JUDGMENT

MOHAN, J.:- The petitioner Khedat Mazdoor Chetna Sangath is a registered Trade Union of Bhil, Bhilala, Mankar and Naik tribals of Alirajpur Tehsil in Jhabua District of Madhya Pradesh. It was started in October 1982. The object was to protest against and prevent the exploitation of the tribals. The construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river narmada is again another issue for which the petitioners association has been fighting for.

2. In the high hills of the Vindhya range, south of Jhabua District, massive deforestation has taken place. This has resulted in degradation and the productivity has reduced. So much so, Jhabua has become chronically drought prone area. This has led to large scale crime, the people being poor wanted to make both ends meet.

3. The petitioners association has fought for access to forest resources which has been denied to them. Today, equally it has taken a crusade against corruption. The Sangath has strengthened the traditional tribals custom of community resolution of disputes through Nyaya Panchayatas, corrupt police officials have been publicly arraigned, departmental enquiries have been instituted on complaints lodged; cases have also been lodged; payment of minimum wages and eight hours working for a day have been secured. Further, the petitioners association demands environmental regeneration; social ameliorative measures like educating them and promoting their culture. Encouragement of knowledge regarding herbal medicines, sponsoring Grain Banks and Co-operative Marketing have been undertaken in a large scale. Such measures have yielded good results.

4. The Sangath is wedded to the adoption of peaceful and constitutional means of mobilisation and protest and constructive developmental work with the aim of building up a strong tribal identity in control both the economy and politics at the local level and capable of contribution creatively to the worldwide struggle for a more sustainable and equal developmental regime. Recently, there have been acts of repressions and police violence and atrocities perpetrated on the members of the petitioners association and local adivasis on 30-10-1992. The Jhabua Collector R.S. Julania, respondent No.2 held a meeting in Kakrana concerning submergence of zone villages. The Collector warned the people that if they persisted in their resistance, the combined might of the State - lathi, gun and pen would be used against them. When the meeting ended, seven activists of Sangath were arrested. Of these, six were brutally beaten in the Alirajpur police station by the S.D.M., Vinod Kumar. On being presented before the magistrate, when a demand was made for medical examination and the injuries being noted, that was denied under police pressure.

5. After the meeting the police started arresting them one by one. This was on the basis of a false FIR registered at police station Sondva. On 12-10-1992 the police officials brutally beat up the members of the petitioner-Organisation in police custody.

6. On 17th November, 1992 the peti-tioner Khemla Aujanharia was arrested by the Alirajpur police who was hand-cuffed and paraded throughout the town by the police. Thereafter the police registered another FIR for effecting the arrest with regard to a rally on 10th November, 1992 in which it was alleged that Khemla was involved. This is false since he was in Kerala on 15th October, 1992 when the alleged incidents are stated to have taken place. In evidence of this the petitioner has annexed a letter of the Executive Director of SHRUTI evidencing Khemlas participation in Kerala between 12th and 17th October 1992. Similar arrests of innocent people have been taking place. For trivial incidents they have been registering FIRs. Most of these are false FIRs. Falsity of these FIRs is evident from the fact that FIR 11 of 1993 regarding incidents of 22nd January had been registered at the instance of Prem Lal Nigam, an official of Narmada Development Authority.

7. On 2nd February,