HAZI SARIF UDDIN CHOUDHURY Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been sought to be invoked by the petitioner, the father of the deceased Inamul Haque Choudhury who died on 20.06.2000 allegedly while he was in the custody of the police of Lakhipur Police Station, District-Cachar.

(2.) ADMITTEDLY, before approaching this Court the petitioner with the same grievance had moved the Assam Human Rights Commission (for short, hereinafter referred to as 'the Commission') which by its order dated 14.06.2006 rendered in AHRC Case No. 3451/2001 on accepting the report of the Superintendent of Police (Investigation) on the episode, returned a finding that the incident was not only one of fake police encounter but demonstrated as well gross negligence of duty on the part of the police in not providing full protection to the deceased persons (petitioner's son being one of them). The Commission thereby awarded an amount of Rs. 50,000/- each to the next of the kin of the deceased persons by way of interim compensation to be paid by the Home Department, Government of Assam. This amount has since been paid to the petitioner.

(3.) ACCORDING to the petitioner, the plea of death of his son in the crossfire involving PULF extremists and the police is an afterthought and it was a case of brutal cold murder of his son by it (police) while the deceased was in its custody. To the same effect a Memorandum by the local people was submitted before the jurisdictional District Magistrate which was followed by a magisterial enquiry by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (S) Silchar, whereafter, a report was submitted by the aforementioned State authority before the District Magistrate, Cachar, Silchar to the effect that both the deceased had succumbed to the bullet injuries while they were in the company of the police of Lakhipur P.S. in the locality of Panichowki R.H. and that there was no firing from the jungle or the extremists' side resulting in the same (injuries).