Agartala: The Tripura High Court has upheld a recommendation by Tripura Human Rights Commission (THRC), directing the state govt to pay Rs 4 lakh compensation to the widow and children of a convict who died by suicide in a central jail in Oct 2024.A division bench of Chief Justice M S Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit dismissed a petition filed by the Inspector General of Prisons challenging the THRC’s recommendations. The court directed the authorities to pay the compensation within one month and submit a compliance report.Dilip Debbarma, who was serving a 12-year rigorous imprisonment sentence, was found hanging from an exhaust fan in a prison toilet on Oct 23, 2024.The THRC found evidence of discriminatory treatment and negligence by prison authorities. According to its findings, Debbarma alone had been assigned to clean a room housing a German Shepherd, a task not assigned to other convicts.The commission also held that warder Raju Debbarma had been negligent in supervising the prisoner in an area without CCTV coverage.The HC rejected the govt’s reliance on a magisterial inquiry report, observing that an inquiry under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita determines only the apparent cause of death and does not examine negligence by prison officials.The court upheld the THRC’s findings and compensation recommendation. The commission has also recommended departmental proceedings against the officials concerned.
