In the judicial system, one of the most common problems people face is unfair prosecution, detention, and conviction. The judicial system and those involved in it suffer when an innocent person is charged as an accused. Hundreds of incidents exist where innocent persons were wrongfully prosecuted and ultimately shown to be innocent.
Nobody has heard the cries of such people for years, but with the intervention of the legislature, the image is beginning to change.
The judicial system and the administration have proposed that such people be granted compensation rights. The legal system, on the other hand, is not equipped to vigorously enforce this compensating jurisdiction. The road ahead for India to firmly establish this act for all those innocent persons who have been wrongly convicted due to the flaws in our legal system is long.
Under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, every person enjoys complete control over his or her life and liberty unless he or she commits something that is against established Indian law.
Personal liberty may not appear to be a particularly important idea to many people, but consider a person who has been wrongfully condemned.
His entire life was flipped inside out. All of the valuable years that the individual could have spent constructing his life were squandered. Society's rejection results in a loss of dignity, a tarnished reputation, shame, and a loss of income, among other things.
The individual will have to live with the stigma for the rest of his life. Indeed, such a stigma has been passed down the generations many a time.
Above all, the emotional and physical torment endured by the individual during this ordeal is inexplicable. The victim, as well as his entire family, must bear the repercussions. Though Indian law recognises the suffering of such victims, it lacks a meaningful mechanism to address the problem.
According to Article 14(6) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), any person convicted and punished on false allegations and then acquitted is liable for compensation if the facts reveal that justice was not carried out properly.
According to Article 9(5) of the ICCPR, anybody who has been wrongfully arrested or detained has the right to seek compensation. 168 state parties, including India, have approved the ICCPR articles.
However, not everyone follows the legal structure to apply it accurately and firmly. India is likewise trailing behind in terms of implementing the ICCPR's legal framework.
As a result, Indian courts have been referred to as constitutional remedy jurisdictions in various situations of a miscarriage of justice.
In order to develop a robust legal framework for compensation in cases of miscarriage of justice, Indian law must go a long way. So that the victim can seek some justice after being wrongfully prosecuted, imprisoned, and convicted.