Success Stories
Liquor consumption in a public place: Police hit Eswaran to death
Court orders compensation: Prosecution initiated
Eswaran aged 26 years in 2004 was running a meat shop at Anuppanadi for his livelihood. He lived along with his parents, wife Pitchaiyammal, daughter Adheeswari, (5 years old) and son Manikandan (3 years old then). His wife was 7 months pregnant at the time of his death in 2004.
On 04.12.2004, Saturday, in the afternoon, he went to ‘Aattukottam’ (goat shelter) in Simmakkal area of Madurai to buy goats. That night at around 07.00 p.m., he bought and drank alcohol near the TASMAC outlet in Sinthamani Main Road. Police Constables who came there on a motorcycle asked him why he was consuming alcohol in a residential area, standing in the public place. They took all the things from the shirt pocket and upon their intimation, a police jeep came and took Eswaran to the Keeraithurai Police Station.
At around 09.00 p.m., Constable Marimuthu informed his father Sangaiyya about Eswaran’s detention at the police station and took him to the police station on his bike. Eswaran was lying on his back in the veranda. The police told him that they had filed a petty case on his son and asked him to pay the fine the next day.
He hired an auto rickshaw and came home. Since Eswaran was in an unconscious condition, Sangaiyya made him lie down in the place where goats were tethered near their house. He then went back to the police station to collect Eswaran’s things, but the police on duty gave him only the house key, saying that he could not find the other things. On his return, when he looked for his son Eswaran he was lying on the ground 10 feet away from the place he was originally lying. Sangaiyya tried to make him to get up, but he did not rise. His father and relatives went to Avaniyapuram police station and lodged a complaint. They registered a case u/s. 174 Cr.P.C. i.e., for death under suspicious circumstances.
The Sub Inspector and policemen came to their house and inspected his body with the help of torch light. There were swellings below his right elbow and on his left hip and there were blood clots and injuries on the soles of his feet. Autopsy was done at Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital on 05.12.2004, but the Doctors failed to video graph the same as per the guidelines of NHRC. The Revenue Divisional Officer conducted inquiry. The police who took Eswaran into their custody on 4.12.2004 have failed to follow the guidelines of the Supreme Court in D.K.Basu Judgment.
People’s Watch through its monitoring team assisted and accompanied the victim’s family in preferring complaints to authorities. People’s Watch has provided educational assistance to the children and they regularly took part in summer camps for the children of victims of torture conducted by the organization. People’s Watch approached the High Court in the father of the deceased, Sangaiyya’s name to prosecute the delinquent police and for compensation. (W.P. (MD).No.5272 of 2006)
On 06.08.2010, Justice S. Manikumar, while passing an order, observed that “Though the father of the deceased is the only claimant in this writ petition, in the interest of justice and to mitigate the hardship faced by the widow who is now saddled with the responsibility of raising three children without any assistance from her husband, this Court, deems it fit to award compensation of Rs.5,00,000/- (Rupees five lakhs only) to be paid by the State Government to the legal heirs of the victim and that the said amount is further directed to be recovered from the salary of the police personnel, who were prima facie found by the government to be responsible for the death and against whom, the Government have ordered prosecution and departmental action.(Para 45)
Taking into consideration, the age of the minor children, wife and age of the father of the deceased, viz., the petitioner herein, this Court further deems it fit to direct the State Government to pay a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- to the petitioner, father of the deceased, and pay a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- to the wife of the deceased and the remaining compensation amount of Rs.3,00,000/- be deposited in the name of the minor children, in a fixed deposit for a period of three years, in a nationalised bank, proximate to the residence of the wife of the deceased. Like in Motor Transport Claims cases, she is also permitted to withdraw the accrued interest from the fixed deposit, till the minor children attain majority. The amount ordered by this Court shall be deposited within one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. (Para 46)
“Sangaiyya Versus The State of Tamil Nadu, rep. by its Chief Secretary, Chennai & Others”
CDJ 2010 MHC
(2011)1 MLJ 280
