BIBHUTI BHUSAN CHAKRABARTI Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this application under Article 226 of the Constitution the petitioner who at the time of the making of this application which was the 1st of September, 1977, working as the Deputy commissioner of Police, Detective Department, Lalbazar, Calcutta challenges an order dated 4th of August, 1977, granting sanction under section 197 of the code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the proceedings pending in the Court of the learned Additional Chief President cy Magistrate in Case No. C/783 of 1978. Behind this challenge there is a history and a certain amount of controversy. On the 11th of November, 1970, two brothers Ranjit Chakraborty and samir Chakraborty, sons of one Harshsa chakraborty died as a result of bullet injuries. To-day compensation and/or retribution, as one would like to view it, is being sought by the process of the sanction which is the subject matter of challenge as mentioned before. In or under, therefore, to appreciate the challenge it would be necessary to consider the facts leading up to the alleged incident of 11th of November, 1970, and the subsequent events thereafter. The petitioner is a senior Police Officer of the calcutta Police belonging to the Cadre of the Indian Police Service and as indicated before posted at the time of the making of the application as Deputy commissioner of Police, Detective Department. He is now under an order of suspension. According to the petitioner, the petitioner has put in more than 35 years of creditable service in the police department in various capacities and he asserts that he has earned the recognition of all concerned as an able, efficient and honest officer of the Police Department. The petitioner was twice awarded the President of India's Police medal for gallantry as well as distinguished service, which according to the petitioner, is rare honor conferred up an the Police Officer and/or achieved by a police Officer in this country. The petitioner had held different responsible posts in the Police Department and was the Deputy Commissioner of Police, north and North Suburban Division in the years 1970 to 1973.

(2.) THE petitioner states that it was common knowledge that during 1969-71 different parts of Calcutta particularly the places within the jurisdiction of shyampukur Police Station, Jorabagan police Station, Chitpur Police Station, cossipore Police Station etc. were highly affected by serious rowdy and antisocial activities and the lives and properties of the citizens became insecure as well as the law and order situation were almost on the verge of collapse unprovoked murders and attacks on the lives of common men, political personalities and police personnel were daily occurrences. During this period, according to the petitioner, more than 33 police personnel besides about 100 members of the public including political workers had lost their lives in the hands of anti-social and rowdy elements including extremists and attempts to murder were made on quite a large number of people. The petitioner asserts that some of such murders took place even in broad day light in public places, the people became highly terrorized and panik-stricken and the normal flow of life was almost suspended. The 'petitioner states that one sergeant of Calcutta police, namely Monoranjan Mukherjee, was brutally murdered on Shyampukur street in the morning in the midst of thousands of persons in broad day light. Late Hemanta Kumar Basu was also cruelly murdered on the same Shyampukur Street. In and around Shyampukur street, several murders of police personnel and ordinary people including political works took place and dangerous anti-social and rowdy activities were of daily occurrence. Snatching and attempts of snatching of fire-arms from police personnel, while they were on duties, were very common during this period. Mainly the police personnel became the targets of these anti-socials and as such several incidents of bomb-throwing and. firing on police patrol, cars took place. As a result, the morale of the police force came to be a very low ebb. The petitioner states that in such a situation the police while discharging their patrol duties for their own safety and security were, on occasions, compelled to resort to open fire on the miscreants. The petitioner asserts that the. petitioner was posted in 1969-70 as the Deputy Commissioner, North and North Suburban district of Calcutta and used to accompany police patrol party in highly disturbed areas almost every night during the aforesaid period in order to maintain the moral of the police personnel and to restore law and order.

(3.) ON November 11, 1970 according to the petitioner, at about 8-30 p. M. a police party consisting of the petitioner with Sri Shew Mongal Singh, officer-in-charge of the Jorabagan police Station, A. K. Maitra and p. Chakraborty of Burtolla V Police station, C. R. Ganguly and Sergeant b. Thakur of Chitpur Police Station and some constables of Jorabagan, Chitpur and Burtolla Police Stations belonging to the different areas of the North division, as a routine move went our as usual to round up, what the petitioner describes, as antisocials who created havoc under the cover of darkness disrupting the normal life of the citizens during the height of what is known as naxalite activities in November, 1970 in the jurisdiction of the different police Stations of North Division of calcutta. They started in 3 private cars for such round up and in course came to Shyampukur Street from east to west near its crossing in Telipara Lane at about 9-55 P. M. on the same night when it was found that the said road was completely dark and was drizzling at the time. In the headlight of the vehicle the police party noticed that a group of youngmen 8 to 10 in number were moving about in suspicious manner near about the place. The police party stopped the vehicle and the officer-in-charge of the Jorabagan Police Station sri Shew Mongal Singh got clown from the vehicle and proceeded towards the group of youngmen being followed at a little distance by the police partly. As soon as the said Shew Mongal Singh approached the group of young men a bomb was aimed at the police party. The bomb, however, overshot its mark but the said Shew Mongal Singh was found grappling with one of the young men who was approximately of about 25 years of age, medium built and wearing a pair of trousers and a shirt. All the Police officers and men in the cars thereafter quickly alighted from the respective motor vehicles and took up positions in different directions almost simultaneously showers of bombs were thrown upon the police party from different directions according to the petitioner and shots were also fired on the police party as a result whereof the said Shew Mongal Singh received the bullet injury and was profusely bleeding. The throwing of bombs continued according to the petitioner unabated and despite the presence of so many police officers and men, the said assembly of young men became very violent and continued their attack without any sign of respite the said Shew Mongal Singh was immediately removed to R. G. Kar hospital under the order of the petitioner and even after the removal of the said Shew Mongal Singh to Hospital with bullet injury, throwing of bombs went on continuing and as such the petitioner along with other officers and men took cover between the vehicles and buildings to save their lives, Inspite of warning given to the members of the said assembly, which the petitioner has described as unlawful assembly, the situation, according to the petitioner, was going from bad to worse and a number of officers and men including the petitioner received injuries. Under such circumstances it was found that the lives of all the members of the police party were in imminent danger and the police party opened fire as a last resort to disperse the riotous crowd and save the police party from extinction as the police party was encircled and overpowered in that surrounding. The petitioner states that after the police had resorted to firing, the situation came under the control when a search was conducted for the casualties if any. About 50 yards to the south of the place of the incident one Youngman vas found lying with bullet injuries and on search of his person a live bomb was recovered from a pocket of his trousers and one big bhojali was also ticked to his waist below the trousers. The injured person was placed in one of the vehicles for being taken to hospital and when the police party was about to move, shouts were heard from behind that another Youngman with injuries was lying nearby. Some of the police officers and men went to the direction of shouts and found one Youngman of about 20/22 years of age weaning a pair of trousers and shirt lying inside the entrance passage of a house. The police officers and men then took, according to the petitioner, the injured man and searched his person and recovered one live bomb from the right side pocket of his trousers but nothing else vas found. The second injured was also placed in the same vehicle and were together removed to R. G. Kar Hospital where they subsequently succumbed to their injuries. The said injured persons were later identified as Ranjit chakraborty and Samir Chakrabory, both sons of one Harsanath Chakraborty of 74/1, Shyampukur Street, Calcutta. Shew Mongal Singh was in hospital or 48 days for injuries, and thereafter had to be confined to his house for couple 1972 at the instance of Benoy chakraborty.