Supreme Court has ordered a probe into his bizarre case

The Supreme Court, acting on a public interest litigation, ordered an inquiry into the circumstances which led to such a brazen violation of Ghose8217;s fundamental right to life. His case is to come up before the apex court again next week. Ask him about it and he says, 8220;There is nothing I have to say.8221;

Hopes of an early reprieve are slender. The Missionaries of Charity have refused to provide him shelter because his status is that of a 8220;criminal lunatic undertrial.8221; The tag of a 8220;criminal8221; has made him virtually untouchable to social welfare organizations.

So even the Antara Psychiatric Centre near Calcutta where he is right now is reluctant to keep him for long. 8220;Because of his undertrial tag, it has become inconvenient for us. The sooner this is solved, the better,8221; says administrative officer John Thomas. 8220;When he was admitted in 1995, the Government was forced by the court to pay us Rs 3,600 but after that not a single paisa has come.8221;

Ghose was remanded in Presidency Jail on February 5, 1962, on charges of hitting his brother Samir with a log which caused his death. He was produced before the Presidency Magistrate8217;s court in Calcutta several times between February 8, 1962 and February 8, 1964. But the trial did not commence as the magistrate observed that Ghose was of 8220;unsound mental condition8221; and was unable to put up his defence.

According to records, Ghose wanted to make a confession under Section 162 of the CrPC. This is a method generally adopted by the prosecution to avoid the trouble of collecting corroborative evidence to establish the charge. Such confessional statements are often elicited using third-degree methods.

But Ghose did not make such a statement after the Magistrate explained him the implications. He was granted a day to think it over. Ghose retracted.

Between February 8, 1964 and November 12, 1983, there is no record of what happened to Ghose8211;whether he was produced in court at all or what kind of treatment he got in jail.

When contacted by The Indian Express, Tapan Ganguly, Joint Secretary in the West Bengal Prison Directorate said that the state government could do little. 8220;Our duty is just that of a chowkidar. We follow orders of the court, no more and no less.8221;

He confirmed that despite a thorough search8211;after the apex court hauled up the state8211;Ghose8217;s records of 19 years could not be traced. 8220;They are probably lost,8221; he said. 8220;We have said in our latest affidavit that we are sorry.8221;

8220;Apart from the pathetic disregard of Ghose8217;s fundamental rights, the case also highlights the inadequacy of the legal provisions to deal with an undertrial like Ghose,8221; says Gitanath Ganguly, a senior lawyer attached to the Legal Aid Services. Under the circumstances, the Supreme Court can appoint an NGO as Ghose8217;s 8220;guardian8221; for his proper rehabilitation. There are such provisions in case of lunatic undertrials in a civic suit but not in a criminal case, Ganguly said.

Should the apex court appoint such a guardian or remove the tag of 8220;criminal lunatic undertrial,8221; Ghose might still find a safe shelter in the Missionary of Charity8217;s oldage home in Kanchrapara in the outskirts of Calcutta. Where he will probably count his remaining years.