IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI W.P.(PIL) No. 7140 of 2025 Nafija Bibi, Aged about 53 years W/o Tawabul Chaudhary, R/o Vill- Sargaon, Bharmo, P.O.- Datia, Sub District- Berno, District- Gumla, Jharkhand ... Petitioner Versus

1. The State of Jharkhand through the Secretary

2. Home Secretary, Project Bhawan, Dhurwa, P.O. & P.S.- Dhurwa, Dist-Ranchi-834004

3. The Director General of Police, Jharkhand, “ Police House” P.O. &

P.S. Dhurwa, Dist- Ranchi

4. Superintendent of Police, Gumla, P.O. & P.S.- Gumla, Dist- Gumla, Jharkhand-835207

5. The Office in Charge, Chainpur P.S. ... Respondents ---------

CORAM: HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR ---------

For the Petitioner : Mr. Rajeev Kumar, Advocate Ms. Niteshwari Kumari, Advocate For the Respondents: Mr. Piyush Chitresh, A.C. to A.G.

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Reserved on: 04.12.2025 Pronounced on: 08 / 12 /2025 Tarlok Singh Chauhan, C.J.

1. Heard the parties.

2. “Nothing is more cowardly and unconscionable than a person in police custody being beaten up and nothing inflicts a deeper wound on our constitutional culture than a State official running berserk regardless of human rights”. This was so observed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Kishore Singh Ravinder Dev etc. versus State of Rajasthan AIR 1981 SC 625).

3. Dr. Martin Luther King had observed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and these golden words were thereafter reiterated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Kishore Singh Ravinder Dev’s case (supra).

4. The instant petition has been filed for the benefit of one Kayum Chaudhary through his sister-in-law wherein extremely serious allegations of blatant violation of human rights and dignity and custodial torture have been set out against the Officer-in-Charge, Chainpur Police Station, District-Gumla.

5. It is averred that the Officer-in-Charge arrested Kayum Chaudhary without registering any FIR or without disclosing any ground of arrest and was taken to police station on 01.12.2025 without any rhyme and reason. When the petitioner and the family member approached the police station, the officer-in-charge said that there are no charges against him but his father-in-law is the culprit. The Officer- in-Charge abused the petitioner and his family members and threatened them with serious consequences. Thereafter Kayum Chaudhary was illegally detained and kept in custody by the Officer-in-Charge without any formal charges against him and then was tortured in the police station and severely beaten up. In support of such contention, a copy of the photograph has been appended with the petition which clearly establishes that Kayum Chaudhary had been beaten blue black and in fact had to be referred to RIMS for X-ray investigation and management by the Community Health Centre, Bharno, Gumla.

6. This petition came up before this Court on 03.12.2025 and the Court passed the following orders:

“02/Dated: 03.12.2025

1) As the allegations made out in the instant application is of serious nature, let this application filed by the petitioner be registered by the Registry as a Public Interest Litigation, without insisting upon the Court fee.

2)Issue notice to respondents.

3)Mr. Piyush Chitresh, A.C. to learned A.G., accepts notice for all respondents and waives service.

4)Let Superintendent of Police, Gumla appear before this Court tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. along with the records of the case in which the husband of the petitioner was taken into police custody and alleged to have been beaten there in the Chainpur Police Station, as well as the recordings of DVR of the CCTV Cameras installed in the Chainpur Police Station.

5)List this case tomorrow i.e. on 04.12.2025 at 10:30 a.m.”

7. Today, Mr. Haris Bin Zaman, the Superintendent of Police, Gumla has appeared in person and has at the outset submitted that there is no CCTV Camera installed in the Chainpur Police Station, therefore, the DVR and CCTV footage could not be produced.

8. In addition thereto he has informed the Court that as