MAYA MAJUMDER Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) It is an unfortunate case where dead body of a lady namely, Smt. Rama Banerjee is lying in the mortuary of Katwa Hospital since 14/2/2021 and even after one year and four months, her last rites have not been performed on account of the continuous resistance by the petitioner.

(2.) This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner with a plea that she is co-owner of a dwelling house situated at Paltia Road, Katwa Station Bazar, P.O. Katwa, P.S. Katwa, Dist. Purba Burdwan. Deceased Smt. Rama Banerjee is stated to be the aunt of the petitioner and the allegation is that private respondent No. 7 Nur Haque Mallick by practicing fraud got the sale deed executed from Smt. Rama Banerjee for which the petitioner had lodged FIR dtd. 19/9/2018 and had filed the Title Suit No. 150 of 2018 challenging the sale deed. In the criminal case the private respondent was granted bail on 21/3/2019. Further allegation is that Smt. Rama Banerjee was kept in illegal confinement for which a police report was made but no action was taken. So far as criminal case registered on the basis of allegation of fraudulent purchase of property, the investigating officer has concluded the investigation and had filed the final report on 18/7/2019 which was accepted by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Katwa by order dtd. 20/7/2019. The petitioner was aggrieved with the acceptance of the final report, therefore, she had challenged the order of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Katwa in a petition under Article 227 read with Sec. 482 and 483 of the Cr.P.C. Further allegation of the petitioner is that on 12/2/2021 private respondent through SMS had informed the petitioner that Smt. Rama Banerjee was admitted in the hospital and by SMS dtd. 14/2/2021 private respondent had informed the petitioner that Smt. Rama Banerjee had died in the Katwa Hospital. It is further alleged that the police on 15/2/2021 had informed the petitioner that dead body of Rama Banerjee was lying in the hospital morgue and asked the petitioner to take the dead body from the hospital. An allegation has been made that death certificate was wrongly issued by the hospital authorities to the private respondent and that the police and hospital authorities should have informed the petitioner and that it is not clear as to who had identified the patient as Smt. Rama Banerjee.

(3.) In the aforesaid factual background, a prayer has been made in the writ petition for CBI investigation and further to investigate the role of the authorities and also to take disciplinary action against the police officers and to prosecute the private respondent for illegally detaining Smt. Rama Banerjee.