Skip to main content

DAMAGES FOR UNLAWFUL DEPRIVATION OF LIFE [ARTICLE 21]


Nature of grievance:

Where a person was deprived of his life due to the negligent act and omission of the “State” official, Writ Petition may be filed by relatives of the deceased seeking damages from the concerned State / Central Govt. / State instrumentality.


Reliefs prayed for:

a)     Take such necessary steps to prevent such avoidable mishaps / accidents  / crimes / murders;

b)     May compensate, for the amount, you think worth of a human life;

c)     Any other relief as this Hon’ble Court deems fit and expedient, having regard to the facts and circumstances of the present case.



Grounds for Reliefs

a)     Article 21 of our the Constitution of India says that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty except according to the procedure established under the law; and in the present case, the life of _____ is taken away due to sheer negligent acts and omissions of _______;

b)     The deceased was the sole bread earner of the Petitioners’ family, and it is said that “You take my life when you take away the means whereby I live”;

c)     In equity & in principle, when the lives of the subject are brazenly taken away, the State shall reciprocate by shouldering the burden of the safety and well-being of the deceased family;

d)     In the case of Rudal Shah versus State of Bihar, in the backdrop of excesses of the police officials, Hon’ble Justice Chandrachud, the then Chief Justice of India said – if civilization is not to perish, as it has perished, in some other too well known to suffer mention, it is necessary to educate ourselves into accepting that, respect for the rights of the individual is the true bastion of democracy. Therefore, the State must repair the damage done by its officers to the Petitioner’s rights.


Material facts of the case:

The Petitioners, most respectfully submit that, having regard to the nature of reliefs prayed for in this Petition, the following facts become germane to the controversy herein; And, the reasonable satisfaction of the existence or the non existence, as the case may be, of these facts, may entitle the Petitioners the judgment in their favour.

The chronology / chain of events, which has led to the present situation, and has constrained the Petitioners to seek certain Reliefs from this Hon’ble Court.

Facts as may be applicable –

1.      The Petitioner’s _____ (immediate relative / friend) (Name), Aged about ___ years, was brutally attacked by four men with deadly weapons, in the broad day light over the streets of ________, on (date)  ________

2.      He was admitted to the ______  Hospital on the same day.

3.      He succumbed to injuries on ________.

Or

4.      The negligent acts and omissions on the part of State employee due to which (immediate relative / friend) has lost his life:


Submissions as may be applicable to the facts of the case:

a)     Surveillance is key to security, and every crime committed within the “Public eye” can be prevented

b)     The deceased _____ could never have been attacked and would have not lost his life, had there been effective surveillance of the Police machinery.

c)     The ‘State’ is found fascinated to enact strict Penal laws, without realizing that the whole purpose of having penal laws is that they may not be applied at all, by effectively preventing the commission of the crime.

d)     Every offence which is committed within “public eye” can certainly be prevented. Preventing crime is no rocket science. An effective and perpetual / unceasing surveillance / patrolling by Police around every public places, would do the things needed.

e)     APPARENTLY THE CONTENTION OF THE STATE: The police cannot be present at all places, at all the times. The Answer would be WHY NOT. The shortcomings of manpower cannot be a ground BECAUSE nobody has prevented the State to employ REQUIRED man power.

f)      State Govt. is to strengthen & rejuvenate the Police force, to a degree where they inspire confidence of the society and instill fear in the mind of potential offenders, so that they can effectively carry out duties expected from them. All it may sound idealistic, but this is the bare minimum to have peace and thus progress.

g)     Ensuring safety of life of every men & women is the very first duty of every Govt. of the world. All duties come later.

The State Governance has breached the Sovereign Contract

a)     The State is being reminded of the existence of Sovereign Contract that exists between the Government & the Governed;

b)     At the advent of Human Civilization, ‘Men’ were Sovereign in their own, in the sense that, they were free and were not subject to or bound by any law. Then, men were Ruled by their own conscience and not by codified laws and were even free to the extent of inflicting violence at their will & strength, i.e. Might is right was the scene. Men were guided by own conscience and greed. An action not emanating from reason and the freedom to do as one pleases.

c)     Philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588- 1671) says that prior to concept of Statehood, the man lived in chaotic conditions of constant fear. The life in the state of nature was solitary, poor nasty, brutish and short.

d)     For getting self-protection and avoiding misery and pain, man voluntarily entered into a contract and surrendered their part of freedom to some might authority, who could protect their lives and property, which emerged later on as the ruler and which ultimately culminated into the shape of the State.

e)     With the passage of time and centuries together, codified laws evolved and were introduced in human life. Men came together, they voluntarily surrendered their individual sovereignty to State sovereignty, and opted to subject themselves to laws of the land, however, they were promised, the safety of their life & their property. The conception of democracy is a sentiment which desires the well-being of all men. Laws were made so that the stronger might not in all things have his way.

f)      This is how the ancient Social contract between Men & State came into being.

g)     Among various definitions of State given by Scholars of law and by Philosophers, this appears hereinafter to be more satisfactory and convincing. It is by professor Goodhart. He defines State in terms of its purpose. He states that the purpose of society which we call a State is to maintain peace and order within a demarcated territory.

h)     THE MINIMUM AND ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF THE STATE IS TO MAKE LIFE POSSIBLE.

i)       Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) is regarded as the father of philosophical jurisprudence. He said- it is the first duty of the Sovereign State to safeguard the citizen because State was given power only for that purpose. And therefore, in the backdrop of ancient social contract, every Society & every Individual Citizen has certain basic assumptions to take it for granted from the State that-

(i) His Life & Property will be protected and his liberty will be secured;
(ii) He can appropriate for his own use what he has created by his own labour and what he has acquired under the existing economic order;
(iii) That others will act with due care and will not cast upon him an unreasonable risk of injury;
(iv) That others will not commit any intentional aggression upon him;
(v) That people with whom he deals will carry out their undertakings and will act in good faith;
(vi) That he will have security as a job holder;
(vii) That State will bear the risk of unforeseen misfortune;
(viii) That State will bear the burden of supporting him when he becomes aged;


The State Governance has no sensitivity to needs of their subjects

a)     The men in governance have lost all the human sensitivity. The men in governance have never concerned itself with the palpable sufferings of their subjects. On the contrary, on many occasions, the men in governance have aggravated the misery of the poorest lot.

b)     The poorest lot of this country have beg and slept for decades on the footpath, in the deadly chills of winter.

The Criminal state of affairs

a)      ____ was murdered because the criminals in the governance have occupied a belief that the presence state of governance is incapable of punishing them. Brutal attacks on persons in broad day light over the public street follows that criminal minds do not fear of the governance. A Murder justifies another Murder; A Murder lays foundation for another Murder.

b)     One thing is quite plain. There are criminals, dangerous and petty, unfear of anything, spread out in society, in the whole of India, and they strike at will. It appears that the criminals import courage and conviction while comparing courage & conviction of men in governance.

c)     The Petitioners are not merely sad because have lost their dear ____, but also more worried, for, the tendency to kill people at whims and fancies; the tendency of the stone age is prevailing writ large.

d)     In 1897, Justice Holmes, an American Jurists issues a paper in which he put forward a novel way of looking at law. He says- if one wishes to know what law is, one should view it through the eyes of a bad man, who is only concerned with what will happen to him if he does certain things in deviation to established laws. .

e)     Sir Lionel Fox, an acclaimed Penologist (20th Century) of England, quotes the example of an eighteenth century Judge who passed the sentence of death, saying, you are to be hanged not because you have stolen a sheep, but in order that others may not steal. So evident is the truth of this perceptible simple logic, if applied generously by presiding Hon'ble Judges, may virtually end disorder in the society.

f)      Offenders are to suffer by punishment not because they were malignant or mischievous, but because others may not behave malignant and mischievous. Punishment is thus a method of forcing good behaviour. However, the deterrence is zero if there is no certainty to the punishment. The gravitation of sin to sorrow should be as certain and analogous as that of earth to the sun.

g)     The present justice dispensation machinery is a scarecrow in the field that doesn’t scare the crows anymore and the crows are sitting on the arms and cawing their contemptuous defiance.

The State Governance is reminded of their basic duties

a)     The safety of lives of subjects is the very first duty of every Govt. of the world. All duties come later.

b)     The government in power loses its legitimacy when its subjects are brutally murdered in broad day light.



Important Links


Imposing Accountability: http://www.satyamevajayate.info/rtibook

Find updated draft at / and any other Legal issues !!
If you are facing any of these issues like (a) Recovery of Moneys (b) Immovable property disputes (c) grievances against Municipalities & Govts., including challenge to legitimacy of laws etc. (d) grievances against illegalities and highhandedness of Police like illegal arrests, refusal to register FIR, deliberately flawed investigations, etc (e) False FIRs (f) False Claims (g) False evidences (h) Grievances against Judges (i) Illegal or perverse Orders of the Courts / Tribunals, among others.
or
If you are looking for draft of any legal proceeding; or if you want to know the nature and attribute of any legal proceeding; or if you want to know the procedure followed in any legal proceeding; or if you want to know the grounds on which any order of the court / tribunal is challenged; or if you are facing any frivolous litigation.

https://www.litigationplatform.com/



Thank you.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Application before Supdt. of Jail for signing Vakalatnama by accused

LETTER HEAD OF THE ADVOCATE To, The Superintendent of Jail _______ Jail Mumbai. FORWARDING THE VAKALATNAMA FOR THE SIGNATURE OF MY CLIENT / ACCUSED NAMED _______ Dear Sir, I am concerned for my Client (Name of the Accused) who is presently in your judicial custody and I will be defending the said accused in the criminal case. I herewith annex the Vakalatnama and my ID card for your reference. It is therefore, most humbly, requested that the signature of the said Accused be obtained on the said enclosed Vakalatnama and be returned the same to the bearer of the copy of this letter. Thanking you.    Yours truly, XYZ Encl: As above.  Note: The said letter may be handed over to the Police official standing outside the Jail and may be collected later on. Find updated draft at / and any other  Legal issues !! If you are facing any of these issues like (a) Recovery of Moneys (b) ...

Discharge Application u/ss 227, 239, 245 CrPC

A broad approach to drafting of any Application / Petition / Complaint may be undertaken in three chronological “Heads” – 1.       Reliefs prayed for / claimed; 2.       Grounds for Reliefs prayed for / claimed; (both factual and legal); 3.       Narration of facts substantiating the said grounds. Further, there may be narration of such facts in the   beginning of the draft, which would lay foundation for “material facts of the case”. Grounds for Reliefs prayed for / claimed implies (a) the essence / conclusion of material facts; and (b) other legal provisions which supports the reliefs prayed for / claimed. IN THE METROPOLITANS MAGISTRATES _____COURT AT ESPLANADE, MUMBAI C.C. No. ________/ SS / 2015 ______________________                         ...

APP FOR DISCHARGE OF SURETY U.S.444

BEFORE THE METROPOLITAN MAGISTRATES             COURT AT ………. C.R. No.    /  20__           ABC                                                           Applicant                                                                     ...