PREM CHAND v. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS (2)

Citation: [1981] 1 S.C.R. 1262

Court: Supreme Court of India

Bench: V.R. KRISHNA IYER, R.S. PATHAK, O. CHINNAPPA REDDY

Case summary

The validity of the action, assuming the vires· of the Act, :-1 ·involves also a consideration of the mala fide. H 'sionnl perjurer for the Police is simple and credible, at this price, the favours of the Police who allowed him to carry on his soft drinks Dl.

Judgment text

12_62 A· PREM CHAND v. UNION 0~ INDIA AND ORS. November 11, 1980 B [V. R. KruSHNA IYER, R. S. PATHAK & 0. CH! NN*PPA REDDY, JJ. ] Delhi Police Act, 1978-Section. s 47 and So-Scope of-Allegations made itt externment order vague-Order if valid- Order should be passed or;ly when there is clear and present danger based 011 credible material. Exercising power under sections 47 and 50 of the Delhi Police Act,. 1978 (which clothe the Commissioner of Police with externment powers for keeping the capital city free of crime) the Deputy Commissioner of Police Delhi direcc ted the appellant to show cause why he should not be externcd from the Union Territory of Delhi.

The allegations against him were that his activities in the area of poli~ station Connaught •Place and the areas adjoining the police station were causing and were calculated to cause harm, alarm and danger to the residents of the said localities and areas that he kept a kcife with him for unlawful purposes and threatened residents of that area with dire consequences and deterred them from reporting to the police and that he D had engaged himself in the commission of offences against persons and properly with force and violence. In bjs petition under ArticJe 32 of the Constitution challenging the vires of the externment proceedings as arbitrary and unreasonable restrictions on his freedom of movement, the petitioner stated that over the past 25 years with the indulgence of the local police. he used to park his mobile refrigerated water-carts on the road side in front of a cine.

ma theatre in Delhi and that in E return for the indulgcnee shown to him by the police and to keep them in good humour he yielded to their pressure and gave false testimony in as many as 3000 cases. Even thQugh Courts had dubbed him as a stock witness and passed severe strictures and disbelieved his testimony, the police did not give him up; that he had to continue to act as a tool in their bands for the survival of his. business and that lately when he declined to oblige them because ho felt that his wealthy s-tation in life and the character-building F stugo of his children warranted giving . up tho prorc. ssion of stock-witnoss, the police avenged themselves by threatening extcrnment which would inflict mortal cconomi ides. Prcm Chand made a living as a paniwala or vendor r•f ' soft drinks ncar Dditc Cinema even as a tccnagerJ which shows that he haLl \'cry poor bcginning'i. How JiLl he fall into tho thraldom of the locul police?

1fc explains it in hh nffidavit : "lk had u few mobil~t c:~rts which were used for refrigerating w::ttc;r.. These carts used to b" parked by the petitioner on the c roaJ ~Jtk due to the indulgence of the police. He was in his teem whl.! n he started ·his ayocation anJ continued for a very long time. Thus, he acquired an alias i. e. }? rein Chartd Paniwall. Dll wt~s '·, ( pmuadcd t~ be thel! pcrpdual stooge und stock wrtness. · ~ ' · ' PREM CHAND v. UNION OF INDIA (Krishna l yer, J. ) 1265 The Petitioner in the year 1965, when he was 25 years old was involved in a gambling case by the police and to mould liim a permanent stock witness and lest he should be militant to defy them. Despite his hesitation and unwillrngness be was forced to become a permanent pawn of the poJice. This is hOw, the petitioner Jimded himself in the web of the police; he had no B alternative than to be like that as his liveHhood was dependent upon the mercy and indulgence of the police".

The version of the petitioner is that once he yielded to th~ pressure · of the Police to give false testimony disclosing a rubberised conscience. and unveracious readiness· to forswear himself, there was escalation c of demands upon him and he became. a regular pedlar of perjury "on police service". Indeed, counsel for the petitioner argued 'fhat his client was a 'stock witness' because he had to keep the Police in good humour and obliged them with tailored testimony in around 3. 000 cases because the alternative was police wrath. We were flabbergasted at this bizarre confess-ion but to lend cre'dcnce to liis D assertion counsel produced a lfew hundred stunmons'es where the petitioner wa. S cited as a witness. Were he not omnjprec;ent how could he testify in so many cases save by a versatile genius for loyal unveracity?

For sure, the consternation ·of the community at this flood of perjury will shake its faith in the veracity of PoJi~e investigation and the validity of the judicial verdict. We have no doubt that ' E the petitioner, who has given particulars of a large number of cases where he had . been cited as witness, is speaking ~he truth even assuming that 3,000 cases- may be an exaggeratio. n. In Justice, Justices and Justicing and likewise in the Police and Policing, the peril to the •• ~ I" judicial process is best left to imagination if professional perjurers · {.. like the self-confessed Paniwala are kept captive by the Police, to F be pressed into service for proving "cases". Courts,. trusting the · Police may act on apparently• veracious testimony and sentence . ' people into prison. The community, satisfied with such convictions, may well believe that an is well with law and order. We condemn, in the strongest terms, the systematic pollution of the judicial process and the consequent .

threat 'to human rights of innocent persons. We G ]lope that the higher authorities in the Department who, apparently, arc not aware of the nefarious goings-on at the lesser levels will immediately take meas·ures to stamp out this unscrupulou·s menace. ) . . . \ The 'reason why the petitioner has divulged his role ·as profes~ H 'sionnl perjurer for the Police is simple and credible, at this price, the favours of the Police who allowed him to carry on his soft drinks Dl. ISiness on the public street near a cinema house, not otherwise A permissible under the law. . The Police blinked at the breach, the petitioner made good profits and by this· mutual benefit pact, the prosecution got readymade evidence and Paniwala joined the nouveu riche. He became respectable when he became rich and when he became Tespectable be became reluctant to play 'stock witness'. For "the more things a man is ashamed of the more respectable he is" B (Bernard Shaw).

Whenever he resisted the demand for giving false evidence the Police implicated him in some case or other and when he yielded, the case was allowed to lapse. Indeed, it is surprising that the petitioner himself admits that he was "dubbed as a stockw. ltne. '>~ and often disbelieved by the courts. Despite severe strictures passed by the courts, the Police did not give him up. " Various c details· are furnished by the petitioner about his deposing on prosecutions for the survival of his business. In the bargain, the petitioner acquired two houses in important localities and built up a lucrative fruit juice business. There are more uncomplimentary revelations made in the petiti-on but we do not think it necessary to set them out. However, the crisis came when he declined . to oblige with D p::rjury since he felt his- wealthy station in life and the characterbuilding stage of his children warranted giving up the profession of stock-·.. vitness.

· The Police avenged tl1emselves by initiating externmeat which would inflict mortal economic injury, if carried out. This version of the petitioner has been, in a way, denied. It is also E true that the Assistant Commissioner, in his affidavit in reply, has indicated that witnesses have been examined in support and in opposition of the allegations justifying externment and a final order has been made by the DCP directing the petitioner "to show good conduct for a period of three months only". It is also stated that the witnesses were examined in camera, that the DCP had consi- F deration for the materials placed before him "including education of his children etc. and the assurance given by him". An intelligent reading of the affidavit of the Assistant Commissioner, along with the vagueness in his denials regarding material particulars in the petitioner's affidavits, leave us in grave doubt about the vaHdity of the Police proceedings.

G It is· significant to Mtice that among the allagations against the petitioner are such vague statements as your activities in the area of Police Stati:on Connaught Place and other area adjoining to the Police Station Connaught Place are causing and are calculated to cause harm, alarm and danger to the residents of the said localities H and areas. While we do not delve into details, it is useful to mention that the Police allegations arc again vagu. e rn respect of the remaining imputations namely : , . . ~ ••• ,J ... •• • • .... ' • .. • ·.... •1.. . ,. : - ~REM CHAND v. umoN. OF iNmA (KriShnalyer, J. ) 1i6'i "That you keep knife ~ith you for unlawful purpose and A · threaten the persons residing in the area with dire consequences and further dete~ them from making report. ~o police. /,. That you have engaged yourself in commission of offences against person and property attended with force ap. d violence ) .

for which the following cases were register~ against you by B · the Police... •... •". Tiie 'petitioner's reply affidavit makes startling disclosures . about tlie police ·methods of iri:J. plicating innocent people. However, the yersion of the petitioner cari hardly be swallowed since 'he is a self- . ··---... _ confessed perjurer. Nevertheless, it is not too. much to ask Government to take effective measures to pre\;'ent Police methods straying into vice. We . hopefully remind the State about what Justi:ce 1 Brandieis once observed : ( ) "Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law breaker, it breeds contempt for Jaw:" ...... "TQ declare that D · in the administration of the criminal law the end. justifies the means - to declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private crimuial - would bring terrible retribution. Against that pernicious doctrine this court must resoluiely set its face.

" In t11e same American de<;ision we have just mentioned Justice E Holmes observed; "We have to choose, and for my part I think it a less evil that some criminals should escape than that the Government ... si1ould play an ignoble part. " · The provisions of the statute ostensibly have a benign purpose ' . • and in tpe context of escalation of crime, may be restrictions which, '< in normal times might appear unreasonable, may have to be clamped down on individuals. We are conscious of the difficulties of detec-. tion and proof and the strain on the police in tracking down criminals. But fundamental rights are fundamental and personal liberty cannot be put at the mercy of the Police. Therefore, Ss. 47 and 50 have to be read strictly. Any police apprehension is not enough. Some ground or other is not adequate. There must be a clear and present danger baSed upon credible material which makes the movements ...

arid acts of the person in question alarming or dangerous or fraught with violence. Likewise, there must be sufficient reason to believe· ~liat the person proceeded against is so desperate and dangerous that his mere presence in Delhi or any part thereof is hazardous to H fhc community and its safety. We are clear that the easy possibility (l) Olmstead v. :u. S. 277'US 438 [1928]. ' .. .! . ,..... A of abuse of this power to the detriment of the fundamental freedoms of the citizen persuades us to insist that a stringent test must be applied. We are further clear that natural justice must be fairly complied with and vague allegations and secret hearings are gross violations of Art. 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution as expounded by thls Court in Maneka Gandhi(1). We do. not go deep into this B question for two reasons : there is another petrtion where the constitutionality of these identical provisions is in issue.

Secondly, the counsel ·for the State has fairly conceded that no actio_n will now be taken even by way of surveillance against the petitioner. In an age when electronic surveillance and mid-night rappings at the door . of ordinary citizens remind us of despotic omens, we have to look c at the problem as fraught with peril to constitutional values· and not with lexical laxity or literal liberality. Having . made these observations, we leave the question of vires open for final investigation, if necessary, in other cases pending before this Court. We think counsel for the State was right in D representing that no further action would be taken against the peti-tioner. We dispose of the petition as calling no longer for directions but emphasise the need of the State to issue clear orders to the Police Department to free the process'ses of investigation and prosecution from the contamination of concoction through the expediency of stockpiling of stock-witnesses.

To police persons who get ri~h E quick by methods not easily or licitly understandable, is perhaps a social service. Among the list of wanted persons must be not only the poor suspects· but the dubious rich. To keep an eye on their activities without close shadowing and surveHlance may, perhaps, lead to criminal discoveries, if they are not too influential for the pcllce. By this judgment what we mean is. not to tell the Police to · F fold up their hands 'and remain inactive when anti-so~ral elements s~ddenly grow in wealth but to be activist and iptelligent enough to · , track down those who hold tlie nation's health, wealth, peace and secmity in jeopardy. The only insistence is that the means must : also be as good as the ends. G P. B. R. Petition. allowed: - (1) Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India [1978) 1 SCC 248.