The judgment establishes the right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution and emphasizes the need for police behavior to align with this principle.

Heard learned Counsel for the petitioner and learned Government Counsel.

2. This case was filed today and a mention was made by Sri Sanjai Kumar, learned Counsel for the petitioners when our Bench assembled after lunch that the matter is extremely urgent. After hearing the submission of Sri Sanjay Kumar, we agreed with him that the matter is urgent and hence we informed learned A. G. A. , Sri A. K. Tripathi that we will hear the case at 3. 30 p. m. today itself in view of the urgency in the matter and at that time the S. H. O. of P. S. Civil Lines, Allahabad should be present before us alongwith the lady petitioners in this case. At 3. 30 p. m. when the case was taken up, the S. H. O. , P. S. Civil Lines, Sri Suresh Panwar appeared before us but without the petitioners. We then directed that the case will be taken up at 4. 30 p. m. in our chambers and at that time Sri Suresh Panwar should produce the lady petitioners before us. The case was taken up at 4. 45 p. m. in chambers when Sri Sanjai Kumar, learned Counsels for the petitioner, Sri R. P. Dubey, learned Government Advocate and Sri A. K. Tripathi, Additional Government Advocate, Sri Mool Bihari Saxena who was appointed by us as amicus curiae in this case were present before us. Smt. Suneeta Goswami and Smt. Amita Goswami the petitioner Nos. 1 and 2 also appeared before us and we decided to record their statements. They were weeping when they appeared before us.

3. Smt. Suneeta Goswami, who appears to us to be a respectable middle class lady states that on 18-4- 2002 at about 8 p. m. the petitioners 1 to 4 and their mother-in-law Smt. Sushma Goswami were at their residence 369 Colonelganj, Allahabad. The husband of Smt. Sushma Goswami is a businessman who does construction work and the husbands of petitioners 1 to 4 also do business alongwith him. At about 8 p. m. on 18-4-2002 several policemen in 3-4 jeeps came to the petitioners residence and started shouting and they beat the door of the petitioners house. The aforesaid policemen demanded that Smt. Sushma Goswami be produced before them. When the petitioners 1 and 2 told the police people that their mother-in-law is a heart patient and she could not come down from first floor and second floor where all the family resides, the police people said that even if Smt. Sushma Goswami dies yet she must be produced before the police. The police people then disconnected the electricity supply of the petitioners house due to which there was darkness in the house. The petitioner then lit candles. At that time there were no male members of the family at the residence. The police then enquired where the male members were. The petitioners Nos. 1 to 4 replied that they had gone to business in the morning and they did not know about their whereabouts. The petitioners husbands usually go for work in the morning and comeback in the night. The police people then started taking search of the almirahs etc. They threatened that they will break all the things in the house unless they were given the whereabouts of the male members. At that time a telephone call of the brother of Smt. Sushma Goswami came from Delhi and for a very short time she could talk of her brother. However, the police snatched the telephone and misbehaved with her and thereafter disconnected the telephone. They then demanded photographs of the petitioners husbands. Thereafter some other police including lady police took away

the petitioners 1 to 4 and Smt. Sushma Goswami from their residence to the police station, Mahila Thana, Civil Lines, Allahabad. When the petitioners stated that milk has to be purchased for the six months old child of petitioner No. 4 the police refused to permit that. All the five ladies were kept in the police station in the night of 18/19-4-2002 during which they were interrogated. The police threatened that kurki will be done at the petitioners home.

4. The petitioners 1 to 4 and Smt. Sushma Goswami were kept at the police station for about 24 hou

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