It all happened in Chennai Beach Railway station. After a
hectic day which included an interesting court visit, this is part of law
degree which is akin to engineering students going to industry visit, walked in
to the station bought a ticket for Chennai Avadi station from Beach. It was
4.pm by then. After indulging myself for more than half an hour on twitter
through my mobile phone I casually enquired a bystander about the timing of next
train to Avadi, who said it is at 5.20 PM. I then realized that I should have
taken a bus and must have enquired about the timing of next train before buying
the ticket. Task at hand was to thrash the next one hour somehow, twitter wasn’t
encouraging. Suddenly I saw a bunch of, say 10 Aam Admi party activists
alighting from a train, I think they were planning for some road show or were trying
to create some scene and looking for some opportunity. I thought there was no
better way to kill that one hour other than engaging in a conversion with them.
Before I could approach (I was on a phone call when they were nearby) them they
have moved swiftly to the other end of platform. And I had no interest to
pursue them anyway.
I thought that wasting an hour sitting in a railway station
is useless and unproductive and I was already tired and decided to go by bus.
On my way back to out of Railway Station while crossing railway tracks I phoned
up a friend and was talking. And the moment I was walking up the ramp one fat
guy stood in front of me, he is RPF (Railway Police Force) Constable. I ignored
him and continued talking. Later I have abruptly disconnected the phone call to
talk to him and I thought that now I have a good chance of whiling away that
one hour.
Following was the
conversation
Constable: Sir where are you going?
Me: Home
Constable: Ticket
Me: Here it is
I knew by that time that he is an RPF constable and his job
is not to check the tickets, he was still starring at my ticket, it appeared to
me that he just did not know how to read a ticket.
Me: what are you looking at for a long
time sire? This is the ticket to Avadi and I decided to go by bus because the
next train is only at 5.30 PM
Constable: Have you not seen the sign
board which says not to use cell phones while crossing?
I turned around to see the sign board and I could not infer
a thing from that, but decided not to argue with him and by now I know the
offence I have committed.
Me: Give me the ticket
Constable: No, come to office
Me: Don’t book somebody because he looks
like a fool, (that was with sarcasm)
Constable: I have never said something
like that.
He might have noticed my uniform(white shirt and black pant,
law student/advocate attire) since beginning and was in a dilemma on what to do
with me.
Constable: Are you an advocate?
Me: No, final year student.
Constable: Come to office.
If I would have lied that I was an advocate I think he must
have let me go, but then I did not. I just did not know what to do, but something
had to be done. I suddenly erupted,
Me: Selective application of law is no
law.
Constable: Oh! My god. Sire, please come and say
all this in office room. Everything is captured in video camera
Now that I have realized that I have to go to office room, I
just followed him. And I was constantly thinking/planning how I should get
myself out of this. Now we have reached the office room and to my surprise
there are around 25 to 30 people just like me, all of them brought there for
some petty offenses/reasons, there was a set up like a room which was created
with the help of barricades and inside that long benches and chairs were
arranged. The other guys were welcoming me, one guy said, come sire what did
you do? Just like in movies we see in a jail cell if a new inmate arrives the
guy who is already there in that cell will ask a similar question. I have asked
myself, what the hell of a mistake I did. And decided that if I am made to pay
the fine, they are not going to get it easily.
The process is after they have gathered certain number of
people they will all be taken together to the nearby Mobile court where the
judge will decide the fine amount. I have walked to the Writer and asked is
there a way out and what is all this? How long will it take because I am about
to miss my 5.20 PM train.
Now the writer was taking the details from me Name, address,
age, father’s name etc., concurrently he filled out a sheet with my details and
asked me to sign.
Me: On what charge you are booking me?
The moment I asked that question there was a silence, for a
moment he just did not respond, then reacted.
Writer: I am helping you, by saying in
this complaint that you were in ladies compartment for 10 minutes, because that
will cost you only 200 hundred rupees, otherwise for phone it will be 500 and
for speaking it will be another 500.
By then I knew he was surely bluffing. I repeated.
Me: Thank you sire, but on what charge
ie., which section and on which act you are booking me?
He pointed me to the sheet he was filling out and said,
Raiway act sire and this is the section. I wasn’t sure but it looked like 165,
but decided that when I go to the court I will ask the judge. And then I have
signed the paper, two signatures.
Now I am back to the place where I was earlier asked to wait
ie., in the midst of guys all of them are of same age group, we were just
cracking jokes and were laughing, that was a great time indeed.
Simultaneously I have been thinking about nailing
these people who booked me. That is exactly why I have agreed to be booked for
a wrong reason and signed the papers not because I will save some money. And I
have now laid out the scheme of things to be executed once I go to court. These
were some questions I have prepared in my mind to ask the judge.
Here’s how the conversation would have been in my opinion.
1.
Me: Before you confirm the fine, what
evidence are you going to rely up on? Is oral evidence of Police is final?
I did do some casual reading of Indian Evidence Act and I
know that the evidence of police is bad evidence and it will not be given a
priority.
2.
Judge: No we shall have a video
footage.
3.
Me: I will challenge the RPF to prove
it.
I know very well that they could not produce it, now they
are literally locked out and I would further allege that they have asked me pay
some money as bribe and booked for an alternate offence where I could be
charged with lesser fine. They will be literally screwed.
4.
Judge: Then why have you signed the
sheet agreeing the charges?
5.
Me: I was induced first and then
threatened by the police to do so.
And I know very well when it to comes signing the declaration
in police custody i.e. RPF in this case
by accepting a charge can be related to confession in Evidence act, which
cannot be held valid even though I have signed it, if it is alleged that it was
acquired through undue influence. So that argument of ‘I have signed and
accepted the charge” will not stand. And the judge would have literally
thrashed the police, and subsequently let me go or ask me to pay for the
original offense that is for the phone, for which I was already prepared.
But all this would have happened only if they have taken me
to the court, unfortunately they have decided not to do so. Here is why I think
it is.
When the writer asked me to wait with others and in a moment
we all shall be taken to court, after sitting for a while I have gone back to the
writer now with a notepad and pen.
Me: Sire, what is your name?
There was a complete silence, he did not respond for a
moment, then said
Writer: Why are you asking my name?
Me: There is no reason, just wanted to
make a note of it.
Though I have said that there is no
reason, I have actually planned to ruin their careers.
Writer: No, take the names of Sub-Inspector,
Inspector and others. Please go and talk to them.
Me: what is problem with telling your
name and designation?
Writer: No, please go and talk to the
Sub Inspector (SI)
Now I am inside the cabin of SI, where the other guy explained
him what my offense was and he also said I was also asking for names.
Then he starred at me. I thought now it is my turn to talk.
And I thundered with my favorite quote and concept which I have read it in some
journal but I could not recall which journal it was.
Me: Sire, Selective application of law is no law
and the law enforcement authorities who apply the law for their convenience are
not law enforcement authorities in its true sense.
Now he gave me a confused look, and said sire please take
your chair, I said it is ok, after a pause he replied
SI: Why do you want names?
Me: Sire, I am a very poor man and you
are a police officer, why are you worried to give your names and designation?
What do you think I am going to do? I could do nothing.
SI: Ok, here they are.
I have noted all their names SI, Inspector, Constable etc.
After that I have just walked out and gone to the bench where I was sitting It was full of fun there, guys were just
making a lot of fun, one guy asked me sire, what they were saying? I replied no,
nothing I have just collected their names. Did you watch some Tamil movie this
morning and is that the reason why you are doing all these, i.e., collecting
their names? He was trying to make a joke out of it.
From the moment I was out of SI cabin, there was a complete commotion
inside; they were brainstorming on what to do with me and how to proceed
further. And they appeared worried that I am going to do something with their
names. Suddenly, the writer rushed out to me and said
Writer: Sire, SI asked me to fill out
another form for the original offence ie., for that phone thing.
Me: Ok, no problem.
Then he quickly filled out and asked me to sign.
Me: Hand me over the sheet which I
have earlier signed, only then I will sign this.
He again started scratching
his forehead and rushed inside the SI room. After sometime inspector came out
to take me to another senior officer who is in the first floor, this guy seemed
to be the complete in charge. SI, Constable and the inspector all are present there
to complain about me and inspector has explained what I have done, ie., was on
phone while crossing the track inside the railway station. In-charge/Senior
officer/Head looked at me and nodded, is it not an offence? Before I could reply SI intervened, Sire, on
top of it he (me) is asking for all our names too.
Then once again I have gently said, this time to the in charge,
“Sire, Selective application of law is no law and the law enforcement
authorities who apply the law for their convenience are not law enforcement
authorities in its true sense”
In-Charge: Are you an advocate?
Me: No, not yet. Few months away from
my Law degree.
In-Charge: Ok, waiting for exams?
Me: Yes.
In-Charge: They have done their duty.
He said this looking at the police personnel.
Me: I completely agree, and there is no dispute on
that.
SI Intervened again, Sir he is collecting our names too.
I interrupted the SI and said, Sire, India is a democratic
country and here I thought it is within my rights to know who is charging me,
and there is nothing more to it. The law enforcement authorities have a wide
range of discretion when it comes to enforcing the law. They should judiciously
apply it and discriminate between a serious and less serious offence though the
statutes are not asking them to do. If I have grievously hurt somebody on
railway premises for which you have jurisdiction, you should show no leniency,
but see what I have done? I was on phone is that so serious? Then he In-Charge
said many people were killed because they were carelessly on phone while
crossing. I have just said, point taken. He added that it is only for my benefit
he saying this, I just nodded. SI asked the In-Charge, can we let him go?
In-Charge replied, yes please. In-charge stood up and shook hands with me and
said good luck for everything and take care. And then I have walked out.
But to let you know the reason for collecting their names is
to accuse them of demanding the bribe which is violation of Prevention of
Corruption act Sec: 7. so those who booked me for an offence which is different
from what I have actually committed would have been in deep trouble. And there is
a high probability that my case will stand. Though I could not accuse the judge
as per the sec: 77 of IPC, i.e., Act of judge when acting judicially, but the Inspector,
Constable and the SI could very well be pinned, that was an easy task. So they
have narrowly saved themselves by just letting me go.
Moral of the story (of this incident) goes something like
this. In my opinion Law is nothing but a set of processes and rules which the
enforcement authorities are obliged to follow when enforcing the law, if they
miss even one rule for which there is no judicial sanction and apply it
selectively for their own convenience they can be held accountable. So the job
of a learned man is to pick up those rules which the enforcement authority has missed
or failed to comply with, whether he did it willfully or not it hardly matters.
Somehow I had my way this time.
Once I reached home I was scanning through the Railways act
Sec.165 on which I was booked originally but it was only about bringing the
offensive goods not about getting in to a ladies compartment. Now I know why
police goofs up most of the time when it comes to application of law.
