D.A.DESAI - (1.) PETITIONER is a student of Political Science studying in Jawaharlal Nehru University at Delhi. He belongs to Naga community and hails from Manipur. He has moved this petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution praying for a writ of habeas corpus calling upon the respondents - Union of India, State of Manipur and Commandant, 21st Sikh Regiment to produce before this Court Shri C. Daniel, a former Naik Subedar attached to Manipur Rifles and at the relevant time Head Master of Junior High School, Huining, Ukhrul East, District Manipur State and Shri C. Paul, Assistant Pastor, attached to the Baptist Church in Huining village who according to the petitioner were whisked away on 10/03/1982 from Huining village to Phungrei Camp and detained by the Officer-in-charge of 21st Sikh Regiment and are held incommunicado, not released till today nor their whereabouts are made known.
(2.) PETITIONER averred that 21st Sikh Regiment has set up a camp at Phungrei. Some jawans attached to this Regiment visited Huining village on 5/03/1982 rounded-up villagers and detained them in the playground and the women folk and children were confined in the S. D. A. Church Building. Most of the villagers were released on 6/03/1982 around 10.30 a.m. Three .students K. Nelson, H. R. Aaron and K. Paul studying in Petigrew College were arrested and taken away. The jawans resorted to firing which resulted in the death of one Luinam. It was only at about 11.00 p.m. on 6/03/1982 when the Major and Captain of the 21st Sikh Regiment were presented with some shawls that the captives were released. On 7/03/1982 one Mr. Joshi, Deputy Commissioner, East Ukhrul accompanied by Additional District Magistrate visited Huining village to enquire about the incidents of the previous day. The army jawans, who were present in the village, produced before the aforementioned officers certificates of villagers exonerating them of allegation of ill-treatment and praising the conduct of jawans, which according to the petitioner were obtained under duress from the local residents. On 7/03/1982, the Sunday service by Shri C. Paul, Assistant Pastor and C. Daniel, Head Master in the Church was disturbed by one Subedar and 4 jawans who proceeded to collect some signatures under duress from those who had assembled to participate in the Church service. The certificates were ostensibly obtained to show that the army officers and jawans had not treated the villagers with force or cruelty and nothing untoward had happened on the previous two days. On 10/03/1982, C. Daniel and C. Paul were arrested by the army jawans and were taken away from the village. At the same time, some signatures were obtained by the jawans on blank papers from Machihan, village Headman, and from one Shangnam, a member of the village authority. On the next day, Machihan village Headman, reported the fact of arrest of C. Daniel and C. Paul to the Deputy Commissioner, East Ukhrul, Shri Joshi. As C. Daniel and C. Paul did not return to the village till 15/03/1982, Mrs. C. Thingkhuila, wife of Shri C. Daniel and Mrs. Vangamla, wife of Shri C. Paul went to Phungrei Camp in search of their respective husbands and when they were waiting there, they saw C. Daniel and C. Paul being led away by 4 army jawans towards the West. In the meantime, on a complaint made by Machihan, Shri Joshi, Deputy Commissioner directed Superintendent of Police to make enquiries about the absence of C. Daniel and C. Paul from 10/03/1982. A radiogram message was sent on 15/03/1982 to the Superintendent of Police (East) Ukhrul requesting him to enquire about and ascertain the whereabouts of (1) Roshing, (2) C. Daniel and (3) C. Paul, all of Huining village and four others. The direction given to the Superintendent of Police was to find out the whereabouts of the persons named in the radiogram and to submit his report at an early date. Accordingly, the Superintendent of Police submitted his report on 27/03/1982 stating therein that three persons of Phungcham village mentioned in the radiogram have been released by Assam Rifles on 19/03/1982. The report further recites as under : "As regards persons belonging to Huining Village it is learnt that K. Roshing is still under interrogation with Army and whereabouts of other persons are not known. They were released one day after arrest by Army as reported." On 29/03/1982, 5 residents of Huining village, including Machihan, village Headman, submitted a written complaint to the Deputy Commissioner, Manipur East, District Ukhrul, setting out therein the circumstances in which on 10/03/1982 C. Daniel and C. Paul were taken away by the army jawans. They also complained how the village people were forced to put their signatures on blank paper They further complained that they have not issued any certificate showing that C. Daniel and C. Paul were released in their presence on 11/03/1982. On Ma 30/03/1982, the Deputy Commissioner in response to the query from the Chief Secretary, Manipur State, reported that the village Headman and other village authority, members of Huining have given a report in writing that it is not correct that C. Daniel and C. Paul were released in presence, of village authority members and that both of them were still missing. It is further stated that the village Headman and other members of the village authority have reported that they had not issued any certificate as claimed by the army authority that C. Daniel and C. Paul were released by the army authority on 11/03/1982 in their presence. The report further, recites that a complaint has been made that the security forces personnel had obtained signature on blank papers from village people during their combing operation in Huining village on 10/03/1982. PETITIONER further averred that after C. Daniel and C. Paul were taken away by army jawans of 21st Sikh Regiment on Match 10, 1982 around 3.00 p.m. from Huining village, they have not been released by the officers and jawans incharge of 21st Sikh Regiment and they are illegally and unauthorisedly detained and they are held incommunicado. It is alleged that this continuous detention by the officers and jawans of the army is illegal, invalid and contrary to Article 21 and that all attempts to secure the knowledge as to how the officers and jawans of 21st Sikh Regiment have dealt with the aforementioned two persons have not met with success and he has no other option but to file this petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Photostat copies of the affidavits of Mrs. C. Thingkhuila, wife of Shri C. Daniel, Mrs. C. Vangamla, wife of Shri C. Paul and C. Shangnam, originals of which were produced in earlier writ petitions were annexed to the present writ petition. The petitioner also annexed original affidavit of Shri H. L. Machihan, village Headman and Shri C. Sangnam, village authority member to the petition. The petitioner impleaded four respondents being (1) Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Defence, (2) Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, (3) State of Manipur through the Chief Secretary and (4) Commandant, 21st Sikh Regiment, Phungrei Camp, Ukhrul,
(3.) ON 9/02/1983, the Court directed notice to be served upon the respondents. In response to the notice, one J. C. Sachdeva, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India, New Delhi filed the first return. He claimed his source of knowledge about the facts stated in the affidavit as being personal, being conversant with the facts but remained conspicuously silent about his access to any record on the strength of which he filed his affidavit save making a vague statement in the last para of his affidavit, "that the factual statements made above, are based on the reports and information received which I believe to be correct". In his affidavit, he referred to three other writ petitions being W. P. No. 550 of 1982, W. Ps. Nos. 9229-30 of 1982 and W. P. No. 5328 of 1980 in which constitutional validity of Assam Disturbed Areas (Special Power of Armed Forces) Ordinance, 1947 and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Regulations, 1958 was questioned. He proceeded to reproduce some of the paragraphs from the counter-affidavit filed in earlier petitions. Dealing with the petition for habeas corpus, it was admitted that on 6/03/1982 jawans of 21st Sikh Regiment carried out the search in Huining village lasting for a period of 3 to 4 hours and admitted that certain certificates were obtained by the army personnel from village authorities, Pastors etc. contradicting the allegations made in the writ petition. Copies of those certificates were annexed to the return filed in W. P. No. 550. of 1982. Concerning C. Daniel and C. Paul, it was reiterated that both of them were called for the purpose of identification of certain suspects on 10/03/1982 and after spending the night at the army camp they were allowed to go on 11/03/1982 and since then. the security forces have no knowledge about their whereabouts. Proceeding further it was admitted that a Deputy Commissioner of Ukhrul (presumably Mr. J. P. Joshi) did visit village Huining on 7/03/1992. It was denied that Mrs. Thingkhuila and Mrs. Vangamla ever visited the army post on 15/03/1982. It was admitted that in response to an appeal made to the Chief Minister regarding C. Daniel and C. Paul not having returned to their village, the Security Forces along with a Police Constable (presumably Yangya Anei Thangkhul also known as Maluganai Tankhul) did Visit village Huining on 8/05/1982 in order to inform the wives of C. Daniel and C. Paul, that they had left the Army Camp on 11/03/1982. 'It was denied that at the time of this visit signatures from the village Headman or members of the village authority or from other inhabitants of the village were obtained on blank papers. Then was a perfunctory denial about the affidavits annexed to the present writ petition. A request was made that either the writ petition may be disposed of relying upon the statements made in the affidavit of Shri Sachdeva or that the present writ petition be tagged on with the earlier writ petitions.;