeeling district of West Bengal for the murder of a man in 1981.
• He was confined in Dum Dum Central Correctional Home for nearly 40 years as an under trial prisoner.
• It is said that the Ham Radio operators traced Joshi following an information by a person who was lodged at the same correctional home.
• All these years Joshi’s relatives staying in Nepal were unaware about his whereabouts but did contact the Nepal Government once learning about his whereabouts that he was imprisoned in a jail in Kolkata.

FURTHER DETAILS

• The case came to light when the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court took notice of a news report on Joshi's detention.
• Thus the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court asked a lawyer to file a petition for the release of Joshi and repatriation to Nepal.
• According to a report when his mental health was assessed in 1982 it was reported that he was mentally unstable and not fit. Even a report of University of Calcutta made by psychology experts pointed out that even currently as per his IQ level his mental age is that of 9 years and 9 months.

DIRECTIONS BY THE COURT

• The bench gave the following directions to respective authorities:
• The court entrusted the custody of Joshi to his cousin Prakash Timsina who became a party to the case.
• He was directed to furnish a simple bond and an undertaking that he shall produce Joshi as and when directed by the court and the same shall be attested by the Office Secretary Consulate General of Nepal in India.
• Upon execution of the bond and satisfaction of the registrar general of court, Joshi shall be released within one day to the custody of his cousin.
• Also upon his release the concerned State authority shall facilitate his transit to Nepal.
• The bench also directed the West Bengal police to collect details from all correctional homes and make a report about those under trials who are unfit to stand the trial and those who are eligible for release under sections 436 and 436-A of Cr.PC.
• Lastly the bench was of the opinion whether an order of compensation or damages should be passed against the State for which it ordered the State Government to file its response.

CONCLUSION

There have been many instances in the past where under trail prisoners have been incarnated for years and have been forgotten. This is one of the reasons for cramped up prisons in India where population of under trials is so high and also due to pending cases they are neglected from their basic human right.

Recently even the accused in the case of Jessica Lal murder case, Mr. Manu Sharma was released after 20 years from jail even though he was punished with life imprisonment because his wife pointed out that as per human rights of every person, a man has human right to be released if he has spent 20 years in jail.

What do you think about the prompt action taken by the bench in releasing the under trial prisoner? Let us know in the comments section below!