Doliben Kantilal Patel vs State Of Gujarat & Anr

3) Brief facts:

(a) The appellant herein is an American Citizen of Indian origin who came to India on 09.03.2010 to see her ailing father-Kantilal Ambalal Patel. Kantilal Ambalal Patel is having a number of properties in the form of lands, flats and societies in the State of Gujarat. Arvind Jani and Jayesh Dave are very close friends of the father of the appellant. They cheated the father of the appellant in respect of a land dealing at Rajkot against which Civil Suit No. 186 of 2010 was filed in the Court at Rajkot wherein the said suit was decreed in the favour of the appellant herein. The present appeal pertains to the land situated at Vadodra in the name of Gayatrinagar Cooperative Housing Society Limited (group of five societies).

(b) Since certain disputes arose with respect to the above said land at Vadodra which, as per the appellant herein, belongs to her father and the appellant had a joint account with him, one Divyangbhai Jha filed an FIR being CR No. 5/2012 dated 21.05.2012 registered with Gandhinagar Police Station under Sections 406, 409, 420, 465, 467, 468, 174, 120B and 477A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short ‘the IPC’) against the appellant herein and 7 other accused persons in respect of grabbing of lands of cooperative societies using forged/fabricated government permission letters.

(c) On 23/24.05.2012, the appellant herein was arrested at about midnight. On 24.05.2012, she was produced before the Judicial Magistrate and an application for remand was preferred by CID Crime, Ahmedabad. On the very same day, Judicial Magistrate granted remand for a period of 5 days.

(d) It was alleged by the appellant herein that from the very first day of remand, she was repeatedly raped in police custody by Jayesh Dave, Divyangbhai Jha (the complainant in abovesaid FIR), A.A. Shaikh, the investigating officer and also by an unknown person. However, Arvind Jani was present throughout the period of remand. It was further alleged that after the period of remand, she was sent to the Central Jail, Sabarmati, Gujarat without following the procedures prescribed under law.

(e) On 20.06.2012, she wrote an e-mail to Ms. Deepa Mehta, U.S Citizens Services in U.S Consulate, Mumbai describing the entire incident of rape and the atrocities meted out to her. It was also alleged in the said e- mail that Arvind Jani and Jayesh Dave, in connivance with one Amam Shah, owner of a vernacular daily known as Gujarat Samachar got the complaint filed directly to the CID (Crime & Railways) to the effect that Kantilal Ambalal Patel and others are not the office bearers of the abovesaid cooperative society at Vadodra. On 11.07.2012, the appellant herein was released on bail by the High Court of Gujarat.

(f) On 14.07.2012, the appellant filed a complaint under Section 376 read with Section 120B of the IPC to the Police Inspector, Meghani Nagar Police Station, Ahmedabad narrating the alleged offence cited above to have occurred during the period of remand. On the very same date, based on the instructions of the Additional Commissioner of Police, Sector II, the investigation in respect of the above offence was transferred to the Mahila Police Station. It was alleged by the appellant herein that in spite of the complaint regarding a serious offence of rape, no FIR was lodged at Mahila Police Station. Vide notices dated 15/16.07.2012, the Police Inspector, Mahila Police Station called her to record her statement, but she refused to give any statement on the pretext of non-filing of FIR.

(g) Being aggrieved by the non-filing of FIR, the appellant herein filed Special Criminal Application No. 2206 of 2012 before the High Court praying for a direction to the authorities concerned to register an FIR and also to refer the matter to the CBI for investigation. In the meantime, on 27.07.2012, Chief of the American Citizens Services in the American Consulate, in pursuance of the e-mail dated 20.06.2012 forwarded an e-mail to gain access to the appellant herein. The High Court, vide order dated 08.11.2012, dismissed the petition filed by the appellant herein. Being aggrieved by the order of the High Court, the appellant herein has preferred this appeal by way of special leave.

6) It is not in dispute that with reference to the land situated at Vadodra, a complaint has been filed against the appellant and her father which was registered as FIR being CR No.5/2012 at Gandhinagar Police Station. It is further seen that the appellant is an NRI/foreign national of Indian origin and she had been roped in the earlier complaint relating to the land dispute because she had a joint account with her father. Though it is pointed out that in order to pressurize the appellant for certain other land disputes at Rajkot, she has been arrested and raped, since we are concerned about her grievance about the alleged rape in police custody, there is no need to elaborate the details regarding the FIR being CR No. 5/2012. It is the grievance of the appellant that the arrest was made at midnight without the assistance of lady police personnel and during the period of police custody, she was raped by the Investigating Officer and other police personnel for which a complaint dated 14.07.2002 was made to Respondent No. 2 herein but no action was taken on the said complaint. Being aggrieved by the non-registration of the complaint, the appellant approached the High Court, under Article 226 of the Constitution, praying for the reliefs mentioned above. It is also highlighted that inasmuch as the police personnel are involved in the crime and in view of the attitude of the State police in not registering her complaint, she prayed for investigation by the CBI.

7) It is the specific stand of the respondent-State that the original complaint was made by one Divyangbhai Jha which was registered as CR No. 5/2012 under Sections 420, 406 and 120B of IPC against the father of the appellant and the appellant herein with regard to the alleged land transaction at Vadodra. It is their further claim that thereafter, she had been arrested and at the time of her actual arrest, though female police personnel were not present but immediately thereafter she was taken to the nearest police station where female police personnel were present and they remained with the accused throughout. It is pointed out by the State that there was no complaint by the appellant with regard to any harassment from the place of her arrest till she was taken to the nearest police station and there was also no violation of the guidelines or statutory provisions. It is further pointed out that after her arrest on 24.05.2012, she was produced before the Magistrate and, thereafter, her remand was granted for 5 days, i.e., from 24.05.2012 to 29.05.2012 and on 29.05.2012, again she had been produced before the Magistrate but at no point of time, no complaint about harassment or alleged offence of rape has been made to the judicial officer. It is also pointed out that during the period of remand, she was taken to her house twice where her mother was also present and she had occasion to inform the same to her, but no grievance was made to anyone. Likewise, on 29.05.2012, when she was produced before the Magistrate and was remanded to the judicial custody, she had not made any statement or complaint to the Magistrate about the alleged offence of rape during the custody. It is further pointed out that she had not disclosed the same to anyone including her mother, judicial officer or even to the doctors who have examined her. Her medical examination was also done by the Doctors at the Civil Hospital on 26.05.2012 and 29.05.2012. It is further pointed out that thereafter, in Sabarmati Jail, she was examined by female jail doctor on 29.05.2012, 01.06.2012 and 02.06.2012. It is further pointed out that even in the bail application filed before the High Court, no such grievance has been made with regard to the alleged offence of rape while she was in custody. Finally, it is pointed out by the State that when the statement of the appellant was sought to be recorded on 14.07.2012, she did not respond and again when she was called on 16.07.2012 and a reminder was sent, she was not present at her house on 17.07.2012 and even after further efforts, she was not available. By pointing out all these instances, it is projected by the State that if the appellant has any grievance that her complaint has not been registered as an FIR, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short ‘the Code’) provides that an application could be made to the Magistrate having jurisdiction who may proceed after making an inquiry or after getting further materials. In view of the same, it is pointed out that the High Court was fully justified in dismissing the petition filed under Section 226 and directing the appellant to avail the remedy provided under the Code before the court of Magistrate.

13) With the above observation, the appeal is dismissed.

JULY 1, 2013.