SUBRAMANI Vs. SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE SALEM DISTRICT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ONE Subramani has filed this petition seeking direction to the respondents for production of the detenus viz. , 1. Thangamma, W/o Subramani, 39 years, Kumar, 22 years; 2. Vengatachalam, aged about 18 years; 3. Sakthi Vel, aged about 15 years; 4. Palanisamy, aged about 13 years; 5. Boopathy, aged about 11 years; 6. Shanmugam, aged about 9 years; 7. Gnanasekaran, aged about 3 years; 8. Paramasivam, aged about 1 and half years; 9. Arumugam, s/o Perumal, 40 years; 10. Elaamma, W/o Arumugam, 37 years; 11. Kanaga, 15 years; 12. Saritha, 14 years; 13. Vasantha, 12 years; 14. Aruna, 11 years; 15. Karthik, 9 years; 16. Suresh, 8 years and 17. Murugesh, 6 years, before this Court and set them at liberty.

(2.) WHEN the above petition came up for hearing on 07. 07. 2006, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor on instruction informed this Court that all the 18 named persons in the petition have been secured and produced before the District Collector, Salem and he sought further time for production of those persons before this Court. Today, all the detenus appeared before us. Most of them are below the age of 18.

(3.) THE learned Additional Public Prosecutor has placed a letter dated 04. 07. 2006 from Tahsildar, Kolar Taluk, addressed to the Assistant Commissioner, Kolar Sub Division, Kolar, wherein it is stated that on enquiry it shows that the above mentioned persons are not bonded labours and all of them are working in stone crusher as daily wage earners and living near the quarry by putting thatched huts. According to the Tahsildar, all of them are independent workers staying with their families. He also informed the Assistant Commissioner that there are no bonded labours in his area and he handed over all 19 members (including children) to the Tamil Nadu Police. The above information shows that the named persons were not taken as bonded labours to Karnataka. However, the fact remains that most of them are at the age group of 6 to 15.