Sadhu Singh vs State of Punjab

R.L. Anand, J.

Sadhu Singh son of Puran Singh, resident of village Kakrala, Tehsil Rajpura, District Patiala has filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for ordering a CBI enquiry into the death of Zora Singh son of Master Mohinder Singh.

The case set up by the petitioner is that his nephew Zora Singh son of Mohinder Singh died in the custody of police of Patiala District in mysterious circumstances. On 17th August, 1991 at midnight about 200 Police personnel belonging to Punjab Police raided the house of Shri Mohinder Singh brother of the petitioner in village Karala, and they took away his son Zora Singh deceased. On 30th August, 1991 the police had declared that Zora Singh had committed suicide by taking cyanide on 1st September, 1991.

Gurcharan Singh alias Phaggu was implicated in a false case. The people suspected that Zora Singh had died because of the torture at the hands of the police but nobody raised voice against the brutal murder. After reading newspaper reports about the action being taken against the police, the petitioner has dared to file the present petition for justice.

With the above small averments, the petitioner has prayed for ordering the police inquiry leading to the death of Zora Singh in police custody.

Notice of the petition was given to the respondents, who filed the affidavit and denied the allegations. According to the respondents, case FIR No. 18 dated 12th July, 1991 was registered in connection with bomb blast in Police Station, Banur. In connection with the investigation of the said case. Police Party proceeded towards Gajju Khera on the bridge of SYL and Naka was laid. No person came during the course of Naka. Thereafter a Naka was laid at the bridge on the SYL in the area of village Naraina. During checking one Motorcycle KawasakiBajaj came from the side of village Biro Majri on which two youngmen were found coming. On suspicion, they were stopped and the person who was driving the motorcycle disclosed his name as Zora Singh son of Mohinder Singh Jat, resident of Kakrala and the person who was sitting on pillion, disclosed his name as Bhagwant Singh son of Hardip Singh Kamboj, resident of village Buta Singh Wala. Both the persons were arrested in case FIR No. 18 dated 12th February, 1991 under sections 307/427, IPC and Sections 3/4 of the Explosive Act and Sections 3/4/5 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (for short ''the TADA''), registered at Police Station Banur. At the time of arrest accused Zora Singh and Bhagwant Singh could not produce any document relating to the ownership of the motorcycle. The motorcycle was taken into possession, and both the accused were brought to Police Station, Banur and they were lodged in Police lock up. During the course of investigation, Zora Singh and Bhagwant Singh made a disclosure statement that they had kept concealed one gunny bag containing explosive substance, black powder, one gun .315 bore along with 6 cartridges, one tamper (watch), detonator and plug. One magazine of A.K.47 with 10 cartridges and 25 cartridges of .445 bore tied in a piece of cloth, in the area of village Gajju Khera near bridge SYL by digging a pit in the earth and it was in their knowledge and they could get the same recovered. At the time of recovery, Zora Singh accused consumed some poisonous substance and he fell down. When he was being taken to the hospital, he expired on the way. Proceedings under Section 174, Cr.P.C., were conducted and the dead body of Zora Singh was sent to A.P. Jain Hospital, Rajpura where postmortem examination was conducted and his viscera was sent to the office of Chemical Examiner, who vide report dated 18.12.1991 opined that cyanide equivalent to 53.5 mgs. or potassium cyanide was detected in the contents of exhibit No. II and its presence was also confirmed in the contents of exhibits No. 1 and No. III. It was also admitted that accused Gurcharan Singh alias Pappu was arrested in case FIR No. 67 dated 30.8.1991 under section 4/5 of the Explosive Act, Police Station Banur. It was also submitted that the present petition had been filed after a lapse of six years with an ulterior motive in order to harass the Police officials and, therefore, the same was liable to be dismissed.

I have heard Shri Ranjan Lakhanpal, Advocate, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, and Shri J.S. Brar, Deputy Advocate General, Punjab, on behalf of the respondents, and with their assistance have gone through the record of this petition.

Before I proceed further, I would like to deal with the preliminary objection taken by the respondents in that the only prayer made in the petition by the petitioner is for ordering a CBI inquiry and he has not prayed for any alternative relief regarding the payment of any compensation to the legal representatives of Zora Singh and, therefore, this Court is not competent to award any compensation in case it finds that the CBI inquiry is not viable. Disagreeing with the submission raised by the learned counsel for the respondents, I am of the view that the provisions of Section 482, Cr.P.C., are extraordinary in its nature and do not curtail the powers of this Court, which can be exercised for the promotion of justice between the parties. irrespective of the fact that the petitioner has not made any prayer for awarding any compensation, still this Court can award compensation, if it finds that some relief has emerged out for the benefit of the legal representatives of the deceased.

It was then submitted by Shri Ranjan Lakhanpal, Advocate, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, that since Zora Singh had died in the Police custody; therefore, in order to ascertain the cause of his death an independent inquiry is necessary in order to find out under what circumstances the death of Zora Singh had taken place. Though Zora Singh died in the year 1991, still the Police has not fixed any responsibility regarding the death of Shri Zora Singh. As Zora Singh has died in the custody of the Police, therefore, the fraternity of the Police Department wants to protect their own colleagues and it is a fit case where the CBI inquiry should be conducted. I do not agree with the submissions raised by Shri Lakhanpal because it will be a futile exercise on the part of this Court to order for the probe in the year 1997 regarding an incident which had taken place in the year 1991. The instances are not lacking when a person tried to commit suicide when he was in police custody. It is also not discernible from the averments made in the petition as to who was the particular officer, who was allegedly responsible for the death of Zora Singh. It is also not the case of the petitioner that towards Zora Singh brutal treatment on the part of the Police had been done. The case of the petitioner on the contrary is that the death of Zora Singh took place when he allegedly consumed potassium cyanide.

This is a country where the rule of law prevails. Everybody is governed by certain set of procedure. Nobody can be held guilty unless the charges against him are proved beyond any reasonable doubt. Whether Shri Zora Singh actually ever made disclosure statement or not is not a controversy in dispute before me but from the stand taken up by the State, it stands prima facie proved that Zora Singh died when he was in police custody. In these circumstances we have to see what are the responsibilities of the Police once a person is taken into custody. The Police is supposed to prepare seizure memo/arrest memo. The personal search of the person so arrested is conducted and if any article is found from his personal search, that is entered into the recovery memo. It is not the case of the State that when Zora Singh was apprehended along with his companions, cyanide capsules were recovered from his person. Thereafter he was brought into the custody and was put behind the bars in Police lock up. Again there is not an iota of proof that cyanide was found from the person of the deceased. In police lock up incriminating material in the shape of cyanide could not reach until or unless there is a lapse on the part of the Police Department. When the deceased was taken out from the Police lock up and was supposed to remain in the custody of the Police, at no point of time it could be expected that potassium cyanide would ever reach in the hands of the deceased. Still as per the report of the Chemical Examiner, the cause of death was potassium cyanide, which prima facie establishes a lapse on the part of the Police of Police Station, Banur and in these circumstances this Court can award reasonable compensation on account of the acts of omission and negligence committed on the part of the State. This Court has no sympathy either with Zora Singh or anybody else, who is allegedly involved in terrorist activities. Hardearned peace, which has revived in the State of Punjab, cannot be allowed to be jeopardised again at the hands of some terrorist element. As I have stated at the very outset that this is a country, which is governed by the rule of law; even the man of shady character has certain rights which are supposed to be protected. Such a notorious person cannot even straighaway be convicted and sentenced unless the guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt. As I have fixed the responsibility on the functionaries of the State, I order the respondents to pay a sum of Rs. 50,000/ by way of compensation to the mother of the deceased. In case she is not alive, the compensation will go to the father of the deceased. The compensation cannot be paid to the present petitioner as he is not the legal representative/legal heir of Zora Singh. The directions of this Court shall be complied with by the State within two months from the date of receipt of the copy of this order.