The Delhi High Court asked the Centre to grant a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to a spy deployed by Indian intelligence agencies in Pakistan, who was arrested and jailed for eight years in Multan Central Jail.

Bougal Ram, 37, a native of Sangar village in Jammu was arrested by the Pakistani authorities on July 24, 1992 and remained under detention till June 2000.

Ram was just 18 when he joined the 3rd 615 Intelligence and Field Security Unit as a “source” for a monthly income of Rs 2,500.

His long battle to get his dues from the defence ministry began after he completed his jail term and returned to India.

“After all I was working for my country. I cannot get those years in prison back. Some compensation for the hard work would help me and my family,” the former spy said. Ram has already made at least 25 trips to Delhi seeking justice.

Ram moved the Delhi High Court in 2008 after he failed to get any relief from the National Human Rights Commission.

Initially the Centre denied in the court that its intelligence unit had ever employed Ram. But Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked it to make further enquiries.

Pulling up the government for filing a vague affidavit, the judge asked it to find out whether Ram was arrested in Pakistan and if so for what crimes. The Centre was also asked to make enquiries in his native village.

In a report submitted on September 18, the Centre admitted that Ram had been trained for a month in 1986 and had made several trips to Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Faislabad. It also confirmed that Ram was detained for eight year under the Pakistan Army Act for espionage.