JAMNALAL BAJAJ SCHOOL OF LEGAL

STUDIES

LEGAL LANGUAGE
ASSIGNMENT II
ARTICLE ON WRONGFUL CONVICTION

SHIVANI PANDEY BBA LL.B ROLL NO. 11579

The article hereby presented here is concerned about the wrongful conviction, the problems which
convicted goes through, national and international issues, rule for providing compensation, causes of
wrongful conviction and India's perspective towards this problem.
WRONGFUL CONVICTION: AN INNOCENT MUST NOT BE WRONGED

Once Bill Rowling OAM explicated the false conviction and the troubles it creates in simple
words:
“We fail ourselves if a wrong person is in jail. Police, prosecutors and judges are society’s
agents: what they do in our name, wrongly or rightly, measures us as a people. One wrong
conviction would be too many, if you were the one; imagine for a moment that it’s you locked
behind bars, INNOCENT.”
A wrongful conviction is a dreadful iniquity that exaggerates when an actual innocent person is
put behind the bars for years and the real perpetrator is set free to hit the society back again. It
advances either when an impeccant suspect is treated as guilty in legal proceedings or when he is
obligated to take responsibility of a crime which was not committed by him so that the chances
of punishments such as death penalty and elongated imprisonment can be averted. In American
Law ‘not guilty’ is used to refer to the person who is to be exonerated rather than innocent
because of the fact that factual innocence does not amount to actual innocence. Though both of
these terms, referring to innocent person are used for the person who does not commit crime. In
English Law, wrong conviction is described by miscarriage of justice.
Unfortunately, the rise in number of such exonerations elevates the unplumbed doubt about the
veracity and equity so claimed and assured of by the criminal justice system. This fact is the
cause for recent researches prompting various innocence projects dealing with exoneration of
wrongfully convicted persons purporting reforms in justice policy designed to reduce the number
of such convictions.
Myriad researches done so far and anecdotal evidences are testimony to the fact that the large
magnitude of wrong conviction has an adverse effect on the mental health of the prisoner
including posttraumatic stress disorders and anxiety disorders which are not likely to be found
among actual guilty prisoners who are even sentenced life threatening punishments. The effect is
so severe that it perplexes the cognition of exonerated prisoners to lead a usual life again after
their acquittal.
On a global platform, only few countries have legally authorized monetary compensation for the
persons who were falsely convicted and year by year the number of countries enacting
compensation laws is rising which also focuses on providing compensation for health and
recuperative services but the perturbing fact about India is that it does not have any
compensation law for those who have dropped off the years of their precious life to the
incompatible judicial system.
While dealing with wrongful conviction, national and global justice systems take into account
the front and back end issues:
 Measures to prevent False Conviction
International law guarantees the right to a fair trial for protecting victims from unlawful
detention and diminishing the proportion of wrongful conviction. International Standards
concerning fair trial are invariably developing and bringing other rights as well within its ambit
such as fair hearing, innocence presumption, right to know accusation, right to get sufficient time
to collect evidences and legal assistance, right to appeal and examine witness and freedom from
self-incrimination. There are various Human Right treaties and covenants which support the call
for fair trial. Article 10 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights state, “everyone is entitled to
full equality to a fair and a public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal in the
determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charges against him.”
An association of organizations namely INNOCENCE NETWORK works to provide legal and
investigating services to those victims who are willing to prove their innocence and also protect
their interest after their acquittal. It runs several awareness campaigns to eradicate the factors
causing Wrongful Conviction.
The Wrongful Conviction Day is celebrated on October 2nd1 launched by Association of Defense
for Wrongfully Convicted to commemorate those who were kept in prison because of their
‘INNOCENCE’ and justice could not save them and to set aside a day for bringing the focus of
everyone towards causes and remedies for wrongful conviction.
 Compensation to victims of false conviction
There are several International provisions which strive to provide compensation for unjust
conviction to those who have suffered a lot because of spending years in prison such as Article
142 of International Covenant and Civil and Political Rights. Several other states have their own
1
Launched in 2015.
2
When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminal offence and when subsequently his conviction
has been reversed or he has been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively
that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered punishment as a result of which such
conviction shall be compensated according to law, unless it is proved that non disclosure of unknown fact in time,
legal or constitutional provisions to deal with issue of compensation. In United Kingdom, there
are certain provisions which are to be followed by Home Secretary to pay compensation if an
application is made for it.3 In France provisions constituted in International Covenant on Civil
and Political rights are followed.4 In Germany, a specific law has been passed to recompense the
loss suffered by wrongfully convicted.5
There is no criminal justice system which does not suffer fallibility which in turn leads to
miscarriage of justice. Even when all the required laws are implemented, provisions are followed
and standards are adhered with wrongful conviction does occur.Studies have revealed several
factors which lead to miscarriage of justice (not based on scientific research). Most of the time
there are more than one factor responsible for false conviction. Here is the list of such factors:
 EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION
Misguided eyewitness identification has become one of the leading causes of wrongful
conviction. Although an error rate for misleading eyewitness has not yet been recognized
because no such survey has been conducted so far in India but some experts on the basis of their
experiences set it at near 25%. This is a scientific fact that human memory cannot keep all the
information of whatever he watches because of which the periphery of that information devolves
but its core is retained. This creates uncertainty in recollecting the face of culprit. Effects of
extreme stress and focus on weapon diminish the ability to recall the face in turn the unconscious
transference leads witness to impose the face of someone else on the perpetrator.6
While considering eyewitness as a judging factor, this has to be kept in mind that memory
changes at the stage of recalling.
 FORENSIC SCIENCE ERROR
After misleading eyewitness, problems pertaining to evidences forwarded by forensic scientists and
examiners another leading factor responsible for for wrongful conviction. These problems include
incorrect methods adopted for analysing, incompetency of experts and inferior quality of forensic
laboratories. In fact, many of the experts present their analysis on the basis of comparison between two

is wholly or partly attributed to him.

3
Section 133 of Criminal Justice Act.
4
As per Code de Procedure Penale.
5
Compensation for Criminal Proceedings Act, 1971.
6
State of Karnataka, by Deputy Superintendent of Police v. Ramappa Bhimappa Kattimani and Ors. 2006(5) KarLJ
85 in this case prisoner was acquitted on the ground of misguided eyewitness.
factors which is subjective analysis varying from person to person as per their experiences but does nit
involve any scientific method or tests.7
 FALSE CONFESSION
The conviction of Indians such as Kulbhushan Jadhav and Sarabjeet Singh in Pakistan Jail does not need
any further explanation. They were not provided any basic legal assistance and principle of fair trial was
violated and the confession obtained from by unfair means. 8 The third degree is till now being used verg
commonly to obtain confession. A bill for enacting the law namely the Prevention from Criminal Torture
could not be passed in parliament.
 PERJURY
Perjury is in fact the cause of corruption which has not even spared our judicial system undenting its core.
Miscarriage of justice takes place when either of the parties involved in criminal proceedings such as
informants, police, judicial personnel, prosecution, etc. pay each other in terms of money, money worth,
drop of criminal case, etc. to conceal a relevant information which can be a decisive factor to
acknowledge the real culprit9.

In India’s context, our judicial system is in extreme need of reform to overcome the
consequences arising out of wrongful conviction. In 1975, Sir William mentioned in
Commentaries on the Laws of England “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one
innocent suffer.” India adopted many of the provisions from UK’s legal system, but the
principle of BLACKSTONE FORMULATION does not seem to be complied with.
In Adambhai Sulemanbhai Ajmeri vs. State of Gujarat 10, the honorable Supreme Court
exonerated all the six men convicted by Gujarat High Court for the attack on Akshardham
Temple in Gandhinagar. Here also, there was more than one cause of wrongful conviction such
as deficiency in method of investigation, nature of confession, no independent evidences etc. so
highlighted by the Court.
The acquittal after 11 years which were lost to judiciary and the stigma of being associated with
terrorism has engrafted so deep in their heart that can never be wiped off. No financial
compensation can bring those lost years back and compensate for joys of life that were
alienated.11. But compensation can make good the money spent on legal proceedings, can be
used to establish a healthy life again.
7
Sabarkanth District Milk Union v. State of Gujarat and ors. (1996) 2 GLR 792.
8
Aher Raja Khima v. State of Saurashtra 1955 (2) SCR 1285
9
Umarao Lal v. State 1954 CriLJ 860.
10
(2014) 7 SCC 716.
 Till now there are not any guidelines issued by higher authority providing the methods to
calculate compensation. The apex court has provided compensation in various cases. That is
why compensatory jurisprudence for violence of personal liberty is not new for India and
emerged with the Supreme Court judgment invoking the rights to constitutional remedies 12,
awarded compensation to victim of erring and arbitrary state.13
The demand for right for compensation to falsely convicted gained momentum when the
Supreme Court dismissed a joint plea by six persons who were prosecuted and incarcerated for
about eleven years and acquitted thereafter. Such judgments can be expected from the system in
which judge rejected an appeal for compensation on the ground that mere acquittal does not
authorizes a person to claim compensation as it would set a ‘dangerous precedent’.14
Actually, this kind of judgments set dangerous precedent for welfare of society.
The destiny of hundreds of innocent people and their shattered family is fading away in the
walls of prison on inhuman charges of Islamic terrorism and Maoist extremism, depends on the
independent, fair and reasonable verdict of our judges. Judges with such mindset, are really
compatibleto make justice? It took more than a decade to consider innocents as innocent. Are
they fast enough to deliver justice to protect those young souls from excruciating experience of
conviction?
They say justice delayed is justice denied. Where is justice in wrong conviction? Nowhere.
The statistics which add more to our worries is our another misfortune. According to NCRB
15
statistics, over 55% of the under trials across the country are Muslim, Dalit or Tribes. Their
population in country is 18%, 16.6% and 8.6% respectively, but they constitute 15.8% of total
conviction and 20.9% of it’s under trials. Why is it so that only certain community or a specific
section of society is targeted in a heinous criminal act?
How ironical it is that in a country where there are provisions for wrongful restraints and
confinement16 . There are no specific laws for wrongful conviction which lasts for years and for

11
In Mohammad Nisaruddin’s Case a 19 year old boy was arrested on the charges of accomplice in Bomb Blast in
Muslim Education Institution in Hyderabad and exonerated after23 years.
12
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.
13
Rudal Shah v. State of Bihar 1983 (4) SCC 141.
14
A bench comprising of J. Deepak Mishra and J. R. Bhanumati rejected the plea of the six acquitted individuals of
Akshardham Attack case on July 5, 2016.
15
National Crime Records Bureau’ report of study conducted in 2015.
16
Wrongful restraint and Wrong Confinement defined under section 399 and 340 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
compensation which the acquitted seeks. Is it because such conviction involves accountability
of government officers and is resultant of incapable judicial system.
What a caustic remark made by Ryan Truscott over false conviction and judicial proceedings:
“On a daily basis, wrongly accused and their families, friends and supporters are reminded that
life and freedom are to be cherished. Charges and arrests that can take only moments to appear
can take a life time to disprove. For the fortunate few that have not only courage but
perseverance to see these cases through, they are to remember that even in country, where we
are guaranteed our legal rights, the justice system is made of individuals like you and me and ‘to
err is always human’.”

Wrong convictions are really a curse for society because in a country where justice needs to
protect and safeguard an individual’s interest because of such conviction he needs to struggle
with the system of justice. In a country like India the absence of any provision to tackle the
problems arising out of such absence makes it even worse. Though the activism and legal
awareness has brought this issue at least in light of concern but the desired goals are still a distant
dream. Remember wrong conviction of an individual is equal to the conviction of one family,
Simple Maths.!

REFERRENCES
 WWW.LEGALSERVICEINDIA.COM
 INDIAN PENAL CODE; DR. SURNDRA SAHAI SRIVASTVA
 WWW.SUPREMECOURTCASES.COM
 WWW.SHODHGANGA.COM