SC awards 11 lakh to convict held 24 days after parole

NEW DELHI: Holding that liberty of an individual is not a trivial matter which could be sacrificed at the altar of bureaucratic lethargy even in case of a prisoner, Supreme Court has awarded Rs 11 lakh compensation to a convict who had to spend 24 days in custody even after the court granted him parole, reports Amit Anand Choudhary.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and A G Masih took strong exception to Rajasthan govt for its lethargic approach in implementing the court's order to release the convict on parole. The court made it clear that the right to liberty of a person could not be put on lower footing just because he happens to be a prisoner and declared his continued detention for 24 days as illegal, directing the state to pay Rs 11 lakh as compensation. The SC rejected the defence of the state that the parole order passed by HC was wrong and it was about to be challenged.