Allahabad High Court Orders Rs 75,000 Compensation for Man Wrongfully Jailed in Kidnapping Case

The Allahabad High Court has ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 75,000 as compensation in a kidnapping case where police continued investigation despite the alleged victim's clear statement denying any abduction.

In Lucknow, the High Court issued this ruling after examining a petition filed by Umed alias Ubaid Khan and others. The petitioners sought to quash the FIR registered against them in Bahraich district under section 140 of BNS, which relates to kidnapping for murder.

The division bench, comprising Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Babita Rani, directed that Rs 50,000 of the imposed amount be paid directly to petitioner Umed, who has been incarcerated since his arrest on September 18. The remaining Rs 25,000 will be allocated to the high court's legal aid services.

During the investigation, authorities located the woman and brought her before a Judicial Magistrate on September 19 to record her testimony. The woman clearly stated that she had departed her home voluntarily due to physical abuse by her husband. She made no allegations regarding religious conversion.

The court expressed concern that despite this unambiguous statement, police continued their investigation and kept Umed imprisoned. According to the order made available on Tuesday, the bench found no justification for pursuing the case when the alleged victim herself contradicted the prosecution's narrative based on the FIR filed by her husband.

Observing that Umed was detained based on false accusations, the court quashed the case that had been registered on September 13 and ordered his immediate release, provided he was not wanted in connection with any other matters.