Petition to compensate bus conductor in Ryan case dismissed

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 16

A petition filed in public interest for compensating bus conductor Ashok Kumar and prosecuting cops responsible for allegedly torturing him to confess to the murder of the Ryan school student has failed to find favour with the Punjab and Haryana High Court at the current stage.

Disposing of the PIL, a Division Bench has given petitioner HC Arora liberty to move the High Court again at the appropriate stage.

Arora was seeking directions to the states of Punjab and Haryana, along with the UT Administration, to implement the directions issued by the Supreme Court in 2015 in DK Basu’s case to prevent torture of people in police stations and jails.

Directions were also sought to Haryana to order prosecution of police officials responsible for torturing Ashok and adequately compensating him for unjustified detention for more than two months.

Disposing of the petition, the Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant gave Arora the liberty to file a fresh PIL for adoption of measures to prevent torture.

He was also given liberty to file a PIL regarding the second prayer in Ashok Kumar’s matter at the appropriate stage after orally observing that the matter was still at the investigation stage and the bus conductor had not been absolved. As such, the second prayer for compensation and prosecution was premature at the current stage.