Custodial Crimes

Despite human rights laws and constitutional jurisprudence, the police are still using third degree methods and illegal torture which often lead to custodial deaths. This represents a serious drawback of the legal system

- Veer Vikram Singh

ARTICLE 21 in the Constitution says every human being has a natural right to life but that is a travesty considering the number of custodial deaths in India. It is a practice that dates back to colonial times but has continued unabated after the adoption of the Constitution of India and Article 21. According to the India: Annual Report on Torture 2019, 125 people died under police custody and the most common forms of violence include electric shock, hammering nails in the body, applying chilly power on different parts of the body, branding with a hot iron, inserting rods in the parts of the body, forcing legs apart, hanging upside down and merciless beating. The most disconcerting aspect is that about 75 percent of these 125 deaths happened due to alleged torture or foul play, and about 20 percent died under suspicious circumstances that police cited as suicide.

Recently, we witnessed two very infamous cases—the custodial death of Manoj and the custodial death of Tihar inmate Ankit Gujjar which became a subject of prolonged debate. In the case of Ankit’s death, the Delhi High Court asked for a status report to be submitted before it by the Tihar jail authorities. In the other case, the Orissa High Court directed the state to pay compensation of Rs five lakh to the parents of Manoj. There have been a number of cases of custodial deaths where the court has issued directions for compensation.