Case analysis on :—

D.K. BASU V. STATE OF WEST BENGAL ((1997) 1 SCC 416)

Constitutional law-1

Submitted by:-

Name- Abhinav Singh Rautela

Enroll ID- 19FLICDDD02240
Course & Batch- BA LLB(Hons.) II Year
(2019-24)

Submitted to:-

MS. ANUSHMI JAIN

(Faculty Associate)

SCHOOL OF LAW
FACULTY OF LAW
THE ICFAI UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN
2020
 CASE NAME— D.K. BASU V. STATE OF WEST BENGAL
CITATION— (1997) 1 SCC 416
BENCH— Hon’ble Justice Kuldip Singh; Justice A.S. Anand
PETITIONERS— SHRI DILIP K. BASU, Mr. ASHOK K. JOHARI
RESPONDENTS— State of West Bengal & State of U.P..
DECIDED ON— 1 AUGUST 1997

Introduction

I would start this case by shedding some light on the deaths of at least 591 people in
the police custody in the year 2015, most of them are arrested and have not yet
appeared before a magistrate as per the proper procedure prescribed by law. 1 In the
following year i.e. 2016., as per the government data it was recorded that 92 deaths
took place in police custody, of which 60 occurred before reaching court. This in itself
shows that there is no proper following of the procedures of the law and makes a
mockery of section 55A and 57 of the code of criminal procedure (Cr.P.C.) which
talks about duty of care of the accused, and to produce the accused before a magistrate
within 24 hours, by the person in charge of the custody.

However, india has witnessed a series of landmark cases which provided various
essential interpretations with respect to our Fundamental Rights which literally
broadened the meaning of fundamental rights in the first place as it provided a new
approach towards this particular aspect of our constitution and one of those judgments
came in the name of D.K. BASU v. STATE OF WEST BENGAL.2 This case analysis
deals with the similar issue.

1
Human Rights watch, India: Killings in Police Custody,
https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/19/india-killings-police-custody-go-unpunished
2
D.K. Basu v. West Bengal State, (1997 ) 1 SCC  416.
Constitutional and Statutory Provisions discussed

● Section 41, 46, 49, 50, 53, 54, 56, 57, 167, 174 and 176 of Criminal Procedure
Code, 1973.
● Article 20(3), 21, 22, 226, and 32 of the Constitution of India.
● Section 147, 149, 201, 218, 220, 302, 304, 330, 331, 334 and 342 of Indian Penal
Code(IPC), 1860.

Facts:

Mr. DK Basu, Executive Chairman of Legal Aid Services, West Bengal, a non
political organization on 26/08/1986 addressed a letter to the Supreme Court of India
calling for attention about certain news published in The Telegraph Newspaper about
deaths of individuals in the custody of police. He requested that the letter be treated as
a writ petition within the “Public Interest Litigation”. Considering the importance of
the issues which were raised in the letter, it was given the importance as if it were a
written petition and the Defendants were notified accordingly. While the writ petition
was being observed and given due consideration, Mr. Ashok Kumar Johri addressed a
letter to the Honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court calling his attention
towards a certain death of a person by the name of Mr. Mahesh Bihari from Pilkhana,
Aligarh in police custody. This very letter acted as a catalyst in already highlighted
issues which were raised in the letter of Mr. D.K. Basu and was treated as a Request
for Writing and was included along with Mr D.K Basu’s Request for Writing. On
14/08/1987 the Court issued an order issuing notices to all state governments and a
notice was also issued to the Law commission requesting appropriate suggestions
within a two month period. As a response to this notification issued, several states
submitted affidavits including West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Himachal Pradesh,
Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and Manipur. With respect to all this
Dr. A.M. Singhvi, Senior Advocate was appointed as Amicus Curiae to assist the
Court. All of the attorneys who appeared provide useful assistance to the Court.

Arguments Advanced

By The Petitioners