The Madras High Court has strongly condemned custodial violence, calling it one of the gravest affronts to the rule of law. On Wednesday, Justice L Victoria Gowri directed the CB-CID to complete its investigation expeditiously and file the final report before the jurisdictional court in the case of Akash, a youth who died from custodial torture in Manamadurai, Sivaganga district.
Court's Observations on Custodial Violence
Justice Gowri emphasized that while the state has coercive powers to investigate crime, such powers can never extend to infliction of torture. The constitutional promise under Article 21 does not end at the gates of a police station. Every person, irrespective of the allegations against him, retains his fundamental right to life, dignity, and bodily integrity.
Background of the Case
The court passed the order while disposing of a petition filed by Akash's father, A Rajeshkannan. He sought a direction to the state to register a criminal case for murder arising out of alleged custodial torture under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on his complaint.
Role of the Judicial Magistrate
The judge appreciated Manamadurai judicial magistrate M Afzal Fathima, whose remand proceedings ensured preservation of a crucial contemporaneous account that now forms part of the investigative record. The magistrate personally visited Sivaganga government medical college hospital, identified the accused through the duty doctor, interacted with him, noticed the extensive injury to his right leg, elicited from him the circumstances leading to the injury, and faithfully recorded the allegations made by him regarding custodial torture and ill-treatment. The magistrate also recorded the explanation offered by the accused on scratches found on his body and specifically noted the complaint of torture made against the police personnel.
Evidentiary Significance of Remand Report
Justice Victoria Gowri observed that in the present case, the remand report assumes immense evidentiary significance, not because it establishes guilt against any individual, but because it constitutes a contemporaneous judicial record made at a point of time when the injured accused was alive, under treatment, and available for direct interaction with a judicial officer. Such records form an important part of the truth-seeking process in all allegations involving custodial violence.
Investigation Progress
The judge noted that based on the remand report and preliminary postmortem materials, the offence has already been altered into one under Section 103 of BNS read with Section 3(2)(v) of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The investigation has been transferred to the CB-CID, and a deputy superintendent of police has been appointed as investigating officer. CCTV footage has been secured, and relevant medical, prison, and police records have been collected. The co-accused has also been examined.
