TEN POINTERS ON LAW AROUND THE NEWS
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D. K Jain Committee Report as the basis
The ISRO fake spy case made rounds of news in 1994 and when judgment was pronounced, 2018 but the journey from being framed to clean chit had its own imprints. In April 2021, Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe against cops who allegedly framed the space scientist Nambi Narayanan in the ISRO espionage case in April 2021. The apex court took into the record the Justice (Retd.) D.K. Jain report in the case. The court ordered the director/acting director of CBI to treat the Jain committee report as the preliminary inquiry report and proceed further.
A bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar was considering the application filed by the Centre seeking further action on the Jain Commission report in the infamous ISRO Espionage Case regarding the role of erring police officials in the 1994 espionage case relating to Narayanan who had been acquitted and was eventually awarded Rs 50 lakh compensation by the top court.
2. Reputation of an Individual is integral to the right to life and dignity
The reputation of an individual is an integral facet of the right to life with dignity. In a different context, a two-Judge Bench of the apex Court in Vishwanath Agrawal v. Sarla Vishwanath Agrawal ((2012) 7 SCC 288) has observed:-
“55. … reputation which is not only the salt of life but also the purest treasure and the most precious perfume of life. It is extremely delicate and a cherished value this side of the grave. It is a revenue generator for the present as well as for the posterity.”
3. New Development
On April 5, 2021, the Centre had moved the top court seeking urgent hearing and consideration of the panel’s report terming it as a national issue. The plea sought consideration of the report filed by a high-level committee regarding the role of erring police officials in the 1994 espionage case relating to ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan who had been acquitted and was eventually awarded compensation by the top court.
4. Compensation awarded
The apex court had appointed the panel on September 14, 2018, while directing the Kerala government to provide Rs 50 lakh compensation for compelling Narayanan to undergo “immense humiliation”.
5. Set up Committee to Investigate against the official
It had ordered setting up of the committee to take appropriate steps against the erring officials for causing “tremendous harassment” and “immeasurable anguish” to Narayanan and had directed the Centre and state government to nominate one officer each in the panel. Terming the police action against the ex-scientist of the ISRO as a “psycho-pathological treatment”, the apex court had in September 2018 said that his “liberty and dignity”, basic to his human rights, were jeopardised as he was taken into custody and, eventually, despite all the glory of the past, was compelled to face “cynical abhorrence”.
6. Background of the case
The espionage case, which had hit the headlines in 1994, pertained to allegations of transfer of certain confidential documents on India’s space programme to foreign countries by two scientists and four others, including two Maldivian women The scientist was arrested. The CBI, in its probe, had held that the then top police officials in Kerala were responsible for Narayanan’s illegal arrest.
The 79-year-old former scientist, who was given a clean chit by the CBI, had earlier said that the Kerala police had “fabricated” the case and the technology he was accused to have stolen and sold in the 1994 case did not even exist at that time.
Narayanan, the then director of the cryogenic project at ISRO, was arrested along with the then ISRO Deputy Director D Sasikumaran, and Fousiya Hasan, a Maldivian friend of Rasheeda.
From the aforesaid, it is quite vivid that emphasis has been laid on mental agony when a person is confined within the four walls of a police station or lock-up. There may not be an infliction of physical pain but definitely, there is mental torment. In Joginder Kumar v. State of U.P. and others 5 (1994) 4 SCC 260, the Court ruled:-
7. Indiscriminate arrest
Mental agony when a person is confined within the four walls of a police station or lock-up. There may not be an infliction of physical pain but definitely, there is mental torment. In Joginder Kumar v. the State of U.P and others. (1994) 4 SCC 260 the Court ruled:-
“8. The horizon of human rights is expanding. At the same time, the crime rate is also increasing. Of late, this Court has been receiving complaints about violation of human rights because of indiscriminate arrests. How are we to strike a balance between the two?
9. A realistic approach should be made in this direction. The law of arrest is one of balancing individual rights, liberties and privileges, on the one hand, and individual duties, obligations and responsibilities on the other; of weighing and balancing the rights, liberties and privileges of the single individual and those of individuals collectively; of simply deciding what is wanted and where to put the weight and the emphasis; of deciding which comes first — the criminal or society, the law violator or the law abider….”
8. Court Observations
“There can be no scintilla of doubt that the appellant, a successful scientist having national reputation, has been compelled to undergo immense humiliation. The lackadaisical attitude of the state police to arrest anyone and put him in police custody has made the appellant suffer the ignominy, the apex court had said in its September 2018 order. The dignity of a person gets shocked when psycho-pathological treatment is meted out to him. A human being cries for justice when he feels that the insensible act has crucified his self-respect,” the top court had said.
The Supreme court of India was categorical in understanding the gravity of damage and held that despite the civil suit of compensation, it would not debar the constitutional court to grant compensation taking recourse to public law. The Court cannot lose sight of the wrongful imprisonment, malicious prosecution, humiliation and defamation faced by the appellant.
9. Law regarding the award of Compensation
Sube Singh v. State of Haryana and others (10 (2006) 3 SCC 178) the three-Judge Bench, after referring to the earlier decisions, has opined:-
“38. It is thus now well settled that the award of compensation against the State is an appropriate and effective remedy for redress of an established infringement of a fundamental right under Article 21, by a public servant. The quantum of compensation will, however, depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case. Award of such compensation (by way of public law remedy) will not come in the way of the aggrieved person claiming additional compensation in a civil court, in the enforcement of the private law remedy in tort, nor come in the way of the criminal court ordering compensation under Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”
10. Torture- Mental & Physical
There has been some argument that there has been no complaint with regard to custodial torture. When such an argument is advanced, the concept of torture is viewed from a narrow perspective. What really matters is what has been stated in D.K. Basu v. State of W.B. (1997) 1 SCC 416. The Court in the said case, while dealing with the aspect of torture, held:-
“10. ‘Torture’ has not been defined in the Constitution 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 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. Torture is anguish squeezing in your chest, cold as ice and heavy as a stone, paralysing as sleep and dark as the abyss. Torture is despair and fear and rage and hate. It is a desire to kill and destroy including yourself.’
— Adriana P. Bartow
No violation of any one of the human rights has been the subject of so many conventions and declarations as ‘torture’ — all aiming at total banning of it in all forms, but in spite of the commitments made to eliminate torture, the fact remains that torture is more widespread now than ever before. ‘Custodial torture’ is a naked violation of human dignity and degradation which destroys, to a very large extent, the individual personality. It 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.
No violation of any one of the human rights has been the subject of so many conventions and declarations as ‘torture’ — all aiming at total banning of it in all forms, but in spite of the commitments made to eliminate torture, the fact remains that torture is more widespread now than ever before. ‘Custodial torture’ is a naked violation of human dignity and degradation which destroys, to a very large extent, the individual personality. It 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.
