SUBHANGSU DAS Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ application has been filed for claiming an amount of Rs. 10,00,000 for the torture caused to the son of the petitioner in the police lock-up. There is no denying of the fact that the son of the petitioner Ujjal Das is a mentally retarded youth. The petitioner who is the father of the victim boy is a small grocery shop owner. The victim Ujjal Das at present is aged about 25 years and he is dumb and hearing handicapped. He is a student of Mon Vikas Kendra, an institution for mentally retarded and spastic children. On 2.1.95, Ujjal Das came out from his house and was proceeding towards the shop of his father at Bamuni Maidan at about 8 p.m. The Noonmati police took up this boy when he was going from New Guwahati area and took him to police station and started beating him on some false and baseless charges. The victim sustained multiple injuries with fracture at left tibia and on the right foot. The victim was kept in the lock-up for the whole night and was not even served with any food and water. When the victim started bleeding profusely and was groaning in pain, the police personnel to cover up the entire matter and out of fear took the boy on that night to Mohendra Mohan Civil Hospital at Guwahati where he was checked by a resident surgeon. When the petitioner did not find his son, he searched for him in every possible place, but failed to find him, went to the Noonmati Police Station to lodge an F.I.R. for his missing son and to his utter shock and surprise found his son groaning in pain. When the petitioner asked the police personnel about the cause of arrest and detention of his son in the lock-up the police misbehaved with the petitioner. The police rather asked the petitioner not to highlight this matter and maintain silence. The victim boy, Ujjal Das on being released from Mohendra Mohan Hospital was admitted at a local nursing home at Bamuni Maidan as he did not recover. When X-ray was done at nursing home it was found that there were multiple injuries with fracture of his right foot and fracture shown at left tibia at its proximal. A complaint was lodged before the Superintendent of Police (City), Guwahati highlighting the facts and praying necessary punitive action against the guilty police personnel. Nothing was done. This matter was also highlighted in the local newspapers as well as in the National dailies. Hence, this writ petition for compensation as well as for a direction to the C.B.I, to initiate enquiry.

(2.) This court asked the learned Additional District Judge, Kamrup at Guwahati to make an enquiry directing the Addl. District Judge to give opportunity to all the parties to place their cases and accordingly the enquiry was made. Witnesses were examined and documents were exhibited and on 18.8.1995, the learned Addl. Distt. & Sessions Judge, Kamrup at Guwahati submitted the report. That report elaborately dealt with the matter and his find- ings are as follows: of the enquiry as follows:

(3.) "Lastly, I sum up the findings and result Before I come to the compensation matter, it is necessary to find out what can be done to prevent such things in future. Merely granting compensation itself will not solve the problem as that amount will come from the coffer of the State. It is necessary that the persons responsible for their misdeeds must be made answerable. If they are allowed to go scot free and if compensation burden is thrown on the State Government that does not deliver the message to the officers. The police instead of being an agency for maintaining peace and harmony in the society, cannot convert itself to an agency of torture of innocent citizens. No doubt no system can be perfect, but at least there must be a bona fide attempt for it.