The Delhi High Court has granted a compensation of Rs. 6.54 lakh to the widow of a sewage line cleaner for his death in judicial custody in the Tihar Central Jail here in 2007.
Rejecting submissions by the Tihar Jail authorities and the Delhi Police against the claim of compensation by Saroj Rani, the widow of victim Vinod Kumar, for the death of her husband, Justice S. Muralidhar asked the Delhi Government to pay the compensation amount to her as the jail is administered by it.
Saroj Rani has two minor children.
The inquest proceedings of the death, the post-mortem report and its examination by a review board had separately opined that the death was homicidal and had occurred in the jail premises.
The Delhi Police had arrested the victim on a complaint of theft of a water meter lodged by a resident of Baljit Nagar in Central Delhi.
Despite the offence being a bailable one, the victim was not granted bail by the Patel Nagar police because he could not arrange a surety. He was kept in the lock-up and later sent to judicial custody by a Special Executive Magistrate on his production before him by the local police.
Justice Muralidhar in his order said: ``…. it is directed that the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi which is in-charge of the Tihar jail complex will pay to the petitioner a sum of Rs. 6.54 lakh of which one-third will be payable to petitioner and one-third each to the two children who are minor and whose mother and natural guardian is the petitioner.’’
``The compensation amount together with interest at the rate of 6 per cent simple interest per annum from the date of filing of the petition till the date
of payment will be deposited in this Court within four weeks,’’ the order said.
The Delhi Police and the Delhi Government were also directed pay to the petitioner costs of Rs.15,000 within four weeks from the order.
