New Delhi, 28 March 2026 – The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 6,00,000 to Arun alias Deepak, who spent six years behind bars as an under‑trial in a murder‑kidnapping case before being cleared of all charges.
Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran, hearing a special leave petition, condemned the investigation as “slipshod” and the prosecution as “haphazard”, noting that the accused lost half a decade of his life on the basis of conjecture rather than solid evidence.
The bench ordered the state to release the compensation within one month, warning that any delay will attract interest at 18 per cent per annum. Justice Vinod Chandran authored the judgment, which also instructed that a copy be sent to the Director General of Police and the Home Secretary of Uttar Pradesh.
The case stemmed from an FIR lodged in 2019 at Achhnera police station in Agra district, charging offences under Sections 364, 302 and 201 of the IPC. The victim’s father reported his son missing after the latter left his workplace in Kiraoli Tehsil on 18 October 2019. Police later alleged that the missing person had been abducted, naming Arun and another suspect, Lalit Kishore, based on CCTV footage and a purported confession.
During the Supreme Court’s review, it emerged that the petitioner’s name was absent from the original FIR and from statements recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC. Moreover, the court observed that the investigation failed to meet even basic standards, prompting a call for better training of Uttar Pradesh police officers.
Earlier, while hearing the petitioner’s bail plea, the apex court had instructed the trial court on 23 March to conclude the proceedings within three months. After the trial ended, the Supreme Court was informed of the acquittal and subsequently examined the prosecution’s conduct, describing the entire process as a glaring example of how an investigation should not be conducted.
Image: mangalorean.com
📰 Source: Mangalorean News