- (1.) The writ petition is for compensation for death of son of the petitioners while in police custody. The case in so far as it is admitted is that a case had been registered against the deceased in F.I.R. No. 347, dated 06.06.2011 for alleged offences under Sections 457/380 IPC registered at P.S. City, Rohtak. He was to be produced before the court for remand, and while he was being taken by police jeep, he jumped down from the police jeep and suffered grievous injuries and admitted in the hospital. The petitioners would state that the police had caused serious physical injury on their son that resulted in death in the hospital on 15.07.2011. The point of contention was whether the police had not caused any injuries to the petitioners' son but he had suffered serious injuries when he attempted to jump from the moving vehicle in which he was transported. An inquest carried out under Section 176 by JMIC, Rohtak, that towed the police version and stated that the death was not on account of any police harassment but on account of the deceased's own act of jumping out of the moving vehicle and that none was responsible. There is a serious issue of disputed question of fact, but one important thing that has to be noticed is that a normal and healthy person who had not any injury on him at the time when he was apprehended, had suffered injuries, while admittedly in the custody of the police. The burden of proof of how the injuries came about him and the alleged cause for death as accidental from a voluntary act of deceased himself are wholly on the respondents only. We are moving towards a compensatory regime that is just in various enactments and the Motor Vehicles Act that set out a scheme for compensation for death and injuries delineates three categories: no fault liability under Section 140, strict liability under Section 163-A and fault liability under Sections 141 and 168. Each of these approaches yield to different results as regards compensation. The minimum compensation of no fault in any event is Rs. 50,000/- under Section 140. Having regard to the fact that the death had occurred on account of injuries sustained while a person was in the custody of the police when a motor vehicle was put in use. I will invoke the principle of what Section 140 sets out and award interim compensation of Rs. 50,000/- with interest payable at 7.5% per annum from the date of death till the date of payment. This is wholly provisional, for, it is not possible to determine the exact cause for the death in a writ petition. Postmortem certificate produced shows as many as 18 injuries including skull injury on the parietal lobe region on the right side. The issue of whether the injuries that have been recorded by the doctor in the postmortem certificate could be resultant to a deliberate fall from a moving vehicle or was there any injury on the person that could have been caused by any assault on the deceased would be matters that could be brought out only through doctor's evidence. The inquest report itself could be taken only for a limited purpose now of what the magistrate has found on the witnesses whom he examined. The petitioner has been examined as EW 1 and the brother of the deceased was also examined as EW 2. They have given different versions. The issue of who was responsible for the death cannot simply be concluded with what is stated in the inquest.
(2.) The petitioners' appropriate remedy would be to file a civil suit and give evidence for securing such compensation as the law permits. If such a suit is filed, there shall be no objection taken on the jurisdiction of the court or any issue of limitation. If there is a requirement for exempting the petitioners from payment of court fee and such a prayer is made, the trial court shall also consider the same in accordance with law.
(3.) The compensation which is awarded by the court shall be considered along with any other relief that the petitioners might be found entitled or otherwise, at the time when the decision is rendered by the civil court. The amount directed shall be paid as expeditiously as possible by the State and more preferably within a period of 8 weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this order. The writ petition is disposed of with the above directions.;