SC agrees to hear plea seeking compensation for wrongful arrest, incarceration
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea filed by a man incarcerated for 12 years before his acquittal by the apex court in a rape and murder case, seeking compensation for the "wrongful arrest, prosecution and conviction".
"Issue notice, returnable on November 24. We would request the attorney general or the solicitor general to assist this court in this matter," a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said on Monday.
The bench was hearing three separate petitions raising the similar issue.
In one of the matters, the petitioner was on death row for six years after being awarded capital punishment by a trial court in Thane, Maharashtra, in March 2019.
The Bombay High Court in November 2021 upheld the death sentence awarded to him.
However, in May this year, the apex court acquitted him of the charges while noting the "flawed and tainted" investigation.
"The instant case is yet another classic example of shabby and perfunctory investigation leading to failure of the prosecution case involving a gruesome incident of rape and murder of the budding life of a tender young girl aged about 3 years and 9 months," the top court said in its May verdict.
The man has now approached the top court seeking compensation "on account of his wrongful conviction, predicated on an illegal and tainted investigation and unfair prosecution using fabricated evidence" by which he was convicted for the alleged offences by the trial court in Thane.
"The petitioner had been arrested on October 3, 2013, without any basis, and was finally released on May 19, 2025, after 12 years of wrongful incarceration, six of which he endured on death row," the plea said.
It said the man, now 41, hails from a village in Uttar Pradesh.
"The petitioner has suffered a grave and severe violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, on account of being falsely accused of heinous offences, illegally arrested, being made the subject of an illegal and tainted investigation, unfair prosecution, and suffering 12 years of wrongful incarceration, for which the petitioner ought to be appropriately compensated by the respondent state...," the plea said.
It added that mere release of the individual from incarceration was not sufficient to correct the wrong faced by him, and the state ought to be directed to pay appropriate compensation to the petitioner for the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage he suffered for 12 years.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
J’khand: All 7 on board air ambulance killed in crash, bodies brought to hospital for post-mortem
Ranchi (PTI): All seven persons on board an air ambulance were killed after the aircraft crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, and their bodies have been brought to a hospital for post-mortem examination, officials said on Tuesday.
The Beechcraft C90 air ambulance, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was en route to Delhi from Ranchi when it crashed on Monday evening in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria, located deep inside a forest, killing all seven onboard, including two pilots.
"We have brought all the seven bodies for post-mortem at Sadar Hospital, Chatra. The crash is being investigated," an official told PTI.
ALSO READ: Air ambulance with 7 onboard to Delhi from Ranchi crashes in Jharkhand's Chatra
The aircraft took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 pm and went missing around 7.30 pm. It lost contact with the air traffic control about 20 minutes after departure, he said.
Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar said inclement weather could be a possible reason behind the crash, though the exact cause would be ascertained after a detailed probe.
Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari said the state government will conduct a probe into how permission was given to the aircraft to fly during “inclement weather”. He also said proper compensation would be given to the kin of the deceased.
Terming the crash extremely unfortunate, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth said unpleasant weather could be one of the reasons, which will be determined by the probe.
In a post on X, former chief minister and BJP leader Champai Soren said he was deeply saddened.
The deceased have been identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat, Captain Savrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.
Meanwhile, a lingering sense of grief prevailed in Chatra district, as the near and dear ones of those killed in the crash expressed shock and disbelief.
Bajrangi Prasad, the father of deceased Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, said he had sold all his land to make his son a doctor, who was posted at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi.
"He has a seven-year-old son... He was meritorious and had completed his MBBS from Odisha’s Cuttack," Prasad, who hails from Bihar’s Aurangabad district, said.
Family members of Sanjay Kumar (41), however, blamed the “poor” health infrastructure behind the tragedy.
"Had we given proper treatment to my brother-in-law Sanjay in Ranchi, precious lives could have been saved. I lost both both Sanjay and sister Archana Devi in the incident," Kumar said.
Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G had earlier told PTI that the bodies of all seven deceased were retrieved from the crash site and shifted to Chatra hospital for post-mortem examination.
In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the Beechcraft C90 aircraft (VT-AJV) was operating a medical evacuation flight on the Ranchi-Delhi sector when it crashed in Kasaria Panchayat of Chatra district.
“The aircraft was airborne from Ranchi at 19:11 IST. After establishing contact with Kolkata at 19:34 IST, the aircraft lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 nautical miles south-east of Varanasi,” it said, adding that there were seven people on board, including two crew members.
An Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team has been dispatched to the crash site.
According to the DGCA website, Delhi-based non-scheduled operator Redbird has six aircraft in its fleet, including the one that crashed.
Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi, told PTI that the air ambulance was arranged by one of their patients.
"The patient, Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Chandwa in Latehar district, was brought to the hospital with 65 per cent burn injuries on February 16. He was being treated in the hospital," he said.
The family members decided to take him to Delhi for better treatment, Sinha said.
"They arranged for an air ambulance on Monday. The patient left the hospital for Delhi around 4.30 pm," he said.
