Delhi HC awards Rs 50K compensation to acquitted accused for "terrible investigation" in murder case
New Delhi, Aug 22: The Delhi High Court has awarded Rs 50,000 each as compensation, to be borne by the State, to two accused who were acquitted in a murder case, saying it was a "classic example of terrible investigation" which made them suffer the ordeal of long trial and undergo incarceration for a crime they never committed.
A bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, dealing with the State's appeal against the acquittal, cautioned the prosecution agencies to conduct investigation in a prudent manner, and said trial courts are expected to judiciously assess the material so no innocent has to bear the torment of incarceration.
The case involved the death of a two-year-old girl child in 2014 for which her father and paternal grandmother were put on trial.
The child was declared dead when she was brought to GTB hospital by the grandmother after she fell in the house.
An FIR was registered on the complaint by the mother who had earlier given the custody of the deceased child to her estranged husband.
The trial court refused to convict the accused of murder but held them guilty of the offence under Section 23 (Punishment for cruelty to child) of the Juvenile Justice Act and sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment of six months each with fine of Rs 10,000 each.
The bench, also comprising Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, appreciated the "wisdom" of the trial court in holding them not guuilty of murder under Section 302 IPC and said, "The unfair investigation has made the accused suffer the ordeal of long trial and undergo the sentence for the crime which was never committed by them".
The court observed that "the first and primary responsibility to take care of the child is of the parents and not grandparents" and that it was "misplaced to assume" that the deceased child was deliberately neglected, and so rejected their conviction under the Juvenile Justice Act as well.
"This court would like to note that the settled position of law... is that the culprit may not be permitted to escape and innocent may not be roped and punished. The present case is a classic example of terrible investigation at the hands of investigating agency of the prosecution, where despite lacking material substance against the respondents/accused, the prosecution floated the trial," the court said in a recent order.
"In the case under consideration, we find that no word can comfort the agony of respondents-accused; however, ends of justice would be met if respondents are compensated at the cost of prosecution. We hereby direct the appellant-State to pay compensation of Rs.50,000/- each to both the accused within four weeks," ordered the court.
The court also cautioned the prosecution department to not file appeals in a casual manner where there is no material on record to establish that the trial court has acted in total disarray.
Such appeals, it said, cause loss to the public exchequer, loss of precious public time of the courts, and energy and time of the prosecution which otherwise can be utilised for a good cause.
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Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
