SOLGABAI SUNIL PAWAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner Solgabai Sunil Pawar has filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for holding an enquiry in respect of the death of the petitioners husband Sunil Pawar in police custody. The said Sunil Pawar was arrested by A. S. I. Shantilal Kumawat of Vasind Outpost under Police Station Shahapur in Thane District in connection with the investigation of an offence of robbery and detained in the police custody. On 17th June 1997 the petitioner was informed by the police that her husband Sunil Pawar had committed suicide in police custody at 9. 30 p. m. on 16th June 1997 by strangulating himself and asked her to take possession of the body of her deceased husband. The allegation made by the petitioner is that her husband had died in the police custody not due to suicide but it is a murder committed by the police by subjecting him to third degree torture and in order to hide their crime the police had hurriedly got done the inquest panchanama and also the post-mortem of the body. The prayer made in the petition is for award of compensation to the petitioner, wife of Sunil Pawar for contravention of the fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

(2.) THE State of Maharashtra and its Police Officers including the Director General of Police, Superintendent of Police, Thane District (Rural), and Senior Police Inspector, Shahapur Police Station are impleaded as respondents in this petition. In response to the petition Dy. S. P. K. J. Gaikwad attached to Nasik C. I. D. (Crime) has filed affidavit-in-reply. In the affidavit it has been almost conceded that the deceased was tortured while in the police custody. It is stated that an enquiry was conducted into the death of the deceased husband of the petitioner by Shri V. D. Hake, Police Inspector, C. I. D. (Crime), Konkan Bhavan, New Bombay and he has made a report which was treated as F. I. R. . The offences under sections 330, 306, 323 read with section 34 of I. P. C. have been registered against P. S. I. Balkrishna V. Gaikwad, A. S. I. Shantilal Kumawat, Police Constable Bhagwan Narayan Nichite and others. It is further stated that the deponent of the affidavit viz. Dy. S. P. K. J. Gaikwad has been directed to conduct enquiry into the matter and the enquiry is in progress. It is stated that efforts are being made by police authorities to find out the truth and ultimately if it is proved that the concerned police officers are responsible for the death of the husband of the petitioner those officers will be punished in accordance with law.

(3.) THE admitted facts are that on 10th June 1997 an offence of robbery was committed somewhere near Vasind at 3. 00 hours and F. I. R. came to be lodged by one Gurunath Jadhav at 5. 15 hours against three unknown persons which came to be registered as C. R. No. 91/97 at Shahapur Police Station. On the same day three persons came to be arrested by Vasind Outpost Police Station viz. (i) Suresh Pawar, aged 24 years, (ii) Annuraja Bhosale, aged 30 years and (iii) Sunil Pawar, aged 21 years i. e. the husband of the petitioner in connection with the above offence. The three accused were produced before the J. M. F. C. , Shahapur granted Police Custody upto 16th June 1997. The police again produced the three accused before the J. M. F. C. Shahapur on 16th June 1997 for extension of remand. The J. M. F. C. granted the police custody upto 21st June 1997.