State to provide Compensation in case of Delays in solving the Cases: Madras HC

Taking a cue from a case wherein a petitioner’s 15 year old daughter’s murder case was not solved  by the police authorities till then, the Madras High Court said that the state was liable to pay compensation in cases which remain unsolved by police for years. The honourable court also ordered the payment of Rs three lakh to the  petitioner in this case. Justice S Nagamuthu of the Court's Madurai bench said if police were not able to solve the murder, then government is liable to pay compensation because the citizens' right was infringed.

The money could be recovered when police arrested the criminals, the judge said, hearing a petition filed by the father of the murdered girl.The father was waiting agonizingly for four years for justice and wanted to know who was the perpetrator, the court said.The trauma and agony suffered by the family could not be viewed lightly. The Constitution ensures fair trial and fair investigation in any crime. Under the Victim compensation scheme and under Code of Criminal procedure, the petitioner was entitled for Rs.3 lakh as compensation as his daughter had been murdered, the judge noted.

The Central Bureau-CID could not solve the problem for two years, and then CBI, which took over the investigation also could not solve it in 20 months, the judge said, observing when a citizen's right is infringed by an unscrupulous criminal and when the crime could not be detected by the state police,then they had to pay compensation. The state was constitutionally obliged to guarantee a dignified life to its citizens including sufficient safety and safeguard, the judge said.

The judge directed the compensation amount to be given to the parents of the slain girl on July 27.