T. Vaiphei, J.

1. This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India filed by the petitioners claiming the following reliefs:

1. To pay adequate compensation to the petitioner No. 2, wife of the under trial prisoner, namely, Late Phomlin Mawlieh, who died on 11-9-1998 at Civil Hospital, Shillong while in judicial custody.

2. To cause an enquiry by an independent and impartial agency as to the cause of death of the said under trial prisoner.

3. To appoint highly qualified Forensic Science Medical Specialist for conducting Post-Mortem Examination on the dead body of the undertrial prisoner and;

4. To constitute State Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Court as required under Sections 21 and 30 of the protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

2. Mr. S.P. Mahanta, the learned Counsel for the petitioner and Mr. A. Sharma, the learned Advocate General of Meghalaya have been heard at length.

3. Though the case was initially registered as Public Interest Litigation, on the petition of the Secretary General, North Eastern Co-ordination Committee and Human Rights. Meghalaya, the writ petition was subsequently amended by making the wife of the deceased as the petitioner No. 2 whereupon by the order dated 16-10-1998 the case was converted into a normal civil rule. It would appear that the matter was also taken up by the National Human Rights Commission which by the proceeding dated 17-10-2004 closed the case on the ground that there was no occasion to proceed further in the matter.

4. The case of the petitioners pleaded in the writ petition is that the deceased, namely, Late Phomlin Mawlieh, aged about 27 years, a resident of Nangsohma village, West Khasi Hills District was summoned by the Village Durbar of Nangsohma Village on 2-9-1998 at 8.30 a.m. in connection with the alleged stealing of six cows belonging to one Shri Tret of Mairang Tynnai Village and that as he was suspected to be involved in the stealing of six cows, the Village Durbar handed over him to the Officer-in-charge Mairang Police Station on 2-9-1998, which took him to the Police Station. According to the petitioner, the deceased, who was married and had two minor children, was in good health without any sign of sickness at the time of his arrest by the police. The brother-in-law of the deceased, namely, Shri Chos Nongllait on 10-9-1998 visited the Mairang Police Station to enquire about the condition of the deceased, but was informed by the 2nd Officer-in-charge of the Police Station that the deceased had been taken to Civil Hospital, Shillong and was also offered financial help by the concerned officer to help the deceased for bail. It is also asserted by the petitioner that on 10-9-1998, when the family members of the deceased visited the Civil Hospital. Shillong, they found that he was in semi-coma condition and were subsequently informed that the deceased had expired on 11-9-1998 at the Civil Hospital. The dead body of the deceased was brought to their village by the family members of the deceased and was buried on 15-9-1998 at Nangsohma under Nongkhlaw Syiemship. The petitioners further asserted that from their enquiry, the deceased was admitted by the Jail authority in Civil Hospital on 4-9-1998 at about 7-7.30 p.m. and that the doctor attended him only on 7-9-1998 and was thus left unattended for two days. The petitioner on 23-9-1998 had applied for certified copies of the First Information Report and the other connected papers. On the basis of these documents, the petitioners were said to have learnt that Mairang Police had registered Mairang PS Case No. 19(9) 98 under Section 379/34, IPC against, the deceased and was accordingly arrested, it is alleged by the petitioner that the deceased was produced before the learned Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mairang Court on 3-9-1998 with a prayer for remanding the deceased to police custody for a period of 48 hours i.e. till 5-9-1998 and that even before the expiry of these 48 hours, the Investigating Offi