Custodial Violence in India: A Crisis of Impunity and the Need for Scientific Policing
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Fundamental Rights - Article 21, Supreme Court judgments - D.K. Basu case, Law Commission Reports), International Conventions (UN Convention Against Torture).
Mains:
GS Paper 2: Governance issues; Role of civil services; Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections.
GS Paper 3: Security challenges; Police Reforms.
GS Paper 4 (Ethics): Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government institutions; Probity in Governance; Conscience; Accountability.
Key Highlights from the News
In criminal investigations, the article argues that Indian police often follow the "Dirty Harry" model of extracting confessions through intimidation, instead of the Sherlock Holmes model which relies on evidence.
The recent custodial death of a young man named Ajith Kumar in Tamil Nadu is the latest example of this.
Between 2018 and 2023, 687 custodial deaths were reported in India. However, the actual figures may be much higher.
The poor, migrant laborers, Dalits, and Adivasis are primarily victims of custodial torture. This is a structural injustice.
Lack of adequate training, pressure for quick results, failures in legal procedures, and societal tolerance towards custodial torture are reasons for the persistence of this problem.
The Supreme Court has issued detailed guidelines against custodial torture in the D.K. Basu case (1996).
However, India has not yet ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture and has not passed a specific law against torture.
There is scientific evidence that torture affects memory in the brain, often leading to false confessions.
Countries like the UK and Norway have abandoned confession-centric interrogation methods and shifted to the scientific PEACE model, which has proven to be more effective.
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