ORDER: The revision petitioner, who is the prosecution witness No.1 in C.C. 2298 of 1995 on the file of II Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Egmore, Madras has preferred the revision petition aggrieved over the judgment of acquittal of respondents 1 to 4 for the offences under Secs.342, 348, read with 34, 384 read with 109 and 304-A, I.P.C.

2. The case in brief for disposal of the revision petition is as follows:

P.W.1. Kabali is an autorickshaw driver by profession and P.W.2 Valli is his wife. The deceased Sathish Kumar aged about 13 years is their son. The deceased was working in a tailoring shop run by P.W.5 Vijayakumar. P.W.3 Muthukrishnan is the Manager of the fancy shop situated at Luz garden, Mylapore. On 8.6.1994. P.W.3 gave a complaint to the Mylapore Police Station stating that a boy aged about 13 or 14 years has committed theft of watches from his shop. The first respondent was then working as Inspector of Police and he received the complaint from P.W.3 and made an endorsement directing P.W.26, Selvaraj, Sub Inspector of Police to register a case and accordingly, it was registered in Crime No. 1253 of 1994 for an alleged offence under Sec. 380, I.P.C. P.W.3 was able to trace out the boy Sathish Kumar, the alleged culprit and he took him and handed over to Mylapore Police Station.

3. P.W.1. returned to the house on the night of 8.6.1994 and enquired with P.W.2 about the whereabouts of their son and P.W.2 replied that he did not turn up and he would have stayed in the shop itself for night duty. On the next day, P.W.1. was informed by one Raghu, P.W.4, that the deceased was detained in the police station. At about 9.30 a.m. P.W.1. went to the police station to see his son who was in illegal custody. The 3rd accused, the Police Constable attached to Mylapore Police Station was there and he had informed P.W.1. that unless P.W.1. gave Rs.2,000 to settle the matter, the boy would not be released. P.W.1. informed him that he was not able to pay any amount and then returned home and also informed P.W.2. On 9.6.1994 at about 1.00 p.m., Sathish Kumar was brought to the house of P.W.1. by the Police Constables including the 4th respondent tying his hands with nylon rope. They searched the house of P.W.1. and recovered a key chain and a small plastic knife. The 4th respondent also kicked the boy on his backside and later, the boy was again taken to the police station. On the same day, P.W.5 contacted the 2nd respondent, who was functioning as Sub Inspector of Police and requested for release of the boy. However, he also demanded money to settle the matter and P.W.5 informed the same with P.W.1.

4. On 10.6.1994 the third respondent, who was functioning as a Constable happened to meet P.W.1. at 3.00 p.m. near New Woodlands Hotel and called upon him to give the money for release of his son. But P.W.1. was not having money and as such, he did not go to police station.

5. On 11.6.1994 at about 4.45 a.m. P.W.9 Vasantha, a neighbour of P.W.1. woke up P.Ws. 1 and 2 and informed that their son Sathish Kumar was lying unconscious in an autorickshaw near the house. P.Ws.1 and 2 came out of the house and saw their son in an unconscious state and found injuries on his body. He was also taken to Royapettah Hospital and P.W.22 the casualty doctor attached to Royapettah Hospital on seeing him pronounced him as dead. Intimation about the death of the boy was sent to Mylapore Station and P.W.29, the then Inspector of Police incharge registered a case in Crime No. 1295 of 1994 under Sec. 174 of Criminal Procedure Code and requested the R.D.O. to conduct inquest.

6. P.W.27, Rajamani, Revenue Divisional Officer-cum- Additional Executive Magistrate after receiving the copy of the first information report went to Royapettah Hospital and conducted inquest. Ex.P-12 is the inquest report. He also requested the doctor, P.W. 28 to conduct post mortem. Accordingly P.W.28 after conducting autopsy issued the certificate Ex.P-17 and report Ex.P-18 and the body was han

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