MARUTI SHRIPATI DUBAL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a police constable attached to the Bombay City Police Force. As of today, he has put in 19 years of service as constable. In 1981, he met with a road accident and suffered head injuries, and although he recovered from them, he become mentally ill and continued to be so to some extent even till this date.

(2.) Since January 1982, he was under psychiatric treatment and his ailments were diagnosed in July 1982 as "Giddiness, Ghabrat (fright), reduced sleep and appetite, nervousness, confusion, etc." In August 1982 he was diagnosed and suffering from Schizophrenia. He suffered from auditory and visual hallucinations. He used to sit lonely in bed, had at vacant look and was confused. He was given electric shock-treatment till September 1982 and was also put on a doze of heavy tranquillizers. He continues to take them even today.

(3.) The incident in question which has given rise to the impugned criminal prosecution, occurred on 27th April, 1985 on which day about 10 a.m., he tried to commit suicide outside the office of the Municipal Commissioner, Greater Bombay by pouring kerosene on himself and by trying to light his clothes. The immediate cause of his attempt to commit suicide was the delay in disposal of his wifes application for licence for a stall for vending vegetables near Colaba Market. The delay in getting the licence was compounded by the fact that although an Honourable Minister of the State Government had given him a letter addressed to the Municipal Commissioner to look into his case sympathetically as he was mentally ill and the petitioner wanted to see the Commissioner personally with the said letter, he was not allowed to do so by the security guard who was very rude to him on the occasion. Being excited, the petitioner had rushed in the office of the Commissioner but was chased by the security guard and shown his way outside.