Law student moves Supreme Court seeking compensation for wrongly incarcerated "victims of the system" who are later acquitted

A fifth-year law student has filed a PIL before the Supreme Court for the enactment of laws to provide compensation and rehabilitation for wrongfully incarcerated persons who were later acquitted after having languished in prisons for long on account of their wrongful prosecution and incarceration. (YASH GIRI vs UOI - PIL).Additionally, a direction is also sought for the implementation of the 277th report of the Law Commission of India on ‘Wrongful Prosecution (Miscarriage of Justice) and Legal Remedies' (2018)..The plea says that the word "victim" defined under Section 2(wa) and in Section 357-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) must be interpreted to also include those persons who were wrongfully incarcerated and who were acquitted subsequently. .Section 357-A, CrPC provides for a victim compensation scheme. The ambit of this provision must also include victims of wrongful incarceration, it is submitted.."...if the accused is acquitted after spending many years behind bars naturally makes him victim of the system, thus the compensation and rehabilitation should be awarded to the acquitted person who has suffered as a result of the crime."The petition says..Invoking Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and the Supreme Court's role as the protector of these rights, the petitioner says that people who have spent years languishing in jails over wrongful persecution and incarceration lose many precious years of their lives.. The delays caused due to the legal and criminal justice system lead to a violation of the rights under Article 21 of such a person, the petition elaborates.."Some amount of compensation or rehabilitation scheme would help the victim of the system to gain back his/her reputation and build a fruitful life again with dignity."The petitioner reasons..It is noted further that the apex Court itself, while dealing with such cases of wrongful incarceration, has awarded compensation to acquitted persons. However, the benefit of such compensation does not get extended to most people who are similarly placed in the absence of a statute to this effect, it is pointed out. .In addition to the 2018 report of the Law Commission on this issue, India is also a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 (ICCPR) and has ratified the same. Article 14 of this international law requires signatory States to provide compensations in a time-bound manner. However, there is no statute in India to benefit acquitted persons who are victims of the system, the petitioner highlights..To emphasize the magnitude of the number of undertrial prisoners in India, the petitioner cites data by the National Crime Relations Bureau (NCRB) which shows that the conviction rate in India is lower than the acquittal rate..People who spend years in jail and are eventually acquitted are left behind in the society and face severe agony and need to be appropriately compensated and rehabilitated for being victims of the legal system, the petition says..The petitioner, Yash Giri has filed his plea through Advocate Mithilesh Kumar Singh..Read Petition: