Court Directs Urgent Investigation into 16-Year-Old Case Amidst Allegations of Evidence Suppression by Police
In a significant move, the Allahabad High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the custodial death of Nahar Singh, a physically handicapped individual who allegedly committed suicide while in police custody back in 2009. The court's directive comes amid serious concerns about institutional failures and potential evidence suppression by the police.
The case, which has languished in judicial proceedings for 16 years, involves the death of Nahar Singh, who was found hanging in a police lockup in Mainpuri. The court noted inconsistencies between the police's version of events and the postmortem report, raising suspicions of strangulation rather than suicide. The absence of crucial videographic evidence of the scene of occurrence (SOO) and the postmortem has further fueled doubts about the police's narrative.
The Division Bench, comprising Justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddharth Nandan, criticized the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for its handling of the case, which was closed without an independent investigation. The court emphasized the NHRC's reliance on police reports without examining witnesses or independent evidence as a failure in its duty to ensure justice in cases of custodial deaths.
The judgment highlighted the urgency of addressing procedural delays, which have allowed the police and the state to obscure the truth. The court expressed frustration over the 16-year delay in proceedings, which has hindered access to potentially crucial evidence.
The court has instructed the CBI to secure the videographic evidence within 60 days and to present it before the court. The CBI's involvement is seen as a crucial step in unearthing the truth behind the alleged custodial death and ensuring justice for Nahar Singh.
The case underscores the critical need for transparency and accountability in custodial death investigations and raises questions about the efficacy of current institutional mechanisms in safeguarding human rights.
Bottom line:-
Custodial deaths raise serious concerns about institutional failures, requiring urgent and diligent judicial intervention. The inability to produce videography of the scene of occurrence (SOO) and postmortem raises suspicion of evidence suppression and necessitates independent investigation.
Statutory provision(s): National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Criminal Procedure Code Section 156(3), Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
