The National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday (28/04/2021) recommended the Uttar Pradesh Government to take necessary actions for release, with dignity, of an individual imprisoned for the past 4 years on mistaken identity.
The Commission send its recommendation through the Chief Secretary of the state after getting no reply from the state on a show-cause notice issued earlier.
The recommendation came in a complaint registered by the victim with the Commission. In the complaint, the victim alleged that he was undergoing imprisonment for more than four years in place of one Julum Sharma in case no 347/2000 under Sections 147 (Rioting), 148 (Rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149, 506 (Criminal intimidation) and 302 (Punishment for Murder) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. It was further alleged that the police had failed to arrest the real culprit and had instead arrested the complainant.
The Investigation Division of the commission found that under the case in question 5 people were accused in the Azamgarh District. The complainant was arrested after 13 years of filing the FIR under a non-bailable warrant issued against one Julum Sharma. The commission found that the police has failed to establish how the complainant, Singhasan Vishwakarma was the same as Julum Sharma. The four other co-accused were acquitted by the court in 2002 before the arrest of the complainant.
The Commission observed that:
“It was a clear case of negligence by the police.”
The Commission also observed that the Judicial Officers also made mistake by not verifying the identity of the complainant before sending him to jail.
The Commission recommended that action should be taken for the release of the victim with dignity and he should be paid Rs three lakh as relief for violation of his human rights. Besides, the DGP, Uttar Pradesh has been asked to submit within four weeks a report in the action taken against the erring police personnel, who arrested the victim without varying his identity.
The commission has also directed its registry to send a copy of its proceeding in the matter to the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court for appropriate action.
