Open Access Research Article
Custodial Deaths - by Satuluri Triveni
Published Paper
Article Details
Custodial
Deaths
Name:
Satuluri Triveni
Contact No. 9381226179
Email Id: Priyasatuluri777@gmail.com
Course: BA.LLB (Hons)
Isolate us from many critical issues
of society in our regular life, but slowly this avoidance/ignorance turns into
acceptance and seems very normal. Take for instance famous films and series,
such as Sacred Games, Dabangg, Drushyam, Rowdy Rathore, Satyameva Jayate, etc.
What does it have to do with all these movies and
series? Police torture
According to a report, if a main
character in the film performs any violent activity or any false encounter
usually spectators encourage that act.
From the perspective of an average
Bollywood, the viewer's policy is simply not to maintain law and order, but
just to punish and kill the villains.
In this paper, we are going to cover
topics like the prevention of the Torture Bill and at which stage it is
now in our parliament, what are rights available for an arrested person in
India and we will know about what steps Supreme Court has taken in this matter.
After
the death of George Floyd in the USA, the custodial death of Jeyraj and Fenix
at Sathankulam Police Station raised a lot of concerns about the matter, and
again it has given air to have a new debate around police third-degree torture.
The death of George Floyd in the USA resulted in heavy protests and as a result
of protests, congress decided to pass and introduced a police reform bill along
with that, it is discussed to maintain a National database that will register
all police misconducts. Is it going to become law? And I believe time alone
will tell.
Are you aware that a draft law against torture has
been discussed in India as well?
It was ten years ago (2010) and was
the subject of many discussions in Parliament, but has not yet been passed.
Globally, it was discussed first time
by United Nations in 1975 which was UN Convention Against Torture (1975) and
India is a member of the UN, so if any law of the UN has to be applied In
India, then we have to make a law by parliament; so making UN Convention
Against Torture (1975) law in India, a bill was presented in Lok Sabha in 2010
named as Prevention of Torture Bill (2010). Therefore, under this bill,
if a public servant commits torture, he or she is punished.
The bill explains the word Torture
very broadly and simply and says that if any, public servant tortures any
individual for deriving any information or his confession if he hurts that
individual grievously or tortures his life, limb, mentally or physically, and
health-wise then all these things will be considered as torture and against
this act, there is a punishment of ten years imprisonment.
After being passed by Lok Sabha it
comes to Rajya Sabha and for further consideration, it passes the bill
in Rajya Sabha select committee for suggestions, the committee provides
some suggestions for the bill and says the point-like;
- There must be an
explanation of the definition of torture,
- If a woman or child
has been tortured, then the punishment should be stricter/stern than
normal.
An independent authority should be
set up which can investigate all the activities and provide all the needed
compensation to the victims.
And even after incorporating all
these suggestions, the bill was introduced, several times in Rajya Sabha, but
so far this bill has to be passed by Rajya Sabha again.
In 2017, the Law Commission said that
they are seriously considering the bill, but before passing the bill there
should be changes done in the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, and also
Criminal Procedure Code, which seems like tough work! As of 2019, India
has experienced more than 1,700 detention-related deaths.
Judgments are given by the Supreme
Court against police torture and violence:
Rudul Shah v. State of Bihar (1983)
In this case, petitioner Rudul Shah
was illegally detained in prison for 14 years, and a writ of habeas corpus was
filled and his immediate release was requested. This case is important
because in this case for the very first time the Supreme Court realized
that if by any state, any individual's constitutional rights are being
violated, then the individual should be compensated.
Saheli v Commissioner of Police
(1989)
In this case, the police along with
the zamindar misbehaved with the rented mother and her nine-year-old daughter,
due to which the child died and the Supreme Court has compensated the mother by
awarding seventy-five thousand rupees. This case is important because in this
case, the Supreme Court gave the option to Delhi Administration to recover the
amount from the police officer who is responsible for the child's death.
Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa
(1993)
In this case, Suman Behera was
arrested by police, and the following day his body was found on the railway
tracks with multiple injuries. In this instance, the petitioner was granted
compensation of one lakh fifty-five thousand rupees. This case is
important because, in the previous cases, the Supreme Court did not follow any
specific criteria while awarding the compensation and the compensation is
decided according to the situation of the case, but in this case, the Supreme
Court held that it is a state's responsibility to give compensation but not the
police officer's.
Joginder Singh v. State of Uttar
Pradesh (1994)
In this case, the Supreme Court said
that, if any arrest is done without any justification, then it must be an
illegal act, it was also held that the police officers have the power to
arrest, but just by using the power they cannot arrest as there must be a
reasonable justification to arrest someone.
D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal
(1997)
In this case, the Supreme Court
recognized prison violence and police torture as an attack on human dignity. It
was also concluded that, after having received numerous recommendations and
policies, police torture and deaths in custody continue to increase.
So, in this case, a total of eleven
guidelines were given which should be followed by every police officer while
arresting someone, these guidelines and rights are available to every arrested
person within the country.
Directions to be followed by police
when making an arrest:
- Whoever the police
person handling the interrogation or an arrest should carry their name tag
on which their name and designation must be seen clearly and the police
have to maintain a register of those officials who are handling the case.
- Arrest Memo – If any
police are arresting someone, then they have to maintain an arrest memo,
in which all the details related to the arrest should be there, like the
signature of any witness, time, date, and the place of arrest.
- The arrested person's
relatives or friends must be informed about the arrest of that person and
where he has been detained.
- The police have to
maintain an official diary in which all the records relating to the case have to be mentioned like the
officer handling the case, who has been informed about the arrest of the
person, etc.
- Inspection Memo – If
the arrestee has any major or minor injuries on his body, then it should
be noted down. The inspection memo should be signed by both the officer and the
arrestee and also the arrestee will have a copy of the inspection memo.
- Medical Examination –
After the arrest of the person, he should be examined medically every 48
hours.
- Copies of all the
documents like the Arrest memo, Inspection memo, and Medical examination report
should be sent to the magistrate for further records.
- At the time of
interrogation, the arrestee can meet his/her advocate.
- There should be a
police control room in every district and state headquarter, in which all
the information related to the arrested, should be received within 12
hours of arrest, and the police control room board will display all this information.
- The arrested person
must be aware of his rights to have someone informed about his arrest as
soon as he is arrested.
- If the arrested
person's family, relatives, or friends are out of the district/town then
they should be informed through the Legal Aid Organization or by the
police station of that particular area or through telegraph within 8 to 12
hours after the arrest.
In Sheela Barse v State of
Maharashtra and D.K. Basu v State of West Bengal,
the guidelines were given based on the cases of custodial deaths, but still,
the cases rise day by day.
Most people say that Truth can't be
revealed without using violence, without any torture, and the truth can't be
taken out of the person but also people say that, If the torchbearers of the
Law use torture it is not acceptable as they have to maintain Law and order and
if they also start using violence it is not acceptable at all.
Bibliography:
Bare Acts
? Indian Penal Code, 1860
? The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
Websites, and online articles
Article Information
Custodial Deaths - by Satuluri Triveni
Authors: Satuluri Triveni
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/12/05
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
All research articles published in International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis are open access and available to read, download and share, subject to proper citation of the original work.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis.