The literal meaning of the word ‘death’ is the end of life. The Registration of Births and Death Act of 1969 says that death is that situation when the disappearance of the evidence of a life of an individual takes place. In other words, when the various organs of a human body stop functioning.
The word ‘custodial death’ is not new to us as we have been seeing numerous deaths since the British period which are still taking place in today’s era. Custodial death means when the death of a person takes place in custody. Custody means an area that is protected by someone. That means there should be someone who will take care of a person who has been kept in such a place. The legal study in West Bengal talks about the concept of custody under the criminal law system in India then it specifically talks about two kinds of custody i.e., Police Custody and Judicial Custody. Police Custody means when an offender (known as, the person who commits an offence) is kept under the supervision of Police authority. Judicial Custody denotes the place where an offender is kept under the supervision of a Magistrate.
In a report provided by ‘THE WIRE on 28th of July 2022, it is found that around 4500 people were killed in the last 2 years while they were in police custody. Out of these 4500 cases, 952 cases were reported only in the state of Uttar Pradesh which is now considered the highest amongst all states in India. But the question is whether the laws that have been enacted by the legislature about custodial death or protection of an arrested person are enough or not. Another question comes i.e., how can the Police take the right to life of a person? Where a person is kept under custody for the purpose of questioning and collection of evidence only. In most cases, it is found that the police authority is failed to prove the exact reason for the death of an arrested person. It has also been seen that day-by-day rape cases, be it in police custody or judicial custody, are rapidly increasing. As taught in law colleges in West Bengal The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, The Evidence Act 1872, The Indian Penal Code, The Police Act 1861, etc. are prevalent to control the torture of the police authorities but still, people are dying in the custody. The legal study in West Bengal says that Section 330 of the Indian Penal Code states that a person would be liable under this section if he causes voluntarily hurt for the purpose of extorting confession and shall get punishment accordingly. So, this section would be applicable to the Police Authorities. But in reality, the scenario is completely different. There are hardly a few cases that are properly investigated and justice is administered to the family members of the deceased. As taught in law colleges in West Bengal the Human Rights Commission has taken an initiative by implementing some guidelines and rules for the State Governments like, the commission must be intimated of the custodial death within Twenty-Four hours of its occurrence, followed by Post-Mortem Report, Inquest Report, etc.
The Legislature and the Judiciary must take respective actions with regard to custodial death. The Legislature should amend the existing laws dealing with custodial death at the same time more stringent laws should be enacted to protect the public interest. Parliament has to make more effective laws for custodial death that should be based on human rights and in violation of which deterrent punishment will be given. So that, the Police Authority thinks twice before voluntarily executing the death of an innocent or before waiving the right to life of an individual while he/she is in custody. The Judiciary should be more vigilant and they must inquire into the case from its grassroots. A separate cell or monitoring committee should be made by the state governments in every State that shall take care of the arrested persons and they will monitor the health, food, safety, and security of each and every arrested person in the custody. This cell or monitoring committee should be accountable by submitting weekly/monthly reports to the Judiciary so that Judiciary also keeps an eye on the persons who are being arrested and kept in the custody.
