New Delhi, September 8 (HS): The Supreme Court has strongly reprimanded the Madhya Pradesh government for keeping a man in prison for over four-and-a-half years beyond his sentence, directing the state to pay ₹25 lakh in compensation. A Bench led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala expressed shock that the petitioner had remained incarcerated long after serving his lawful punishment.

The Court has also instructed the Madhya Pradesh State Legal Services Authority to conduct a survey of all prisons in the state to ascertain whether any convict or undertrial continues to be unlawfully detained despite completing their sentence or being granted bail.

The case pertained to petitioner Sohan Singh, convicted of rape in 2004 and initially sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court. In 2007, the Madhya Pradesh High Court reduced his sentence to seven years. Yet Singh remained behind bars until his release in June this year, long after his imprisonment term had expired.

The apex court’s order highlights serious lapses in the prison system and places accountability on the state to ensure no individual is wrongfully deprived of liberty once their sentence has been duly served.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar