particular amount has been sought as compensation in the prayers in this writ petition, and, in our view, rightly, for this is a matter ever in the discretion of the court. That some compensation must be ordered to be paid is, in our view, an inescapable conclusion. What are the considerations we should bear in mind while assessing the quantum? The petitioner’s antecedents are, we believe, entirely irrelevant and cannot be a mitigating circumstance in favour of the respondent; every person is entitled to the protection of the law, even every recidivist. Should compensation be adjusted according to the social station of the victim? We think not. The only gauge, as we see it, is an assessment of the conduct of the public servants. Where we find their conduct wanting, compensation must follow without regard to the status of the victim. Having regard to the facts of the case, the nature of the testimony and the conduct of the parties, it is our view that an amount of Rs.5 lakhs is just compensation payable to the petitioner by the 1st respondent. In our view, this cannot be said to be an exorbitant sum, bearing in mind that the State Government has resisted and opposed the enquiry and has not once, but twice applied before us to have the enquiry report quashed. A very considerable amount of judicial time has been thus expended on this matter in one forum or the other. Even otherwise, by present-day standards, we do not think that the compensation we have in mind can at all be considered to be unreasonably high. Needless to add, this amount of compensation is entirely without prejudice to the civil remedies, if any, available to the petitioner.
