HARTANBHAI DHANABHAI MEDHA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An old emaciated Adivasi Hartanbhai Dhanabhai Medha a petty agriculturist residing in the interior of Lunawada in Panchmahals District a backward area has knocked the doors of this Court by this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and has made grievances which should disturb the conscience of any right thinking man who believes in democracy and fundamental freedoms including those envisaged by Article 21 of the Constitution Bhura in relation to whom this petition has been filed was the son of the petitioner As stated in the petition Bhura was about 25 years of age He was married and his young wife is about 19 years of age In the early hours of 12/01/1993 Bhura left his house for attending a village fair at a nearby village Bachkaria. One Ratna Nana a forest watchman on duty at Zer nursery allegedly caught Bhura attempting to commit theft of a pulley and some wire from the nursery premises and detained him Sometime later Avinash Ramanlal Pandya the Round Forester of the area respondent No. 3 to the petition came at Zer nursery Ratna Nana therefore informed respondent No. 3 about the fact that Bhura was attempting to commit theft of pulley and wire from the nursery premises and that he had been detained Respondent No. 3 therefore ordered Bhura to mount his motor cycle at the office of the Ran X e Forest Officer (referred to by the witnesses as Ranger ) at Khanpur Admittedly Bhura was brought by respondent No. 3 at the office of the Ranger Khanpur Shri S.V. Chauhan respondent No. 4 to the petition was the Ranger at that office at that time. This happened on 12/01/1993 and since that date Bhura has been mysteriously missing.

(2.) The petitioner who happens to be the father of Bhura has averred in the petition that Bhura was his second son and he had high hopes from Bhura Bhura though an Adivasi had scaled the ladder of education and he was at the relevant time studying in second year B.A. in Shri Lunawada Arts Science and Commerce College Lunawada in Panchmahals District A copy of the identity card issued by the College is produced at Annexure A to the petition As stated earlier Bhura was married and his wife at the date of the petition was about 19 years of age The petitioner has stated that he had great hopes that his son Bhura will after his graduation be able to get a job and thus help the family out of its poverty. It is stated in the petition that Bhura was contemplating to apply for a job on the reservation quota meant for persons belonging to the community dealt with by Baxi Panch. The petitioner has stated that since 12/01/1993 his son Bhura has been missing after he was arrested by respondents No. 3 and 4. We may mention here that respondent No. 1 to the petition is the State of Gujarat represented through I he Home Department and respondent No. 2 to the petition is Government of Gujarat represented through its Secretary in Forest Department. Later on the District Superintendent of Police Panchmahals has been added as respondent No. 5 to the petition

(3.) In the petition the petitioner has further stated that he made all out efforts to find out his son Bhura but to no success. He therefore approached the Government police dept. and other authorities with a request to have his son Bhura restored to him but those efforts on his part have proved unsuccessful. The present petition came to be filed by the petitioner on 29/03/1993 In the petition the petitioner has stated that though more than two months have elapsed no trace of his son Bhura has been forthcoming and he only Knows that his son was last taken into custody by respondents No. 3 and 4 and was seen alive by various persons of village Medana Muvada and other persons of nearby village in the custody of respondents No. 3 and 4. In para 4 of the petition the petitioner has given the names of the persons who had seen his son Bhura last in the custody of respondents No. 3 and 4. Those names are of Pratap Vala Raval Chokidar at Khanpur Range Forest and Dr. Kodarbhai Ranchhodbhai an Ayurvedic doctor of that area In the petition the petitioner has also stated that when the aforesaid two persons had seen his son Bhura in the custody of respondents No. 3 and 4 his son was vomitting blood on account of severe beating given to him by respondent No. 4 Shri S. V. Chauhan Range Forest Officer His further case is that these witnesses were helpless and hapless witnesses to the merciless beating given to his son by respondent No. 4 for they were warned by respondents No. 3 and 4 not to interfere. It is also stated in the petition that Bhura was beaten by respondent No. 4 till he fell unconscious and thereafter respondents No. 3 and 4 threw unconscious Bhura into a room at the Khanpur Range Forest Office and locked him inside that room and thereupon the aforesaid witnesses and others who had gathered near the Range Forest Office dispersed According to the petitioner later on he and his family members and relatives came to know of this incident and since then they have been making extensive search for Bhura but with no success As said in the petition when the petitioner and his other relatives came to know about the incident from the witnesses who had witnessed the incident a meeting of village people was held and representation was taken to respondent No. 4. The representation was led by Shanabhai the elder brother of Bhura and when the representations led by Shanabhai approached respondent No. 4 and asked respondent No. 4 about the whereabouts of Bhura respondent No. 4 told them that Bhura had attempted to steal some wire and pulley from Zernursery but he (respondent No. 4) had already released Bhura from his custody However respondent No. 4 did not disclose to the representationists led by Shanabhai the elder brothel of Bhura as to when and where he had released Bhura. It is the case of the petitioner as staled in paragraph No. 9 of the petition that as respondent No. 4 told the representationists led by Shanabhai the elder brother of Bhura that he (respondent No. 4) had already released Bhura the representationists left the office of respondent No. 4 and returned to their village Medana Muvada in the hope that they would find Bhura in the village However on return to the village they found that that hope had not materialised. Thereafter the petitioner made several representations to the various authorities namely the departments of respondents No. 1 and 2 and ultimately Shanabhai the elder brother of Bhura lodged an information at the police station about the fact that Bhura was missing. After a certain preliminary investigation done by the police Shri J.G. Pandya Circle Police Inspector Lunawada on 4/02/1993 lodged First Information Report at Lunawada Police Station for offences punishable under Sections 341 342 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code against Arjan Rupa and Ratna Nana the Forest Watchmen Avinash R. Pandya the Round Forester respondent No. 3 and S. V. Chauhan (Ranger) respondent No. 4 On the Strength of that F.I.R an offence has been registered and it is under investigation by the police.