Point of law: Custodial violence in Jail - Case transferred to CBI for investigation under.

JUDGMENT :

1. Walls of prison, howsoever high they may be, the foundation of a prison is laid on the Rule of Law ensuring the rights to its inmates enshrined in the Constitution of India. It is the violation of these Constitutional rights of Ankit Gujjar, who lost his life to custodial violence in Tihar Jail, which has compelled the petitioners Geeta, Shivani and Ankul, the mother, sister and brother of deceased Ankit Gujjar to file the present writ petition. The petitioners have impleaded State, Government of NCT of Delhi, Delhi Police through its Commissioner, Union of India through its Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) through its Director as respondent Nos.1 to 4 respectively inter alia seeking a writ of mandamus directing respondent No.4/CBI to take over the investigation of FIR No.451/2021 registered at PS Hari Nagar, Delhi from respondent No.2 and to provide adequate protection to the petitioners.

2. According to the petitioners, Ankit Gujjar was lodged in Central Jail No.3, Tihar Prison Complex as an under trial prisoner who was brutally beaten by the officials of Tihar Prisons on the intervening night of 3rd/4th August, 2021 and despite repeated PCR calls and messages neither was any effort made to save Ankit nor complaint lodged nor FIR registered nor any evidence collected. Rather a counter affidavit was registered on the complaint of Jail officials against Ankit. FIR on the death of Ankit Gujjar in Tihar Jail which was caused due to multiple blunt injuries was registered only on the intervention of the learned Metropolitan Magistrate under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. According to the petitioners the deceased was long being harassed by the officials of the Tihar Jail as he was unable to meet the regularly increasing demands of money made by them. Though the FIR was registered on the complaint of the petitioners however, the proceedings noted along with the FIR clearly showed that despite repeated complaints when the deceased was alive no effort was made to save him, to provide him medical treatment and even after his death effort was made to support the FIR registered against the deceased. Even in the FIR registered pursuant to the directions of the learned Metropolitan Magistrate Sections 302/323/341/34 IPC have only been invoked despite ample material on record that there was a systematic destruction of evidence and extortion being carried out by the jail officials, hence the investigation be transferred to CBI at the earliest so that valuable evidence which can be collected is not lost and the inmates of the prison who are the eye witness can depose in a fair and free manner.

3. When this petition came up before this Court on 18th August, 2021 this Court while issuing notice directed a status report to be filed under the signatures of the Director General, Prisons on behalf of respondent No.1 and under the signatures of the Joint Commissioner of Police concerned on behalf of respondent No.2. The Director General, Prisons was also directed to preserve all the CCTV footages which have a bearing on the incident, that is, prior to the incident, at the time of incident and thereafter. Status reports have been filed by the Director General, Prisons as also the Joint Commissioner of Police, Western Range, the senior and the supervisory officer of the investigation being conducted by PS Hari Nagar in the above-noted FIR.

4. As per the status report filed by the Director General, Prisons the deceased inmate Ankit @ Gujjar s/o Vikram Singh was initially admitted in Central Jail No.4 in the year 2015 in FIR No.190/2015 under Sections 302/307/356/394 IPC at PS Sonia Vihar and was released from Jail on 13th December, 2017 wherefter he was admitted in Central Jail No.2 on 18th August, 2020 from where he was shifted to Central Jail No.4 on 2nd September, 2020 and thereafter to Central Jail No.3 on 17February, 2021. It is stated that the deceased was facing trial in as many as 13 cases reg