Earlier on August 22, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the State authorities, seeking an explanation within two weeks while asking “how such a serious lapse occurred and why the petitioner remained in jail for more than 8 years even after undergoing the entire sentence of seven years”
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Monday (September 8, 2025) directed the Madhya Pradesh Government to pay a compensation of ₹25 lakh to a rape convict who was in prison for more than four years beyond his seven-year sentence.
A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan reprimanded the State authorities over lapses causing prolonged incarceration of Sohan Singh Yadav, a resident of Sagar district and asked it to compensate him for the extra time in jail.
Mr. Yadav was convicted for a life sentence by a sessions court in Sagar district’s Khurai in July, 2005, in a rape case filed in 2004.
Mr. Yadav challenged the lower court’s verdict before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which in October, 2017, upheld the conviction but reduced his sentence to seven years rigorous imprisonment.
However, Mr. Yadav was only released from Sagar Central Jail on June 6 this year, after advocate Mahfooz A. Nazki wrote to the prison authorities and the M.P. State Legal Services Authority (MPSLSA) flagging the matter.
Following the release, Mr. Nazki, who found out about the case through the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, filed a special leave petition (criminal) before the Supreme Court on July 23 on behalf of Mr. Yadav, seeking a monetary compensation for him and directions for an independent inquiry into the matter.
Earlier on August 22, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the State authorities, seeking an explanation within two weeks while asking “how such a serious lapse occurred and why the petitioner remained in jail for more than 8 years even after undergoing the entire sentence of seven years”.
During the September 8 hearing, advocate Nachiketa Joshi, appearing for Madhya Pradesh, informed the court that the convict had spent some time out on bail, bringing the actual excess prison time to 4.7 years.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Nazki said that while issuing directions for the compensation, the court also expressed displeasure with the State for its “misleading affidavits” in the matter.
“In one affidavit, they claimed that they had not received the suspension warrant of the altered sentence. Whereas, the additional affidavit is unclear on whether the warrant was received or not and blames it on administrative and postal lapses,” he added.
The Supreme Court also issued directions to the MPSLSA to conduct an exercise to find similar cases of prolonged incarceration.
Published – September 09, 2025 03:51 am IST
