Tanusree Datta vs State Of Tripura And Ors

Petitioner has made following prayers:

"31. That the rest will be verbally submitted at the time of hearing.

Under this above facts and circumstances it is most humbly and respectfully prayed before your lordship would be graciously pleased to:-

i) Admit this petition;

ii) Issue notice upon all the respondents;

iii) Call for the records and after hearing the parties is pleased to direct the respondent No.8, 9 to handover "Master JOY" in the lap of the Petitioner.

iv) Further exemplary punishment to respondent no. 4,5,6 for their illegal activities such as built up story of still born baby.

AND

Further to imposed to adequate cost upon wrong doer respondents.

AND

To pass any other order/orders as your lordship may deem fit and proper".

Case of the petitioner is that in the year 2014, she had carried a foetus and given birth to a baby boy at GBP & AGMC hospital, Agartala on 17.05.2015. However, the hospital authorities claimed that the petitioner had given birth to a dead child. It is in this context, the petitioner has made the above noted prayer for handing over custody of boy named Joy, who as informed, is presently kept in Government facility for orphan children.

The petitioner had filed complaint alleging serious involvement of her in-laws in projecting a case that the petitioner had delivered a dead child. When there was no fruitful investigation into these allegations, the petitioner had previously approached the High Court by filing Crl. Petn. No.66 of 2018 in which she had made following prayers:

"28. That the rest will be submitted at the time of hearing. Under this circumstances stated above it is most humbly and respectfully prayed before your lordship would be graciously pleased to:-

i) Admit this petition;

ii) Issue notice upon all the respondents;

iii) Call for the relevant records from the custody of the respondent‟s.

iv) And after hearing the parties be pleased to direct the respondent no...2, 3, 4, 7, 15, 16, 17, 18,19 & 20 to appoint a senior, experienced & impartial officer having good reputation to investigate the aforementioned two cases vide no. East Agartala Women P.S. 2017/WEA/082 u/s 419, 34 IPC dated 02.11.2017. filed by Smti. Tanusree Datta (Deb) and Case No. West Agartala Women P.S. Case No. 2016/WAW/76 dated 19.09.2016 u/s 342,313, 506, 34 IPC, lodged by Sri Mridul Kumar Deb;

v) Pass an order to hand over the child namely „Master Joy‟ who is at present under the custody of Sishu Griha, (SAA), Minister Quarter Lane, Agartala to the Petitioners as they are the biological parents.

vi) Further be pleased to impose exemplary penalty upon officers and other respondents who are involved with the conspiracy along with prescribed punishment to those persons by registering specific case against them

AND

In the interim be pleased to direct the authority of Sishu Griha, Agartala to take proper care of the baby i.e. Master Joy who is in their custody and also not to take any process of handing over the baby in adoption to any person till the disposal of the instant writ petition.

AND/OR

To pass any other order/orders as your lordship may deem fit and proper."

This Criminal Petition was disposed of by this Court by an order dated 29.06.2019 in following terms:

"After the matter was heard for some time, learned counsel for the appearing parties jointly pray for passing of the following agreed order:

(a) Investigation of cases No. East Agartala Women P.S.2017/WEA/082 u/s 419, 34 IPC dated 02.11.2017, filed by Smti. Tanusree Datta (Deb) and West Agartala Women P.S. Case No.2016/WAW/76 dated 19.09.2016 u/s 342, 313, 506, 34 IPC, lodged by Sri Mridul Kumar Deb shall be carried out afresh by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police of the concerned/other police district;

(b) An endeavour shall be made to have the investigation completed at the earliest;

(c) Appearing parties undertake to fully cooperate;

(d) In any event, it is the duty of each of the stakeholders/ persons engaged in the investigation or involved in the crime to fully cooperate;

(e) Such investigation shall positively be completed within a period of 9(nine) months;

(f) Liberty reserved to any one of the parties to take recourse of such remedies as are otherwise available in accordance with law, either during the course of investigation or with the completion thereof;

(g) Insofar as prayer no.(iv) is concerned, learned counsel for the petitioners does not press the same at this point in time, reserving liberty to approach this Court on the same and subsequent cause of action, if so required and desired subsequently, or take recourse of such remedies as are otherwise available in accordance with law.

In view of above terms, present petition stands disposed of. Pending application(s), if any, also stands disposed of.

Registry is directed to supply a copy of this order to learned Public Prosecutor, who in turn undertakes to communicate the same to the concerned authorities for taking appropriate action."

It can thus be seen that the main prayer made in this petition was part and parcel of the previous proceedings, which the High Court disposed of by the above noted judgment. There is no scope for fresh consideration of this very prayer. This apart, by very nature of the case, the averments and allegations of the petitioner and the prayer made by her, the case would involve examination of large number of hotly disputed questions of facts. I do not know on what basis the petitioner claims that the stand of the hospital that she had delivered a dead child is wrong. I am also not sure how the petitioner claims that young boy Joy, aged about 5 years, who is kept in the orphanage, happens to be the child she delivered on 17.05.2015.

Writ petition cannot be an effective remedy to resolve such highly contested and disputed questions of facts. If the petitioner wants to establish her maternity, it may be a good idea to call for DNA test. All this can be done only in civil proceedings and not in a writ petition.

Again if the petitioner is not satisfied with the pace or direction of the investigation, her remedy lies not in filing the present petition, that to with the prayer for handing over custody of a child to her.

In view of above observations, the petition is dismissed leaving the petitioner to pursue appropriate remedies in law for her grievances.