Editor's Pick: Deaths in custody

Addressing an open secret on Sunday, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana remarked that despite constitutional guarantees, custodial torture and police atrocities prevail in India. He said that police stations pose the highest threat to human rights and dignity, which are sacrosanct. Even the privileged are not spared third-degree treatment at stations. The CJI made these comments at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi. The CJI's comments are important given that as many as 1,727 custodial deaths were recorded between 2001 and 2018 across the country but a mere 26 policemen were convicted, according to National Crime Records Bureau data. All these persons were on police/ judicial remand and those just arrested and not produced before a court. Most of these deaths were attributed to reasons other than custodial torture, such as suicide and death in hospitals during treatment. Apart from custodial deaths, 2,000 human rights violations cases were recorded against the police in the same period. The National Human Rights Commission presents much more dismal data, recording nearly 5,300 complaints of deaths in custody (police and prison) in just three years (2018-2020). Last year, a father and son in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, died of alleged custodial torture after being arrested for a lockdown violation. The incident caused outrage and put the spotlight back on the issue. Despite a suggestion by the Law Commission of India that if a person dies in custody, the burden should be on the police to prove that they are not responsible for it, the law still requires the prosecution to prove that the police caused the death. India does not have a separate anti-torture law; 'torture' is not defined in the Indian Penal Code. While some argue that a specific law may lead to more prosecutions, others believe that the law is sufficient, only poorly implemented. The police are known to often abuse their power, in order to extract information from prisoners or those under custody. Given that this is termed an institutional problem by many, it bears significance that the CJI has once again highlighted it. This is what makes this story the top pick of the day. The Hindu's Editorials Tightrope walk: On reining in inflation and RBI’s credibility Golden arm: On India’s medal tally at Tokyo Oympics Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who is the only athlete to throw a javelin 100 m or more, at 104.80 m? 1. Johannes Vetter 2. Uwe Hohn 3. Klaus Bartoneitz 4. None of the above To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 09 AUGUST 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Deaths in custody [Deaths in custody] Addressing an open secret on Sunday, [Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana remarked]( that despite constitutional guarantees, custodial torture and police atrocities prevail in India. He said that police stations pose the highest threat to human rights and dignity, which are sacrosanct. Even the privileged are not spared third-degree treatment at stations. The CJI made these comments at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi. The CJI's comments are important given that as many as 1,727 custodial deaths were recorded between 2001 and 2018 across the country but a mere 26 policemen were convicted, [according to National Crime Records Bureau data](. All these persons were on police/ judicial remand and those just arrested and not produced before a court. Most of these deaths were attributed to reasons other than custodial torture, such as suicide and death in hospitals during treatment. Apart from custodial deaths, 2,000 human rights violations cases were recorded against the police in the same period. The [National Human Rights Commission presents much more dismal data]( recording nearly 5,300 complaints of deaths in custody (police and prison) in just three years (2018-2020). Last year, a father and son in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, died of alleged custodial torture after being arrested for a lockdown violation. The incident caused outrage and put the spotlight back on the issue. Despite a suggestion by the Law Commission of India that if a person dies in custody, the burden should be on the police to prove that they are not responsible for it, the law still requires the prosecution to prove that the police caused the death. India does not have a separate anti-torture law; 'torture' is not defined in the Indian Penal Code. While some argue that a specific law may lead to more prosecutions, [others believe that the law is sufficient]( only poorly implemented. The police are known to often abuse their power, in order to extract information from prisoners or those under custody. Given that this is termed an institutional problem by many, it bears significance that the CJI has once again highlighted it. This is what makes this story the top pick of the day. The Hindu's Editorials [Arrow][Tightrope walk: On reining in inflation and RBI’s credibility]( [Arrow][Golden arm: On India’s medal tally at Tokyo Oympics]( [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( [underlineimg] Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who is the only athlete to throw a javelin 100 m or more, at 104.80 m? 1. Johannes Vetter 2. Uwe Hohn 3. Klaus Bartoneitz 4. None of the above To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( Today's Best Reads [[Revisit the idea of ‘aging out’ India’s coal plants] Revisit the idea of ‘aging out’ India’s coal plants]( [[Covishield-Covaxin mix gives better protection, says ICMR] Covishield-Covaxin mix gives better protection, says ICMR]( [[Cyclone-ravaged Sunderbans is now drowning in plastic] Cyclone-ravaged Sunderbans is now drowning in plastic]( [[Have not located Dara Shikoh’s grave, says Archaeological Survey of India] Have not located Dara Shikoh’s grave, says Archaeological Survey of India]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](