Impartial investigation by an independent agency is essential to instill confidence in the victim and ensure fair proceedings.

1. This Habeas Corpus Petition has been filed by the mother of the detenu Thamim Ansari, praying for issuance of a writ of Habeas Corpus, directing the respondents to produce the detenu, who is allegedly confined in the Global Hospital, Chennai and direct the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Chennai to conduct an enquiry into the arrest, detention and torture of the detenu by the police.

2. The factual matrix of this case is as under:

One Shanthi lodged a complaint with the J8 Neelankarai Police that someone had committed theft from the hundial in Periyapalayathaman Temple falling within the jurisdiction of the said police station. Based on the complaint, a case in J8 Neelankarai Police Station Cr.No.19 of 2014 under Section 380 IPC was registered by Mr. Vargees, Sub Inspector of Police on 05.01.2014 at 20.00 hrs and investigation was taken up by him. On 06.01.2014, when Mr. Vargees and his party were on night rounds, they found Thamim Ansari [the detenu] in a suspicious circumstance with a plastic bag in his hand. He was apprehended and was brought to the police station around 5.40 hrs on 07.01.2014 for further enquiry. During the course of enquiry, he seems to have confessed to the police that he had stolen money from the hundial of Periyapalayathamman Temple and also from the hundial of Muthumariamman Temple in Vettuvankeni. Based on his confession statement, the police recovered the money stolen by him from the temples, from his old house at Mahathma Gandhi Nagar, II Cross Street, Vettuvankeni. The detenu was brought to J8 Neelankarai Police Station on 07.01.2014 at about 7.50 hrs and was kept there in custody. Thereafter, at about 8.00 hrs, one Muthu Kumar of Vettuvankeni lodged a complaint about the theft committed at Murthumariamman temple hundial on the night of 06.01.2014, about which the detenu himself had confessed to the police as stated above. While Mr. Vargees, the Sub Inspector of Police was preparing the Remand Report for sending the detenu to judicial custody, a bizarre incident took place in the J8 Neenlankarai Police Station. The incident as described by Mr. Pushparaj, the then Inspector of Police of J-8 Neelanakari Police Station, who is the third respondent herein, in his counter affidavit, is extracted verbatim:

"On that day, I had to meet the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Adyar who had instructed me to proceed to prepare the list of persons who were wanted in connection with long pending investigations. After preparing the list, I was to be accompanied by two other constables and was to secure one Saleem from Guduvancherry based on a source information received by me. Since Saleem was a notorious person, as a precautionary measure, I had sought for one 0.380 revolver. Therefore, I received a service 0.380 revolver with 3 bullets from Sentry PC 31421 Vikranth. I sat in the room which was adjacent to the place where this juvenile Tameem Ansari was sleeping, for cleaning the revolver it is relevant to mention that the said revolver, an old model one has no safety lock. Therefore when the revolver was falling down unexpectedly and in the process of holding the revolver a bullet from the revolver hit the left side neck of Tameem Ansari who instantly woke up from lying position and sustained injury. In order to save his life, I alongwith Tameem Ansari rushed to Global Hospital by Police Jeep and admitted him at about 16.25 hrs in the ICU Ward. The doctors conducted surgery and saved his life."

3. This incident was flashed in the electronic and print media and attracted much attention, as the detenu was only 15 years of age. While the detenu was under treatment in Global Hospital, Chennai, his mother filed this HCP on 09.01.2014, for the reliefs stated above.

4. We ordered notice to the respondents in the HCP and we were informed by the learned Additional Public Prosecutor that the detenu is undergoing treatment as an inpatient in Global Hospital for the bullet injury sustained by him, while he w