Congress MP plans to bring bill seeking compensation, govt job for those 'wrongly jailed'

Mohammad Jawaid says alleged targeting of Mohammed Zubair had a bearing on his decision

Congress MP Mohammad Jawaid on Sunday said he plans to bring a private member's bill during Parliament's Monsoon Session seeking compensation to a person "wrongfully jailed" and penal action against erring agencies.

The Lok Sabha member from Bihar's Kishanganj said a spike in such cases and the alleged targeting of fact-checker Mohammed Zubair have had a bearing on his decision to bring the bill.

There have been innumerable cases in which a person has been picked up by police, put in jail and finally acquitted of all charges after facing severe harassment at the hands of the law enforcement agencies, Mr. Jawaid told PTI.

This has been happening for decades but it has definitely increased under the Narendra Modi government, Mr. Jawaid alleged.

"Keeping this in mind, I have decided to bring a private member's bill to ensure that in cases of people wrongfully jailed, appropriate action is taken against the officials or government agencies concerned and the aggrieved person should get proper compensation as well as a government job," the 59-year-old Congress leader said. Asked if the recent case of Mr. Zubair's arrest and the Opposition's charge of the fact-checker being allegedly targeted had a bearing on his decision to bring such a bill, Mr. Jawaid said there were many things that had a bearing on his decision and "this is also one of them".

However, he asserted that he was motivated to act over several such cases coming to the fore in the media but would not be specifically mentioning or citing a particular case in his bill.

Mr. Jawaid's bid to bring such a bill comes days after the Supreme Court noted that jails in the country are flooded with undertrial prisoners and the majority may not even be required to be arrested despite registration of a cognisable offence.