'Deeply disturbing': Delhi court directs inquiry into alleged custodial torture by CBI

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Custodial violence is one of the gravest assaults on the rule of law, said a Delhi court on Tuesday, directing a fair and impartial inquiry into the allegations of torture by the CBI of an accused in a Rs 3-crore bribery case linked to the agency's probe into a fake drug manufacturing racket. Underlining that allegations of custodial torture, particularly when directed against officers of the country's premier investigating agency, cannot be permitted to remain unanswered, the court directed strict criminal as well as departmental proceedings if the inquiry revealed a criminal offence or departmental misconduct. Special Judge Sushant Changotra was hearing the plea of co-accused Prabhat Kumar (Kapoor), moved by his advocate Prateek Som, alleging severe beatings due to which he suffered serious injuries in his left ear and on his left thigh, during his CBI custody from June 16 to 22. The court said that the medico-legal cases (MLC's) dated June 19, recording a contusion over the left thigh, and June 20, showing blood clots and a bulge/hematoma in the left ear, prima facie established that Kumar sustained physical injuries while he was in the exclusive custody of CBI officials. It said, "These are not vague or bald allegations but are prima facie supported by contemporaneous medical records prepared by government doctors during the subsistence of police custody." The court said that the agency has offered absolutely no explanation whatsoever regarding their cause, and it is not even the case of the CBI that the injuries were self-inflicted or accidental. It said the unexplained injuries, coupled with the admitted movement of the accused to another police station during police custody and the contemporaneous medical evidence lend substantial prima facie support to the allegations of custodial violence. "Custodial violence is one of the gravest assaults on the rule of law. It strikes at the very foundation of a constitutional democracy founded upon the guarantee of life, liberty and human dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution," the court said. It said no investigative agency, irrespective of the nature of the allegations being investigated, enjoys any licence to employ physical violence, coercion or torture during interrogation and the legitimacy of a criminal investigation lies in its fairness and legality, not in its capacity to extract information through fear or physical force. The court said that the use of violence against a person in custody not only constitutes a serious violation of fundamental rights but also irreparably erodes public confidence in the criminal justice system by casting a serious cloud over the fairness and credibility of the investigation. It said, "The police or any investigating agency cannot be permitted to assume the dual role of investigator and punisher. Punishment for any criminal act can only be imposed by a court of law after following the due process of law, and departure from this fundamental principle amounts to a direct affront to the rule of law." Judge Changotra said that the court cannot remain a silent spectator when contemporaneous medical evidence discloses injuries sustained by an accused while in the custody of a premier investigating agency. He said, "If allegations of custodial violence against officers of an investigating agency are ignored or casually brushed aside, it would amount to judicial indifference towards a serious violation of constitutional rights and could undermine public faith in the administration of criminal justice." He said, "The aforementioned facts prima facie disclose a deeply disturbing and sordid state of affairs..." The judge said such allegations, particularly when directed against officers of the country's premier investigating agency, cannot be permitted to remain unanswered. "Dccordingly, this court considers it imperative that the matter be examined at the highest level within the CBI," the judge said, directing the jail superintendent concerned to get Kumar medically examined at Safdarjung Hospital and provide the necessary treatment. "A comprehensive, fair and impartial inquiry be conducted into the allegations of custodial violence levelled by accused Prabhat Kumar." "The inquiry shall not be confined merely to identifying the officials who allegedly inflicted the physical injuries upon the accused but shall also examine the role, responsibility and accountability of all supervisory officers under whose command and control the accused remained during the period of police custody," the judge said. He said it is expected that the inquiry will specifically ascertain whether there was any act of commission, omission, acquiescence or failure of supervision on the part of any superior officer which facilitated, permitted or failed to prevent the alleged custodial violence. "It is desirable that the inquiry be conducted by an officer (preferably a senior officer) unconnected with the present investigation to inspire confidence in its fairness and impartiality," the judge said. He said if the inquiry reveals the commission of any criminal offence or departmental misconduct by any officer, appropriate criminal as well as departmental proceedings shall be initiated strictly in accordance with law against the concerned erring officials. "A copy of this order be forwarded forthwith to the Director, CBI, for intimation and necessary action. It is expected that the report indicating the action taken pursuant to the present directions vis-a-vis allegations of custodial violence shall be filed in the court within two weeks," the judge said. PTI MNR KSS KSS