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TMI Blog1971 (11) TMI 173X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd came back he found the cash box missing. Immediately he reported the loss to the Assistant Post Master. It also appears from the affidavit filed on the return made by the appellant Jage Ram that a report of the theft of ₹ 10667/87 belonging to the Postal Department was given on the same day over the telephone, an F.I.R. was issued under Section 380 IPC by the Police Station, City, Karnal. After the City Police had investigated the offence the investigation was handed over to the CIA Karnal under the orders of Superintendent of Police, Karnal on 24-4-68. The Petitioner's father alleged in his Habeas Corpus petition that his son Prem Parkash was interrogated in his house before the case was entrusted to the CIA but nothing incriminating was discovered; that on 5-5-68 at about 5 p.m. he was taken away by ASI Dyal Chand and a foot constable as Prem Parkash was wanted by Shri Jage Ram, Inspector CIA; that Shri Ravinder Mehta the brother-in-law of the accused went to the CIA Staff office at Model Town and found him in their custody, but he was not allowed to meet him that day. The next day on 6-5-68 the father went to the Police Station at Model Town to see him but he was no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Midha coming from a room. They lit the torch and opened the shutters and found Prem Prakash Midha lying on a gunny carpet spread on the floor and saw that his feet were swollen and he had some injuries on his head. The accused told them that he had been called on the 5th May 1968 by Dyal Chand and some constables and was detained in the C.I.A. Staff since then. He was not allowed to move out nor any of his relatives were allowed to see him. He also told them that he had been daily administered beating with a danda by both the respondents. On their enquiry Kashmiri Lal told them that there were no papers relating to enquiry in connection with which the detenu had been detained nor was there any daily diary register maintained in the C.I.A. staff office. In the meantime when another constable Uma Datt in plain clothes reached there he was taken aside by constable Kashmiri Lal who asked him to inform the Respondents i.e. the Inspector and the Asstt. Sub. Inspector about the purpose of their arrival. At about 9.10 p.m. the said constable came and told that he had informed the Respondents and that they would reach soon. At 9.25 p.m. one person in plain clothes came in the courtyard on a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ound them talking with the Duty Magistrate in the gate of his residence. The Court Reader brought the order of the Hon'ble High Court to the notice of the Magistrate and also gave him a copy of the orders as desired by him. Upon this the learned Magistrate ordered the remand of the detenu to the judicial custody upto 13th May 1968 and also directed the Appellant to get him medically examined by the Chief Medical Officer, Karnal. Respondent No. 2 took the detenu to Civil hospital and wanted to get the detenu examined from the Doctor on night duty but on their reaching the hospital and showing the orders of the High Court the Doctor declined to examine and asked the Police and themselves to lake the detenu to the residence of 'the C.M.O. The C.M.O. was awakened during the night at 1.35 a.m. and was shown the orders of the High Court and after going through the same he made an endorsement that he would himself examine the detenu in the morning after looking at the injuries and ordered that the detenu be admitted in the hospital in the night. At 8.45 a.m. on 11-5-68 the C.M.O. himself examined the detenu in their presence and handed over two copies of Medical legal report which ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e entered the compound of the office when a gentleman who informed the deponent that he had come from the High Court asked the deponent to bring Inspector Jage Ram to him. The deponent told that gentleman that the Inspector was on election duty and that the deponent would search him out and bring him. The deponent thereupon went in search of the Inspector on a cycle. The deponent did not hear any call of the reader from behind may be because of the suffering of hard of hearing. The Inspector was found in P.W.D. Rest House at about 10 p.m. and informed him that some gentleman from the High Court had come and wanted to see him. Inspector Jage Ram thereupon left for the office of the C.I.A. Staff. That from the P.W.D. Rest House after informing Inspector Jage Ram of the arrival of the gentleman from the High Court the deponent went to find out whether the duty Magistrate was at his residence. Finding the duty Magistrate at his residence, the deponent came back to the office of C.I.A. Staff where he came to know that the gentleman who had come from the High Court was the Reader of Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jindra Lal and had come with an order of the Hon'ble Judge in the Habeas Corp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... deponent at about 7.30 P.M. and the accused was shortly going to be produced before a Magistrate for purposes of obtaining remand. After about 5 minutes ASI Dial Chand also reached the C.I.A. Office and showed the case diaries and remand papers to the Reader, who signed both of them. At that time the Reader had not given any time underneath his signature. Later on when the remand papers and case diaries were produced before the Magistrate Shri N. K. Jain the Reader again put his signature on the case diary and mentioned the time as 11.15 p.m. underneath. In short both these officers deny the allegations made in the Habeas Corpus petition of the father of the accused. 4. From the affidavits the case of the appellants was that they had not arrested the accused on 5-5-68 as alleged nor had they kept him in their custody without obtaining a lawful order of remand for their custody, but had arrested him only on 10-5-68 at about 12.30 p.m. In so far as the order for remand to their custody from a Judicial Magistrate is concerned it is clear from their statement that It was got only after the High Court's orders for the production of the accused were served on them, though no doubt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... away in spite of the fact that immediately thereafter he recalled him back but he did not return. If as Dayal Chand says that the person who told him that he was from the High Court is true that person would not have failed to disclose the purpose of his visit namely that he had got orders from the High Court. It will be difficult to believe that a Police Officer will merely rush to call Jage Ram without further enquiry if he was merely informed that he had come from the High Court and assume that the purpose of his visit was only Safarash. No police officer would be inclined to be in such a great hurry to rush to call his superior if he merely believed that a gentleman from the High Court was there only for the purpose of 'Safarash' and not on an official duty. If it was however the former and if he was so inclined to send for the officer without ascertaining the purpose for which that gentleman came he would have sent a constable instead of himself rushing to bring Inspector Jage Ram. The haste with which he left the scene even without paying any attention when he was called back indicates that he must have known the purpose why the person from the High Court had come. W ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... en into custody by the Karnal local police on 5th of May 1968, passed on to the C.I.A. staff for investigation and interrogation and was maltreated by the respondents. His arrest had surreptitiously been sworn to have taken place on 10th of May 1968. The affidavits sworn by the Respondents of course denied all accusations had it was maintained that the detenu was called in, on 10th of May 1968 and duly arrested. He had on his person two old injuries that were noted. The allegations that some third degree methods had been employed to illicit confession or information were equally emphatically traversed. Upon hearing counsel at some length and examining the material placed on the record with due care I have no hesitation in finding that the detenu had been taken into custody on some date before the 10th of May and tortured by the Respondents. The examination carried out by the Chief Medical Officer, Karnal Hospital on the morning of 11th May showed that the detenu had on his person injuries more than two. The detenu was in Court and I found him suffering grievously from the after effects cumulatively of those injuries. His version of torture administered by the Respondents at diverse ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... travention of the law or in a high-handed, arbitrary or illegal manner. While no doubt it is the duty of the Court to safeguard against any encroachments on the life and liberty of individuals, at the same time we recognise that the authorities who have the responsibility to discharge their functions vested in them under the law of the country should not be impeded or interfered with, without justification. In furtherance of this duty the High Court passed the orders which in the circumstances of the case was fully justified. There was some comment on the learned Judge directing his reader to contact the petitioner to trace out the accused and also on the oral instructions as appeared from the report to have been given by the learned Judge to take the assistance of Narinder Singh an Assistant in the Criminal Branch because he had been going on such raids previously as indicating that the High Court was directing such raids previously. We are not in a position to say whether this comment is justified because all the information necessary is not available to us, as such we do not wish to draw any inference on this aspect of the case. If the procedure was objected to in the High Court ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r says that Jage Ram was not present in the CIA office when he reached there at about 9 p.m. that he was questioned about the missing cash box and on his showing ignorance was kept under guard who was changing every 3 hours. His hands were raised out and legs stretched out. The Second Respondent remained with him-till about 12 mid night. At about 6 a.m. he was taken to another room and was made to stand in the said posture. On 6.5.68 at about 10 p.m. both Respondent Jage Ram and Dayal Chand came to that room and again interrogated him about the theft. He pleaded innocence and denied that they interrogate other colleagues serving in the Post office. Thereafter he described the manner in which he was tortured on the several days and states what happened on the 10th May 68 when Sadhu Ram Gupta, Narinder Singh and his father and brother-in-law Ravinder Mehta came to him and what he had told them. It appears from the cross-examination of the learned Advocate General that he-was questioned about the theft and later it was put to him that he-was absent between 5th to 10th from Karnal and remained at Chandigarh to get some recommendations for getting the course of investigations changed, w ..... 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