ANITHA Vs. STATE OF TELANGANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present habeas corpus petition has been filed inter alia on the ground that on 18. 12. 2019 the police has picked up Ms. D. Devendra, D/o. Sommaiah, Ms. M. Swapna, W/o. Devender, and Mr. M. Sandeep, S/o. Yadagiri. Subsequently, their whereabouts are unknown. Therefore, the petitioner claims that they are being illegally confined, and are being kept in police custody in violation of procedure established by law. Therefore, the fundamental rights of the detenues under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is being grossly violated by the respondents.

(2.) By order dated 18. 12. 2019 this Court had directed Mr. S. Santosh Kumar, the learned Special Government Pleader, to produce the detenues on 19. 12. 2019 before this Court. However, on 19. 12. 2019, instead of producing the detenues, the respondents submitted a counter. According to the learned counsel for the respondents, on 19. 12. 2019 upon a report submitted by the Sub-Inspector of Police, Police Station, Cherla, an FIR, namely FIR No. 105 of 2019, was chalked out for offences under Sections 120-B IPC, and Sections 10 , 13 , 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and under Section 8(1)(2) of the Telangana State Public Security Act. Moreover, according to the learned counsel, in the complaint filed by the Sub-Inspector of Police, it was stated that the police had intercepted two persons, namely Mr. Anil Kumar, and Mr. Dasarapu Suresh. Upon the statements given by these two persons, the police had continued the investigation against the detenues. For, these persons had named the detenues as working as courier to the outlawed CPI (Maoist) Telangana State Committee. Furthermore, according to the learned counsel, it is in connection with the said FIR that the detenues were taken into police custody on 18. 12. 2019. They were produced before the concerned judicial officer on 19. 12. 2019. The learned judicial officer has remanded the detenues into judicial custody. Therefore, according to the learned counsel, presently, the three detenues are in judicial custody. Hence, the custody cannot be said to be an illegal one.

(3.) However, on 19. 12. 2019, the learned counsel for the petitioner insisted that whether the detenues have been picked up, and arrested, and taken into police custody legally or illegally would be known only if the detenues were to be produced before this Court. Therefore, this Court directed the learned Special Government Pleader to ensure that the three detenues are produced before this Court on 20. 12. 2019. Consequently, the three detenues have been produced before this Court today.