Back
2004(4) Supreme 460
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
(From Madras High Court)
S. Rajendra Babu, CJI, Dr. AR. Lakshmanan & G.P. Mathur, JJ.
State Rep. by Inspector of Police and Ors. -Appellants
versus
N.M.T. Joy Immaculate -Respondent
Criminal Appeal Nos. 575-576 of 2004
(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) Nos. 3143-3144 of 2002)
Decided on 5-5-2004
Counsel for the Parties :
For the Appellants : Altaf Ahmad, Additional Solicitor General, Subramonium Prasad, Gopalakrishnan R., Abhay Kumar, Advocates.
For the Respondent : Manivannan H., Balaji Srinivasan, V. Sudeer, M.B.R.S. Raju, Ms. S. Sunita and S. Srinivasan, Advocates.
Held : Section 167 Cr.P.C. empowers a Judicial Magistrate to authorise the detention of an accused in the custody of police. Section 209 Cr.P.C. confers power upon a Magistrate to remand an accused to custody until the case has been committed to the Court of Sessions and also until the conclusion of the trial. Section 309 Cr.P.C. confers power upon a Court to remand an accused to custody after taking cognizance of an offence or during commencement of trial when it finds it necessary to adjourn the enquiry or trial. The order of remand has no bearing on the proceedings of the trial itself nor it can have any effect on the ultimate decision of the case. If an order of remand is found to be illegal, it cannot result in acquittal of the accused or in termination of proceedings. A remand order cannot affect the progress of the trial or its decision in any manner. Therefore, applying the test laid down in Madhu Limaye s case (supra), it cannot be categorised even as an "intermediate order". The order is, therefore, a pure and simple interlocutory order and in view of the bar created by sub-section (2) of Section 397 Cr.P.C., a revision against the said order is not maintainable. The High Court, therefore, erred in entertaining the revision against the order dated 6.11.2001 of the Metropolitan Magistrate granting police custody of the accused Joy Immaculate for one day. (Para 13)
The High Court has also recorded a finding that the investigation conducted by P-1 and P-4 Police with regard to accused Joy Immaculate is not bona fide and false records have been created to implicate her causing her serious injustice and further that she was detained in the police station for four days and was harassed and tortured by the police personnel. It is needless to mention that the High Court was hearing a criminal revision petition filed under Section 397 Cr.P.C. against an order passed by a Metropolitan Magistrate granting police custody of the accused. The scope of the revision, even if it is assumed to be maintainable, was a limited one, viz., whether the order granting police gard to the material placed before the learned Magistrate. The High Court at that stage could not have gone into the merits of the prosecution case as if hearing an appeal against an order of conviction or acquittal as the trial of the accused is yet to begin. The only material available before the High Court was the affidavit filed by the accused, copies of telegrams and the reply affidavits filed by the concerned police officials. The affidavit of the accused has been accepted as a gospel truth and very disparaging and strong remarks have been made against the investigating officers and the investigation done by them. Though we do not want to express any opinion, one way or the other, but at the same time one should not lose sight of the fact that a person who has been accused by the prosecution for having entered into a conspiracy to commit murder, can go to any extent in making wild allegations against the concerned police authorities. The High Court lost sight of the fact that much before the accused Joy Immaculate claims to have been interrogated in the police station (20th October, 2001 and subsequently) and the police came into picture, the brother of the deceased had filed a Habeas Corpus Petition in the High Court on 15.10.2001, wherein she and her sister Miss Nithya had been arrayed as respondents and serious allegations had been made against them and in para 12 it was specifically alleged that these two sisters along with Sathish had illegally detained Rizwan Sait (deceased). The alleged ill treatment meted out to her subsequently by the police cannot have the effect of wiping out the crime committed earlier viz. entering into a conspiracy and thereafter murder of Rizwan Sait on 9th October. The High Court seems to have been very much swayed by the fact that she was a student and was studying in M.A. and like all normal students must be totally devoted to studies. But the statements of witnesses under section 161 Cr.P.C. show that the mother and sister Nithya of accused Joy Immaculate were also carrying on business, that both the sisters borrowed money from Rizwan Sait and that the interest amount had not been timely paid due to which some altercation took place on 4th October when Rizwan Sait used some filthy language against her that if by a particular date the amount was not paid she should come and sleep with him. However, these are all factual aspects of the case which have to be examined by the trial court at the appropriate stage after parties have adduced evidence. (Para 16)
(ii) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973-Section 167-Police remand-Challenged as illegal-Serious allegations against police personnel to the effect that she was interrogated and detained at police station-High Court held that the order granting police custody in respect of petitioner is ex facie illegal-Consequently, it was held that confession made and alleged recovery has no evidentiary value-Whether order of High Court is sustainable-(No)-Effect of confession and also the recovery at the pointing out of the accused has to be examined strictly in accordance with provisions of the Evidence Act.
Held : The High Court after holding that the order granting police custody is ex-facie illegal has further held that the so-called confession and alleged recovery has no evidentiary value. It has also been held that the investigation conducted by P-1 and P-4 Police with reference to the accused is not bona fide and false records have been created to implicate the accused. The question then arises whether the High Court was right in making the aforesaid observations, even if it is assumed that the order dated 6.11.2001 granting police custody was illegal (though we have held above that the aforesaid order being a purely interlocutory order, no revision lay against the same and the High Court committed manifest error of law in entertaining the revision and setting aside the said order). The admissibility or otherwise of a piece of evidence has to be judged having regard to the provisions of the Evidence Act. The Evidence Act or the Code of Criminal Procedure or for that matter any other law in India does not exclude relevant evidence on the ground that it was obtained under an illegal search and seizure. (Para 14)
This being the law, the direction (b) given by the High Court that the confession and alleged recovery has no evidentiary value is clearly illegal and has to be set aside. The effect of the confession and also the recovery of the incriminating article at the pointing out of the accused has to be examined strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Evidence Act. (Para 15)
(iii) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973-Sections 167 and 397-Police remand-Allegations of illegal detention in police stations and police personnel committing acts of molestation, obscene violation etc.-Award of compensation to accused relying on her affidavit-Whether justified-(No)-No justification for awarding compensation to a person who is facing prosecution for a serious offence like murder even before the trial has commenced.
Held : The High Court has also awarded Rs. 1 lakh as compensation to the accused on the ground that she was illegally detained in the police station and the police personnel committed acts of molestation, obscene violation etc. It is noteworthy that after investigation, police has submitted charge sheet against accused Joy Immaculate. Her application for bail was rejected by the learned Sessions Judge and thereafter by the High Court on 18.1.2002 prior to the decision of the revision. There is absolutely no justification for awarding compensation to a person who is facing prosecution for a serious offence like murder even before the trial has commenced. This direction, therefore, deserves to be set aside. (Para 18)
JUDGMENT
G.P. Mathur, J.-Leave granted.
2. These appeals have been preferred by the State of Tamil Nadu against the judgment and order dated 11.4.2002 of a learned Single Judge of the High Court of Madras by which the criminal revision petition preferred by the respondent N.M.T. Joy Immaculate was allowed and the revision was disposed of with certain directions.
3. A written FIR was lodged at P.S. P1-Puliyanthope on 9.10.2001 by one Jaffar Sait alleging that his brother Rizwan Sait was missing since around 9.00 a.m. on 7.10.2001 and on the basis of same a case was registered. On 15.10.2001 Haroon Sait (brother of Rizwan Sait) filed a Habeas Corpus Petition in the High Court of Madras being H.C.P. No. 1458 of 2001, wherein besides the State and Inspector of Police, P.S. P1-Puliyanthope, R. Sathish, Miss Joy Immaculate and Miss Nithya were arrayed as respondents No. 3 to 5 and a prayer was made that a writ of habeas corpus be issued directing the respondents to produce his brother Rizwan Sait, who is illegally detained by respondents No.3 to 5 and to set him at liberty. It was averred in the writ petition that Rizwan Sait lends money on interest to various businessmen including the shopping business complex of Spencers Plaza, Chennai. Respondents No.3 to 5 and their friends, namely, Vijay and Ranjit had taken money from Rizwan Sait. Miss Joy Immaculate had conducted a fashion show at Music Academy and in that connection she had borrowed more than Rs. 50,000/- and her sister Miss Nithya, who was running a business in the name and style of Fashion World at Spencers Plaza, had also borrowed a sum Rs. 65,000/. Joy Immaculate and her sister Nithya did not repay the interest and when Rizwan Sait went to the latter s shop, R. Sathish undertook to clear off their dues. At about 9.00 a.m. on 7.10.2001 R. Sathish came to the writ petitioner s house and thereafter his brother Rizwan Sait left along with him in a Maruti car. While leaving, he had said that he was going to Chittur (A.P.) and would return back in the night. However, as Rizwan Sait did not come back till the morning of 8.10.2001, they started looking for him and went to the shop of Nithya and asked her to give the address of R. Sathish, which she refused to do. However, in the morning of 9.10.2001, R. Sathish himself came to their house and said that their programme of going to Chittur was cancelled and accordingly Rizwan Sait had returned back to his house on the morning of 7.10.2001 itself. A photocopy of a cheque for a sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- dated 2.9.2001 issued by Miss Nithya was found in the cupboard of Rizwan Sait. In the Habeas Corpus Petition Haroon Sait raised a suspicion that respondents No.3 to 5 have done some foul play with his brother who had advanced money to them.
4. An unidentified dead body was found at Kanagavallipuram and on the report of Village Administrative Officer a case was registered with the concerned police station. After autopsy in the Government Hospital, Tiruvellore, the dead body was buried. One Deva @ Dev Raj was arrested by Inspector of P1-Puliyanthope Police Station. He confessed to the police about the commission of crime and showed the place where Rizwan Sait was murdered. It was thereafter ascertained that the unidentified dead body found on 10.10.2001 at Tiruvellore Taluka was that of Rizwan Sait. Thereafter, the case registered on 9.10.2001 at P.S. P1-Puliyanthope was altered to Section 363, 302 IPC. Dev Raj was remanded to judicial custody on 23.10.2001. Joy Immaculate surrendered in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Alandhur, Chennai on 24.10.2001 and was remanded to judicial custody and R. Sathish surrendered before XXIII Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidpet, Chennai on 25.10.2001. The Investigating Officer made an application before the concerned Magistrate on 31.10.2001 for giving Sathish on police remand. This application was allowed and the learned Metropolitan Magistrate vide his order dated 1.11.2001 granted police remand of accused Sa
The main legal point established in the judgment is the binding effect of the settlement between the parties, the waiver of the right to seek re-employment by the workmen, and the entitlement of the ....
A lockout is justified if it is declared in response to an illegal strike or a strike that is in breach of a settlement or award.
The combination of eyewitness testimonies, recovery of the weapon used, and forensic examination results can establish guilt in criminal cases, even based on circumstantial evidence.
The conviction of an accused person under Section 27(3) of the Arms Act is not permissible in law if the accused is also charged with committing murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
The court can enhance compensation based on the deceased's income and family dependency, and adjust the multiplier used by the Tribunal if found unjustified.
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
