(Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of Writ of Certiorari to call for the records in the impugned proceedings of the first respondent in SHRC.No.4325/2005 dated 7.9.2006 and quash the same.)

K. Chandru, J.

This writ petition is a classic case of a member of the Uniformed Services (the petitioner herein), at the behest of certain vested interests had caused grievous injury to a journalist and later, hauled up before the State Human Rights Commission [for short, 'SHRC']. The SHRC, after a proper trial, found the charges proved and ordered a compensation of Rs.25,000/- to be paid to the journalist (the husband of the second respondent herein), whose human rights were blatantly abused at the hands of the writ petitioner.

2. Little the writ petitioner realised that his duty was to protect the freedom of human beings of this country and not to act as a private agent of certain vested interests. In the name of discharging his duties, he has completely forgotten the constitutional values, which were evolved over the years in our war struggle against colonialism. The long way that we took to achieve our freedom was beautifully expressed by James Weldon Johnson, a black bard, who himself was a freedom fighter, in the following poem written by him:-

"Stony the road we trod

Bitter the chastening rod

Felt in the days

When hope unborn had died. (Yes)

Yet with a steady beat,

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place

For which our fathers sighed ?

We have come over a way

That with tears has been watered. (Well)

We have come treading our paths

Through the blood of the slaughtered.

Out from the gloomy past,

Till now we stand at last (Yes)

Where the bright gleam

Of our bright star is cast."

3. The facts leading to the present writ petition are summarised as follows:-

The second respondent's husband Shanmugam was an Editor and publisher of a Tamil monthly called 'Kannottam'. He was running that magazine for the last five years and he had a standing as a journalist for over 15 years. The magazine, which was confined to the local area (i.e., Vaniyambadi, Ambur and Thiruppur), by its various reports, brought anger of several persons, who took a disliking towards him and his magazine. He was also associated with one other person by name, Rajkumar, who was a reporter to the said magazine.

4. On 24.6.2005, Editor Shanmugam was contacted by the Reporter Rajkumar over phone and he requested him to come to Vaniyambadi Police Station where he saw a small crowd in which he found the writ petitioner (Inspector of Police in that Station) with one Balu, father of 9 years old girl studying in a local school at Vaniyambadi and the Headmaster and the Drill Master of the School were also present. Another person by name, Mohammed Nabil was also present there. When Editor Shanmugam sought permission to take photographs of the accused, who was alleged to have raped the minor girl, permission was refused by the Police. However, the news item regarding the rape of the minor girl was found in the magazine run by the second respondent's husband (Editor Shanmugam). This infuriated the writ petitioner Inspector of Police. The substance of publication which infuriated the writ petitioner was that he had taken bribe and converted the rape case into a petty offence which made the accused to pay a fine of only Rs.300/- and thereby the main culprit was hidden from being brought to book.

5. Angered by this incident, a criminal case was filed against the Editor and the Reporter of the Magazine. By pretending to investigate into the said offence, the said Editor Shanmugam was arrested on a Saturday night and First Information Report was recorded as if he was arrested only on Sunday. He was brutally attacked in the lock up and was produced before the Magistrate with the grievous injuries suffered by him. Only on the orders of the Magistrate, he was admitted to the Hospital. The fact that he was attacked in the Police Station was also informed to the