This writ petition filed by the petitioner arises from the action taken by the Special Investigation Team headed by the 4th respondent. The team has been constituted by the Government on the basis of the directions issued by this Court in Crl.M.C.No.405/06 dated 10/3/2006. In the words of the petitioner, the prayers in the writ petition and the interim relief are as follows:

"PRAYERS

(i) to issue a writ, order or declaration holding that the raid search and seizure conducted by the Special Investigation Team on 30.9.2006 and 1.10.2006 in the Institution of the petitioner is illegal, void and unconstitutional;

(ii) to direct the 1st respondent and its officers respondents 2 to 4 to pay compensation of Rs. One Crore towards the legal injury and damages caused to the institution and its inmates due to illegal action of the Special Investigation Team;

(iii) to declare that the 4th respondent or the persons conducting investigation under the 4th respondent have no authority or jurisdiction to conduct search and seizure at the Divine Retreat Centre to make out fishy search and enquiry to collect materials to implicate false charges and make false propaganda through the media against the petitioner;

(iv) to issue a writ, order or direction directing the 4th respondent not to publish the photographs/video graphs taken of the inmates of the various institutions especially of females of the Divine Retreat Centre in the course of the search held on

(v) to issue a writ, order or direction directing the 4th respondent to return the medicines and prescription seized from the petitioner in the course of the search held at the Centre on 30/9/2006 and 1/10/2006;

(vi) to issue a writ, order or appropriate direction directing the respondents to ensure that the investigation as directed under Ext.P1 is concluded within a time frame to be stipulated by this Honourable Court;

(vii) to issue such other writ, order or direction as this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case. INTERIM RELIEF For the reasons stated in the writ petition and the affidavit accompanying the same, it is respectfully prayed that this Honourable Court may be pleased to direct the 1st respondent to award interim compensation of Rs.50 lakhs for setting right the injury caused to the Divine Retreat Centre and its inmates on account of the illegal raid, search and seizure, pending disposal of the Writ Petition."

2. Crl.M.C.No.405/06 was initiated by a learned Judge of his Court suo motu on the basis of an anonymous petition received. It is unnecessary to advert to the background in which the learned Judge proceeded to pass the order dated 10/3/2006. What is important is the conclusions and directions that were ultimately issued by the Court. For the sake of convenience, I shall extract below the relevant conclusions and the operative portion of the order dated 10/3/06:

“8. Considering all aspects of the matter, I am of the view that a Special Investigation Team headed by Sri. Vinson M. Paul IPS., Inspector General of Police, who is at present working as the Managing Director of Kerala Police Housing Construction Corporation, Thiruvananthapuram, is to be constituted to conduct investigation of Crime No.381 of 2005 of Koratty Police Station. The other members of the Team will be hand picked by Sri. Vinson M.Paul. The Director General of Police shall make available the services of other officers whom Sri. Vinson M. Paul requires. The Special Investigation Team shall conduct investigation of Crime No.381 of 2005 of Koratty Police Station. It is open to the Special Investigation Team to resort to the scientific methods such as Polygraph Test, Brain mapping, (P.300 test), D.N.A. finger printing etc., while conducting the investigation.

9. Government shall issue a notification under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act conferring power to the Team to investigate the offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act also. The Spec