Supreme Court orders MP govt to pay Rs 25 lakh compensation to rapist, sentenced to 7 years, but kept in jail for 11 years; Why didn't you let him go, a serious mistake

The Supreme Court has ordered the Madhya Pradesh government to pay Rs 25 lakh as compensation to the accused for keeping him in jail for 4 years and 7 months in a rape case. The accused was sentenced to seven years in jail in this case in Sagar district but he was not released from jail even after completing his sentence. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. The division bench of Justice Viswanathan came down heavily on the Madhya Pradesh government for its negligence. The court termed it a "grave mistake" and said such illegal detention was not acceptable under any circumstances. The Supreme Court today asked the government to submit a complete file of certificate/conviction count sheet, parole-remission and compliance with court orders. The court gave the verdict after hearing all the arguments. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Viswanathan termed it as a "very worrying and serious administrative failure". The court asked the state government, the home department, the jail director general and the jail superintendent concerned as to why he was not released even after the completion of his sentence. Sohan Singh alias Bablu was sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court in a rape case in 2004. Sohan Singh filed an appeal against this in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. In October 2007, the High Court reduced the sentence from life imprisonment to seven years. In 2021, that 7-year sentence ended, but Sohan was not released. The case file reached senior advocate Mahfooz A Nazki through legal aid. Nazki spoke to the police and the legal aid team. Therefore, he was released from jail on June 6, 2025. Later when he sought compensation, the court observed that he had been kept in jail for an additional four and a half years. Initially, when the notice was issued to the Madhya Pradesh government, the court said that the accused has undergone an additional imprisonment of 8 years. However, senior advocate Nachiketa Joshi, appearing for the state of Madhya Pradesh, informed the court that the accused has been out on bail for some time. Advocate Mahfooz A Nazki informed the court on behalf of the convicts. According to him, the compensation was ordered in view of the 4.7-year additional sentence.