SURDARSHAN KUMAR Vs. GANGACHARAN DUBEY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) (21-8-1999) This revision petition is directed against the order dated 14-2-1995 of Shri Rishabh Kumar Jain, C.J.M. Sagar whereby C.J.M. took cognizance of offence punishable under Section 297/34, I.P.C. against the present petitioners and had directed under Section 204, Cr.P.C. against them to stand their trial for the offence. The order was passed on the complaint filed by the two respondents complaining of an alleged offer of indignity by the petitioners and others to the corpse of notorious criminal Raju Munda who was killed in an encounter by police on 30-12-1994 in village Berkhedi, Police Station Rahatgarh. The indignity to the corpse was allegedly offered after the post mortem on the dead body of Raju Munda, by tying the body at an elevated place on the traffic watch tower in a public place in front of main market near Katra Masjid in Sagar from 7 p.m. to 7.45 p.m. The watch tower was about 20 feet high. The body was exhibited for about 10 minutes on the ground area of watch tower and thereafter when the crowd collected and became ominous the body was tied to the upper portion of the watch tower and hairs of the head were also tied. This was allegedly a cruel and barbarous act of the authorities i.e. the petitioners and others. This hurt the feeling of the complainant/respondents. The authorities should have performed the last rites of the body in the grave yard. Thsi act was a violation of the provisions of Police Regulation Act as also against the administrative manual applicable to the accused (present petitioners) and also violative of the human rights of the deceased and his relatives. This conduct of the accused was in violation of their duties. So there was no necessity for taking sanction by the prescribed authority to prosecute them. The complaint was filed against seven persons i.e. four present petitioners and the District Magistrate Sagar, City Magistrate Sagar and unknown police official. However, cognizance was taken only against the four petitioners who were officers in the police. They were, S.P. ASP, S.D.O.P and S.H.O. of police at the relevant place.

(2.) The contention that Sections 294-A and 295, I.P.C. were also attracted against these accused, was however rejected by the C.J.M. The C.J.M. has observed that tying the body on the watch tower at a public place with a name plate of the deceased hanging around his neck and thus exhibiting it to the public could be called showing dis-respect to the dead body and prima facie it appears that indignity was shown to the dead body. The Magistrate was of the view that after the post mortem examination of the body, it should have been handed over to its next of kin and should not have been tied to watch tower at a public place and in such an exhibiting condition its photos were taken. The Magistrate was of the view that this amounted to offering an insult to dead body in order to wounding the religious feelings of the people. There was the natural effect of the act and therefore, it could be called the purpose of so tying the body to the watch tower. The C.J.M. found that because the four petitioners who were police officials were present at the site at that time, this act muist have been done under their instructions active or passive, but, mere presence of the District Magistrate or Sub Divisional Magistrate would not show that it was being done under their orders or they intended this act to be done. The Magistrate presumed that the police officials must have been feeling happy about their success in eliminating this notorious criminal in an encounter and so they could commit such an act, but, not the District Magistrate or the Sub Divisional Magistrate, although they might have been indulgent or negligent in their duties of exercising authority to prevent such an obscene exhibition of the dead body. So no cognizance was taken against those two or any other unknown person. The cognizance was taken against the four petitioners.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitoners has argued that the deceased was a dreaded criminal involved in a large number of various heinous crimes in the area. He attacked the police and resisted his arrest, so was killed in an encounter. The public was so much afraid of him and under consternation that they would not believe that he was dead. So they gathered in large numbers and big crowd had gathered. They wanted to see the body to ensure themselves that such a dangerous criminal was really not alive. So there was a rush of the crowd and the people could not see the body while it was laid on the ground. So in order to show that this criminal was dead and they need not to fear him any further, the body was raised and ultimately had to be raised to height of the watch tower and to keep it there for short time it was roped with the watch tower so that its extremities would not stoop. It was fully clothed and no indignity like kicking it, spitting at it, or stoning was shown by anybody or police officer. Its name was certainly exhibited on the name plate. Photographs were taken by the media. There was no intention to wound the religious feelings of any members of the family of the deceased or his community. The complainants are mere busy body and are in no manner concerned or related to the deceased criminal. The argument further is that whatever was being done by the police officials was to assure the public that a big criminal was now no longer there to endanger their lives. The crowd wanted to see the body and since the crowd wa large it had to be exhibited in an elevated position. There was even a reward announced by the State Government for the arrest of this accused criminal, that is the type of this criminal. It is urged that in fact, after the post mortem on the body of Raju Munda at Rahatgarh, it was brought to Sagar to hand it over to his father. The father lived in a narrow lane close to the police out post Katra, that is how the body was brought near Katra chowk in a Jeep. The police went to the house of father of Raju Munda and requested him to take over the possession of the body to cremate it. The father declined to do so. He gave his refusal in writing singned by him. This refusal has been filed along with the revision petition. During all this while a large crowd gathered and was surging forward to see the body. The District Magistrate and City Magistrate also reached there. It was not possible to control the mob without exhibiting the body. In these circumstances, the District Magistrate instructed the police to display the body at the tower which was nearby. So some constables put the body at the tower and roped it around the tower. The photographs of the body so exhibited at the tower have been filed. They were proved even by the complaint. After such exhibition without short time, the body was taken down to Rahatgarh for cremation and it was cremated under the supervision of Nagar Panchayat, Rahatagarh as per the certificate filed with the petition. The father of the deceased has also filed an affidavit.