KADRA PAHADIYA NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED IN INDIA TODAY DATED 31 7 1994 Vs. STATE OF BIHAR:CHIEF SECRETARY W B

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -Writ Petition No. 5943/80, along with Writ Petition No. 57 of 1979 (Hussainara Khatoon) was placed for final disposal on 4-8-1995. On that day the latter was finally disposed of but insofar as the former petition is concerned, counsel drew our attention to the point raised in his written submissions in regard to the appointment of Special Judicial Magistrates and Special Metropolitan Magistrates under Sections 13 and 18 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1974, (hereinafter called the Code) respectively. The disposal of the petition was deferred for considering this question.

(2.) Mr. Mukul Mudgal contended that the dockets of the Magistrates all over the country were swollen on account of petty cases which could be disposed of by the appointment of Special Judicial Magistrates and Special Metropolitan Magistrates in sufficient numbers and once these cases are taken out of the regular courts, the regular courts would be free to dispose of serious cases faster, and that would meet the requirement of speedy justice. He submitted that when cases are pending in such large numbers, there is no justification for not using a part of the system envisaged by the Code. According to him, it betrays indifference and lack of concern for speedy disposal of cases.

(3.) At this stage, it would be proper to mention the facts of Writ Petition No. 298/94 yet another public interest litigation - based on an article published in the magazine, "India Today", in its issue dated 31-7-1994, with the caption "Ordeal of Innocents" by Sri Ruben Banerjee, narrating how rape victims are detained in Remand Homes for long periods, and are virtually undergoing imprisonment. Remand Homes are protective homes for women run by the State Government, in which inter alia, destitute victims of rape are received with a view to ensuring their safe custody, particularly where the victim is a minor and has no guardian who can be trusted with her custody. This also enables the Court to obtain their testimony during the trial of the offender, without there being hurdles such as the non-availability of the prosecutrix, or tampering by the accused by means of threats or allurement. What is reported by Sri Ruben Banerjee in his article is that nearly 150 rape victims are languishing in three Remand Homes in the State of West Bengal awaiting their release, which usually gets delayed if the trial of the accused is prolonged. Apart from giving an over-all view, the article also mentions three cases viz. those of Sarbani Ghosh, Rukhsana Khatoon and Swapna Mazumdar. Although the article was found sufficient to initiate proceedings under the writ jurisdiction of the Court, we thought it proper to put Sri Ruben Banerjee to oath before issuing any notice to the State of West Bengal. Sri Ruben Banerjee filed an affidavit in support of his article and, inter alia, disclosed the real names of three victims mentioned in his article which was necessary for us to set in motion the process of law. The State of West Bengal filed an affidavit of the Director of Social Welfare without seriously disputing the state of affairs mentioned in the article. The three women mentioned in the article were ordered by the local courts of session to be released on 29-7-1994, 4-7-1995 and 10-1-1995 respectively, subsequent to their attaining majority. The State also filed a list of inmates in various Remand Homes for girls which discloses that barring exceptions, most inmates are minors and the trial of the cases in which they are witnesses still remain pending. In respect of some inmates in District Shelter, Nadia, their ages have been omitted in the lists. Some inmates of these Remand Homes had already attained majority (18+). To illustrate, the girls at serial Nos. 18 and 23, are both aged 19 and have been interned since 1994. The woman at serial No. 21 is aged 40 and has been in the institution since April, 1994. The information submitted shows that they are victims of some offence or the other but it does not disclose why such women who have already attained majority have not yet been released. The information reveals that despite this the disposal of their criminal cases has still been delayed, e.g., the inmate at serial No. 1 came in the remand home of Liluah in 1987 and was still there on 30-7-1995 awaiting completion of trial of the accused. There are various other instances of the same kind. This brings into sharp focus the unhappy state of affairs in the criminal justice system existing in the State. In the meantime other writ petitions received from various jails concerning prolonged detention of prisoners were in progress. This case was also taken up after those matters.