An elderly person died in a police custody in Vaishali, Bihar. The incident of alleged death in police custody took place in Rajasthan about a week before the Supreme Court, after a sum of a reply from the state government on such deaths. This is not the first time that the Supreme Court has summoned the reply to deaths in custody. Earlier too, the Supreme Court has issued a guide line in the case of such deaths. Despite this, such incidents are happening in the country. The Supreme Court took automatic cognizance of deaths in police custody in Rajasthan. The Supreme Court expressed serious concern over the shortage of CCTV cameras in police stations across the country. The bench of Justice Vikram Nath said on the report on the death of custody that in 2025, 11 people have died in police custody in Rajasthan alone in the last 7-8 months, whereas, the Supreme Court has given a historic verdict 5 years ago. In this, instructions were given to install CCTV cameras in every state and union territory. This report also revealed that in such cases the police often avoid giving CCTV footage. There are many types of reasons behind this, such as technical faults, lack of footage storage, investigation is on or legal ban.
In many cases, the police directly refused to give the footage or deliberately delayed. The court had clearly stated that no part of the police station should be out of monitoring. From lockup to main gate, corridor, inspector and sub -inspector room, duty room and police station should be in CCTV coverage. Also, orders were given to install cameras in offices of central investigative agencies like CBI, ED, NIA, NCB and DRI. Their data remained safe for at least one year. It is clear from these cases that these instructions of the Supreme Court have not been fully followed. The court has also expressed concern that central and state level committees created to review human rights violations are also not working properly.
Also read this: Bareilly Bawal’s Most Wanted IMC leader Nadeem Khan arrested, Maulana’s close hotel and two barats sealed
The continuous custody in Rajasthan has raised serious questions on the police system. In these cases, the police not providing CCTV footage raises doubts. The court has sought answers from all the parties concerned in this case. In response to a question in the assembly, it was told by the government that 20 people died in police custody in the last two years in Rajasthan. But no policeman or police officer was convicted of death. In these, five persons were reported to have died of heart attack while one person jumped into the well and committed suicide. In two cases, 17 cc notices have been given to the speculations. No cause of death has yet been revealed in the remaining 14 cases. Police say that these cases are being investigated. The news of deaths in police custody is very common in India. The news of those who are killed in jail or police custody in almost daily newspapers are published. On 26 July 2022, in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed that between 2020 and 2022, 4484 people died in custody. The Human Rights Commission admitted that 2152 people were killed in jails in 2021-22. Of these, 155 deaths were in police custody. But the question is, why do so many deaths in custody in the country? Does the police system behave inhumanly with prisoners in custody or prisoners who are serving jail? Does she not take care of laws? According to a survey by Common Cause, most policemen consider torture and violence necessary for their work. 30 percent of policemen consider third degree torture to be correct in serious cases. While 9 percent even believe that even in minor crimes, this is correct.
In the case of Prakash Kadam vs Ramprasad Vishwanath Gupta, the Supreme Court expressed its displeasure over fake encounters. The court said that the cases in which the policemen prove to be a fake encounter should be given the death penalty, considering the rarest cases rare. Policemen were warned that they would not be forgiven by the pretext to kill in the name of encounter that they were following the orders of their senior officials or politicians, no matter how big they are. D.K. In Basu vs. West Bengal state case, the Supreme Court had said that torture has not been defined in the constitution or other punitive laws. The torture given by a human being to another, is basically a means of imposing a powerful desire at weak. Today the word torture is synonymous with the dark aspect of human civilization. Among the 170 countries signing the United Nations Convention against torture and other cruel inhuman and derogatory behavior or punishment, India is one of the eight countries who have not yet recommended this convention. In a description of its objectives and reasons, the bill states that the objective of this convention confirms the Government of India’s commitment to the conservation of basic universal human rights. The 273rd report of the Law Commission stated that deaths in custody are not just administrative failure, but are a symptom of deep illness in India’s criminal justice system. Despite constitutional guarantee, legal safety measures and judicial announcements, the use of torture and misbehavior in custody continues widely.
The report also said that where a public servant is proved to torture in custody, the burden of proving that torture was not deliberately given, or the public servant was not given with the consent or consent of the public servant, the public servant would come. The draft of the Commission also provided for death penalty or life imprisonment on the death of a person in custody. There was also a provision for compensation to the victim in the draft. This report is licking dust. Political parties are worried in such cases only when they are in opposition. As soon as they come to power, the leaders start changing color like a chameleon. The central government has recently improved police laws, but responsibility in custody deaths and harassment was not fixed nor any compensation was provided. In such cases against the police, the country will be embarrassed by deaths in custody.
– Yogendra Yogi