P.P.RAMACHANDRA KAIMAL Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Instant public interest writ petition is filed seeking the following reliefs:

(2.) Petitioner is a retired person from Coal India Ltd., and a senior citizen. His grievance is that in spite of the fact that 25 numbers of 5.56 mm Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) rifles and 12061 live cartridges are missing from the custody of police department, no steps are taken by the authorities in tracing and recovering the same. The background facts submitted by the petitioner to substantiate the aforesaid contention is that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), New Delhi, respondent No.4, has tabled before the State Assembly the report for the year ended March, 2018. In the said report, at paragraph 2.10.3, physical stock of weapons and live cartridges with the Special Armed Battalion, Thiruvananthapuram, was found to be short. Respondent No.4 has also reported that joint physical verification was conducted in the Special Armed Battalion on 16.10.2018, to find out whether the physical stock of arms and ammunition tallied with the stock register and whether the system of accounting of arms and ammunition was robust and reliable. The joint verification conducted in the Arms of SAP Battalion along with the Assistant Commandant of the Battalion revealed shortage of 25 nos. of 5.56 mm rifles and 12061 live cartridges, which include 1835 cartridges for INSAS and 1578 for AK-47. It was also reported that out of the 1261 missing cartridges, 250 numbers of 9 mm drill cartridges were replaced by dummy cartridges and the report further reveals that the shortage of cartridges is from the year 2000 onwards.

(3.) The case projected by the petitioner is that even though explanations as sought for by the concerned officials were given regarding missing of rifles to the effect that the rifles were issued to Armed Reserve Camp, Thiruvananthapuram, in February, 2011 under proper acknowledgement and that the errors shown in the maintenance records/receipts have been found and sorted out, the 4th respondent in consequence, required the details, including the body numbers of 660 rifles, stated to have been received from the police chief stores and the distribution to various units under permanent transfer, no appropriate reply is given. It is, therefore, submitted by the petitioner that there is suspicion existing regarding the actual situation of arms and ammunition, which were reported to be missing by the 4th respondent. It is also a serious security breach and the matter involves security of the nation and the people of the State, especially in the light of the fact that the nation is under serious threat of terrorists, including maoists and ISIS, and there are several intelligent reports that infiltration has been done by the agents of these groups in the civil society.