PHULO BALA DAS Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. B. C. Pathak, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. D. C. Chakraborty, learned Central Govt. Counsel (for short 'CGC') appearing for the Union of India-Army/Respondent Nos. 1 to 3 and Mr. H. K. Mahanta, learned State counsel appearing for the State Respondents.

(2.) By means of this writ petition presented under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner, the mother of the deceased Late Rubul Pal Das who was alleged to have been killed by the Army, has basically sought for a writ of Mandamus with a direction to the respondents to pay, as a compensation, a sum of Rs. 3,00,000 (Rupees three lacs) only to her for the death of her son in custody of the Army.

(3.) The brief facts of the case, as emerged from the pleadings of the parties, are that the petitioner's son Late Rubul Pal Das, at the relevant time, was a student of Tamulpur Commerce College and preparing for his final examination of 1st paper Degree Course. He was actively associated with the activities relating to the students welfare as he was the former General Secretary of the said college. On the fateful night, i.e., on 24-12-97, while her son went to participate in the celebration of "Nam-Party", a religious discourse and singing of religious songs, in the house of one Shri Chandra Das alias Chandra Patowary of village Gandhibari, a neighbouring village of the petitioner, a group of armymen numbering 12/14 belonging to JEKLI Regiment, camping at nearby Gandhibari village, suddenly arrived there and picked up the petitioner's son. Thereafter, in the wee hours of 25-12-97, the Army handed over the dead body of the petitioner's son to the Tamulpur Police Station. The dead body, after post-mortem, was handed over to the family members for cremation on 26-12-97.