The Madras High Court Bench here on Monday summoned Dindigul Superintendent of Police A. Saravanan to explain reasons for not having paid an interim compensation of Rs.1.5 lakh ordered by the court on March 23 to be paid to a HIV patient who was prosecuted maliciously in an unconnected criminal case and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.
Justice S. Nagamuthu directed the SP to be present in the court on Tuesday, along with the case records, to also explain the steps taken by the police so far to arrest the real accused in the case. The order was passed after the patient’s counsel, R. Alagumani, pointed out that the time limit fixed by the court for payment of interim compensation had expired on April 23.
According to the counsel, his client had initially approached a Sessions Court in Dindigul seeking justice for the sufferings undergone by him due to his conviction in an unconnected case. The Sessions Court found substance in his claim on April 30, 2013 and recommended initiation of criminal proceedings against Inspector of Police R.M. Madhavan and Sub-Inspector of Police Murugan.
However, the two officials filed a revision petition in the High Court and obtained an interim stay of the Sessions Court order. Thereafter, the Sub-Inspector was promoted and the Inspector was allowed to retire from service on attaining the age of superannuation. Shocked over the developments, the HIV patient also moved the High Court and sought compensation from the State.
Passing interim orders on his petition on March 23, Justice M. Sathyanarayanan regretted the manner in which the State had dealt with the two police officers accused of a serious offence of malicious prosecution.
Then, he ordered interim compensation of Rs.1.5 lakh to the patient since he was in urgent need of money for medical expenses and adjourned the hearing to June 8.
