Man languishes in jail for 3 extra years as authorities fail to open bail email

The Gujarat High Court has ordered the state government to pay an amount of Rs 1 lakh to a man who had to spend an additional three years in jail despite being granted bail, according to a Bar and Bench report.

The jail authorities told the high court that they were unable to open the attachment in the bail order that was emailed to them by the registry in 2020, and hence, the man could not be released.

“It is not the case that such email was not received by the jail authorities. It is the case of the jail authorities that necessary action could not be taken in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and though they have received the email, they were unable to open the attachment,” the court said.

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The man - now aged 27 - was serving life sentence in a murder case when the court suspended his sentence and granted him bail. Chandanji Takor, however, despite securing bail remained in jail for three years because the prison authorities failed to take the necessary action.

“The applicant, though was released and could have enjoyed his freedom, was forced to remain in jail only because no attention was paid by the jail authorities to contact the Registry or Sessions Court with regard to the order passed by this Court,” said the court.

“The present case is an eye-opener,” the bench said.

Blaming the jail authorities for the negligence, the high court ordered the Gujarat government to pay him Rs 1 lakh within 14 days.

“The man is aged about 27 years and he has already undergone, as per the jail remarks, more than 5 years. Hence, in the interest of justice and in order to see that the applicant is appropriately compensated for the negligence of the jail authorities, due to which he was constrained to remain in jail,” the order said.