JUDGMENT

K. Ramaswamy J. - The facts in these cases bring to focus the mixed blend of efficacy of pragmatic procedure under s. 32; absolute disregard for truth; rank indiscipline among the so-called discipline police force, despite scientific advancement persistence of crude methods of investigation; depraved conduct of the official to forge signatures of higher official an the complicity of persons who moved this Court callously compromise with the officials to speak contrary to the facts placed before the ,Court. A practicing Advocate is no exception. He had sworn to an affidavit but not even slightest hesitation to make a somersault and deny his averments made in the sworn affidavit filed in this Court. These disturbing trends cause not only a deep anguish to this Court of the degeneration in the moral and official conduct but also feel difficult to place absolute reliance on affidavit evidence placed on record.

2. The objective report of Mr. Kalyan Rudra, Director-General of Police, Haryana, and his affidavit dated November 2, 1993 filed pursuant the directions of this Court dated November 2, 1993 and the report of D.R. Aneja, the learned District Judge, Faridabad, submitted pursuant to the orders of this Court dated December 8, 1993, do establish the fulcurm of the charge made in these writ petitions. Rahim Khan, father of Afzal is an accused of the offences of forgery of railway receipts, fruad, cheating and misappropriation of railway property. Two FIRs were registered against Rahim Khan in the police station at Ambala. He is a resident of House No. 58-275-B, Mehrab Ka Nagla, Sarai Khaja, Agra. Inspector Mohd. Ishaq of G.R.P. (CIA),- Ambala Cantonment Police Station, Ranbir Singh (ASI), S.H.O. Constable Ram Kumar and other police party had gone to the house of Rahim Khan at 11.00 a.m. on October 12, 1993, without either any assistance of the local Agra Police, or recording in daily register of any of the police stations in Agra or even recording any Search Memo, and raided his house and found him to be absconding. His wife Smt. Munni Begum and the mother of the first petitioner-Afzal, had given evasive replies of the whereabouts of Rahim Khan. Inspector Mohd. Ishaq had picked up Afzal and Habib, son of Ahmed Khan, both minors, took them to Ambala and kept them in wrongful confinement as a condition for surrender of Rahim Khan. Munni Begum sought and Ismail Khan, practicing advocate, Agra, had assisted her and went to Ambala and met the Inspector Mohd. Ishaq in the police station and found the petitioners in his custody in Ambala cantonment police station. His pleading for their release met with defiance and the later insisted surrender of Rahim Khan, as a condition for release of them.

3. This Court by proceedings dated October 29, 1993 on writ petitions under Art. 32 for Habeas Corpus issued notice by usual mode and by dasti service to the standing counsel and directed to post the cases on November 1, 1993 on which date this Court directed the Home Secretary of Haryana, to examine the complaint of illegal detention of the petitioners and to submit a report by November 5, 1993. On mention by the counsel for the State of Haryana of non-availability of Home Secretary, on November 2, 1993 modified the order and directed the Director-General of Police to make the investigation and file the report by November 5, 1993. As already stated in the affidavit filed by Mr. Kalyan Ructra, DGP, he has stated that Inspector Mohd. Ishaq had taken the petitions into the custody and he wrongfully confined them at different places between October 13, 1993 to October 30, 1993. On the night of October 31, 1993, the police party dispatched them to their residence in Agra. These facts further got affirmed from the evidence recorded by the District Judge and the report dated January 29, 1994, thus :

"Viewed in totality, there can be no escape from the conclusion that two children had been picked up on 12.10.1993 from Agra by the police raid par