Supreme Court - Daily Orders
Abcd vs Union Of India on 18 February, 2020
Bench: Uday Umesh Lalit, Indu Malhotra, Hemant Gupta
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ITEM NO.8 COURT NO.6 SECTION X
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IA 25217/2020, in MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION Diary No(s). 5281/2020
in W.P.(Crl.) No. 332/2019
ABCD Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
UNION OF INDIA Respondent(s)
(IA No. 25217/2020 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION)
Date : 18-02-2020 These matters were called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE UDAY UMESH LALIT
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE INDU MALHOTRA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA
For Petitioner(s) Mr. Manoj V. George, Adv.
Mr. Mohd. Irshad Hanif, AOR
Ms. Shilpa Liza George, Adv.
Ms.Bhavika, Adv.
Mr. Renjith V. Philip, Adv.
Mr. Rizwan Ahmad, Adv.
Mr. Mujahid Ahmad, Adv.
Mr. Adeel Siddiqui, Adv.
Mr. Aarif Ali, Adv.
Mr. Ahmad Parvez, Adv.
Mr. Philomena Thomas, Adv.
For Respondent(s) Mr. R. Basant, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, Adv.
Mr. Vishal Prasad, Adv.
Mr. Amit Verma, Adv.
Mr. Abhishek Manchanda, Adv.
Ms. Kajal Dalal, Adv.
Signature Not Verified
M/S. Plr Chambers And Co., AOR
Digitally signed by
INDU MARWAH
Date: 2020.02.18
19:54:02 IST
Reason: Mr. K.M. Nataraj, ASG
Mr.Mukul Singh, Adv.
M/s Avantika Manohar, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Ranjan, Adv.
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UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
This Miscellaneous application has been filed with following prayers:
“a) The petition that is filed by the petitioner in the Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta titled as Kawaljeet Kaur & Anr. vs. State bearing No.CRR 1924/2018 to be transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta to this Hon’ble Court to be heard and order delivered.
b) The aged father and brother of the petitioner be immediately released by the West Bengal Police during the pendency of this application.
c) The West Bengal Police may be directed to produce the petitioner’s father to a competent medical facility in Calcutta to administer the necessary medicines to him as he is a cardiac patient.” The matter was taken up on 11.2.2020 and following observations were made by this Court in its order:-
“… …Crl.M.P. No.25217 of 2020 has since then been filed by the petitioner in disposed of Writ Petition (Criminal) No.332 of 2019, submitting inter alia that her father and brother were picked up by West Bengal Police on 8.2.2020; they were produced before the concerned Court at Gohana and on the strength of the order issued by the Court at Gohana, the custody of the father and brother of the petitioner was obtained by West Bengal Police in order to produce them before the concerned Court on 12.02.2020 in connection with aforesaid FIR NO.256 of 2018. The request made by the father and brother of the petitioner for transit bail was rejected by the Court at Gohana vide order dated 8.2.2020.3
It thus appears that custody of the father and brother was obtained four days earlier and the police had taken transit remand to produce them before the concerned Court on 12.02.2020.
Mr. Manoj V. George learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that while entertaining Writ Petition (Criminal) No.191 of 2018, by virtue of interim order passed by this Court, the petitioner and her family members were adequately protected. It was further submitted that after the disposal of the writ petitions, at no stage any requisition was issued by the investigating officer demanding presence and cooperation on the part of the petitioner and her family members.
Mr. George, therefore, submitted that the custody of the father and brother taken by West Bengal Police was not preceeded by any process issued by the Court nor was there any reasonable cause to take the extreme step of arrest of such persons.
Since the father and brother of the petitioner have already been arrested, and are to be produced before the concerned Court tomorrow i.e. on 12.2.2020, at this stage we pass following directions:
(a) The concerned Court, namely, Area Magistrate, Basirhat Court, Kolkata is directed to release the father and brother of the petitioner as soon as they are produced before him on 12.02.2020.
(b) The West Bengal Police is directed to extend to the father and brother of the petitioner all medical facilities, as would be required by the concerned persons.
We have been given to understand that the father of the petitioner is a heart patient and requires periodic medication. If that be so, all care and caution shall be undertaken by West Bengal Police.
(c) The petitioner shall be at liberty to attend the proceedings to be taken tomorrow i.e. on 12.02.2020 and in case she attends the proceedings, she shall not, in any way be put under any process of arrest. Such protection shall 4 be available to the petitioner till disposal of Crl.M.P. No.25217 of 2020.
(D) West Bengal Police is directed to file a Status Report as to in what circumstances the arrest warrants were issued against the father and brother of the petitioner and whether at any stage before such issuance, any processes or requisitions were issued by the concerned police, seeking their cooperation in the pending investigation.
The complete Status Report in that behalf shall be filed by the State of West Bengal within three days from the receipt of this Order … …” In pursuance of the order dated 11.2.2020, the Investigating Officer is personally present in Court alongwith the case Diary. Mr. Basant, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the State invited our attention to communication dated 30.12.2019. According to Shri Basant said communication emanated from the Investigating Officer and in regular channel was sent to the Police Headquarters, West Bengal which in turn, got in touch with their counter parts in Haryana and thereby an attempt was made to serve the communication upon the accused. The communication is to the following effect:
“NOTICE FOR APPEARANCE BEFORE POLICE OFFICER To,
1. Mr. Sukhdev Singh S/o Omprakash Silngh
2. Omprakaskh Singh.
Both of Gohana Town PS” Gohana Town District: Sonepat, 5 Haryana.
Ref.: Basirhat P.S. Case No.256/18, Date: 03.06.2018, date:
03.06.2018, U/S :384/389/34 IPC (Through SHO, Gohana Town PS: Gohana Town District: Sonepat, Haryana) As the power envisaged upon me, as per provision of Section 4(1)b)(ii) of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 being the I.O. of the above noted case you are hereby directed to meet the undersigned on 18.06.2018 at 12:00 hours in the I.O.
Room of Basirhat P.S. for giving statement as alleged person as a prima-facie case has been made out against you within 10( Ten) day. Failing which necessary legal action will be taken against you.
Full name of the I.O. with designation: SI Ganesh Haldar Mobile No. 8348875339 T/C Basirhat Please Take N/A Sd/-
SI Ganesh Haldar Basirhat P.S. Basirhat Police District North 24 Parganas West Bengal Dated 30.12.2019” Though the communication was dated 30.12.2019, the addressees were directed to appear before the Investigating Officer on 18.6.2018 at 12.00 hrs. It also stated that they must appear within 10 days. The first part of the communication was completely incorrect and Mr. Basant fairly accepted the position. The second part of the communication did call upon the addressees to appear before the Investigating Officer within 10 days.
The record further indicates that this communication was not served upon the addressees and the endorsement made by P.S. Gohana, 6 Haryana was to the effect that the message was cleared to said addressees vide stn. NR 1839 GR 400. There is no signature of any of the accused in acknowledgement of the receipt of the communication or message.
It is accepted by Mr. Basant that apart from said communication, no other intimation, either in writing or through any message was served upon the addressees.
Mr. George, learned advocate appearing for the applicant at this stage invited our attention to communication sent on earlier occasion through e-mail directly to the accused. But such a course was not adopted at this stage.
Mr. Basant submitted that since the Investigating Officer had changed twice over, such modality of direct communication through e-mail may not have been adopted by the present Investigating Officer.
Be that as it may, the fact remains that no intimation was actually received by the accused before they were physically picked up in Gohana, Haryana. The submission made in that behalf by Mr. George as set out in the order dated 11.02.2020 of this Court was therefore, correct and the ad-interim directions issued by this Court do not call for any variation.
Considering the entirety of the circumstances, and with a view to see that the Investigation into the crime is not in any way hampered, we direct as under:
(a) The petitioner as well as her father and brother shall appear before the concerned Police Station on 25.2.2020 at 11.00 7 a.m. and shall make themselves available for the interrogation till 5.00 p.m. These persons shall continue to appear in case their presence is required by the Investigating Officer for next two days as well.
(b) The Investigating Officer shall complete the interrogation of these three persons within the time period adverted to earlier.
(c) The investigating Officer shall thereafter report to this Court the outcome of such interrogation in the form of a Status Report in a sealed cover.
(d) The protection granted in terms of the order dated 11.2.2020 to the petitioner and her father and brother shall continue to operate till further orders. List on 17.3.2020.
It is made clear that we have not and shall not be taken to have reflected on the merits of the matter which will be gone into independently at every stage. It is further made clear that pendency of these proceedings in this Court has nothing to do with the application preferred by the petitioner before the High Court under section 482 Cr.P.C.
(INDU MARWAH) (R.S. NARAYANAN) COURT MASTER (SH) COURT MASTER (NSH)