Maintaining that the liberty of the tribal was not only threatened, but was taken away by the State, whimsically, without there being any material against him, the Jharkhand High Court has come down heavily on the police as well as the judiciary.
It said the petitioner, Shanichara, is languishing in custody from 01.07.2021 for committing no offence whatsoever under any penal statute, far less under the Indian Penal Code. The case relates to Karamtand police station in Jamtara in Jharkhand.
“There are some cases, which really shock the conscience of the Court and this is one of such case. This case has not only shaken the conscience of this Court, but also has shaken the faith on the investigating agency, which has filed the chargesheet in this case against the petitioner,” the Jharkhand High Court observed as it ordered the immediate release of the petitioner on interim bail.
“A great injustice has been caused to the petitioner. To bring home a charge under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, there must be proof of direct or indirect acts of incitement to the commission of suicide,” Justice Ananda Sen maintained
The Director General of Police will take suitable steps to sensitize the investigating officers and the Supervising Officers, who are incharge of investigation in different criminal cases, so that innocent persons, against whom there are no materials, are not harassed and their liberty is not infringed or curtailed at the whims of the investigating officers, Justice Sen said,
Shanichara was seen besides the dead body of his neighbour Asha Devi, who is suspected to have committed suicide. Shanichara was informed about Devi’s death by her husband Govind Mandal and Shanichara had helped bring down the hanging body down.
Expressing displeasure over the lower court’s handling of the case, the High Court said, “The suffering of the petitioner could have easily been minimized if the Principal Sessions Judge, Jamtara would not have dismissed the bail application in a mechanical manner without appreciating the materials available in the case diary”
The High Court also directed to transmit its order to Judicial Academy for giving appropriate training to the judicial officers in dealing with cases of similar nature.
Basing its clean chit to the tribal on the statements recorded and the investigation done, the court said it is quite evident that a simple innocent tribal person, who answered the call of his neighbour has been made an accused and kept in custody for no fault on his part. He has been made to suffer for answering a call of humanity, Justice Sen said adding in this case, the immediate remedy is to release the petitioner from custody.
