Curious case of missing man from police custody, assumed dead but later found alive; SC to examine

The case dates back to 2005, when Punjab police arrested a man under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) and later claimed that he escaped from custody. His father filed a habeas corpus and a few days later, a body was found and it was assumed that it was of the accused person arrested under the NDPS charges.

Coincidentally, the man was found alive after 14 years.

Now, the top court is dealing with an appeal filed by one Naginder Singh, father of the man who went missing from police custody in 2005. The case was listed on October 4 before a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh, which adjourned the matter for February 14, 2025.

Naginder Singh, in his special leave petition has challenged Punjab and Haryana High Court order dated January 12, 2021 which quashed his protest petition and the trial court order dated December 12, 2017 summoning the police officials. Punjab Police has opposed the appeal.

Naginder Singh, who is represented by advocates Pallavi Pratap, Prashant Pratap, and Amjid Maqbool, in his plea said that his son Hardeep Singh was arrested by the police on August 24, 2005 under the provisions of the NDPS Act from Ludhiana's Dehlon.

Next day he came to know that his son had escaped from police custody. Two First Information Reports were lodged. One was under Sections 15 and 25 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 against Hardeep Singh. When the police party was taking Hardeep Singh Raju in a government vehicle to produce him before the concerned magistrate, he escaped from the police custody and another FIR dated August 25, 2005 was registered against him under Section 224 IPC, Punjab Police said.

Thereafter, Naginder Singh filed a Habeas Corpus to produce his son Hardeep Singh, on the pretext that he has been illegally detained by the police in Police Station Dehlon, District Ludhiana. A Warrant Officer was appointed but Hardeep Singh could not be traced. Later on, on September 17, 2005, the dead body of an unknown person was found and a post-mortem was conducted.

Thereafter, the complainant alleged that the body was of his son and the accused police officials had murdered him. However, Narinder Singh, in his appeal before the top court, has clarified that he came to know from someone that an unidentified dead body was recovered from a water pond and the same has been cremated by the police officials in haste.

In the backdrop of these facts, the HC had directed the Additional Director General of Police (Crime), to get an enquiry conducted and submit a report. "The Additional Inspector General of Police (Crime) had given a report that the dead body recovered from the pond was not of the son of the complainant and he was alive and was in regular touch with the complainant (father)."

Thereafter, this Court directed the Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, to hold an enquiry and submit a report about the whereabouts of the son of the complainant. The Sessions Judge submitted an enquiry report on August 31, 2008, holding that the son of the complainant was eliminated by the police while in custody. In view of the said report, the court on May 21, 2010 directed to register an FIR against the accused police officials and thus, an FIR dated August 21, 2010 was registered under Sections 302 and 201 IPC at Police Station Dehlon, District Ludhiana.

During the investigation of the FIR, an SIT was constituted which again submitted a report that the son of the complainant was alive as no evidence has come against the accused persons and in fact, Hardeep Singh escaped from the police custody. On the basis of the report, a cancellation report dated October 31, 2011 was filed before the Magistrate.

The complainant, thereafter, filed a protest petition. The Judicial Magistrate vide impugned order dated December 7, 2017 summoned the petitioners to face trial under Sections 302/201/34 IPC. The police officials challenged the order before the sessions court which was dismissed.

In the meantime, the Magistrate in August 2019 had issued Non-bailable Warrants against the police officials and on September 2, 2019, the cops through their counsel moved an application before the trial court and claimed that Hardeep Singh (claimed to be deceased son of the complainant Narinder) was in fact, alive and he was declared proclaimed offender in the FIR dated August 25, 2005 and now, he has been arrested and he is in judicial custody.

Substantially, the Punjab and Haryana HC ruled in favour of police officials observing that the assumed dead man was alive and quashed the protest petition as well as the impugned summoning order passed by the Judicial Magistrate, Ludhiana and discharged the policemen. In its order Punjab and Haryana HC order said, "A murdered man was found alive. Still the 15 years long agony of the petitioners (hereinafter referred to as 'the accused') is not buried by the Courts below."

Punjab and Haryana High Court in its order dated January 12, 2021 also held that Naginder Singh is liable for proceedings under section 340, CrPC and that the sum payable to the respondents police officials by the State Legal Services Authority recoverable from him as well.

Challenging the decision of the HC, Narinder Singh said that even proceedings under murder may not be maintainable against the alleged erring police officials, but other offences dealing with illegal detention, attempt to murder, grievous hurt, wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement are still made out against the accused cops.

"Be that as it may, even if the impugned proceeding under Section 302 IPC were no longer maintainable against the Respondents yet, other Cognizable and Non-Bailable offences viz-a-viz illegal detention/confinement, attempt to murder, grievous hurt, wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement, criminal force and assault, criminal intimidation etc. were still made out against the Respondents and the High Court proceeded to quash the entire proceedings wholly on untenable grounds," the petition copy read.

Explaining how his son suddenly appeared, the petitioner father, in his plea, said, "Meanwhile, vide order dated August 19, 2019, Learned JMIC, Ludhiana proceeded to issue non-bailable warrants against the respondents. During this period, shockingly, Hardeep Singh was found alive and arrested by the Police."

"As a matter of fact, for all 14 years, the police officials had kept Hardeep Singh in illegal detention and had tortured him in an inhuman manner. The sole reason for producing Hardeep Singh by the aforesaid police officials was to save themselves from the wrath of criminal prosecution initiated against them under section 302 of IPC. Police officials, in order to cover their illegal acts of detention of Hardeep Singh, filed another FIR No. 175 dated 03.09.2019 u/s 174-A IPC. The said FIR also mentioned that Hardeep Singh was declared as proclaimed offender on December 16, 2005, i.e. 3 months after the dead body of Hardeep Singh was found," the petition read.

"However, a dead person cannot be a proclaimed offender. It clearly establishes the conspiracy hatched by the police officials," the father said. (ANI)