Bombay HC directs state to pay Rs 10 lakh to family of undertrial who died in custody
The Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench has directed to the Maharashtra government to compensate the family of an undertrial prisoner who passed away in 2012 while in custody in Beed district prison. Pratap Vishnu Kute was arrested on January 16, 2011, and faced charges of unlawful assembly, rioting, and house trespass.
He was remanded to magisterial custody on January 23 of the same year. The court ordered the government to pay Rs 10 lakh in compensation to Kute’s family within four weeks for the jail authority’s negligence in failing to provide appropriate medical care to the deceased.
The court stated that the Constitution’s Article 21, which guarantees the right to health, particularly for prisoners who are deprived of their personal freedom, cannot be ignored. The bench emphasized that the government could recover compensation from the responsible negligent officers. Kute’s family had demanded compensation of Rs 90 lakh for the loss of life due to the jail authorities’ negligence.
You can download the copy of judgment here.