Chhattisgarh High Court Acquits Jageshwar Prasad Awadhiya in 1986 Case, Exposing Flaws in Prolonged Prosecutions
Published on: September 24, 2025
By: BTNI
Location: Raipur, India
In a poignant verdict that highlights the human cost of judicial delays, the Chhattisgarh High Court on September 24, 2025, acquitted 83-year-old Jageshwar Prasad Awadhiya, a retired bill assistant from Raipur, in a bribery case dating back to October 1986. Awadhiya, who spent nearly four decades battling the charges, was convicted by a lower court in 2004 but finally exonerated after the high court found the prosecution’s evidence “woefully insufficient and riddled with inconsistencies.
“The case originated when complainant Ashok Kumar Verma accused Awadhiya, then employed with the Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (MPSRTC)—Chhattisgarh’s predecessor entity—of demanding a ₹100 bribe to process arrears for the period 1981-1985. Despite Awadhiya’s consistent denials and lack of corroborative proof, the Lokayukta police registered an FIR, leading to his arrest and trial. The high court bench, led by Justice Ramesh Sinha, lambasted the investigation for relying on “vague allegations without material witnesses or recovery of tainted money,” terming the 39-year pendency a “gross miscarriage of justice.
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“Awadhiya’s life was upended by the saga: he lost his job, faced social stigma, and watched his family suffer—his son couldn’t afford higher education due to a mere ₹500 shortfall at the time, derailing the family’s future. “I waited for truth to prevail, but it came too late—my youth, my honor, everything is gone,” Awadhiya told reporters outside the Bilaspur high court, tears in his eyes. The ruling awards him ₹5 lakh in compensation from the state for wrongful prosecution, a rare but growing trend in such cases.
Legal experts view this as a damning indictment of India’s overburdened judiciary, where over 50 million cases languish, disproportionately affecting the poor. The court urged systemic reforms, including time-bound trials under the Supreme Court’s 2018 guidelines. Awadhiya’s lawyer, advocating for the elderly petitioner, hailed the decision as “justice delayed, but not entirely denied.” As Awadhiya returns to a quiet life in Raipur, his story serves as a stark reminder of the need for swift, fair probes to prevent ordinary lives from becoming collateral in the fight against corruption
