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Custodial Death
Context :
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Odisha government , regarding the alleged death in the custody of Baseli Sahi police station in Puri District in Nov 2020.
About Custodial Death:
- Custodial death is a death that occurs while a person is in the custody of law enforcement officials or in a correctional facility.
- It covers fatalities that take place in a jail, on a police or even other vehicle, at a private or medical facility, or in a public space.
Types of Custody:
- Police custody: When a police officer arrests an individual accused of committing a crime and brings him to the police station, it is called police custody.
- Judicial Custody: The accused is kept in the custody of the magistrate of the concerned area.
- Arrest and custody are not synonymous, and custody means keeping an individual in protective care based on the apprehension that he or she may cause harm to society.
- Every arrest is custody but not every custody will be held for arrest.
Reasons for Custodial Deaths
- Absence of Strong Legislation:
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- India does not have an anti-torture legislation and is yet to criminalise custodial violence
- Excessive Force:
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- The use of excessive force including torture by the police in custody .
- Institutional Challenges:
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- The entire prison system is inherently opaque giving less room to transparency.
- India also fails in bringing the much desired Prison Reforms and prisons continue to be affected by poor conditions, overcrowding, acute manpower shortages and minimal safety.
- Not Adhering to International Standard:
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- Although India has signed the United Nations Convention against Torture in 1997 its ratification still remains.
Provision related to check Custodial Death
- Constitutional provision
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- Article 20(1) prohibits punishment above what is mentioned in the law that deals with the offence.
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- Article 20(3) prohibits a person to be compelled to be a witness against himself , generally torture is done to admit to one’s own crime .
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- Article 21- Protection from torture is a fundamental right enshrined under Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Indian constitution.
- Legal Provisions
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- Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC): Charges police officer with murder for the death of a suspect in custody
- Section 176(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC): Empowers magistrate to hold an inquiry into the cause of death during custody
- SC guidelines
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- In the case of DK Basu vs State of West Bengal, the Supreme Court held that the rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution could not be denied to convicts, under-trials, and other prisoners in custody, except according to the procedure established by law.
- NHRC guidelines
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- Interrogation on Identifiable Place: Such place should have been notified for this purpose by the Government.
- Right to Know Place by Relatives: Such a place must be accessible and the relatives of the person arrested must be informed of the place of interrogation
- A Humane Interrogation: The methods of interrogation must be consistent with the recognised rights to life, dignity and liberty and right against torture and degrading treatment.
- International laws dealing with human rights
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- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (UDHR): Every person should be treated as innocent until proven guilty and No person should be tortured or treated cruelly
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- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966: Every individual has the inherent right to life and prevention of cruel, degrading, and inhuman treatment of prisoners
Way Forward
- Implementation of model prison manual 2016 : Under it MHA has approved the ‘Modernisation of Prisons’ Project with a financial outlay of Rs. 950 crore from the Financial Year 2021-22 to Financial Year 2025-26, aimed at
- Enhancing security infrastructure and other logistical facilities in jails
- Focus on correctional administration through programmes/initiatives on skilling, rehabilitation and behaviour change, etc.
- Prism reforms : Which includes reducing
- Overcrowding : According to the Standing Committee Report of Prison- Conditions, Infrastructure and Reform occupancy rate of prisons stood at 130% in 2021.
- Undertrials :The undertrials increased at a faster rate between 2001 and 2019 than those convicted.At present 50% of the prison inmates are undertrials .