India

‘Custodial torture’: Threat to Human Rights highest in police stations, says CJI

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Justice N V Ramana on Sunday said that the threat to human rights and bodily integrity is “highest in police stations”.

The comments were made when the Chief Justice was expressing concern over custodial torture at a function organized by NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) at Delhi’s in Vigyan Bhawan area of New Delhi.

Calling human rights and dignity “sacrosanct”, he said, “custodial torture and other police atrocities are problems which still prevail in our society”.

“In spite of constitutional declarations and guarantees, lack of effective legal representation at the police stations is a huge detriment to arrested/detained persons. The decisions taken in these early hours will later determine the ability of the accused to defend himself,” NDTV quoted the Chief Justice as saying.

Going by the recent reports, even the privileged are not spared third-degree treatment, the Chief Justice said. He, however, did not cite any particular case, the report said.

The way ahead to keep police excesses in check, he pointed out, was “dissemination of information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services”.

“The installation of display boards and outdoor hoardings in every police station or prison is a step in this direction. However, NALSA must also actively carry out nationwide sensitization of Police Officers,” the Chief Justice added at the launch of a legal services app.

India, Chief Justice Ramana said, has a long tradition of pro bono legal services to the accused that started on behalf of freedom fighters in the British period.

“If we want to remain as a society governed by the rule of law, it is imperative for us to bridge the gap of accessibility to justice between the highly privileged and the most vulnerable. For all times to come, we must remember that, the realities of socio-economic diversity which prevail in our nation, cannot ever be a reason for denial of rights,” the report Ramana saying further.

The Chief Justice added: “If, as an institution, the judiciary wants to garner the faith of the citizens, we have to make everyone feel assured that we exist for them. For the longest time, the vulnerable population has lived outside the system of justice”.

 

Free Press Kashmir is now on Telegram. Click here to Join.
FPK Android App for 2G. Click here to Download.

Click to comment
To Top