Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
Dr. A.S. Anand and Faizanuddin JUDGMENT
Dr. A.S. Anand, J.
1. On 17.1.1994, Shri Parasmal Rampuria of C.R. Industries Limited filed a petition seeking issuance of a writ of habeas corpus for the release of Dhananjay Sharma from illegal and unauthorised custody of the Haryana Police and for his production in Court. It is alleged in the writ petition that on account of some civil disputes between M/s. Bhanu Iron and Steel Company Limited (in short BISCL) of New Delhi, with a factory at Inrode, which is owned by Respondent No. 7, Shri Anoop Bishnoi, son-in-law of Shri Bhajan Lal, Chief Minister of Haryana and M/s. C.R. Industries Limited, a case under Sections 406/420 IPC was got registered by Respondent No. 6 Shri S.K. Kaushik, the Commercial Manager of BISCL, being FIR No. 663/93 at Police Station Sadar, Hissar against Shri Pradeep Rampuria and others. On 17.1.1994, a team of police party, headed by Additional Superintendent of Police, Hissar Shri Sham Lal Goel, respondent No. 4, went to the residence of Shri Pradeep Rampuria at Diamond Harbour Road, Calcutta, to arrest Shri Pradeep Rampuria, on the authority of non-bailable warrants of arrest issued against him by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hissar. Shri Pradeep Rampuria was arrested and on 7.1.1994 itself produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipore, Calcutta, who released him on bail till 15.1.1994, with a direction to appear before the competent court at Hissar. On 15.1.1994 Shri Dhananjay Sharma, the detenu, who is an employee of M/s. Golden Industries, a sister concern of M/s. CR Industries Limited, along with Shri S.C. Puri, advocate went to Hissar in a taxi (van) bearing registration no. DAE-3668 driven by Sushil Kumar. They appeared in the court of the Addl. CJM Hissar and filed an application seeking exemption from personal appearance of Shri Pradeep Rampuria on medical grounds. After filing the application and obtaining the next date from the court, the detenu, Shri Dhananjay Sharma along with his lawyer Shri S.C. Puri, left for Delhi in the same taxi car (van) driven by Sushil Kumar. A team of Haryana police officers, riding in six police Gypsy jeeps, way-laid them on Hissar-Delhi road and while, after some arguments Shri S.C. Puri, Advocate, was allowed to go, the detenu and Sushil Kumar alongwith the taxi car were whisked away by the personnel on 15.1.94 and were being illegally detained by the Haryana Police and their whereabouts were not known and that they had not returned to Delhi. Shri S.C. Puri, Advocate filed on affidavit in support of the writ petition, wherein it was inter alia stated:
That after obtaining the date, the deponent came to his car waiting outside the court premises and advised Mr. Dhananjay Sharma to direct the driver to take us back immediately to Delhi.
That we hardly travelled one or two kilometers that a number of fully armed police gypsies of Haryana Police appeared at the site and surrounded the Maruti Van in which we were travelling. One of the police officers ordered the driver to show him the papers relating to the vehicle which were handed over to him by the driver. The deponent immediately came down from the van. However, Mr. Sharma and the driver wore not allowed to come out of the van and remained surrounded b........