Today, On 27th June, The Uttar Pradesh government paid man Rs.5 lakh as compensation for illegal detention following the Supreme Court criticism to the State for keeping the man in jail for nearly a month even after he was granted bail.
New Delhi: After being criticised by the Supreme Court, the Uttar Pradesh government said on Friday that it has given Rs.5 lakh compensation to a man who was kept in jail for almost a month even after getting bail.
The individual, charged under the state’s anti-conversion law, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on April 29, but was not released from Ghaziabad district jail until June 24, resulting in a delay of 28 days.
The Supreme Court, On June 25, criticized state authorities for this delay and ordered the compensation while instructing the UP government to provide a compliance report.
Also Read: “Travesty of Justice”: Supreme Court Summons UP Jailor for Ignoring Bail Order
The state’s counsel informed a bench of Justices K V Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh that the state had fulfilled the directive and paid the compensation.
The man’s lawyer confirmed receipt of the amount.
The Supreme Court had granted bail on April 29, and a trial court in Ghaziabad later issued the release order on May 27.
When the top court was informed of the man’s release on June 24, it emphasized that liberty is a “very valuable and precious” right guaranteed under the Constitution.
The court noted that the man had lost his liberty for at least 28 days due to a “trivial non-issue.”
The bench strongly criticized the delay, which occurred because a sub-section of a provision from the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, was omitted from the bail order.
The court had received a plea from the accused requesting a modification to specifically include clause (1) of section 5 of the 2021 Act.
Also Read: “Excessive Bail is No Bail”: Supreme Court
Consequently, the bench ordered an inquiry by the principal district and sessions judge in Ghaziabad, focusing on the reasons for the delay.
On June 25, the state’s counsel explained that the trial court’s May 27 order had included all necessary details except for Sub-Section (1) of Section 5 of the Act, prompting jail authorities to file a correction plea on May 28.
The delay in addressing this application resulted in the man’s extended confinement.
Earlier, The Apex Court ordered a judicial inquiry into the conduct of jail authorities for failing to release accused who had been granted bail in April in a case related to alleged forced religious conversion in connection with a marriage.
Also Read: Jharkhand HC Slams Magistrate Ignoring SC Bail Guidelines: “Unfortunate & Unwarranted”
The case involved a man who remained in custody even after the Supreme Court clearly ordered his bail. According to the petitioner, the jail authorities cited the absence of a specific sub-section of the offense in the bail order as the reason for his continued detention.
The individual was charged under Section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing a woman to compel her marriage, etc.) of the former IPC and under Sections 3 and 5 (prohibiting conversion from one religion to another through misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion, or allurement) of the 2021 Act.
The bench has scheduled the examination of the inquiry report for August 25.
Case Title: AFTAB vs THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH MA 1086/2025 in Crl.A. No. 2295/2025