A K BHATTACHARJEE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution the petitioner has prayed for a direction on the respondents to pay the damages/compensations of Rs.40 lakhs.

(2.) The petitioner's case in this writ Petition is that he has been staying in an additional house near the quarter No.T-27-A with permission from the General Manager, North East Frontier Railway-respondent No.2. His niece Miss Rumi Bhattacharjee, a daughter of a Railway employee and a student of Post Graduate Courses of studies in the subject of Geology of Gauhati University was also staying with him in the said house occasionally and she had kept her reading and writing materials in the said house. The respondent No. 9 T.N. Bordoloi disconnected the electricity lines to the said house in Aril, 1995 and the petitioner filed Civil Rule No. 1515/ 95 and by order dated 7.4.95 this Court directed to restore electricity and water supply to the premises under the occupation of the petitioner immediately and the petitioner would undertake before this Court to vacate the premises. By the said order dated 7.4.95 the Court also directed the Officer-in-Charge, Panbazar Police Station to ensure that the life of the petitioner and his niece was safe. In compliance with the said order the electricity supply and water supply were restored to the said premises. On 26.4.96, however, at about 10.30 P.M. the respondent No. 6 Manas Mazumdar sprayed petrol at the back side of the petitioner's house to compel him to leave the place. The police came from the Panbazar Police Station to investigate into the petrol incident, but the respondent No. 6 was not arrested. On the following day between 3.15 to 6.30 P.M. the petitioner was gheraoed and kept inside the house of the respondent No. 9, T.N. Bordoloi. The petitioner was then made to put his signature on a piece of paper to the effect that the petitioner had got back all his belongings. On reaching his Chamber at Ulubari the petitioner telephonically informed the Panbazar Police Station of all that had taken place and sought police protection and the petitioner was told over the phone that since it was a polling day for want of sufficient police men nothing could be done that night and that he should personally report next morning to the police station when security shall be provided to him. The petitioner reported to the Panbazar Police Station next morning i.e. on 28.4.96 and the Officer-in-Charge Mr. A. Rahman was going to take appropriate steps, but this could not be done because of the City Deputy Superintendent of Police, Panbazar Division who instigated respondent No. 7 Anjan Kar, Officer of N.F. Rly., Maligaon to go ahead to demolish the house of the petitioner contrary to standing instructions of the High Court and goaded by such uncalled for instigation by the respondent No. 4 and unauthorised handling of the situation by respondent No.7, the other unruly members of the illegal assembly as mentioned above took away the belonging to the petitioner and his niece, and the petitioner had to put his signature on another piece of paper and the house of the petitioner was finally razed to the ground by the respondent No. 5 and 7 to 12. Thereafter on 5.5.96, the petitioner was allowed to take back his things, but later, on scrutiny, the petitioner found that he had lost 18 valuable manuscripts, 20 rare books and rare photographs which he collected and prepared from different sources, his all certificates and diplomas and several briefs of his clients, some examination preparation material, dissertation and diagrams of his niece. The petitioner has estimated that the value of the aforesaid materials in monetary terms would be Rs. 40 lakhs. The petitioner submitted a representation dated 8.5.96 to the General Manager, North East Frontier Railway, Maligaon, Guwahati demanding compensation of Rs. 20 lakhs with interest and a representation dated 7.6.96 to the State Government, Assam demanding a sum of Rs. 20 lakhs.

(3.) Dr. A.K. Bhattacharjee, petitioner in person, submitted at the hearing that it is a fit case in which compensation should be awarded by the Court for the illegal acts of the respondents as narrated in the writ petition. He cited the decision of the Supreme Court in P. A. Narayanan -Vs- Union of India (1998) 3 SCC 67 in which the Supreme Court awarded compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs to the appellart for the death of his wife due to criminal assault in the train between Bandra and Andheri Railway Station by some miscreants. Dr. Bhattacharjee also relied on the decision of the Supreme Court in Chairman, Railway Board - Vs- Chandrima Das (Mrs.) (2000) 2 SCC 465 in which the compensation awarded by the High Court in a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution to a lady who had been raped by some employees of the Railways soon after she arrived at the Railway Station from Bangladeish was upheld by the Supreme Court. According to Dr. Bhattacharjee a compensation of Rs. 20 lakhs should be awarded against the Railways for the illegal acts of the employees of the Railways in this case. He further submitted that in any case the State of Assam was liable to compensate the petitioner for the assault on him and for the value of his manuscripts particularly when by orders [passed by this Court in Civil Rule No. 1515/195 the Police of the State of Assam were required to protect the petitioner.