Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In the wake of a recent Supreme Court direction to the state government to pay a rape convict Rs 25 lakh as compensation for spending 4.7 years extra in prison, all jail superintendents have been asked to review the court case status of all inmates, officials said on Wednesday.
The state has around 21,000 convicted inmates. Out of those, around 14,000 have filed petitions in the High Court or the Supreme Court against their convictions.
Officials stated that all jail superintendents have been instructed to verify the completion dates of sentences for all convicts. They have to ensure that no prisoner is released before or after the due date. They must especially look out for convicts who have completed their sentence but are still in prison for some reason.
On September 8, hearing the Sohan Singh vs State of Madhya Pradesh case, the apex court directed the state government to pay Rs 25 lakh as compensation to the rape convict who remained in jail for another 4.7 years after completing his seven-year sentence. A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan passed the order.
Court Observation
The Supreme Court observed, “...from the sequence of events, it is respectfully submitted that although the Hon’ble High Court had decided the appeal on 10.10.2017 and a supersession warrant was outwarded on 09.11.2017, the same was never received in the office of the Superintendent, Sub Jail, Khurai.
Despite repeated verifications and endorsements issued in July 2025, it stands confirmed that the warrant was not delivered to, or received by, any order-bearer of the said Sub Jail”.
Legal kiosk at every jail
A kiosk is present in every jail of the state, in which the SP and other staff can visit the case details and make a decision accordingly. The jail staff cannot make an excuse for the non-availability of documents and information about a certain case or prisoner. Details of all the cases being heard in the High Court or the Supreme Court are available there.BOX
Personal responsibility
DG, Prisons, Varun Kapoor said to Free Press that the Jail SPs have been instructed to check the papers, and they are personally responsible for the lapses. “The SPs have been instructed to submit the report in a week, and this process will continue forever,” he said.
