The Supreme Court has decided to examine writ petitions filed by three men seeking compensation for wrongful conviction and death sentences after being acquitted by the Court itself. The matter, which raises vital questions on the right to compensation for miscarriage of justice, has prompted the Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta to seek assistance from Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

The lead petitioner, Ramkirat Munilal Goud, aged 41, is seeking compensation from the State of Maharashtra for his 12-year incarceration, including six years on death row, following a conviction later found to be based on a “flawed and tainted investigation.” His petition states that he suffered a grave violation of his fundamental rights under Article 21, having been falsely accused, illegally arrested, and subjected to an unfair prosecution.

The plea details how Goud’s wrongful imprisonment devastated his family — his wife mortgaged their land and jewellery to pay legal costs, their two children dropped out of school, and they lived in a hut with a plastic roof. Following his release, Goud borrowed small amounts to rebuild his home and resume his children’s education, now surviving on irregular daily-wage work.

Goud was convicted by a trial court on March 8, 2019, under Sections 302, 363, 376(2)(i), and 201 IPC and Sections 4 and 8 of the POCSO Act, and his death sentence was confirmed by the Bombay High Court in November 2021. However, on May 7, 2025, a three-judge Supreme Court Bench acquitted him, holding that the police had fabricated witnesses and withheld forensic reports. The Court observed that investigating officers “created witnesses by way of padding” and arrested Goud “without even a shred of evidence.”

The second petitioner, Kattavellai, was sentenced to death for murder and rape in Tamil Nadu before being acquitted by the Supreme Court, which observed the urgent need for a law providing compensation for wrongful incarceration.

The third petitioner, Sanjay, was acquitted of charges of raping and murdering a 3-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh after the Supreme Court held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, observing that “there cannot be a moral conviction in law.”

Issuing notice to the States concerned, the Bench ordered: “Issue notice, returnable on 24th November, 2025. We request the learned Attorney General or learned Solicitor General to assist this Court in these matters.”

Goud’s petition raises the constitutional issue of whether wrongful conviction and imprisonment due to a tainted investigation and fabricated evidence entitle an individual to compensation under Article 21, invoking the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on State liability for illegal detention and miscarriage of justice.

The plea also relies on the Law Commission’s 277th Report (2018) titled ‘Wrongful Prosecution (Miscarriage of Justice): Legal Remedies’, which proposed a statutory compensation framework for victims of wrongful prosecution.

Senior Advocates Gopal Subramaniam, Gopal Sankarnarayanan, and Anitha Shenoy appeared for the petitioners, assisted by a large legal team including Advocates Mihir Samson, Shreya Rastogi, Yash S. Vijay (AOR) and others. The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law, provided legal assistance in the underlying criminal appeals.

Case Details:

• Case Title: Ramkirat Munilal Goud v. State of Maharashtra

• Case No.: Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 420 of 2025 and connected cases