Prayagraj/New Delhi, March 19 – The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to an accused in a vehicle theft case, while directing the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation for his prolonged imprisonment caused by the incorrect criminal history submitted by the police.
Allowing the bail application filed by Furkan, who was booked in a case registered at the Quarsi police station in Aligarh district under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a single-judge bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal noted that the applicant had remained in jail for an additional 15 days due to an error on the part of the investigating officer, who had incorrectly reported that the accused faced 12 criminal cases instead of five.
"It is undisputed that the applicant has remained in jail for an additional 15 days due to the fact that an incorrect criminal history of 12 cases was sent by the concerned investigating officer, although the applicant has already explained the criminal history of five cases," Justice Deshwal recorded.
The Allahabad High Court, therefore, directed that "compensation of Rs 50,000 shall be paid by the state to the applicant within a period of one month from today."
At the same time, Justice Deshwal clarified that there was no mala fide intent on the part of the Investigating Officer and attributed the error to negligence.
"From the perusal of the record, it is also clear that there was no malafide on the part of the I.O., but there was a mistake due to his negligence, which may be due to the workload on him," the order observed.
The bail application had earlier been heard on February 23, when the prosecution raised an objection that the applicant had disclosed only five cases, while the case diary reflected 12 FIRs.
This prompted the Allahabad High Court to seek assistance from the Additional Director General, Technical Services, who later clarified that the discrepancy arose due to an error in data entry.
Taking note of the submissions and the overall facts, Justice Deshwal held that, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the applicant was entitled to bail.
"Considering the entire facts and circumstances, the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, and keeping in view the nature of the offense, the evidence, the complicity of the accused, and taking into account the overcrowded jails and the heavy pendency of criminal cases before the trial court… and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, I am of the opinion that the applicant is entitled to be enlarged on bail," the judge said.
Besides granting relief to the applicant, the Allahabad High Court issued a series of administrative directions to streamline criminal justice processes. It directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to ensure accuracy in criminal history reporting and asked the Director of Prosecution to provide adequate staffing so that digital systems like the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) can be effectively utilized.