J.B. Garg, J.
1. Originally Mrs. Narinder Kaur moved a petition for a kind of search and production of her husband Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh son of Beant Singh resident of House No. 283/317 of Vishnu Garden, New Delhi. Thereafter, the present petition has been moved on 21.7.1994 under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in this Court claiming compensation on account of death of her aforesaid husband Gurjasbir Singh.
2. Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh aged 30, originally belonged to District Amritsar but he was employed in Delhi Police. He was a suspect in two bomb blast cases which took place in Delhi on or about 20.4.1990. Thereafter, he left Delhi and had allegedly been acting as a private driver at Bhilai in Madhya Pradesh. Narinder Kaur his wife, the present petitioner, wanted to know the whereabouts of her husband who was allegedly taken away by Punjab Police on 13.8.1992 from Bhilai, Madhya Pradesh. Thereafter, it appears that Narinder Kaur was able to gather information regarding the death of Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh.
3. On 26.11.1992 this Court ordered that inquiry be held by the C.B.I. regarding the disappearance and death of Gurjasbir Singh and the two issues which required prove were as under :
(i) Whether Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh, husband of the petitioner Smt. Narinder Kaur, was taken into custody by Punjab Police of District Hoshiarpur, from Bhilai (M.P.) on 13.8.1992 and whether his fake arrest was shown on 31.8.1992 in District Hoshiarpur ?
(ii) Whether Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh escaped from police custody while he was being taken by Punjab Police from Hoshiarpur to New Delhi for the recovery of arms etc. or whether a fake escape had been shown by the police ?
The C.B.I. completed enquiry and a report dated 9.2.1994 was filed in this Court on 10.2.1994. The conclusions arrived at by the C.B.I. are reproduced as under :
(i) Oral and documentary evidence could not prove the allegation that Shri Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh was taken by the Punjab Police of District Hoshiarpur, from Bhilai on 13.8.92 or that his fake arrest was shown on 31.8.92 in District Hoshiarpur. The presence of Punjab Police in Bhilai on 13.8.92 could not be proved through any independent corroborative evidence, documentary or oral.
(ii) Oral and documentary evidence shows that Gurjasbir Singh escaped from police custody in early hours of 4.9.92 from near village Saila Khurd, District Hoshiarpur when he was being taken to New Delhi by a police party headed by ASI Jaiwant Singh (now SI) for the recovery of arms reportedly hidden in Delhi.
(iii) Oral and documentary evidence shows that Gurjasbir Singh was killed in an encounter on 19.11.1992 with a police party led by SI Narinder Pal Singh, SHO, PS Dasuya (since killed in an encounter on 17/18.1.93). Two other accused viz. Jaspal Singh and Surjit Singh, being taken by the police party for recovery of fire were also killed in the encounter.
(iv) Shri Gurjasbir Singh was in the list of hardcore terrorists prepared by Punjab for the month of July, 1992.
4. A reappraisal of the report of the CBI made here with the help of Shri Navkiran Singh Advocate could not satisfy the plea that Punjab Police led by Shri Makhan Singh physically brought Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh from Bhilai on or about 13.8.92. It does not appear to be convincing that after the alleged arrest of Gurjasbir Singh from Bhilai on 13.8.1992 Punjab Police would have kept him here and thereafter, on or about 19.11.1992 he was deliberately subjected to the fire arm injuries necessitating his postmortem examination as well thereafter in Dasuya hospital. It is quite plausible that Punjab Police was able to lay hands on 31.8.1992 on Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh who originally belonged to Amritsar and he was produced before a Judicial Magistrate at Dausya on 1.9.1992 and police remand was granted up to 6.9.1992. The allegations against Gurjasbir Singh which find mention in para 9.22 of the report of the CBI were as under :
"In April, 1990, he, alongwith one Mangal Singh and Sukhchain Singh, kept 2 time bombs one in police Station, Tilak Nagar (Delhi) and another near the office of DCP, Rajouri Garden, which blasted.
In May, 1990, he, along with Mangal Singh resident of Longowal and one Dr. Sukhcahain Singh. both terrorists, had killed one Iqbal Singh Majhbi resident of village Mandiala, District Amritsar.
In July, 1990, he, along with Mangal Singh and Sukhchain Singh, had killed one Hardyal Singh Jat, village Takepur and obtained Rs. 45,000/ from one Pritam Singh for killing Hardyal Singh.
In April, 1991, he, along with Manjit Singh, Gurdaspur and Jatinder Singh r/o Buter Kalan, killed one Harnam Singh Amli of village Dahrdoo.
In June, 1991, he along with Manjit Singh and brotherinlaw Baljinder Singh, killed one Laddoo, Majhbi of village Buter Kalan.
In September, 91 he along with Manjit Singh, Baljinder Singh and Jatinder Singh kidnapped a girl, the daughter of Sudagar Singh, raped her and killed her with cyanide.
In September/October, 1991, he along with Manjit Singh Gurdaspuri and Manjit Singh Sohal, killed one girl near Batela. This girl of village Buter Kalan was engaged to one boy but she did not marry him.
He, along with Manjit Singh Gurdaspuri and Manjit Singh Sohal, killed one Joginder Singh, resident of Village Sathiala at the behest of his brother Tarlochan Singh.
He, along with Manjit Singh Gurdaspuri and Gurpal Singh r/o Berth, killed one Iqbal Singh of village Sudheda at the behest of his cousins and took Rs. 35,000/ from them.
He, along with Manjit Singh Gurdaspuri and Manjit Singh Sohal, killed one constable in Electrical office at Rayas.
In Feb. 92, he, along with Manjit Singh Gurdaspuri, Manjit, Singh Sohal and Gurpal Singh, killed one Bishan Singh of village Jalandhar over a land dispute with one Kishan Singh, who gave Rs. 35,000/ to them. In March, 92, he, along with Manjit Singh Sohal, Manjit Singh Gurdaspuri and Gurpal Singh, killed Nambardar Makhan Singh near the canal of village Palla.
He, along with Manjit Singh Sohal Singh killed one lady of village Bhuja, Distt. Amritsar, at the behest of one Iqbal Singh who gave Rs. 25,000/ to them. Iqbal Singh had some land dispute with the said lady.
In April, 1992, they snatched one truck No. PIC 4597 near Rayya loaded with Bajri and killed the driver and the conductor. After changing the number of the truck No. NLM 4286, he, along with Manjit Singh Gurdaspuri and his brotherinlaw Baljinder Singh, had gone to Bikaner. He, along with Manjit Singh Gurdaspuri, kidnapped a boy of Jamshedpur and killed him."
5. May be that the Police visited Bhilai in search of Gurjasbir Singh but there was no reliable evidence that Gurjasbir Singh who was earlier involved in the alleged Bomb Blast at Delhi was physically arrested, from near Bhilai. The plea of the Punjab Police had been that Gurjasbir Singh alias Amrik Singh lost his life in an encounter with the police on 19.11.1992 and a post mortem examination was also performed on 19.11.1992 in Dasuya Hospital.
6. The plea of the Punjab Police had been that Gurjasbir Singh made good his escape while easing himself and in police custody on 4.9.92. This plea has been corroborated by Shri Mandal Lal Member Panchayat of village Silakhurd District Hoshiarpur and retired Captain Karm Singh a member panchayat of the same village.
7. Shri Handa appearing for the CBI has pointed out that the presence of Shri Malkhan Singh S.I. finds mention in several Daily Diaries as reproduced on pages 88 to 102 of the report of the CBI which he had collected from the relevant Roznamchas of District Hoshiarpur.
8. Amar Singh son of Daan Singh of village Buter Kalan District Amritsar in a statement recorded on 17.4.1993 (the fatherinlaw of Gurjasbir Singh) told that after the marriage of his daughter Narinder Kaur with Gurjasbir Singh he came to know that Gurjasbir Singh was in the company of bad persons. He was reportedly involved in two bomb blast cases of Delhi and he had been asking him to surrender before the police but he did not agree to his proposal. He used to visit his premises in the night whenever his daughter Narinder Kaur was staying with him and he used to the retain him even with AK47 rifle which he possessed. This witness never visited Bhilai in the month of August, 92. Shri Lok Nath Superintendent of Police (defective) Hoshiarpur and Mr. S. Elango Superintendent of Police (Operation) Hoshiarpur who were examined in this enquiry also specifically told that Gurjasbir Singh was killed in an encounter on 1911.1992. They also gave the details regarding recovery of assault A.K. 47 rifle and other explosives. They have specifically denied that Gurjasbir Singh was picked up by Punjab Police from Bhilai on 12/13.8.1992. Even otherwise it does not appear to be convincing or plausible that Punjab Police physically brought Gurjasbir Singh from Bhilai on 13.8.92 and a kind of false encounter has been brought on record to defeat this petition for compensation. On the contrary the version of Punjab Police that Gurjasbir Singh (erstwhile of Delhi Police) an absconder lost his life in an encounter with the police in Punjab after reappraisal of the report of the CBI appears to be plausible.
9. The learned counsel for the petitioner has referred to Smt. Nilabati Behera alias Lalita Behera v. The State of Orissa and others, AIR 1993 SC 1960 where a letter received from Smt. Nilabati Behera was treated as a writ petition under Section 32 of the Constitution of India for determining the claim of compensation made therein consequent upon the death of petitioner''s son Suman Behera aged about 22 years in police custody. In the aforesaid case of District Sundergarh in Orissa Suman Behera the young boy was taken in police Custody at 8.00 a.m. on 1.12.1987 by the police allegedly in a theft case and on the morning of 2.12.1987 the dead body of Suman Behera with hand cuffs and multiple injuries was found lying on the railway track and it was in the aforesaid case the plea of escape was found not in consonance with the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory report. In the case in hand the circumstances are distinguishable. Gurjasbir Singh made good his escape on 4.9.1992 and FIR No. 61 was registered on 4.9.1992 itself under Section 224 of the Indian Penal Code at Police Station Garhshankar.
10. After perusal of the report of the CBI as a whole there appears to be no good ground to disturb the finding in the circumstances of the case. The deceased though belonged to District Amritsar but he was not a member of the Punjab Police but he was an employee of Delhi Police as seen above. In the circumstances of the case the present petition moved under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure where compensation has been prayed has no merit and it is dismissed.
11. This also disposes of the Crl. Writ Petition No. 573 of 1992 and Crl. Misc. No. 91 of 1994.
