Hcp order HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.S.RAMESH ANDMR.JUSTICE N.SENTHILKUMAR
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HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.S.RAMESH ANDMR.JUSTICE N.SENTHILKUMAR
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
Reserved on
07.04.2025
Pronounced on
.04.2025
CORAM :
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.S.RAMESH AND
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.SENTHILKUMAR
H.C.P.No.1661 of 2017
Noor Basha …Petitioner
Vs.
- The Superintendent of Police, Kancheepuram District, Kancheepuram.
- The Inspector of Police, Sathurangapattinam Police Station, Kancheepuram District.
- The Superintendent of Central Prison, Puzhal – II, Chennai – 600 066.
- The Secretary to Government, Department of Home,
St. George Fort, Chennai – 600 009….. Respondents
(R4 impleaded as per order dated 12.03.2018 made in Crl.M.P.No.3862 & 3863 of 2018
in H.C.P.No.1661 of 2017)
Prayer: Habeas Corpus Petition filed under Article 226 of the
th
Constitution of India praying to direct the 4
respondent/State, Secretary
to Government, Department of Home, St. George Fort, Chennai – 600
009 to pay a compensation of Rs.1 Crore for 90% disability to the detenue Sheik Sahul Hameed by further prosecuting the detenue in the hands of the Policemen of Kancheepuram District by entrusting the investigation in the hands of CBCID, Kancheepuram. (Prayer amended as per order of this Court dated 12.03.2018 made in Crl.M.P.Nos.3862 & 3863 of 2018 in H.C.P.No.1661 of 2017)
For Petitioner : Mr.R.Sankarasubbu For Respondents : Mr.P.Kumaresan, AAG
assisted by Mr.A.Gokulakrishnan, APP
ORDER
M.S.RAMESH, J.
As per the averments made in the affidavit filed in support of the present petition, the Police Officials attached to the second respondent Police Station had taken custody of the petitioner’s son, namely, Sheik Sahul Hameed, S/o. K.A.Noor Basha, on 26.08.2017 at about 8.30 P.M. and without informing him the grounds of arrest, he was beaten with Lathis, resulting in severe injury and failure of his kidneys and anuria. Accordingly, the petitioner had originally sought for issuance of Writ of Habeas Corpus for setting his son at liberty for the purpose of extending an effective medical treatment to him. On the basis of the interim orders passed on 05.09.2017 and 11.10.2017, the detenu was ordered to be transferred from Stanely Medical College Hospital to Apollo Hospital and
the State was directed to bear the expenses for his treatment. As per the
interim summary report dated 06.10.2017 issued by the Apollo Hospital, the detenu had suffered acute damage to his kidneys, besides amputation of four fingers in each of his hands. Thereafter, the prayer in the main Habeas Corpus Petition came to be amended by impleading the Secretary
th
to Government, Department of Home, Chennai, as the 4
respondent with
th
a consequential direction to the 4
respondent to pay a compensation of
Rs.1 Crore for 90% disability to the detenu and for action against the Police Officials, as well as for transfer of investigation to the CBCID, Kanchipuram.
- The respondent police, however, had denied the claim of the petitioner that his son was physically tortured by the Police. In view of this disputed fact, the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court had passed an interim order on 11.10.2017, appointing Hon’ble Mr.Justice R.S.Ramanathan, Former Judge of this Court, to enquire into the matter and submit a report. The Hon’ble One Man Committee had commenced enquiry on 02.11.2017 and ultimately, submitted the final report on 17.11.2017, recording its opinion that the detenu must have been beaten up with Lathis in his gluteal region, thighs, legs and other portions of his body. In the background of these developments, the matter was heard by
us.
- The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the custody of the detenu was taken by the second respondent Police on 26.08.2017 at about 08.30 P.M. and he was illegally detained in the Police Station till 31.08.2017 and thereafter remanded to judicial custody. According to the learned counsel, during the course of this illegal detention, the detenu was brutally attacked by the Police, which resulted in several visible injuries all over his body. Owing to these injuries, the detenue had developed gangrene in his fingers and ultimately, the Doctors attached to Apollo Hospital had to amputate four of his fingers in each hand, resulting in 90% permanent disability. The learned counsel further submitted that the petitioner’s son was an Auto Driver and owing to the amputation of his fingers, due to the injuries caused by the Police, the detenue in unable to drive the auto-rickshaw and thereby has been totally deprived of any income.
- On the other hand, the learned Additional Advocate General vehemently disputed the petitioner’s claim with regard to the allegation of torture by the Police. According to him, the petitioner’s son was involved in a theft case in Crime No.318 of 2016 dated 08.08.2016. During the
course of investigation, the detenu was arrested on the evening of 30.08.2017 and on his voluntary confession, a portion of the jewels were also recovered from the detenu. Immediately on 31.08.2017, he was remanded to judicial custody by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Thirukalukundram. He specifically denied the allegation of the petitioner that his son was taken into custody on 26.08.2017. So also, he refuted the claim that the injuries on the body of the detenu was caused by the Police. According to him, when the detenu was produced before the learned Judicial Magistrate on 31.08.2017, he was specifically questioned with regard to the injuries found over both his hands, to which the detenu had submitted that the same was caused due to an accident. Thus, it is his submission that the present Habeas Corpus Petition itself is not maintainable and sought for its dismissal.
- On account of the disputed facts before this Court, an One Man Commission was appointed by this Court and after due enquiry, a final report dated 17.11.2017 has been filed before us. During the course of enquiry, the Hon’ble Commission had examined the prison records and recorded that the detenu, along with others, were admitted into the prison at 22.05 hours of 31.08.2017. The personal entry extract recorded the injuries found on the detenu’s body before the Commission. Dr.Naveen
Kumar, Medical Officer attached to the Central Prison, Puzhal-II and Dr.T.Sivakumar, Professor of Surgery, Stanley Medical College were also examined, both of whom have stated about the severe injuries on the body of the detenu. The Hon’ble Commission had also examined the detenu and other co-accused and recorded the statement that they were taken into custody on 26.08.2017 at about 09.00 P.M. and were detained in the Thirukalukundram Police Station and thereafter in a lodge till 31.08.2017. The Hon’ble Commission had also recorded the names of the Police Personnel, who had allegedly beaten the detenu with lathis, namely, Senthilvel, Gopi, Sadasivam, Vijayakumar, Seeman, Muthukumar and another unknown person. Ultimately, the Hon’ble Commission had formed an opinion, based on the oral statements recorded during the enquiry, that the injuries found on the detenu would
th
have been caused between 27
st
and 31
of August 2017. In the final
report, the Hon’ble Commission had also come to the conclusion that the detenu must have been beaten on his gluteal region, thighs, legs and the injuries found on the portions of the body might have been caused using ‘lathis’.
- The final report dated 17.11.2017 of the Hon’ble One Man
Commission records the following factors:-
- As per the medical reports and the statements of doctors, the detenu had severe injuries and medical conditions in his body, including,
(i) Hematoma over B/L gluteal region; (ii) Abrasion marks over back of thigh; (iii) Induration and erythema of lateral aspect of both thights and (iv) Gangrene of right and left upper limb digits except thumb.
- As per the statements of the doctors and the detenu, the injuries
th
could have been caused probably between 27
th
and 30
of August,
2017.
- The injuries found on the detenu must have been caused with a lathi.
- No specific overt acts have been attributed to any Police Personnel of having caused such injuries.
- The Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Kartar Singh Vs. State of Punjab reported in (1994) 3 SCC 569, had severely condemned cases of police brutality and atrocities. The Constitution, as well as the statutory procedural law and law of evidence condemn the action of any official in extorting a confession or
information under compulsion by using any third degree methods. It was recorded therein that oppressive behaviour and the most degrading and despicable practice adopted by some of the Police officers is much depressing. The Hon’ble Supreme Court also frowned upon cases of atrocities and brutality practised by overzealous Police officers resorting to inhuman, barbaric, archaic and drastic methods of treating the suspects in their anxiety of collecting evidence by hook or by crook. In this background, the Hon’ble Supreme Court had also awarded exemplary compensation to the victims at the hands of the Police officials, by placing reliance on several of its own decisions.
- The final report of the Hon’ble Commission before us establishes that the injuries on the body of the detenu has been caused with lathis between 27.08.2017 and 30.08.2017 and apparently, these lathis must have only been used by the Police personnel, since the detenue was under their custody during this period.
- The learned Additional Advocate General made a faint attempt to deny the involvement of any Police officers in the allegations of police brutality by relying on the remand order of the detenu dated 31.08.2017, wherein the explanation with regard to the injuries owing to an accident
was recorded, wherein the detenue had not implicated them.
- This is not an isolated case where an accused produced before a Jurisdictional Magistrate under the custody of the Police have been constrained to suppress the actual cause of such injuries. In order to ascertain the sanctity of the statement made by the detenu before the Jurisdictional Magistrate in this case, this Court had requested the Hon’ble One Man Commission to enquire into the matter. The final report now discloses that these injuries were caused with excessive force of lathis. Apparently, the statements by the accused may have been under compulsion and threat.
- In Kartar Singh’s case (supra), Anita Thakur and Others Vs.
Government of Jammu and Kashmir and Others reported in (2016) 5 SCC 525, as well as in several other judgments, the Hon’ble Supreme Court had condemned the acts of Police exercising brutality and have held that such Police misconduct would be in violation of fundamental rights, apart from fixing the liability on the Police personnel under public law, apart from criminal law. In these decisions, the Hon’ble Supreme Court had recommended for pecuniary compensation to the victim for violation of fundamental rights and held the State liable for paying such
compensation.
- Since the final report establishes that the injuries have been caused by some Police personnel, we deem it appropriate that pecuniary compensation can be ordered to be paid by the State, to the detenu.
- As per the final report of the One Man Commission, as well as the medical reports produced before us, we find that four fingers in each hand of the detenu have been amputated, apart from several other injuries caused in the gluteal region, thighs, legs and other parts of the body with lathis. Such amputation wound amount to 50% permanent partial disability, as per Section 4 of the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923, as recognized under the Motor Vehicles Act also, for payment of compensation. The claim of the petitioner that the detenu was an Auto Driver has not been specifically disputed by the respondent police. With the aforesaid disability in both the hands of the detenu, there would be total loss of income to the detenu out of his avocation. In consideration of these underlying factors and circumstances, we are of the view that the
th
State/4
respondent can be ordered to pay a compensation of Rs.10 lakhs
to the detenu.
- The final report, however, does not specifically implicate the overt acts of having caused the injuries on any specific Police personnel. But the fact remains that the injuries were caused with lathis and the report also suggests the involvement of Police personnel. In order to establish and fix the culpability on the individual Police personnel, who may have been responsible in such Police torture, it would be appropriate
st
to direct the 1
respondent herein to conduct departmental enquiry against
such police personnel, in order to fix the culpability.
- In the light of the above findings and observations, the following orders are passed:-
- The State of Tamil Nadu, Department of Home, Chennai, shall pay a pecuniary compensation to the detenu, namely Sheik Sahul Hameed, a sum of Rs.10,00,000/- [Rupees Ten Lakhs only], within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
- The Superintendent of Police, Chengalpattu District, shall frame appropriate charges against the police personnel attached to the Sathurangapattinam Police Station, who were posted during the
period between 27.08.2017 and 31.08.2017 or any other Police personnel, under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Subordinate Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules and conduct a detailed enquiry, by appointing an appropriate Enquiry Officer and by following the due procedure contemplated under the Rules and pass final orders.
- During the course of such enquiry, due opportunity shall be extended to the delinquent personnel, by following the principles of natural justice.
- The disciplinary charges shall be framed, at least within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a order of this order.
- The enquiry shall be completed atleast within period of of six months from the date of framing of the disciplinary charges.
- Accordingly, the Habeas Corpus Petition stands allowed. No
costs.
Index:Yes/No
Neutral Citation:Yes/No
Speaking order/Non-speaking order
hvk
To
- The Superintendent of Police,
[M.S.R., J] [N.S., J]
.04.2025
Kancheepuram District, Kancheepuram.
- The Inspector of Police, Sathurangapattinam Police Station, Kancheepuram District.
- The Superintendent of Central Prison, Puzhal – II, Chennai – 600 066.
- The Secretary to Government, Department of Home,
St. George Fort, Chennai – 600 009.
- The Superintendent of Police, Chengalpattu District.
- The Public Prosecutor, High Court of Madras.
M.S.RAMESH, J.
and N.SENTHILKUMAR, J.
hvk
Pre-delivery order made in
H.C.P.No.1661 of 2017
.04.2025
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