Right to a Dignified Life: Victim Compensation for Acquitted prisoners

Indian judiciary is notoriously known for being very slow. Sometimes, the time taken by the court to deliver judgment in cases causes great injustice to parties. There are a plethora of instances where somebody has languished in jail for years. Usually, people are forced to stay in jail because of false charges against them. They spend years awaiting their turn to get justice. This happens in India even after we all know that ‘bail, not jail’ is the general approach. Indian courts have recognized these problems in many cases. We even have a victim compensation scheme in India. The current legal system provides compensation for the victim. But these victim compensation schemes do not include people who have been wrongfully convicted. This article aims at highlighting the need for such a mechanism.