CHARANJIT Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by way of special leave under Article 136 of the Constitution against the judgment of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in Criminal Appeal Nos. 768-SB of 1997 & 769-SB of 1997 arising out of a complaint case. Facts of the case:

(2.) The facts very briefly are that on 09.02.1989 at about 5.00 a.m. Shankar Dass, who was the Principal of D.A.V. Higher Secondary School, Balachaur, was shot dead by terrorists and Ramesh Kumar, son of the deceased Shankar Dass lodged FIR No. 13 on 09.02.1989 in Police Station, Balachaur. Thirty two persons of village Paili filed a petition before the SHO, Police Station, Balachaur, alleging that terrorists frequent the house of the complainant in Village Paili. The appellants who were posted in Police Station, Balachaur went to the house of the complainant and picked up the complainant and one Kamaljit Kaur, who were working as 'dai' and nurse respectively, and brought them to the Police Station. On 13.02.1989, the complainant sent a petition to the Governor of Punjab by a registered letter alleging that she along with Kamaljit Kaur were taken to the Police Station on 09.02.1989 at 7.00 a.m. and were asked whether the extremists were frequenting their house and when they replied in the negative they were tortured at the Police Station. On the intervention of Maha Singh, President of the Para Medical Union, Kamaljit Kaur, was released, but the complainant was not released. The complainant further alleged in her petition to the Governor of Punjab that in the night of 09.02.1989, the appellants tortured her with patta, made her senseless and had intercourse with her and released her on the morning of 10.02.1989 on the intervention of the Panchayats of Villages Paili, Otal Majarh and Unaramour. Soon after the release, the complainant disclosed to the members of Panchayat what had happened to her in the night of 09.02.1989. In this petition to the Governor of Punjab, the complainant made a request for an enquiry.

(3.) When no action was taken against the appellants, the complainant filed a criminal complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hoshiarpur on 25.07.1989 making substantially the same allegations against the appellants.