Heard Sri Z.Y Zilani, learned Additional Advocate General, Government of U.P. and gone through the records.
Sri Jageshwar Prasad Gupta, Secretary (Home), Government of U.P. and Sri Deepak Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Sitapur are present in person, who have filed their affidavits in compliance of the orders of this Court dated 25.05.2012; 09.08.2012, 05.10.2012 and 07.11.2012.
The brief facts of the case as appeared in the order dated 25.05.2012, is reproduced below :
"As per FIR lodged at P.S.- Machhrehta, District- Sitapur on 25.11.2011, unknown persons committed road holdup and robbed up the complainant who was traveling on his motorcycle, of mobile set, Rs.1460/- cash and finger ring of gold. In the meantime some other persons were found coming from the other side on the motorcycle who were also detained by the culprits and they were also robbed. After lodging of FIR the accused applicant was arrested by the Police of same P.S. on 11.12.2011 and robbed articles were recovered from his possession. Perusal of FIR and recovery memo shows that two mobile sets, subject to robbery were not recovered from the possession of the accused, who is in jail since 25.11.2011. The prosecution did not get accused identified by three victims. The police cannot deprive a man of his basic right of liberty, unless cogent evidence is available. Working out a case just to please the superiors cannot be overpowered arbitrarily on the whims."
In compliance of the orders of this Court, the Superintendent of Police, Sitapur did a commendable job to have recommended to the Principal Secretary (Home), Government of U.P. to award compensation of Rs.25,050/- for torturous attitude meted out to the applicant.
"Torture" has not been defined in the Constitution of India or in other penal laws. "Torture" of a human being by another human being is essentially an instrument to impose the will of the 'strong' over the 'weak' by suffering. The word 'torture' today has become synonymous with the darker side of human civilisation. "Torture" is a calculated assault on human dignity and whenever human dignity is wounded, civilisation takes a step backward-flag of humanity must on each such occasion fly half-mast.
"Torture" is a basic cause of great fear or apprehension, it is dreadful. Such psychosis is pernicious to the roots, basis and very foundation of "origin of a State". 'Torture' is a wound in the soul so painful that sometimes you can almost touch it, but it is also so intangible that there is no way to heal it.
A human being, if fearful to face a police personnel in the same fashion as a goat watches a butcher with a long knife in his hand can be termed nothing less than an assault on humanity, which erodes all the basic norms of civilisation. The State cannot function, nor can it survive if the police personnel or public servants loose confidence in the mindset of the public at large.
The entire mechanism, right from the Constitution of India to the administrative rule of business, in this country, have been derived from the Britishers. In England, 'torture' was once regarded as a normal practice to get information regarding the crime, the accomplices and the case property or to extract confessions, but with the development of common law and more radical ideas imbibing human thought and approach, such inhuman practices were initially discouraged and eventually almost done away with, certain aberrations here and there notwithstanding.
The Royal Commission was entrusted to weed-out the disabled. It was in a country, which was governed by a common law, which was not codified.
But India is governed by an exhaustive Constitution and a public servant in general and the police in particular must function in such a fashion, which may exhibit that they are 'gentlemen' first and powerful officers or police officers afterwards.
I must appreciate learned Additional Advocate General to have counselled the concerned officers to act in a "humane" way. The Superintendent of Police, Sitapur did a commendable job in making the recommendation to the State Government to compensate the poor fellow citizen, who has suffered distress, mental and physical agony due to violation of law by the police personnel concerned. The conduct of the Principal Secretary (Home), Government of U.P. is also appreciable, who has become an instrument of justice by getting the compensation sanctioned to the accused-applicant in accordance with the law laid down by Hon'ble Apex Court in D.K. Basu Vs. State of West Bengal, AIR 1997 SC, 610 and the law laid down by Hon'ble Apex Court in Saheli, a Women's Resources Centre through Ms. Nalini Bhanot and others Vs. Commissioner of Police, Delhi and others, AIR 1990 SC 513; and Rudal Sah Vs. State of Bihar and another, AIR 1983 SC, 1086.
The proceedings are accordingly dropped with the belief that in future balanced approach shall be continued to be adopted by all the public servants to meet the ends of justice. The approach of a public servant must be in accordance with the notion that 'terror' must not reflect and 'annoyance' or 'anger' must not form the basis of any approach to redress public grievances. Any kind of imbalanced attitude by a public servant is nothing short of terror and when general public becomes victim of terrorism caused by a public servant, it breeds "terrorists". "Terrorist" from within us is the real danger against the integrity of a sovereign nation. These sentences are being incorporated due to experience of this Court that general public is rapidly loosing faith in public servants, which is eroding the majesty of State and which is compelling poor people to resort to un-constitutional means. Transparency of action and accountability, perhaps, are two possible safeguards which this Court must insist upon. It is for the State Government to belie the public notion that when a studious young boy gets recruited to a public office or to the police department, as soon as he joins his duties, he becomes a ghost, a dragon, a monarch. It is for the State Government to ensure that Hitlarion soul should not enter into public services. Training methodology of the police needs restructuring. The bureaucracy and police force needs to be infused with basic human values and made sensitive to the constitutional ethos. Efforts must be made to change the attitude and approach of the police personnel handling investigations so that they do not sacrifice basic human values during interrogation and do not resort to questionable forms of interrogation. With a view to bring in transparency in actions of State, the Senior Bureaucrats and Senior police personnel must exhibit their indulgence and faith in human values, vigilantly, in such a fashion, that they should create a fear psychosis among the delinquent subordinates, to deter them from using third degree methods. Actions of every State instrumentality should be transparent up to such an extent that it must have a 'Silver lining', the converse of which amounts nothing less than collapsing the nation brick by brick.
It is the duty of each and every State instrumentality to rebut public impression that senior public servants always make efforts very often to hush up the matter of atrocity by an inferior public servant and, thus, the crime goes unpunished and "flourishes". This is being mentioned in view of the fact that there are allegations and these allegations are now increasing in frequency, which is eroding public faith in the State machinery, which is biting the Constitutional spirit.
Evolution of a fellow-Indian, guilty of a petty offence to a habitual offender, at the behest of a police official or public servant is not only a subject of great concern, but requires deep introspection.
Order Date :- 3.12.2012.
Rks.