The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to pay a compensation of Rs 11.5 lakh to a Keralite for illegal detention for 230 days in a false narcotic case filed against him by a sub-inspector of police in 2007.
Allowing a petition by the victim M Anumohan, Justice K K Sasindran yesterday held that the state government was vicariously responsible for the act of the SI and directed it to pay compensation at the rate of Rs 5,000 per day of illegal detention.
The compensation should be paid with nine per cent interest from April 21, 2010 when the petition was filed, the judge said, noting that it should be paid in eight weeks.
S Rajamaikam of Narcotic Intelligence Bureau-CID was SI incharge of Tuticorin and during a vehicle check had intercepted the car in which Anumohan was travelling.
Though the petitioner had not committed any wrong, the SI filed a case as he did not pay Rs two lakh demanded by him. He was booked on the charge of possessing 24 kg of ganja and arrested.
The judge noted that had the case not been transferred to the Crime-Branch CID at the intervention of the court, the police officer would have ensured the conviction of the petitioner.
He had registered the case knowing well that the petitioner was innocent, the judge said, holding that the government was vicariously responsible for the act of the SI.
It was found only in January 2008 that the petitioner was innocent following which the action against him was dropped and criminal proceedings were initiated against the SI.
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