The main legal point established in the judgment is the need to protect human dignity and exercise appropriate orders to limit the powers of law enforcement agencies in cases of illegal custody, inhuman torture, and outrage of modesty, especially on women.

COMMON ORDER

John Joseph and others, who are arrayed as accused in Crime No.917 of 1997 on the file of the Kuzhithurai Police Station, filed writ petitions in W.P.No.15595 of 1997 seeking to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents 1 and 2 to entrust the investigation in the above crime number to some other police official and W.P.Nos.1569, 1570 and 4283 of 1998 seeking to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus for quashing of the charge sheet taken on file for the offences under Sections 366 read with 511, 376, 376 read with 511, 201, 302, 312 and 506(ii) I.P.C. and for directing for impartial investigation by the C.B.I., as the investigation done by the respondent-local police was mala fide.

2. Besides these writ petitions, John Joseph filed another writ petition in W.P. No.15596 of 1997 seeking to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the State of Tamil Nadu, the first respondent, to conduct enquiry into the conduct of the respondents 8 to 11, viz., Premkumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Special Branch, Nagercoil, Panneerselvam, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Nagerkoil Town, Sailesh Yadav, Joint Superintendent of Police, Thuckalay and Kaliyamoorthy, Inspector of Police and other police officials in the act of torture and inhuman treatment committed on the persons arrested in Crime No. 917 of 1997 on the file of the Kuzhithurai Police Station and to prosecute them in accordance with law.

3. Seeking for the similar relief, one Nirmala and her son T.Darwin filed W.P.No.18995 of 1997 for the issue of a Writ of Mandamus directing the first respondent to take action against the respondents 4 to 7, the police officials and another for the illegal acts of torture committed by them and to punish them in accordance with law.

4. The parents of one Gilbert Raj, the deceased, filed a writ petition in W.P.No.1285 of 1998 seeking to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to hand over the remains of Gilbert Raj to them for burial in accordance with Christian rites.

5. According to the respondents, a case was registered in Crime No.917/97 on the complaint of one Tmt.Franciscal Jeya on 5.9.1987 for the offences under Sections 366 read with 511, 376, 376 read with 511, 201, 302, 312 and 506(ii) I.P.C. against the petitioner and others. As per the complaint, the complainantÕs husband Joseph Alphones was working as a Managing Trustee of the Trust called Charismatic Centre, Marthandam of which John Joseph is the actual administrator of the Trust. The complainantÕs daughter Dayana was admitted in the hostel at the Charismatic Centre for education. John Joseph one day attempted to commit rape on her. Then, she escaped from the hostel and informed her parents. When John Joseph was questioned by the parents, they were threatened that they would be done away with. One Gilbert Raj aged about 18 years working in the Charismatic Centre was earlier beaten to death by John Joseph and other accused, inmates of the Centre, for having refused to do certain illegal acts. The investigation conducted on the above complaint disclosed that there was an attempt to commit rape by John Joseph (A1) on Dayana and he also forced the young boys to have sexual intercourse with one Rani (A4) and when the said Gilbert Raj refused to do the same, he was beaten to death. Then, the body was buried inside the Ashram.

6. The main point urged by the counsel for the petitioners for directing for the fresh investigation by the C.B.I. or some other independent agency is that the entire investigation was mala fide and since the loan amounts obtained by Charismatic Centre run by A1 from the Banks were not repaid in time, a false complaint has been filed against the petitioners at the instance of the Bank officials and thereby, they have been falsely implicated in a serious case. It is further contended that the accused were arrested on 4.9.1997 itself by the respondents police and they were taken to the different police stations and beaten brutally an