Context
- A total of 170 custodial deaths were reported in the first 74 days of 2025 (up to March 15), surpassing the previous year’s figure of 140, as informed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Parliament.
- The NHRC received 2,346 intimations of death in judicial custody and 160 intimations of death in police custody during 2023-24, reflecting the persistent scale of the problem.
- National trend: 176 custodial deaths (2021-22), 163 (2022-23), 157 (2023-24), 140 (2024-25), yet 2025 is already on track to exceed all previous years within just 74 days.
Safeguards Against Custodial Violence
- Constitutional Provisions
- Article 21 guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, encompassing freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
- Article 20(3) protects individuals from being compelled to self-incriminate, safeguarding against coerced confessions extracted through torture.
- Article 20(1) prohibits excessive or retrospective punishment.
- Legal Provisions
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 penalises those who intentionally cause hurt to extract confessions through violence or coercion.
- BNSS 2023 mandates that arrests and detentions follow valid reasons and documented procedures.
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 invalidates confessions made under inducement, threat, coercion, or promise.
- International Safeguards
- India ratified the ICCPR in 1979 but has signed but not yet ratified the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) despite signing it in 1997.
- UDHR 1948 protects individuals from torture, cruel treatment, and enforced disappearances.
- Key Judicial Pronouncements
- DK Basu vs State of West Bengal (1997): Supreme Court laid down comprehensive arrest and detention guidelines, barred third-degree methods, and held the State accountable for custodial violence by public servants.
- Nambi Narayanan vs Siby Mathews (2018): SC awarded compensation for wrongful arrest and harassment, underscoring the severe psychological harm of custodial abuse and false prosecution.
- Law Commission 273rd Report (2017): Urged India to ratify UNCAT and enact a dedicated law criminalising torture.
Challenges in Curbing Custodial Violence
- Weak legal framework: India lacks a clear statutory definition of torture; the Prevention of Torture Bill never became law; colonial-era Police Act 1861 and Prisons Act 1894 continue to shape policing with minimal reform.
- Poor accountability: BNSS requires prior government sanction for prosecution, effectively shielding officials from legal action; conviction rates for custodial violence remain extremely low.
- Colonial policing culture: Force is still viewed as a primary tool for maintaining control; third-degree methods have become embedded in accepted police subculture, further reinforced by societal approval of “tough action.”
- Lack of professional capacity: Inadequate training in forensic methods, human rights, and non-coercive interrogation makes torture a perceived shortcut to extract confessions.
- Delayed justice and weak oversight: NHRC recommendations are advisory and often ignored; mandatory CCTV installation orders see weak compliance; magisterial inquiries lack independence and speed.
Way Forward
- Define custodial violence in law and ratify CAT: Ratification of UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) would bind India to global standards, require criminalisation of torture, and strengthen accountability mechanisms through an independent anti-torture statute.
- Enhance transparency through technology: Expand CCTV monitoring, digital arrest records, and real-time reporting through Crime and Criminal Tracking Network (CCTNS) to reduce opportunities for abuse and improve evidence quality.
- Improve professional capacity: Incorporate human rights sensitisation, non-coercive interrogation techniques, forensic tools, and ethical policing modules into all police training academies.
- Strengthen NHRC with binding powers: Mandatory 24-hour reporting of custodial deaths with enforceable consequences for non-compliance must replace the current advisory framework.
- Reform colonial policing laws: Replace the Police Act 1861 with a modern, rights-respecting legislation aligned with constitutional values and contemporary human rights standards.