Custodial Death A Crime Against Society Says Apex Court

Maintaining that there is no place for custodial abuse in the civilized world, the Supreme Court declined to aggravate the offense against two Odisha policemen who had mercilessly beaten a man in 1985, leading to his death.

On Thursday, the Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Ajay Rastogi upheld the two police officers' conviction for voluntarily causing serious injury by dangerous weapons or means under Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court observed that "The Police of State is the protector of law and order. The people look forward to the Police to protect their life and property. People go to the Police Station with the hope that their person and property will be protected by the police and injustice and offence committed on them shall be redressed and the guilty be punished. When the protector of people and society himself instead of protecting the people adopts brutality and inhumanly beat the person who comes to the police station, it is a matter of great public concern. The beating of a person in the Police Station is the concern for all and causes a sense of fear in the entire society".

The case involved the death of Kasinath Naik, who had gone to the Purighat Police Station to file a report about an assault committed against him. However, quite unexpectedly, the two accused policemen assaulted him to death.

Both policemen were found guilty of Naik’s death. The accused men also volunteered to pay the victim compensation, to which the High Court ordered the award of Rs 3 lakhs in favour of Naik's legal representatives.