Padma Maya Gurung of Chaubise Rural Municipality-1, Dhankuta, who was sentenced to five years in prison for the murder of a newborn baby born through rape in 2048 BS, had served ten years in prison because the court's letter did not reach the prison. She had been in prison since May 2048 BS and was only released on Asad 10, 2059 BS.
What you should know
Padammaya Gurung of Chaubise Rural Municipality-1, Chhanambar Budhbar, Dhankuta, who was forced to spend five years in illegal detention more than the verdict due to the court's letter not reaching the prison, has received a compensation of Rs 603,000 from the government. The Dhankuta court had sentenced Padammaya to life imprisonment with all her assets in Falgun, 2048 BS, on the charge of murdering a newborn baby born through rape in 2048 BS.
The case reached the Supreme Court after the appeal also upheld the 20-year life sentence. When the appeal of that decision came, the Supreme Court had reduced her sentence to five years on 2051 BS.
She was released from prison only on 2059 BS, having been in prison since 2048 BS. According to the Supreme Court's order, Padma Maya should have been released on 2053 BS. However, when the government mechanism did not inform Padma Maya about the court's reduction of the prison term, she had to spend 5 years, 6 months and 9 days in prison more than the verdict stipulated.
Padma Maya, who came to the District Administration Office, Dhankuta on Monday with her daughter to seek compensation, said, "My education was not good, I could not do my research. I felt so sad." She said that she had given up hope after not receiving the compensation for 8 years after the Supreme Court's order.
said, ‘Now they say it will happen, then they say it won’t happen, I was fed up.’ But after receiving the compensation amount on Monday, she said she was happy. But she said she understood that a writ can be filed against the government for being illegally detained beyond the court’s verdict through journalists and human rights activists. Then, in 2071 BS, with the help of legal practitioner advocate Niranjan Upreti, she filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court on behalf of Padma Maya, demanding compensation.
Upreti, who is currently in Australia, said, ‘We, the unskilled workers at that time, had filed a writ petition demanding compensation of Rs 350 per day at the time.’ Upreti had provided Padma Maya with free legal services.
In the case, a joint bench of the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Gopal Parajuli and Justice Kedar Prasad Chalise had issued a mandate in the name of the government to provide compensation at the rate of three hundred rupees per day for the illegal detention of Padamaya Gurung in 2074 BS. But eight years after the order, the interim government led by Sushila Karki decided to provide compensation, and today, Padamaya was given a voucher of 603,000 rupees deposited in her account in Dhankuta.
Samita Pokharel, who is monitoring the implementation of the judgment in the Law Branch of the Ministry of Home Affairs, informed that 603,000 rupees have been transferred to her bank account from the compensation received by Padamaya. Ward Chairman of Chaubise Rural Municipality-1 Deepak Shrestha and Rural Municipality Chairman Rajkumar Chemjong facilitated the work of providing compensation to Padamaya.
Both Chaubise Rural Municipality Chairman Chemjong and Ward Chairman Shrestha had arrived at the District Administration Office with Padamaya. Advocate Deepak Raj Joshi, who has been assisting Padamaya in this case since 2080 BS, informed. At the District Administration Office, Dhankuta, Chief District Officer Binod Kumar Khadka, Dhankuta Superintendent of Police Sarat Kumar Thapa Chhetri, and Samita Pokharel, an officer of the Law Branch under the Ministry of Home Affairs, provided the compensation to Gurung.
After providing the compensation to Padamaya, Chief District Officer Binod Kumar Khadka said that this has become a good precedent in the judicial history of Nepal. He said that citizens will feel the rule of law through such things.
