A Jurisprudential Analysis
Bhim Singh v. State of Jammu & Kashmir1
Factual appreciation
The facts of this case are quite simple, but the jurisprudential implications of the judgment remain enormous. Simply put, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Jammu and Kashmir was arrested by the police. The unfortunate Mr Bhim Singh, who was so arrested, was not produced before the Magistrate for a period of four days and further was kept hidden in an undisclosed location. Needless to say, the Supreme Court eviscerated the State machinery for such flagrant violations of human rights. It is clear that the depredations visited upon Mr Bhim Singh were a result of a particular session of the Legislative Assembly where his vote may have been crucial. Since Mr Bhim Singh had later been freed, the courts were left with a dilemma as to the remedy to be provided to him. Thus, the Apex Court ordered the State to grant him compensation.
Jurisprudential questions involved
There are two interesting questions which arise from the judgment. The first is the hierarchical relationship between the State and citizen. The second interesting question is whether monetary compensation is a suitable remedy for a victim of State oppression.
Early jurisprudential thought
Since the flowering of jurisprudential thought, the earliest writers such as Austin2and even Bentham2, envisaged a system of society having a “political superior”. Thus the question of the State and citizen being the same was