New Delhi, Aug 18 : The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to consider two petitions for an uniform code of compensation for victims of unfair prosecution, stating that “this could cause lots of difficulties”. The petitions were submitted by an advocate Ashwini Upadhyay and Delhi BJP Kapil Mishra, the leader of the Delhi BJP.
A bench comprising justices U.U.Lalit and S.Ravindra Bhat observed that the matter fell in the legislative domain and also noted that it could create lots of issues in the cases that are that are pending before the high courts and trial courts.
The bench stated that “The kind of relief sought is in the area of setting out rules or guidelines in the form of the law.It is not possible for this court utilize its procedures.”
Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria, representing the petitioners, told the court that there aren’t any protections in the case of fraudulent prosecutions.
The bench noted, “This will create a number of issues.This will involve lawmaking.”
The supreme court ruled that, if rules are set in this regard the judges in trials will be bound by them and emphasized that “in instances of POCSO or domestic violence, the majority of those acquitted will claim an improper prosecution”.
Justice Bhat observed that the court did not have enough information in relation with the amount of cases where wrong prosecutions had been brought.
The bench asked the counsel for the petitioners “How many of these wrongful prosecutions have occurred.
The court said that we do not have any evidence apart from the 3-4 anecdotal instances you’ve stated.Should we apply our judicial powers and procedures to address this issue?”
The hearing was concluded when the bench stated, “It is now left to the relevant authorities or institutions to take the appropriate actions.Therefore, we do not see any reason to continue to consider this petition anymore.”
The petitioners had claimed that the cause of action for the present pleas was filed in the month of January in which the Allahabad High Court declared a person identified as Vishnu Tiwari, who was in prison for 20 years innocent, after he was accused of rape and atrocities under the SC/ST Act in connection with an unresolved land dispute.
ss/arm
.
