Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court has directed the state government to pay Rs 15 lakh compensation and provide a Group-D job to the widow of a man who died in judicial custody, holding that negligence on the part of jail authorities led to his custodial death.
Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy, while allowing a writ petition filed by Sasi Behera and others against the State of Odisha, directed the government to release Rs 10 lakh to the widow and deposit the remaining Rs 5 lakh in a fixed deposit in the name of the deceased’s minor daughter for six years.
The directions are to be complied with within two months. The court also directed the government to provide a suitable Group-D post to the widow as a special case. The deceased, Charan Behera, was arrested by Bellaguntha police July 11, 2023, and subsequently remanded to judicial custody at the Special Sub-Jail in Bhanjanagar.
He was lodged in the jail’s quarantine ward as an undertrial prisoner. On July 15, 2023, he was taken to the Sub-Divisional Hospital in Bhanjanagar in a jail ambulance, where doctors declared him brought dead.
A post-mortem examination revealed multiple external and internal injuries. A judicial inquiry subsequently concluded that the death was homicidal and resulted from injuries inflicted by co-inmates. The inquiry also found that the tragedy could have been prevented had the jail authorities and staff discharged their duties in accordance with the jail manual.
The court noted that the final form submitted in the case also indicated that Behera had succumbed to injuries inflicted by co-inmates. Seeking Rs 15 lakh compensation and a rehabilitation appointment for the widow, the petitioners argued that Behera was the family’s sole earning member and that his death had left the dependants in distress.
Opposing the claims, Additional Government Advocate CK Pradhan submitted that under a government notification dated March 2, 2023, the family was entitled to only Rs 3 lakh as compensation. He also argued that there was no provision for compassionate appointment in such cases.
The court, however, allowed the petitioners’ prayers and directed the government to pay the enhanced compensation and provide employment to the widow as a special case.