M BHUVANESWARI Vs. CHIEF OFFICER W A AIR FORCE PROVOST AND SECURITY UNIT AIR FORCE STATION PALLAVARAM CHENNAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a very peculiar case where the petitioner/wife claimed the custody of her husband who was once upon a time serving in the Indian Air Force. To begin with, the said wife made allegations that her marriage was a successful marriage inasmuch as the said detenu, namely, S. Murali Krishnan was having good reputation and was loving husband. It is stated that a girl and a boy were born out of the wedlock. The petitioner the proceeds to suggest that all of a sudden the wife who was temporarily at Madras came to know that her husband on 4.5.1996 at about 7.00 A.M. had left his quarters to attend his official duty in Patiala and thereafter he did not return home .THIS she came to know from his two colleagues. She rushed back and gave a report about the missing husband and came back to Madras. The petition further suggests that in the third week of July, 1996, all of a sudden, her husband visited her and stayed in her parent's house at Madras. On being asked, he allegedly told his wife, the petitioner, that he was in a disturbed mental condition. The wife did not keep quiet and her uncle conveyed the information about the missing husband to the Air Force Authorities who took the said husband in their custody in Madras. He was initially taken to Air Force Station, Tambaram, where the father of the petitioner and his friend had met the said deserter. Thereafter, the wife did not get any information regarding her husband though he had sent several communications in October and November, 1996 and January, 1997. She only came to know that her husband escaped from the custody of the Air. Force Personnel and was not. to be seen. Fearing for his life, the wife filed this Habeas Corpus Petition.

(2.) NUMBER of affidavits were filed in response to this Habeas Corpus Petition, wherein the Air Force took a stand that rigorous effort was being made to trace out the said Murali Krishnan, who had escaped from the custody of the Air Force. It was suggested during the arguments that the said Murali Krishnan was a deserter and was wanted by the Air force also. Ultimately even the affidavits of the persons from whose custody the said Murali Krishnan had escaped came to be filed, they being one Labh Singh, Junior Warrant Officer, Air Force Station, Tambaram. All the while the search for this detenu was continued at the insistence of this Court. One other affidavit of Shivendra Singh also came to be filed, on which apprehensions were expressed before this Court by the petitioner/wife that probably the two had eliminated the said Murali Krishnan and that he was murdered for oblique reasons. Ultimately by an affidavit dated 21.6.99 the petitioner also sought for the articles belonging to the petitioner and her husband which were in Patiala and the petitioner had ultimately received all her articles. The petition was kept pending in view of the inability on the part of the Air Force Authorities to trace out the said Sergeant Murali Krishnan. However, it came to be reported by the counsel for the petitioner in a very fair manner that they had come to know of the address of the detenu and that the Air Force should try to apprehend the detenu at that place. In answer to that it seems that some efforts were made by the Air Force as they themselves wanted the custody of the said Sergeant Murali Krishnan and ultimately today an affidavit has been filed on record by group Capt. V.K. Yajurvedi to the effect that as per the directions of this court sincere efforts were made to find out the whereabouts of Sergeant Murali Krishnan and it came to the notice of the Air Force Authorities that he was working as a Helper at Sree Meenakshi Sundaram Textiles, MS Puram, Tirupur - 641 601 from 12.1.2000 to 3.2.2000 and thereafter he has been working at K M S Textile Processing Mill, 169/1A Mukkan Thottam, Kulathupudur, Tirupur. The affidavit further goes on to say that the confirmation reports have also been obtained by the Indian Air Force. The affidavit goes to say that the Officials of these two establishments have identified Sergeant Murali Krishnan from the photograph carried by the representative of the respondents and that the said detenu had not disclosed the real state of affairs regarding the marital status etc. to his employees. In support of this affidavit the Air Force Authorities have filed number of documents including the statements of the Officers of the two establishments as also the statement of one Palaniswamy, the owner of the house where the detenu allegedly lived.