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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
S. Ratnavel Pandian and K. J(Jyachandra
Reddy, JJ.
Sunil Gupta & Ors. - sPetitioners
versus
State of M. P. and Ors. - Respondents
Writ petition (Crl.) No. 277-80/1989
Decided on 2-5-1990
IMPORTANT POINT
Conduct of the escort Police in handcuffing the Prisoners without any justification is condemned by Supreme Court.
Headnote:(i) HANDCUFFING - Conduct of the escort police in handcuffing the prisoners without any justification condemned – Courts disapproval of unjustifiable handcuffing Judicial decisions.
(Para 21)
(ii) HANDCUFFING- Madhya Pradesh Police Regulations - Para 465 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Section 186 - Prosecution for the offence- Petitioners, Social workers staged a 'dharna' for public cause and voluntarily submitted themselves for arrest - Complaint of handcuffing of these persons while being taken from the Court to the jail and from jail to the Court - The escort party neither got instructions nor obtained any orders in writing from the Magistrate or the Jail Superintendent in this regard - Plea of justification not supported by sufficient material on record - The state Government is directed to take appropriate action against the erring escort party for having unjustly and unreasonably handcuffing these petitioners - With regard to claim for compensation, it is open to the Petitioners to take appropriate action against the erring officials in accordance with law.
Held: That the petitioners are educated persons and selflessly devoting their service to the public cause. They are not the persons who have got tendency to escape from the jail custody. In fact, the petitioners 1 and 2 even refused to come out on bail, but chose to continue in. prison for a public cause. The offence for which they were tried and convicted under Section 186 of Indian Pena; Code is only a bailable offence. Even assuming that they objected public servants in discharge of their public functions during the 'dharna' or raised any slogan inside or outside the Court, that would not be sufficient cause to handcuff them. Further, there was no reason for handcuffing them while taking them to Court from jail on 22.4.1989. One should not lose sight of the fact that when a person is remanded by a judicial order by a competent Court, that person comes within the judicial custody of the Court. Therefore, the taking of a person from a prison to the Court or bark from Court to the prison by the escort party is only under the judicial orders of the Court. Therefore, even if extreme circumstances necessitate the escort party to bind the prisoners in fetters, the escort party should record the reasons for doing so in writing and intimate the Court so that the Court considering the circumstances either approve or disapprove the action of the escort party and issue necessary directions. It is most painful to note that the petitioners 1 and 2 who staged a 'dharna' for public cause and voluntarily submitted themselves for arrest and who had no tendency to escape had been subjected to humiliation by being handcuffed which act of the escort party is against all norms of decency and which is in uttar violation of the principle underlying Article 21 of the Constitution of India. So we strongly condemn this kind of conduct of the escort party arbitrarily arid unreasonably humiliating the citizens of the country with obvious motive of pleasing some-one. (Para 22)
Result: Order accordingly.
JUDGMENT
S. RATNAVEL PANDIAN, J. - Two important questions arising for consideration in the above matter are:
Whether the petitioners 1 and 2 have been illegally detained from 21.5.1989 to 1.8.1989 without any order of remand ?
Whether the petitioners 1 to 3 on being arrested were subjected to torture and treated in a degrading and inhuman manner by handcuffing and parading them through the public thorough fare during transit to the Court in utter disregard to the judicial mandates declared in a number of decisions of this Court and whether they are entitled for compensation?
2. The salient and material facts as set out in the Writ Petitions are as follows:
The petitioners are social workers and Members of 'Kisan Adivasi Sangathan', Kesala. The said 'sangathan' is actively working against all kinds of exploitation purported against the local fanners and tribal people in the district of Hoshangabad. In villages of Morpani and Madikhoh of Hoshangabad District there was only one school teacher employed in the Morpani school. The teacher was not attending the school for the last one and half years. Inspite of several complaints lodged against the teacher, the authorities did not pay any attention in this regard. Therefore on 27/ 28.7.1988, the petitioners 1 to 3 along with a large number of tribal women and children staged a peaceful 'dharna' in front of the office of Block Education Officer, Kesala demanding appointment of two regular teachers in the schools located in tribal hamlets. The Assistant District Inspector of Schools gave an assurance in writing stating that he would make enquiries and initiate action in this regard. But to the petitioners' dismay, the local police initiated criminal proceedings against the petitioners 1 to 3 and one old Adivasi widow aged about 65 years who was not paid her wages by the said teacher, for an offence punishable under Section 186 I.P.C. on the allegations that the petitioners and the Adivasi woman have obstructed public servants in discharge of their public functions. In connection with the said criminal proceeding, the petitioners were arrested, abused, beaten and taken to the Court of 1st Class Judicial Magistrate, Hoshangabad by handcuffing them. It seems that the petitioners when questioned refused to tender apology or repent for their conduct but tried to justify their fiction of having staged the dharna for a legitimate cause. The Magistrate convicted the petitioners l to 3 and sentenced them to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one month while acquitting the woman. It is stated that even after the pronouncement of the judgment, the police once again abused them, made obscene gestures, beat and took them to the penitentiary handcuffed. The fourth petitioner was arrested in connection with the peaceful dharna on 25.11.1987 before the office of the Block Education Officer, Kesala and put behind the bars. A warrant was said to have been issued against the second petitioner directing him to appear before the Magistrate on 8.5.1989 in connection with some other false case. According to the petitioners, they all were working for the welfare of the weaker Sections and down-trodden people in a peaceful manner but they were inhumanly treated against all norms of decency by the police in utter disregard of the repeated and consistent mandates of this Court and in utter violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14,19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Thereafter, the petitioners filed Criminal Miscellaneous Petition Nos. 2821-24 of 1989 in the above writ petitions for impleading the Superintendent. District Jail and the 1st class Magistrate, Hosangabad as additional respondents and to treat the additional facts as part of the main writ petitions. The additional facts are as follows:
3. The petitioners 1 and 2, namely, Sunil Gupta and Raj Narain though have served their one month imprisonment from 22.4.1989 to 21.5.1989 they were not released from the jail but
