Award of Compensation for Violation of Article 21.

In the light of
Sube Singh V. State of Haryana (2006 3SCC 178)

Abstract

This case deals with the article 21 of Indian Constitution. The case is a most recent judgment on the
very point that weather compensations is awarded under this article of the article. The judgment by
the Supreme Court is very good judgment by rewarding the compensation.

Facts of the Case

An undated letter from the petitioner, received by Supreme Court on 19.11.1998, alleging illegal
detention, custodial torture and harassment to family members was registered as a writ petition under
Article 32 of the Constitution of India for violation of Art 21. The State of Haryana and its Director
General of Police were arrayed as respondents 1 and 2 and the six Police Officers referred to in the
letter-petition were arrayed as respondent Nos.3 to 8.

The Letter (re: alleged torture and illegal detention) 1

Accordingly to Sube Singh ASI Dharam Singh, In- charge of Dhamtan Saheb Police Post,
along with some Police Officers, came to his house on 10.3.1998 at about 11 A.M, to enquire
about the whereabouts of his son Joginder; and that when he informed them that he was not
aware of it, they started beating him. Thereafter, the Police took him, his wife and two minor
daughters forcibly to the Police Post, through the bazaar. He was beaten in police station,
searched his pockets and took away Rs.2, 350 which he was carrying. Though his wife and
daughters were sent back to the house, he was illegally detained in Police custody for a day
and then taken to P.S. Garhi where he was kept for 10 days and during the first 5 days of such
detention, he was regularly beaten.
He alleged that in view of such torture, he was forced to leave his house and remain outside.
He prayed for a direction to the Police to stop the atrocities and torture. He sought
compensation for himself and his wife and daughters for the social, physical and financial
loss, and return of his licensed gun, gold ornaments and other belongings. He also prayed for


This paper is written by Aurobinda Panda, KIIT School of Law, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa India, 751024, can
be contacted at Email - aurobindapanda2003@gmail.com, Mob-+91-9937161118
1
Sube Singh v. State of Haryana and others 2006 SCC 179 (Para 6 -10)

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1890673

 a thorough inquiry into the atrocities and torture committed by the Police and imposition of
punishment to those who were responsible.
The letter of the petitioner was registered as a writ petition and Rule was issued on 11.1.1999. On
13.9.2000, Supreme Court appointed Mr. S. Muralidhar, Advocate, as Amicus Curiae 2, to assist the
Court.
Joginder Singh son of Sube singh was arrested in June, 1999 by Punjab Police. Before his arrest, he
was allegedly involved in two robberies. On 25.1.2001, when he was being taken to Ferozepur Court
from Ambala jail, Joginder Singh escaped from police custody. It is further alleged by the police that
on 13.2.2001, Joginder Singh and his associates murdered two residents of Tohana. So again Sube
Singh was tortured by police.

Supreme Court not satisfied with the enquiry by police directed CBI to inquire. CBI held a
preliminary inquire and submitted the report. On direction of SC several FIRs ware logged against
the police officers.

Issues
1. Weather compensation can be awarded as public law remedy for violation of Art 21 under Art
32 or 226 of the constitution of India? Can the compensation be awarded to under trails?
2. Weather compensation can be awarded for every violation of Art 21?
3. Weather compensation can be awarded in this case?3

Introduction
In this case Article 21 of The Constitution of India. Let get a brief intro of these Article.
Article 21. “Protection of life and personal liberty.
No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure
established by law.”4

Though the phraseology of Article 21 starts with negative word but the word No has been used in
relation to the word deprived. The object of the fundamental right under Article 21 is to prevent
encroachment upon personal liberty and deprivation of life except according to procedure established
by law. It clearly means that this fundamental right has been provided against state only. If an act of

2
Dev Ashu Tosh , Students dictionary, p 62, Definition: Latin term meaning "friend of the court". The name for a brief
filed with the court by someone who is not a party to the case.
3
Including arguments on behalf of appellant.
4
Bakshi P.M., The Constitution Of India ,p. 46

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1890673

private individual amounts to encroachment upon the personal liberty or deprivation of life of other
person. Such violation would not fall under the parameters set for the Article 21. In such a case the
remedy for aggrieved person would be either under Article 226 of the constitution or under general
law. But, where an act of private individual supported by the state infringes the personal liberty or
life of another person, the act will certainly come under the ambit of Article 21. Article 21 of the
Constitution deals with prevention of encroachment upon personal liberty or deprivation of life of a
person.5

Explanation of the Issues derived from the Case

1. Weather compensation can be awarded as public law remedy for violation of Art 21 under
Art 32 or 226 of the constitution of India? Can the compensation be awarded to under
trails?

Though illegal detention and custodial torture were recognized as violations of the fundamental
rights of life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21, to begin with, only the following reliefs were
being granted in writ petitions under Article 32 or 2266:
a) Direction to set at liberty the person detained, if the complaint was one of illegal detention.
b) Direction to the concerned Government to hold an inquiry and take action against the
officers responsible for the violation.
c) If the enquiry or action taken by the concerned department was found to be not
satisfactory, to direct an inquiry by an independent agency, usually the Central Bureau of
Investigation.
Award of compensation as a public law remedy for violation of the fundamental rights
enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution, in addition to the private law remedy under the
Law of Torts, was evolved in the last two and half decades.

In the Bhagalpur Blinding case 7, Bhagwati J., (as he then was), speaking for the Bench, posed the
following question while considering the relief that could be given by a court for violation of
constitutional rights guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution :-
"... but if life or personal liberty is violated otherwise than in accordance with such
procedure, is the Court helpless to grant relief to the person who has suffered such

5
Basu D.D. Commentary on the Constitution of India, vol-3, 8th edition, pp. 3215-3218.
6
Supra note-5, p 3220
7
Khatri (II) v. State of Bihar 1981 (1) SCC 627
 deprivation? Why should the court not be prepared to forge new tools and devise new
remedies for the purpose of vindicating the most precious of the precious fundamental right
to life and personal liberty?"8

The question was expanded in a subsequent order in Bhagalpur Blinding case 9, thus:-
"If an officer of the State acting in his official capacity threatens to deprive a person of his
life or personal liberty without the authority of law, can such person not approach the court
for injuncting the State from acting through such officer in violation of his fundamental right
under Article 21? Would the court permit itself to become helpless spectator of the violation
of the fundamental right of the petitioner by the State and tell the petitioner that though the
Constitution has guaranteed the fundamental right to him and has also given him the
fundamental right of moving the court for enforcement of his fundamental right, the court
cannot give him any relief."10

Answering the said questions, it was held that when a court trying the writ petition proceeds to
inquire into the violation of any right to life or personal liberty, while in police custody, it does so,
not for the purpose of adjudicating upon the guilt of any particular officer with a view to punishing
him but for the purpose of deciding whether the fundamental right of the petitioners under Article 21
has been violated and the State is liable to pay compensation to them for such violation.

Again in Rudul Sah vs. State of Bihar 11 , the petitioner therein approached Supreme Court under
Article 32 of the Constitution alleging that though he was acquitted by the Sessions Court on
3.6.1968, he was released from jail only on 6.10.1982, after 14 years, and sought compensation for
his illegal detention. The court answers the question while awarding compensation that-
“the state must repair the damage done by its officers to the petitioner’s rights. It may have
recourse against its officers” 12

Rudul Sah was followed in Bhim Singh vs. State of J&K13 and Peoples' Union for Democratic
Rights vs. Police Commissioner, Delhi Police Headquarters14. The law was crystallized in Nilabati

8
Ibid p 630, Para 4
9
Khatri (IV) vs State of Bihar 1981 (2) SCC 493
10
Ibid p 504, Para 7
11
Rudul Sah vs. State of Bihar 1983 (4) SCC 141
12
Ibid p 148, Para 10
13
Bhim Singh vs. State of J&K 1985 (4) SCC 677
14
Peoples' Union for Democratic Rights vs. Police Commissioner, Delhi Police Headquarters 1989 (4) SCC 730
Behera vs. State of Orissa 15. In that case, the deceased was arrested by the police, handcuffed and
kept in police custody. The next day, his dead-body was found on a railway track. Supreme Court
awarded compensation to the mother of the deceased. J.S. Verma J., spelt out the following
principles:-
“Award of compensation in a proceeding under Article 32 by Supreme Court or by the High Court
under Article 226 of the Constitution is a remedy available in public law, based on strict liability
for contravention of fundamental rights to which the principle of sovereign immunity does not
apply, even though it may be available as a defence in private law in an action based on tort.
…Enforcement of the constitutional right and grant of redress embraces award of compensation
as part of the legal consequences of its contravention.”16

Thus is it clear that compensation can be awarded under Article 32 and 226 of the constitution of
India. Then the next question is that can the compensation be awarded while the under trials.
Answering the question Dr. A.S. Anand J., (as he then was) in his concurring judgment elaborated
the principle thus:-
"... Convicts, prisoners or under-trials are not denuded of their fundamental rights under
Article 21 and it is only such restrictions, as are permitted by law, which can be imposed on
the enjoyment of the fundamental rights by such persons. It is an obligation of the State to
ensure that there is no infringement of the indefeasible rights of a citizen to life, except in
accordance with law, while the citizen is in its custody.”17

In D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal18, Supreme Court again considered exhaustively the question
and held that monetary compensation should be awarded for established infringement of fundamental
rights guaranteed under Article 21. Supreme Court held :-
"Custodial violence, including torture and death in the lock ups strikes a blow at the Rule of
Law, which demands that the powers of the executive should not only be derived from law but
also that the same should be limited by law.”19

It is thus now well settled that 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,

15
Nilabati Behera vs. State of Orissa 1993 (2) SCC 746
16
Supra note-15 , p 758,Para 10
17
Supra note-15, p 767, Para 31
18
D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal 1997 (1) SCC 416
19
Ibid p 429, Para 22
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 enforcement of the private law
remedy in tort, nor come in the way of the criminal court ordering compensation under section 357
of Code of Civil Procedure.

This takes us to the next question as to whether compensation should be awarded under Article
32/226, for every violation of Article 21 where illegal detention or custodial violence is alleged.

2. Weather compensation can be awarded for every violation of Art 21?

In M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India [1987 (1) SCC 395], a Constitution Bench of Supreme Court while
considering the question whether compensation can be awarded in a petition under Article 32,
observed thus:-
“We are deliberately using the words "in appropriate cases" because we must make it clear
that it is not in every case where there is a breach of a fundamental right committed by the
violator that compensation would be awarded by the court in a petition under Article 32.”

In Nilabati Behera20, Supreme Court put in a word of caution thus:-

"Of course, relief in exercise of the power under Article 32 or 226 would be granted only when it is
established that there has been an infringement of the fundamental rights of the citizen and no other
form of appropriate redressal by the court in the facts and circumstances of the case, is possible.
....Law is in the process of development and the process necessitates developing separate public law
procedures as also public law principles. It may be necessary to identify the situations to which
separate proceedings and principles apply and the courts have to act firmly but with certain amount
of circumspection and self-restraint, lest proceedings under Article 32 or 226 are misused as a
disguised substitute for civil action in private law." 21

20
Supra note 10
21
Basu D.D. constitutional remedies and writs , law of writs , p 482
In D. K. Basu22, Supreme Court repeatedly stressed that compensation can be awarded only for
redressal of an established violation of Article 21. Supreme Court also drew attention to the
following aspect :
"There is one other aspect also which needs our consideration. We are conscious of the fact
that the police in India have to perform a difficult and delicate task, particularly in view of
the deteriorating law and order situation, communal riots, political turmoil, student unrest,
terrorist activities, and among others the increasing number of underworld and armed gangs
and criminals.

In cases where custodial death or custodial torture or other violation of the rights guaranteed under
Article 21 is established, courts may award compensation in a proceeding under Article 32 or 226.
However, before awarding compensation, the Court will have to pose to itself the following
questions:
(a) Whether the violation of Article 21 is patent and incontrovertible,
(b) Whether the violation is gross and of a magnitude to shock the conscience of the court,
(c) Whether the custodial torture alleged has resulted in death or whether custodial torture is
supported by medical report or visible marks or scars or disability. Where there is no
evidence of custodial torture of a person except his own statement, and where such allegation
is not supported by any medical report or other corroboration evidence, or where there are
clear indications that the allegations are false or exaggerated fully or in part, courts may not
award compensation as a public law remedy under Article 32 or 226, but relegate the
aggrieved party to the traditional remedies by way of appropriate civil/criminal action.

3. Weather compensation can be awarded in this case?

Arguments on behalf of appellant 23

The first and main argument is on the fact that although every allegation that put forward in the writ
petition is not substantiated but some of the allegations are true. Like in the case Abdul Gafar Khan
and Munshi Singh Gautam24, Supreme Court observed: -

22
Supra note-18
23
The above issue is on the point of view of appellant and discuss in following.
24
Munshi Singh Gautam vs. State of M.P 2005 (9) SCC 631
 "Rerely in cases of police torture or custodial death, direct ocular evidence of the complicity
of the police personnel would be available...... Bound as they are by the ties of brotherhood,
it is not unknown that the police personnel prefer to remain silent and more often than not
even pervert the truth to save their colleagues.......... “25

The exaggerated adherence to and insistence upon the establishment of proof beyond every
reasonable doubt, by the prosecution, ignoring the ground realities, the fact-situations and the
peculiar circumstances of a given case, often results in miscarriage of justice and makes the justice
delivery system a suspect.26

We have observed while dealing in the first issue in details that the Supreme Court has laid down in
number of cases starting from Bhagalpur Building case 27 to Rudal Saha v State of Bihar 28 and
crystallizing in Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa 29 and D.K Basu v.State of W.B30 by laying a whole
range of principle and conditions to award compensation for the violation of Article 21.

So I think Supreme Court should award some amount of monetary compensation to the appellant and
his family for the illegal detention, social, physical and financial loss and harassment to him and his
family.

Improving the Present Situation31

Custodial violence requires to be tackled from two ends, that is, by taking measures that are remedial
and preventive.

Award of compensation is one of the remedial measures after the event. Effort should be made to
remove the very causes, which lead to custodial violence, so as to prevent such occurrences.
Following steps, if taken, may prove to be effective preventive measures:
a) Police training should be re-oriented, to bring in a change in the mindset and attitude of the
Police personnel in regard to investigations, so that they will recognize and respect human
rights, and adopt thorough and scientific investigation methods.

25
Supra note 24 pp 637-38, Para 16-18
26 nd
Swarup Jagadish , constitution of India , 2 edition , volume 1 , p 963
27
Supra note-9
28
Supra note-11
29
Supra note-15
30
Supra note-18
31
Supra note-1
 b) The functioning of lower level Police Officers should be continuously monitored and
supervised by their superiors to prevent custodial violence and adherence to lawful standard
methods of investigation.
c) Compliance with the eleven requirements enumerated in D.K. Basu 32 should be ensured in
all cases of arrest and detention.
d) Simple and fool-proof procedures should be introduced for prompt registration of first
information reports relating to all crimes.
e) Computerization, video-recording, and modern methods of records maintenance should be
introduced to avoid manipulations, insertions, substitutions and ante-dating in regard to FIRs,
Mahazars, inquest proceedings, Port-mortem Reports and Statements of witnesses etc. and to
bring in transparency in action.
f) An independent investigating agency (preferably the respective Human Rights
Commissions or CBI) may be entrusted with adequate power, to investigate complaints of
custodial violence against Police personnel and take stern and speedy action followed by
prosecution, wherever necessary.

The endeavor should be to achieve a balanced level of functioning, where police respect human
rights, adhere to law, and take confidence building measures (CBMs), and at the same time, firmly
deal with organized crime, terrorism, white-collared crime, deteriorating law and order situation etc.

Conclusion of the Case

In this case, there is no clear or incontrovertible evidence about custodial torture, nor any medical
report of any injury or disability. The grievance of the petitioner and his relatives is against different
officers in different Police Stations at different points of time. More importantly, several of the
allegations are proved to be exaggerated and false. SC, therefore, do not consider this to be a fit case
for award of compensation. All reliefs which should be granted in such a case, have already been
granted by ordering an inquiry by the CBI and ensuring that the Police Officers named are
prosecuted. The law will have to take own course. This order will not come in the way of any civil
court awarding compensation in an action in tort or the criminal court awarding compensation under
section 357 CPC in the pending prosecution against any of the officers, if the charges are established.

32
Supra note- 18
With the said observations, Supreme Court disposes of this petition, as no further reliefs/directions
are called for.33

Bibliography
Books Referred
 Bakshi P.M., The Constitution Of India
 Basu D.D. Commentary On The Constitution Of India, Vol-3 , 8th Edition
 Basu D.D. Constitutional Remedies And Writs , Law Of Writs
 Dev Ashu Tosh , Students Dictionary
 Swarup Jagadish , Constitution Of India , 2nd Edition , Volume

Cases Referred
 Bhim Singh vs. State of J&K 1985 (4) SCC 677
 D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal 1997 (1) SCC 416
 Khatri (II) v. State of Bihar 1981 (1) SCC 627
 Khatri (IV) vs State of Bihar 1981 (2) SCC 493
 Nilabati Behera vs. State of Orissa 1993 (2) SCC 746
 Munshi Singh Gautam vs. State of M.P 2005 (9) SCC 631
 Peoples' Union for Democratic Rights vs. Police Commissioner, Delhi Police Headquarters
1989 (4) SCC 730
 Rudul Sah vs. State of Bihar 1983 (4) SCC 141

33
Supra note-1