Man Wrongfully Jailed for 14 Months Due to Administrative Error Receives Rs 2 Lakh Compensation from Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on Shahdol Collector Kedar Singh due to wrongful application of the National Security Act (NSA).

The division bench directed Singh to attend the next hearing and issued a contempt notice, stating he must pay the fine personally. The court ordered the amount to be deposited directly into the petitioner's son's account.

Additionally, the High Court instructed the state chief secretary to take disciplinary action against both the collector and the additional chief secretary.

Justices Vivek Agrawal and AK Singh issued these orders while reviewing a petition from Shahdol farmer Hiramani Vaishya. The petitioner claimed NSA proceedings against his son Sushant Vaishya were implemented without following proper legal procedures.

According to Hiramani's petition, the Superintendent of Police sent a report to the District Collector on September 6 requesting NSA action, and the Collector issued the NSA order on September 9 without recording any independent witness statements.

The petition also highlighted that the criminal case for which his son faced NSA charges had already been resolved through a Lok Adalat settlement.

Critically, the petition revealed that the Superintendent of Police had actually recommended NSA against one Neeraj Kant Dwivedi. However, Collector Singh erroneously ordered NSA against Sushant Vaishya instead, resulting in Sushant's wrongful imprisonment for 14 months.

During court proceedings, Collector Singh acknowledged the error, admitting that the NSA order mistakenly named Sushant Vaishya instead of the intended target, Neeraj Kant Dwivedi.

His legal representative argued that both cases were heard simultaneously, leading to the factual mistake.

The High Court ordered the District Collector to present the file submitted to the state government for NSA approval, warning that failure to comply would result in state action against him.

An affidavit from the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) confirmed that the NSA order was indeed sent for state government approval, but contained a typing error that substituted Sushant's name for Neeraj Kant Dwivedi's. The affidavit mentioned that a notice had been issued to the responsible clerk.

Expressing strong disapproval, the High Court emphasized that NSA cannot be wielded arbitrarily and should only be applied when an individual creates widespread fear among the public.

The court directed the Chief Secretary to review the NSA order and take appropriate action against both the Collector and Additional Chief Secretary.

Furthermore, the court issued notices initiating contempt proceedings against the Collector for submitting what it deemed a false affidavit.