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2014 Supreme(Mad) 3482
High Court of Judicature at Madras
V. RAMASUBRAMANIAN, J.
P. Rajakumari
Versus
The Additional Director General of Police, (Prisons) & Others
Writ Petition No. 23320 of 2014 & M.P. Nos. 1 to 4 of 2014
Decided on: 24-09-2014
Advocate Appeared:
For the Petitioner:M. Purushothaman, Advocate.
For the Respondents:R1 to R7, P.H. Arvindh Pandian, Addl. Advocate General, assisted by I.S. Inbadurai, Spl. Govt. Pleader, R. Vaigai for K.C. Karl Marx, Advocate.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the court's authority to direct a CBI investigation and order interim compensation in cases of custodial torture and rape, as well as the State's right to take action against responsible officers and recover compensation upon conviction.
Headnote:
Custodial Torture - Indian Penal Code - Section 302, Section 176(1A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure - The court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to register a First Information Report against the Police Officers of the Udumalpet Police Station and investigate the complaint. The court also ordered the State to provide an interim compensation of Rs.2 lakhs to the petitioner's mother and directed the Sessions Court to dispose of the bail petition within a week. The State was allowed to recover the compensation amount from the responsible officers upon conviction. The court also allowed for the suspension and initiation of action against the named officials and further medical examination if deemed necessary.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner's mother, a hotel worker, was found murdered, and the police claimed she confessed to the crime. The petitioner alleged custodial torture and rape of her mother by the police, leading to serious injuries. The court ordered a physical examination and found injuries on the victim's body, leading to the direction for immediate medical attention and investigation.
Finding of the Court:
The court found injuries on the victim's body, necessitating medical and legal intervention. It also noted the failure of the police to register a First Information Report and the inadequacy of the Magistrates' actions. The court concluded that the case warranted a CBI investigation and directed the State to provide interim compensation to the victim.
Issues: The issues included the alleged custodial torture and rape of the petitioner's mother, the failure of the police to register a First Information Report, and the inadequacy of the Magistrates' actions.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the case warranted a CBI investigation and directed the State to provide interim compensation to the victim. It also allowed for the suspension and initiation of action against the named officials and further medical examination if deemed necessary.
Final Decision: The court directed the CBI to register a First Information Report against the Police Officers of the Udumalpet Police Station and investigate the complaint. The court also ordered the State to provide an interim compensation of Rs.2 lakhs to the petitioner's mother and directed the Sessions Court to dispose of the bail petition within a week. The State was allowed to recover the compensation amount from the responsible officers upon conviction. The court also allowed for the suspension and initiation of action against the named officials and further medical examination if deemed necessary.
1. The petitioner in this writ petition is the daughter of one Chandra. The petitioner's mother was working in a hotel in Udumalpet and was staying in a rented house belonging to one Leelavathi. The said Leelavathi was found murdered on 09.08.2014. Therefore, a First Information Report in Crime No.547/2014 was registered on the file of the Udumalpet Police Station, Tiruppur District, for an offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
2. According to the police, the petitioner's mother, upon coming to know that the police were looking for her, surrendered before the Village Administrative Officer, on 14.08.2014 at about 10.00 am and confessed to the commission of the crime. Therefore, the police claims to have taken the petitioner's mother into custody, when she was produced before them by the Village Administrative Officer at about 11.30 am. According to police, the petitioner's mother was arrested in the presence of women Police Constables at about 11.45 am and again her confession was recorded.
3. The police claim that the petitioner's mother had contusion on her hands, when her confession was recorded and that the petitioner's mother told the police that she sustained injuries due to a fall in a drunken state on 12.08.2014 at about 8.00 pm. Therefore, according to the police, they subjected the petitioner's mother to medical examination at the Government Hospital, Udumalpet at about 16.45 hours on 14.08.2014 and the petitioner's mother was thereafter produced before the Judicial Magistrate No.II, who was actually in-charge as Judicial Magistrate No.I at about 17.45 hours.
4. The Judicial Magistrate, while remanding the petitioner's mother seems to have ordered the police to give medical care and hence the petitioner's mother was produced at the CMC Hospital, Coimbatore at about 11.56 pm on 14.08.2014. According to the police, a Lady Doctor examined the petitioner's mother and treated the case as a Non-medico Legal Case. Thereafter, she was lodged in the Central Prison, Coimbatore in the early hours of 15th August, ironically, on the eve of the Independence day.
5. On 26-8-2014, the petitioner filed the above writ petition claiming that the police started harassing her mother from 10.08.2014; that even on 11.08.2014 her mother informed her that she was about to be taken to Coimbatore for investigation; that from 11.00 am on 13.08.2014 the mobile phone of her mother was switched off; that on 14.08.2014 the Inspector of Police informed the petitioner's husband that he was arresting the petitioner's mother; that on 18 and 19th August, 2014, the petitioner visited her mother in Central Jail and was shocked to find her completely battered by the use of third-degree methods by the police; that seven male police officers subjected the petitioner's mother to torture by injecting needles into her fingers, nails and hand; that she was beaten mercilessly and was hanged upside down; that her mother was beaten with lathis all over her body; that the lathis were inserted into her private parts, leading to continuous bleeding and that the police coerced her to confess to the crime.
6. When the writ petition was moved for orders as to admission on 26.08.2014, I ordered Notice of Motion returnable by one week and also directed the Principal District Judge, Coimbatore to depute a Judicial Officer to examine the petitioner's mother physically and to submit a report. The order passed by me on 26.08.2014 reads as follows:-
"Notice of Motion returnable by one week. Private notice permitted. Since serious allegations are made in the affidavit, to the effect that the petitioner's mother was physically assaulted and tortured, there will be an interim direction, directing the Principal District Judge, Coimbatore, either by himself or through a responsible Judicial Officer deputed by him, to take the assistance of a female Medical Officer working either in a hospital owned by the Central Government or the State and have the peti
