{"id":71064,"date":"2026-04-08T18:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71064"},"modified":"2026-04-08T18:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:03:22","slug":"custodial-deaths-india-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-04-2026\/custodial-deaths-india-2","title":{"rendered":"Custodial Deaths in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A trial court in Madurai sentenced 9 Tamil Nadu policemen to death for the brutal 2020 custodial killing of a father and son, P. Jayaraj and J. Benicks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Custodial Death?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Custodial death refers to the death of an individual <strong>while in police or judicial custody. <\/strong>This may occur <strong>before trial, during police interrogation, or after conviction.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The death may be caused by torture, negligence, denial of medical aid, or even under suspicious circumstances.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It violates the Constitutional Rights of;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 20(1):<\/strong> No person shall be punished beyond what is prescribed in law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 20(3):<\/strong> Protection against self-incrimination; any confession made under duress is inadmissible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 21: <\/strong>Ensures protection of life and personal liberty, including in police\/judicial custody.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Issue of Custodial Death in India: <\/strong>According to parliamentary data, <strong>11,656 custodial deaths<\/strong> were recorded between 2016-17 and 2021-22, across India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Uttar Pradesh topped the list with <strong>2,630 deaths,<\/strong> while <strong>Tamil Nadu (490) <\/strong>reported the highest number among the southern States.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However not all custody deaths are due to police excess.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reasons of higher Custodial Deaths in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Legal Vacuum:<\/strong> India has signed but not ratified the <strong>UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT), 1997<\/strong> meaning it is not legally bound to implement its provisions.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Prevention of Torture Bill (2010) lapsed<\/strong> in Parliament, and subsequent efforts to introduce legislation have been shelved or diluted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Procedural Flaws and Delays:<\/strong> Supreme Court of India, in <strong>K Basu vs. State of West Bengal (1997) Case<\/strong>, laid down crucial guidelines to prevent custodial abuse.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, Courts often rely on magisterial inquiries, procedures riddled with procedural flaws and delays.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Institutional Incentives:<\/strong> Confessions extracted through violence are still treated as evidence, despite being inadmissible under<strong> Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Weak Accountability:<\/strong> Investigations into custodial deaths are typically conducted by the same department involved.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Even where judicial inquiries are initiated, they are often slow, opaque, and inconclusive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Political Interference:<\/strong> Policing in India is often influenced by political pressures, which weakens impartial action and shields errant officers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>International Legal Frameworks for Protection<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>United Nations Charter (1945):<\/strong> It sets out the purposes and principles of the UN, including the promotion of human rights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948): <\/strong>It prohibits torture and ensures the presumption of innocence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966):<\/strong> It protects right to life and prohibits torture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Nelson Mandela Rules,<\/strong> officially known as the <strong>UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners 2015,<\/strong> establish minimum standards for the humane treatment of all individuals deprived of their liberty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>European Convention on Human Rights (1950):<\/strong> It recognises individual dignity and access to justice mechanisms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recommendations for Reform<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Law Commission Reports:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>69th Report (1977) of Law Commission of India:<\/strong> It proposed introducing Section 26A in the Indian Evidence Act to make confessions before senior police officers admissible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>273rd Report of Law Commission of India<\/strong> recommended an anti-torture law, affirming that India\u2019s existing legal safeguards are insufficient.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Police Reforms: <\/strong>Implement the Supreme Court&#8217;s <strong>Prakash Singh vs. Union of India (2006) directives<\/strong>, including:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Separation of the investigation and law and order functions of the police<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Establishment of Police Complaints Authorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mandatory Use of Technology: <\/strong>CCTV coverage in interrogation rooms, and digital records of questioning, must become the norm.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Judicial Reforms: <\/strong>Fast-track courts for custodial crimes, along with stringent penalties for complicit officials, are essential.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Custodial deaths are not just administrative failures but a symptom of a deeper malaise in India\u2019s criminal justice system.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Despite constitutional guarantees, legal safeguards, and judicial pronouncements, the use of torture and abuse in custody remains widespread.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India must not only uphold its constitutional values but also fulfill its international obligations by enacting a comprehensive anti-torture law, strengthening institutions, and ensuring accountability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/legal-news\/9-policemen-sentenced-to-death-for-custodial-killing-of-father-son-in-2020-case-that-rocked-tamil-nadu-106\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> A trial court in Madurai sentenced 9 Tamil Nadu policemen to death for the brutal 2020 custodial killing of a father and son, P. Jayaraj and J. Benicks. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> What is Custodial Death? <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Custodial death refers to the death of an individual while in police or judicial custody. This may occur before trial, during police interrogation, or after conviction.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The death may be caused by torture, negligence, denial of medical aid, or even under suspicious circumstances. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-04-2026\/custodial-deaths-india-2 \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71064"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71066,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71064\/revisions\/71066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}