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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN, J.
Devipriya (Minor), D/o. Jayachandran G. - Appellant
Versus
State Of Kerala - Respondent
WP(C) No. 25850 of 2021
Decided on : 22-12-2021
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 - Section 75 - Kerala Police Act, 2011 - Section 113 - Article 21 - Public Law Doctrine - Claiming compensation - Concept of “cruelty” - Statutes, Rules and Regulations - Psychological trauma - Exemplary action - Seeking direction to respondents who are State of Kerala and State Police Chief respectively, to take “exemplary action” against fourth respondent for violating her fundamental rights; and for a further direction to the first respondent to pay an amount of Rs.50 lakhs under the doctrine of “Public Law remedy”, for tortious acts of said respondent - Also seeks that this Court direct second respondent - State Police Chief, to take further action on the recommendations made by Kerala State Child Rights Commission and a larger compensation under Civil Law remedies, through a competent Court/Forum - Whether this is sufficient, particularly in view of afore observations of this Court and the binding precedents of Honourable Supreme Court - “the allegation that the petitioner started crying after intimidation of the fourth respondent is incorrect and baseless” (sic.) and further that “crowd had gathered only after the phone was found from the car. Then public began to ridicule the fourth respondent and in that noisy situation the petitioner started crying - petitioner - is a radiant, cherubic little girl of 8 years, with dreams of magical things, like stardust glistening on fairies wings, as any girl of her age.
Finding of the Court: If at all any jurisdictional Court would find that there is any violation of any of laws has been committed by Pink Police Officer, petitioner has every right to avail remedies available under Public Law.” It is not so and that a proper disciplinary action will have to be taken against 4th respondent - of course, with full liberty being given to her to defend same in terms of law - because this is the least the Supervisory Officers should have done, after having found, without doubt, that she has acted contrary to essential requirements of her duties as a Police Officer, so as to maintain the high standards and discipline required of the Force - as a routine norm, direct any action to remove her from employment or such other, since what is now necessary for the petitioner is not be unwittingly or otherwise drawn into ‘eye for an eye’ or ‘teeth for teeth’ lex talionis revenge or retribution; but that she obtains a closure to her trauma, which she unfortunately had to go through - “Pink Police” is certainly a revolutionary concept, intended for the support and protection of women and children, particularly of the weaker strata; and had 4th respondent been aware of this, as also great responsibility which she carried of being a member of such Force, she would certainly have not acted in the manner she had, at least with little Devipriya. I can only rue she did not weigh consequences of her conduct on little Devipriya, which could have been certainly avoided, had she consoled her, putting an arm around her shoulder at that time, saying a word as simple as ‘sorry’ - Court cannot accede to this, even while recognising that trauma suffered by little Devipriya is immeasurable; because when it is to be estimated in pecuniary terms, this Court will have to keep in mind certain basic parameters. Court view that afore amount as compensation under Public Law Doctrine would subserve justice substantially, if not fully - Direct the competent Supervisory Authority, be that District Police Chief or such other, to consider initiation of necessary disciplinary action against 4th respondent, after following due procedure and affording her all necessary opportunity of being heard, as per the applicable Statutes, Rules and Regulations - Direction issued.
Result: Writ Petition disposed of.
JUDGMENT :
Devipriya - the petitioner-is a radiant, cherubic little girl of 8 years, with dreams of magical things, like stardust glistening on fairies wings, as any girl of her age.
2. She must have heard of the huge leviathan machine that started from Maharashtra a year ago to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thiruvananthapuram, riding on a truck with 74 tyres, travelling a mere 5 kilometres a day, through four States, with the help of 32 dedicated personnel to guide its travel.
3. It certainly is a sight to see, with the machine -called “Aerospace Autoclave,” weighing 70 tonnes, having a height of about 7.5 metres and width of 6.65 metres - trudging along with the speed of less than a tortoise; the power lines and tree branches across the road being disconnected and chopped to enable the truck to pass.
4. The little girl reached Attingal along with her father, Sri.Jayachandran G., to see the truck passed by, but in a few minutes thereafter, she found the fourth respondent, who is a Police officer in uniform, confront her father to ask him if he had stolen her mobile phone from the “Pink Patrol” police car parked nearby. The pleadings show that the father immediately said “no”, but that the police officer persisted and demanded from the petitioner whether her father had given the “stolen” phone to her.
5. Little Devipriya was caught unawares by the abrupt turn of events and indubitably terrified by the accusation, began to cry in helpless despair and fear - the pleadings say. The scenario transpires to have continued with gusto and the petitioner and her father apparently being stopped from leaving and threatened to be taken to the police station by the fourth respondent unless her “stolen” phone is returned; when, fortunately, another police officer called into the phone number of the said respondent, to hear its faint ring from inside the patrol car itself.
6. This changed everything.
7. Citizens and onlookers gathered and began to question the fourth respondent, who, it appears, continued to justify herself saying that the petitioner's father must have thrown the “stolen phone” into the car when he became sure to be caught.
8. As if by the hand of destiny, someone videographed the whole incident in his mobile phone and this became projected into the public attention and consciousness, though social and mainstream media, which then spurred the jurisdictional statutory Authorities to act almost immediately.
9. The materials on record would indicate that, finding the fourth respondent to have acted not in conformity with the requirements of a police officer, she was transferred from the “Pink Patrol” Unit to the District Crime Records Bureau, Kollam, based on an enquiry report dated 28.08.2021, settled by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.S.P).
10. However, being extremely shaken and under rage of being humiliated, the petitioner's father approached various Authorities, including the Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; the Kerala State Child Rights Commission and the Police Complaints Authority. It transpires that the first among the afore two Commissions made specific recommendations against the fourth respondent, including to remove her from active police duty and to initiate action against her under the provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (for short 'JJ Act'), through Exts.P5 and P6 reports.
11. The petitioner alleges that, however, no further action has been taken against the fourth respondent and that the pattern noticed would demonstrate that said respondent is being supported by the Police Department and the other official respondents.
12. It is in such scenario that Devipriya has approached this Court seeking a direction to respondents 1 and 2, who are State of Kerala and the State Police Chief respectively, to take “exemplary action” against the fourth respondent for violating her fundamental rights; and for a further direction to the first resp
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