Early access to the counsel needed to reduce custodial deaths, suggests SC lawyer

Supreme Court advocate and former convenor of the National Forum for Prison Reforms, Ajay Verma said that modernisation of police is needed. In spite of various reports suggesting modern techniques are effective, the police does not follow it and adhere to the old torture system during investigation.

New Delhi:The police brutality in the Indian prisons has once again come into light after a father-son duo, Jayaraj and Benicks, were killed in Tamil Nadu by the police personnel. The incident has rocked the nation and calls for police reforms are growing louder, so that the people who are accused and not convicted yet, do not become the victims of the system.

Supreme Court advocate and former convenor of the National Forum for Prison Reforms Ajay Verma says that the police believe that, "if we have to solve a case we have to use force" which can not be a method for investigation, "torture is not a method to solve cases".

Talking to ETV Bharat, Verma said that modernisation of police is needed, in spite of various study reports suggesting modern techniques for effective investigation, police does not follow it and adhere to the old torture system in order show superiority.

On 26th June, an NGO named National Campaign against torture published a report "India: Annual Report on Torture" which revealed that there have been 125 deaths in 2019 in police custody out which 93 were due to torture and 24 were due to suspicious reasons. The government's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data is not available on the custodial death since 2017, data for 2016 is also missing from the government website.

India presently doesn't have a specific law to deal with the police torture and has not ratified the UN convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Prevention of Torture bill was tabled in the parliament in 2010 but could never garner larger political consensus.

As per Verma, a lawyer can file an application before the magistrate to register an FIR against the police officer as the police would be reluctant to register against its own officers.

"Early access to the counsel" is the way forward for which the police officer needs to inform the accused about his right to a lawyer.

"The police don't want a lawyer in the police station and they feel that they won't be able to solve the case," said Verma.

Adding on further, he said that there have been Supreme court's rulings regarding torture that can be used as principal guidelines. The top court has already passed a ruling which makes police torture a punishable offence up to 7 years and the Judicial Magistrate can also be penalised and disciplinary action can be taken if it is found that the remand was given casually by him.

Talking about his experience as a lawyer working for prison reforms, Verma cited an example of Uttar Pradesh where a person was arrested and without the judge being physically present to see him, the order of remand was given.

"Judges are also the guardian of the law," remarked Verma, they also have to apply their minds and can refuse remand depending upon the case.

He said that NHRC guidelines on police torture are not strictly followed resulting in custodial deaths. Even the post mortem has to be video graphed, an autopsy has to be carried out but nothing is strictly followed. He also expressed his doubts over the under-reporting of torture cases in India.