I once met a man who had spent ten years in jail for a crime he never committed. When he came out, his hair was grey, his eyes empty, and his soul crushed. He had lost not just ten years, but a lifetime of chances. His wife had remarried, his children called another man father, and his old job was gone. The world had moved on, but for him, time had stood still behind those prison walls.

Now, the Supreme Court is thinking of compensating such victims of wrongful conviction. About time, I would say. In our country, the idea of justice often stops at conviction. Once you are behind bars, the system forgets you. Years later, when some sharp lawyer or compassionate judge digs into the case and finds you were innocent all along, you walk out free, but not whole. Who pays for the lost years, the lost dignity, and the lost dreams?

In most cases, the root of the problem lies in the way our police handle crime. Every police station has a board with unsolved cases. And every officer feels the pressure to mark those cases as ‘solved.’ How? By arresting someone, anyone. I remember a boy who once worked for me, accused of stealing fourteen motorbikes. The truth was, he had taken one for a joyride without permission, but the police, eager to close a dozen other unsolved thefts, pinned them all on him. He went to jail as a grand motorcycle thief. It took years before the truth surfaced.

The police had their promotion, the department had its statistics, and the poor boy had his youth stolen. Who compensates for that?

There are also those cases where false evidence is planted. A rival, a neighbour, or even a corrupt officer with a grudge ensures you land in jail. When the truth finally comes out, your innocence may be declared, but society still looks at you with suspicion. A stain, once stamped, is not easy to wash away.

If the Supreme Court decides on compensation, it must also ensure accountability. The officers who fabricated or ignored evidence must not retire peacefully with their pensions. Those who lied in court must not walk away free while the falsely accused rot in cells. Let there be penalties for those still in service and imprisonment for those who have retired.

Only then will the system learn that justice is not about numbers on a board, but about lives on the line.

Justice must not only punish the guilty but heal the innocent.

So yes, pay them. Compensate them not just with money, but with honour, with jobs, with public apologies. Because when we destroy an innocent man’s life, the guilt is ours…!

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