Nagpur: Persons arrested, but not found guilty of charges would now get Rs50,000 as rehabilitation dole, if they spent more than a year behind bars during the trial. The dole payable under Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, is released by the state’s women and child development department (WCD), which also handles the flagship Laadki Bahin payouts.The grant for rehabilitation of undertrials, who underwent a prison term, has now been hiked from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000, following a govt resolution (GR) on Tuesday. This also covers accused who are later freed after not being proven guilty. The hiked payout is applicable from the date of issuance of the GR, which is slated for a three-year review by the WCD.“If a person has to be in prison for a year before being acquitted, it means the state has taken away his liberty through unfair means. In such a case the compensation payable should be commensurate to the loss of income. A payout of Rs 50,000 for one year of unjustified imprisonment is too less for many,” said Tushar Mandlekar, a high court lawyer from the city.Another lawyer, Chaitanya Barve, said the amount payable as a grant should be commensurate with years lost in jail before acquittal. The current GR takes into account even those who may have spent a 10-year term as an undertrial before being acquitted with the same yardstick. The state’s duty is to ensure trials do not remain pending. In such a condition there is also a case for having a progressive compensation, according to number of years in custody.
