NEETU BAI Vs. STATE OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In the present habeas corpus petition the petitioner, alleging illegal detention of her husband by respondent No. 4 C.K. Patil Field Director Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and respondent No. 6 Rajesh Tripathi Forest Ranger, has prayed for payment of compensation. Although prayer for some other reliefs have also been made in the petition, the learned counsel for petitioner during the course of arguments did not press for them. The petitioner belongs to Scheduled Tribe and her husband Mansingh was a driver on muster-roll since 1997 in the Forest Department of the State Government. Mansingh had been posted in District Umaria and for the last one year he was driving the jeep of Forest Range Officer Lalit Pandey.

(2.) Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve is situated in a place called Tala which falls in District Umaria. On 18.5.2010 Mansingh was required to drive his jeep inside the Tiger Reserve along with the Range Officer Lalit Pandey to inspect the construction work of pond. This work was being carried out in the Tiger Reserve under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. At that time A.K. Singh, Chief Executive Officer, District Panchayat, Umaria, also entered the Tiger Reserve but in a separate jeep. He too did so to inspect the same construction work. According to the petitioner, after inspection, Mansingh returned in his jeep from the Tiger Reserve on the evening of 18.5.2010 itself.

(3.) Sometime between 18/19.5.2010 a tigress died in the Tiger Reserve allegedly due to dashing of jeep against it. This incident was highlighted by the media at national level and fingers were pointed against rich and powerful people for deliberately killing the tigress. Respondent No. 3 Collector, Umaria, took the incident seriously and constituted a committee of two senior responsible officers for holding an inquiry and submitting a report Karan Singh Karma, Sub-Divisional Officer (Police) and Shivpal Singh, Additional Collector, Umaria, were the members of this committee. They, after holding an inquiry, submitted a detailed report dated 3.6.2010, Annexure R4, to the Collector with their findings enumerated therein.