26.11.2025

Custodial Torture and Police Reforms in India

Subject: Internal Security & Polity

Context

Repeated custodial deaths, including a recent incident in Rajasthan, highlight systemic failures in accountability and oversight in India’s policing system, underscoring the urgent need for structural reforms and stronger safeguards against custodial torture.

About the Issue

Judicial Intervention and Current Implementation Status

Supreme Court Directive (2020)

• The Supreme Court mandated CCTV installation in all police stations and central investigative offices to deter abuse and ensure transparency.
   
• The directive sought technological monitoring and reliable evidence in custodial violence cases.
   

Implementation Gaps

• Compliance remains uneven; only a limited number of states have made substantial progress.
   
• Weak execution and insensitive official remarks indicate lack of institutional seriousness toward custodial torture.
   

Legal and Structural Constraints

Absence of a Specific Anti-Torture Law

• No standalone law criminalising custodial torture.
   
• IPC Sections 330–331 serve as substitutes, resulting in ambiguity, weak enforcement, and low conviction rates.
   

Judicial and Institutional Limitations

• Investigations often conducted by the same police unit create conflicts of interest.
   
• Victims face intimidation, prolonged procedures, and inadequate witness protection.
   

Proposed Measures for Humane and Accountable Policing

1. Technology-Driven Transparency

• Ensure full CCTV coverage and functionality in police stations.
   
• Deploy body-worn cameras for arrest and search operations.
   
• Maintain secure, independently accessible data storage.
   

2. Professionalisation and Human Rights Training

• Strengthen training in ethical policing and non-coercive interrogation.
   
• Link human rights compliance to promotions and performance evaluations.
   

3. Structural Reforms in Policing

• Separate investigation from law-and-order duties to improve professionalism.
   
• Promote civilian oversight, accountability, and procedural fairness across police institutions.
   

Conclusion

Custodial torture exposes systemic weaknesses in policing. Stronger surveillance, a dedicated anti-torture law, improved training, and structural reforms are essential to protect detainees’ rights and build a transparent, humane, and accountable police system.